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After intense bargaining going back to December, affiliate Papersindustriarbetaref&ouml;rbundet reached a labour accords 18 March with social partners. The wage hikes negotiated in pulp and paper are expected to be the benchmark for Swedish workers in all sectors, and fall within the functioning pay determination system of Swedish inflation. As negotiated by the union, pulp and paper sector workers will receive increases of 2.5% in 2004, 2.1% in 2005 and 2.1% in 2006. Achievements were also made to narrow the gender pay gap.

Swedish Pappers Union Gets Pay Accord in Pulp and Paper

The CEP of Canada has chosen Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. as lead company for paper industry bargaining in eastern Canada. CEP represents 4,200 workers at 14 Abitibi worksites from Ontario to Newfoundland. The agreement with Montreal based Abitibi will be used as a pattern for talks with other paper companies covering 21,000 CEP members. The current labour agreement in pulp and paper in the eastern half of the country expires 30 April.

Abitibi Chosen as Lead in Canadian CEP Paper Bargaining

ICEM Dutch affiliate FNV Bondgenoten and four other unions at DSM&rsquo;s chemical plant in Geleen engaged in a stop-work march and rally 12 April at the firm&rsquo;s headquarters in nearby Heerlen in the southern NL province of Limburg. Some 2,500 workers participated in this first-ever such action against DSM. Under the slogan &ldquo;Stop the Breakdown of DSM Employment in Limburg,&rdquo; the unions protested DSM&rsquo;s recent announcement that 1,000 workers at sprawling industrial chemicals operations would be made redundant this year. DSM intends to replace the 1,000 with 500 contractors. The Geleen complex once had 15,000 employees. Prior to this most recent announcement, it employed 5,000.

FNV Bondgenoten Protests DSM’s Retrenchments in the Netherlands

The National Union of Mineworkers in South Africa still has not received answers to the sudden lay-offs of 400 diamond miners employed by Antwerp-based Rex Diamond Mining at the Loxton Mine in the Northern Cape. Despite inquiries by the NUM and ICEM over the status of the miners, the firm has said only the retrenchments are of a &ldquo;short term arrangement,&rdquo; yet has provided no information that would clarify the benefits due the workers.

South Africa’s NUM Awaits Answers from Rex Diamond

The Communications, Energy, Paperworkers Union of Canada picked Suncor Energy last month as the pattern-setter for this year&rsquo;s round of oil talks. That means some 10,000 CEP members at five majors and several smaller companies will have similar terms in pay hikes, shift increases and other wage-related premiums at their bargains. General pay hikes agreed to at Suncor are 3%, 3.5% and 3% over three years. The Suncor agreement has a unique company contribution to CEP&rsquo;s Humanity Fund, the union&rsquo;s assistance fund to workers in developing nations. Union leaders have made it clear that CEP members across Canada&rsquo;s oil sector are determined to get the same terms as those achieved at Suncor.

Canadian CEP Sets Oil Pattern with Suncor

A dispute has surfaced between ICEM affiliate Associated Mineworkers of Zimbabwe and that country&rsquo;s Council of Mines. The employers&rsquo; group walked out of negotiations after refusing to award reasonable wage and salary adjustments, and then unilaterally granted inferior pay hikes amounting to half of what AMWZ considers a liveable wage. Zimbabwe&rsquo;s Ministry of Labour has intervened and ordered the matter be put before conciliation.
&nbsp;

Mining Dispute in Zimbabwe Centers on Wages

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The ICEM has received information from the Federation of Workers Councils Unions in Iraq (FWCUI) that one of their leading women activists is under attack. The management of the General Company for Leather Industries (GCLI) has punished Sawsan Mahmoud, by transferring her to another company. The decision follows her leadership and participation in a strike at the beginning of April 2009, after protesting against the company's failure to make all outstanding payments due to workers in April. 
 
The company's management, in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, has transferred the trade union activist to Elez Company, a subsidiary of the Ministry. Sawsan has appealed to the Minister for the cancellation of the transfer. As a result the Ministry required the company&rsquo;s reasons for the transfer, which were reported by the company as being her participation and incitement of workers to go on strike at the beginning of last April, &ldquo;strike instigators are not keen on the stability of the country&quot;. The company reiterated its reply to the Ministry that the transfer was due to the recent events, referring to its workers' last strike. Subsequently the management of the company also proceeds now to punish another six workers for the same reasons. 

<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="143" />
FWCUI President Falah Alwan
The FWCUI has taken up her case and that of the other victimised workers, mounting a media campaign and a legal case against the company and the Ministry. They have called on the international trade union movement to publicise the case and protest the action of the Ministry and the company. ICEM has done so and is in communication with ITGLWF about further support action. 
 
In a letter to Fawzi Franso Hariri, the Iraqi Minister of Industry and Minerals, ITGLWF General Secretary Neil Kearney expressed his concern over the treatment of Sawsan Mahmoud. Kearney stated that the company&rsquo;s behaviour &ldquo;represents a blatant breach of the right of freedom of association which protects the right of workers to strike as a means of defending their interests. This fundamental right is enshrined in the Iraqi Constitution as well as in Conventions 87 and 98 of the International Labour Organisation, which apply to Iraq by virtue of its membership of the ILO&rdquo;.

Iraqi Labour Federation Protests Attack from Industry and Government Ministry

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Over 1,000 mineworkers at the Chinese owned Marcona mine in Peru, ended their indefinite strike action on 24 July, returning to work following a government resolution ordering increased wages, plus a one-off bonus. The workers are members of the ICEM affiliated Federaci&oacute;n Nacional de Trabajadores Mineros, Metal&uacute;rgicos y Sider&uacute;rgicos del Per&uacute; (FNTMMSP). 
 
Shougang Hierro Peru is the country&rsquo;s only iron producer, producing 7.5 million tones of iron ore in 2008. Production was halted at the Marcona mine, 217 miles south of the capital Lima in Ica Province, when workers downed their tools on July 13, starting an indefinite strike action for higher wages. 

<img alt="" src="" width="318" height="228" />
Shougang mineworkers in Marcona
The global financial crisis has lowered prices for most of Peru&rsquo;s metals exports; companies throughout the industry are using that as an excuse to avoid making overdue salary rises. &quot;Shougang has the capacity to raise our salaries, just with 4 percent of its profits,&quot; union leader Julio Ortiz stated at the outset of the strike. Nearly 10,000 mineworkers have lost their jobs in Peru since November 2008. 
 
Ortiz then reported last Friday &quot;We have lifted the indefinite strike following a (pay) increase granted by the Ministry of Labour, although we don't agree with the increase,&quot; 
 
The Chinese Shougang Group, which has run the mine since 1993, had previously offered an hourly wage increase of US$0.23 but that was rejected by the union. The Peruvian government instead passed a resolution ordering a US$1.1 a day increase, plus a one-off bonus of US$433. The 1,124 striking workers had been seeking a US$3.3 increase on their US$18.3 daily wage. The rise is backdated to 31 March 2009. 
 
Local press had reported that the strike had cost the company over US$6 million, the claims were denied by the company. Negotiations between the union and company management were brokered by Labour Minister Manuela Garc&iacute;a, and provincial Governor R&oacute;mulo Trive&ntilde;o. 
 
Peru is the world's top producer of silver, and second top producer of copper and zinc.

Peruvian Miners Achieve Wage Gains at Chinese Owned Iron Mine

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Negotiations are presently taking place between the ICEM-affiliated, Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU) and the Iraqi Drilling Company, following demonstrations and a workplace strike 24 June, 2009. 
 
Management called in Iraqi security forces, who cordoned off the demonstrators and workplaces. We are informed that only the demonstrators&rsquo; determination and good will prevented violence, given that the management had informed the military forces that the demonstrators were terrorists. Workers left at the end of their working hours but returned on the second day, gathering in front of the worksites and halting operating machines. 
 
Workers submitted their demands to the management which include: reopening the trade union, which had been closed by the Director-General, upon the Minister's directive; re-activating the productivity allowances payments and various other allowances; and moreover, the workers called on the ministry to be patient in the signing of licensing contracts which the ministry want to conclude. 

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Iraq&rsquo;s oil workers are legally prevented from forming unions, based on remaining Saddam Hussein-era laws. The workers have organized nonetheless. The 2005 Constitution calls for new labour laws. 
 
Iraqi oil unions have repeatedly protested working conditions; including pay and housing, and opposition to the draft oil law, viewed as too open to foreign investment. The Oil Ministry has instructed its state oil companies not to deal with the unions and has come down hard in the past, as often reported by the ICEM. See recent ICEM reports on Iraq <a href="/en/67-Search-ICEM-site?keywords=IFOU">here</a>.&nbsp; 
 
Iraq has the world&rsquo;s third largest oil reserves, with considerable potential for increased levels of production. Iraq earns around 95 percent of state income from oil sales, nearly $62 billion last year. 
 
Negotiations are continuing with workers at the Iraqi Drilling Company. The ICEM will report further developments in this brave struggle for trade union rights.

Iraqi Oil Workers Struggle for Trade Union Rights

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report, among other items, on the VCT campaign in Tanzania sponsored by the IG BCE&rsquo;s Women Department, the efforts to include people living with HIV/AIDS in the health insurance scheme in India, and how the 2010 Soccer World Cup can score goals of another kind.
The ICEM Calls on its Affiliates to Contribute to this e-bulletin 
 
ICEM affiliates are already engaged in a wide range of HIV/AIDS activities. To spread the information on new agreements, awareness, and prevention campaigns, and educational activities, affiliates and project coordinators are invited to send news and information to <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a>. Any feedback on the format and contents of the e-bulletin is also welcome. 
 
Editor: Hans J Schwass, ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant 

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IG BCE Women Support Project in Tanzania 
 
Since their Congress in October 2008, the Women&rsquo;s Department of the German ICEM affiliate IG BCE (mining, chemical and energy workers) has collected funds for an HIV/AIDS project in Tanzania, in cooperation with ICEM affiliates TUICO (industry) and TAMICO (mining). 
 
After extensive preparatory work, which included a workshop for the TAMICO and TUICO Women&rsquo;s Committees, and a refresher course for male and female peer educators and lay counsellors, activities culminated in a &lsquo;Know-your-Status&rsquo; Campaign in Dar es Salam on 13 June. 

<img alt="" src="" width="346" height="260" />
Workers and their families were mobilised through union structures and at the workplaces and by pre-campaign radio announcements. With the technical support from the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF), facilities for voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) were set up. 
 
From early morning on 13 June, the Mnazi Mmoja grounds were crowded with people wearing white T-shirts, emblazoned with the four logos of the IG BCE, ICEM, TAMICO, and TUICO, and the slogan of the campaign &ldquo;Know Your HIV Status &ndash; Get Tested&rdquo;, in Swahili. People living with HIV/AIDS gave their testimonies and urged participants to get tested. Condoms and femidoms, as well as leaflets and educational brochures were distributed. 
 
More than 600 people turned up at the grounds and well over half of them queued up in front of the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF), tents to be tested. 
 
In this outstanding example of international solidarity, EUR 14,000 has been collected so far by the women of IG BCE. This was the first VCT campaign organised by the trade union movement and as donations are still coming in from IG BCE regional and local structures, it is expected to continue the work in 2010. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
India: Health Insurance for People with HIV/AIDS? 
 
The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) is set to make a case for a social security safety net for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA). It is exploring the options of getting the Union Labour Ministry's health insurance scheme (RSBY) extended to PLHAs. This health insurance related policy proposal, along with an anti-discrimination Bill protecting PLHAs, and another Bill seeking to protect consumers from being exploited when they procure blood for transfusion, are among the priorities of NACO. 
 
The RSBY scheme was introduced by the Labour Ministry for families below the poverty line in April last year. The Centre or State pays the premium, while the individual pays INR 30 (about USD 0.60) as a registration fee and receives INR 30,000 coverage for hospitalisation for a five-member family. NACO supports PLHAs for HIV-related illnesses, but they are also susceptible to other illnesses such as malaria, appendicitis and heart-attacks, illustrating the need for a social security net. 
 
The anti-discrimination HIV/AIDS Bill, seeking among other things to protect PLHAs at their workplace, has been with the Union Law Ministry for some time. 
 
(Source: Business Line, The Hindu, 3 June) 
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Soccer World Cup Campaign 
 
Authorities in South Africa have begun construction of one of the 20 planned Football for Hope centres in Africa -- part of a 2010 World Cup campaign called &quot;20 Centres for 2010&quot; aimed at reducing the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, poverty and crime in local communities. The centre, under construction in South Africa's Khayelitsha Township, will include a soccer field, community centre and after-school programs that will focus on sex education and HIV/AIDS education. 
 
The International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) is providing the campaign with $10 million in funding. Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Namibia, Rwanda and other African countries will be home to the remaining 19 centres. According to FIFA President Joseph Blatter, the centres will &quot;provide a platform for communities to address social issues such as children's rights, education, health, HIV/AIDS prevention and will leave a legacy for Africa that will last long after the final whistle of the 2010 FIFA World Cup has been blown.&quot; 
 
(Source: Medical News Today, 28 May) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
South Africa: President Addresses Increased Access to ARVs 
 
In his first state-of-the-nation address, South African President Jacob Zuma said he wants to have 80 percent of HIV-positive South Africans who need antiretrovirals (ARVs) on them by 2011. The government would strive to step up measures to improve health care in Africa's strongest economy. &quot;We have set ourselves the goals of reducing inequalities in health care ... and step up the fight against the scourge of HIV and AIDS, TB and other diseases,&quot; Zuma said. 
 
Over 630,000 people are on the government's ARV programme currently and provisions are in place to increase that number to 1.4 million by 2011. During his address Zuma also discussed the need for the government to collaborate with stakeholders on a comprehensive plan which aims to reduce the rate of new HIV infections by 50 per cent by the year 2011. 
 
According to the third national &lsquo;HIV prevalence, incidence and communication survey&rsquo;, conducted in 2008 by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), the percentage of people living with HIV in South Africa has barely changed in the last six years, but the survey revealed that between 2002 and 2008 there were many changes in HIV knowledge, risk behaviour and testing habits. 
 
The findings, based on interviews with about 21,000 individuals, 15,000 of whom agreed to anonymous HIV tests, give a fairly detailed picture of South Africa's mixed success in fighting the largest HIV epidemic in the world. Prevalence appears to have stabilized at about 11 per cent, and infection rates among children and teenagers have decreased, not least because of a significant increase in the use of condoms. 
 
HIV infection in the country's nine provinces still varies widely. KwaZulu-Natal, which has consistently carried the highest burden, now has a prevalence of 26 percent in the 15 to 49 age group, up from 22 percent in 2005; in Western Cape, levels increased slightly from 3 percent in 2005 to 5 percent in 2008, but are still the lowest in the country. 
 
(Source: Medical News Today, 9 June and IRIN PlusNews, 9 June) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Namibia: Court Case Highlights Workers&rsquo; Rights 
 
In a landmark case in Namibia, 22 hotel workers are taking their employer and a doctor to court for allegedly testing them for HIV without their informed consent. According to the allegations, the owner of the Oshakati Country Lodge hired a doctor to conduct HIV tests on all the lodge&rsquo;s employees. 
 
The Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) in the capital Windhoek, which is handling the case, said that the test results were displayed on notice boards in the lodge. The LAC is seeking monetary compensation on the basis that the lodge owner and the doctor violated the workers&rsquo; rights to privacy and dignity, as guaranteed by the country&rsquo;s constitution. The case will be heard by the High Court in Windhoek at the end of July. 
 
(Source: IRIN PlusNews, 3 July) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Joint Action for Results &ndash; UNAIDS Outcome Framework 2009-2011 
 
UNAIDS recently launched its outcome framework for 2009-2011 called Joint Action for Results. This Outcome Framework, which builds upon the UNAIDS Strategic Framework (2007&ndash;2011), will guide future investment and hold the Secretariat and the Cosponsors accountable for making the resources of the UN work for results in countries. 
 
Under the Outcome Framework for the period 2009&ndash;2011, UNAIDS will focus its efforts on achieving results in eight priority areas. These priority areas have been selected, based on a series of consultations with the cosponsors, communities, civil society, and a broad range of other stakeholders, their realization will accelerate the achievement of universal access. 
 
The eight priority areas include: the prevention of mothers from dying and babies from becoming infected with HIV; treatment of people living with HIV; the prevention of people living with HIV from dying of tuberculosis; the protection of drug users from becoming infected with HIV; the removal of punitive laws, policies, practices, stigma and discrimination that block effective responses to AIDS; stopping violence against women and girls; empower young people to protect themselves from HIV; and enhancing social protection for people affected by HIV. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS website <a href="http://www.unaids.org">www.unaids.org</a>) 
The full document can be downloaded&nbsp;<a href="http://data.unaids.org/pub/BaseDocument/2009/JC1713_Joint_Action_en.pdf ">here</a>. 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
News from the Global Union Federations 
 
The fortnightly HIV/AIDS updates of the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) report on, among other things, the UNAIDS Outcome Framework 2009-2011, the inclusion of the Guyana Clerical and Commercial Workers&rsquo; Union in the country&rsquo;s Global Fund Coordinating mechanism, and on increased efforts in Ghana to create HIV/AIDS workplace policies (<a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>). 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe or Translate? 
 
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For a free automated (non-ICEM) translation of this HIV-AIDS bulletin into other languages, you may want to try <a href="http://www.google.com/language_tools">http://www.google.com/language_tools</a> and insert the following URL into the window &ldquo;Translate a Web page&ldquo;: 
 
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ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin No. 46 July 2009

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