Horne Copper Smelter Workers Resist Unjust Disciplinary Measures by Glencore
Stand with smelter workers and their freedom of speech!
Workers at Glencore's Horne copper smelter in Rouyn-Noranda in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue administrative region of Québec report that management has disciplined ten of their colleagues for participation in a Rouyn Facebook page. Workers say a large number of people in Rouyn-Noranda, including workers at the smelter, regularly visit this particular Facebook page. Representatives of the Glencore company summoned
ten
workers of the smelter who had responded to the picture and
disciplined
them for allegedly violating the global mining and metallurgy
monopoly's Code of Conduct. Disciplinary measures ranged from
suspension to written and verbal warnings. The Noranda Mine
Workers'
Union at the
smelter is grieving all these unjust and arbitrary measures. Glencore's Code of Conduct is a lengthy document that covers matters including health and safety, human rights, communities, environment, taxation, communication, protecting and maintaining assets etc. from the point of view and outlook of the company. Workers report that the Code is only referenced when the company takes action against the workers for not showing loyalty to the company. Loyalty in effect means that workers are expected to keep silent about any problems arising at the workplace and any views they may have for dealing with the problems. The company goes so far as to monitor Facebook pages that workers and people routinely visit, tracking comments for the purpose of exercising arbitrary disciplinary measures against smelter workers if the company deems they have been disloyal. For example, the mere mention of problems related to the health and safety of workers is considered an attack on the public profile and reputation of the company. Under this dictatorial regime, disloyalty of workers is used as an excuse for the company to refuse to acknowledge problems exist and take action to rectify them, and to deprive workers of their freedom of speech and right to participate publicly and openly in identifying and fixing problems. Facebook is a forum on which people make comments. Glencore's tracking of workers' Facebook comments and subsequent disciplinary actions represents an extension of the power of the monopoly into workers' lives and freedom of speech and conscience. This is dangerous to the workers and their community, as the aim is to force workers into silence, which is not only an attack on their rights but can also turn into a nightmare with deadly consequences within industrial production such as a smelter. Workers rightly consider this latest attack of Glencore as totally unacceptable and demand that the company back off from the disciplinary measures against their ten colleagues. Workers have the right to speak out on issues that directly concern them at their workplace, community and society. To use the power of employment to deprive workers of their freedom of speech and conscience is an abuse of authority and cannot and should never be tolerated.
This article was published in Article Link:   Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca |
The Rouyn Facebook
page
recently had a picture of a young man suffering obvious breathing
problems with the caption "that must be because I worked at the
smelter." The smelter was not named. Some workers at the smelter
responded to the item by clicking "Like" while others left
comments,
which is ordinarily what people do when they
visit Facebook pages.