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ICEM affiliate, Union Sindical Obrera de la Industria del Petroleo (USO), has been negotiating a new collective agreement with state-owned Ecopetrol. The period of negotiation was extended by 20 days and ended on Saturday, 22 August. The negotiators worked continuously for the final 24 hours of the 40 day talks. Agreement was reached on a new collective agreement for the period 2009-2014, and will be backdated from 1 July 2009. The agreement will apply to all Ecopetrol employees, as well as those employed by contractors working on Ecopetrol projects. 
 
Major demands of the union were health care for the families of temporary workers, the reinstatement of workers who had lost their jobs due to trade union activities, opposition to US military bases in the country, an increased wage scale, the recognition of a conventional wage for all activities of industry, employment regulations in Ecopetrol, and issues of trade union and human rights. 

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The agreement satisfies USO&rsquo;s demands on health, education, and housing, as well as on occupational health. Families of temporary workers will receive health care from the company, on the condition that they have been employed for a minimum period of six months. 
 
Considerable wage gains were achieved, with base salaries rising by between 6.87% and 18.74%, depending on the worker&rsquo;s category. All salaries will then rise incrementally, by around 1% per year, for the remaining five years of the agreement. 
 
Another proposed article in the collective agreement sought support from the company for sport and recreation of workers and their families. Funding should be provided by management towards clubs and societies, with 80% of membership fees subsidized by Ecopetrol. 

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The union was eager to seek a collective agreement to solve the conflict, but the message from the USO leadership was clear: &ldquo;If there is no agreement, there will be no production,&rdquo; said Moises Baron Cardenas, President of USO Barrancabermeja. 
 
As reported by the ICEM in InBrief 135, the early days of the negotiation process were marred by violence and intimidation. On Thursday, 17 July, riot police attacked workers at the Barrancabermeja refinery with tear gas, rubber bullets, and stun bombs, seriously injuring three workers. Police arrested two workers. The attack occurred two days after the start of the negotiations; USO suspended the meeting to focus on treating the injured and securing the release of detainees. USO President Germ&aacute;n Osman condemned the attack.

Colombian Oil Workers Union, USO, Reach New Agreement with Ecopetrol

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3-4 Eyl&uuml;l g&uuml;nlerinde Kolkata'da toplanan Hindistan'daki ICEM &uuml;yesi sendikaların y&ouml;neticileri ICEM Hindistan Koordinasyon Konseyi'ni kurdu. Eyl&uuml;l başlarında bir araya gelen 21 sendika temsilcisi, d&uuml;zensiz istihdam edilen iş&ccedil;ileri sendikalarda &ouml;rg&uuml;tlemek amacıyla ICEM'in Taşeron İş&ccedil;iliği Kampanyası &ccedil;er&ccedil;evesinde bir strateji oluşturdu. 
 
Sekt&ouml;r sendikalarının bir araya geldiği iki g&uuml;nl&uuml;k forum, ekonomik krizin istihdam &uuml;zerindeki etkileri ve sendikaların karşı karşıya olduğu sorunlar konusunda d&uuml;zenlenen bir stratejik planlama toplantısı &ccedil;er&ccedil;evesinde d&uuml;zenlendi.
<img alt="" src="" width="320" height="240" />
&nbsp;ICEM Genel Sekreteri Manfred Warda ve Hindistan sendika y&ouml;neticileri 

Toplantıya ICEM Genel Sekreteri Manfred Warda ile ICEM Malzeme Sekt&ouml;r&uuml; Sorumlusu Phee Jungsun katıldı. 
 
Warda Hindistan'daki ICEM &uuml;yelerine taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerini &ouml;rg&uuml;tleme &ccedil;alışmalarında ve HIV/AIDS'e karşı m&uuml;cadelede yeterli kaynak sağlanacağını vurguladı. ICEM Hindistan'a tamg&uuml;n &ccedil;alışacak bir proje koordinat&ouml;r&uuml; atamaya hazırlanıyor. 
 
Hindistan'daki ICEM &uuml;yesi sendikalar yılda iki kez toplanacak Koordinasyon Konseyi'ne ikişer temsilci g&ouml;ndermeyi kararlaştırdılar. Konseyin g&uuml;ndemindeki konulardan biri, g&uuml;&ccedil;s&uuml;z işkolu sendikalarının mali yapılarının iyileştirilmesi olarak belirlendi. Her ICEM &uuml;yesi sendika mali durumu konusunda Aralık 2009'a kadar birer rapor hazırlayacak. 
 
Toplantıya katılan temsilciler, ayrıca, taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerinin y&uuml;zde 10 kadarını kendi sendikalarında &ouml;rg&uuml;tlemeyi ve &ouml;nceliği taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerine verecek ortak bir sendikal g&uuml;&ccedil;lendirme projesi geliştirmeyi taahh&uuml;t ettiler.
&nbsp;

ICEM Hindistan Koordinasyon Konseyi Taşeron İşçilerini Örgütlemeye Hazırlanıyor

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Four days before the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund officials meet with the Turkish Government, Global Unions met with Turkey&rsquo;s Minster for Labour, and lent their support to President Abdullah G&uuml;l&rsquo;s veto of a bill giving &ldquo;Private Labour Offices&rdquo; broad rights to place temporary workers in enterprises and warned of the dangers that precarious employment poses for society. 
 
Representatives of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM), the International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF), and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) reported to the Labour Minister that contract and agency labour and precarious forms of employment have been exploding around the world, bringing with it two categories of workers: one with good secure jobs and another category of workers faced with short term jobs, low wages, no social protection and a loss of rights. 
 
At a press conference in Istanbul today, Manfred Warda, ICEM General Secretary, said, &ldquo;Globally, the massive shift away from regular employment into temporary work or jobs through agencies and labour brokers is having a deep impact on all workers, their families, and on society. Erosion of the employee-employer relationship, often the basis of labour law, is leading directly to a growing number of violations of workers&rsquo; rights.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;There is a connection between international &lsquo;policy changes&rsquo;, those inspired by the international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which have encouraged work flexibility and brought with it a lowering of work conditions at national levels,&rdquo; added Warda. &ldquo;Such changes reflect clear employer strategies to weaken collective bargaining through part-time and agency work, and the ICEM will resist this in every way possible.&rdquo; 
 
Guy Ryder, ITUC General Secretary, reiterated today a message delivered by the global unions to the G-20 Summit last week, stating &ldquo;The expansion of precarious forms of work and deregulation of the labour market are not the answer to the employment crisis &ndash; in fact, the insecurity of working people over recent decades was a significant contributor to the recession. It is no coincidence that precarious work and fragile financial markets have both been developing in recent decades.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;The way forward must be based on sustainable, not precarious development - a sustainable economy where the financial sector is at the service of the real economy. We need social justice and environmental sustainability to reverse the damage done to our planet in a way that provides good, steady and secure jobs,&rdquo; added Ryder. 
 
Neil Kearney, ITGLWF General Secreatry said, &quot;Agency hires and temporary contracts destroy job security and undermine all other rights and promote gross exploitation of both the temporary worker and the permanent employee working alongside them.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;In Turkey, ITGLWF affiliate Teksif is locked in battle with Ederne Giyim where workers employed on an agency type arrangement with inferior wages and conditions are being used to reduce and eventually eliminate a permanent workforce of long standing. Union resistance to the worsening conditions has resulted in mass firings of union members,&rdquo; Kearney added. 
 
&ldquo;Elsewhere in Turkey, ITGLWF affiliates are in daily conflict with textile, clothing and leather industry employers using every means, including sub-contracting, undeclared labour and short-term contracts to prevent unionisation and the protection of workers' rights. Government action is urgently needed to restore worker protection against this onslaught,&quot; demanded Kearney. 
 
Jyrki Raina, IMF General Secretary, said &ldquo;Permanent jobs are being eroded by an increasing reliance by employers on labour hire via employment agencies. In some plants we are now finding that more than fifty per cent of the workforce are agency workers.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;The financial crisis has delivered a further blow to precarious workers. Hundreds of thousands of them have been the first to lose their jobs, because dismissing workers with no rights to severance pay or notice periods is a cheap and easy way for employers to reduce their workforces. The crisis has had significant and far reaching impacts on employment,&rdquo; he added. 
 
&ldquo;Here in Turkey, IMF affiliate Birlesik Metal Is has been supporting 350 workers who were dismissed last year by Sinter Metal for exercising their right to join a trade union. The company alleges that the dismissals were a necessary response to the financial crisis, but the evidence shows that this is no more than a weak excuse to dismiss union members and prevent workers from protecting their jobs,&rdquo; he said. 
 
Over the next week, metal worker unions around the world will be mobilizing against precarious work and will be joining with other national and sector unions around the globe in a World Day for Decent Work on Wednesday 7 October. 
 
The ICEM will focus World Day for Decent Work activities on its Contract and Agency Labour campaign in Thailand and Turkey. 
 
&ldquo;A sustainable recovery will not be built on precarious and substandard jobs. That&rsquo;s why around the world today, unions and their members are united in their demand for secure jobs and equal rights for all workers, &ldquo; said Jyrki Raina. 
 
The ITUC represents 170 million workers in 157 countries and territories and has 312 national affiliates; the ICEM represents 467 trade unions in 132 countries; and the IMF covers over 200 trade unions in 100 countries. 
 
Notes to editors: 
1. More information about the World Day for Decent Work can be found <a href="http://www.wddw.org/">here</a>. 
 
2. More information on the IMF campaign against precarious work can be found <a href="http://www.imfmetal.org/index.cfm?n=696&amp;l=2">here</a>. 
 
3. More information on the ICEM contract and agency labour campaign can be found <a href="http://cal.icem.org">here</a>. 
 
4. More information on the dispute at Sinter Metal can be found <a href="http://www.imfmetal.org/index.cfm?n=692&amp;l=2">here</a>. 
 
________________________________ 
For further information, please contact: 
Mathieu Debroux, ITUC, +32 2 224 0210 
Dick Blin, ICEM, +41 22 304 1842 
Neil Kearney, ITGLWF, +32 2 512 2606 
Anita Gardner, IMF, +41 22 308 5032

Global Unions Warn of Dangers in Contract, Agency Work

La agrupaci&oacute;n Global Unions, que est&aacute; integrada por 13 federaciones sindicales internacionales, la Confederaci&oacute;n Sindical Internacional (CSI), y el TUAC de la OCDE, sabe cu&aacute;n importante es que en EE.UU. se apruebe el Acta de Libertad de Elecci&oacute;n de los Empleados (EFCA). Sabemos que para tener una econom&iacute;a fuerte, se tiene que dar a los trabajadores la oportunidad de afiliarse a un sindicato y realizar negociaciones colectivas para que se paguen sueldos justos y se eleven las prestaciones sociales de todos los ciudadanos de la sociedad. 
 
Creemos que &eacute;ste es el aspecto fundamental del Acta de Libertad de Elecci&oacute;n de los Empleados. Nuestro sindicato respalda firmemente a los sindicatos norteamericanos en el trabajo que realizan para lograr que el Congreso de Estados Unidos apruebe este proyecto de ley, que cuenta con el apoyo del Presidente Obama. Rogamos informar a los miembros de su sindicato, como tambi&eacute;n a sus funcionarios sindicales elegidos, que nuestro sindicato apoya plenamente el EFCA, y que consideramos que es un elemento esencial de una sociedad libre que permita a los trabajadores afiliarse a un sindicato, sin que les pongan obst&aacute;culos. 
 
(Firmado &hellip; Nombre del funcionario sindical) 
(Nombre del sindicato) 
(Pa&iacute;s)

Llamada Urgente: EFCA Letter ESP

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With over 70 confirmed participants, the ICEM&rsquo;s quadrennial World Conference for the Rubber Industries will take place in Nashville, Tennessee, USA next week, on 12-13 May 2009. The conference, to be hosted be the United Steelworkers (USW), will be presided over by USW President Leo Gerard, Chairman of the ICEM Rubber Industry Sector. 

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Leo Gerard, Chairman of ICEM Rubber Industry Section &amp; USW President
The venue is the Sheraton Music City Hotel, Nashville. 
 
Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM Chemicals and Rubber Industries Officer, will make a presentation on &ldquo;Global Industry Trends and Challenges.&rdquo; 
 
The Conference&nbsp;will also feature five panel discussions: &ldquo;Effects of Global Crisis on the Industry and Trade Union Challenges,&rdquo; &ldquo;Rising Hardships and Distortion in Work Relationships,&rdquo; &ldquo;Global Agreements, Global/Regional Company and Sector Networks and Campaigns,&rdquo; &ldquo;How to Improve Health and Safety for Workers: What Kind of Industrial Policy for a Greener Environment for Securing Jobs,&rdquo; and &ldquo;How to Better Coordinate Global Union Solidarity, Support and Cooperation.&rdquo; 

Other presentations on the agenda will include: &ldquo;Collective Bargaining in the Rubber Industry,&rdquo; &ldquo;Global Trade Union Response Against Challenges,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Healthy and Safe Work, Environment and Sustainable Development.&rdquo; The conference will conclude in the afternoon of 13 May with &ldquo;Development of an Action Plan&rdquo; for trade unions of the global rubber sector.&nbsp; 
 
ICEM Health, Safety, and Sustainability Officer Brian Kohler will make&nbsp;the health, safety, and sustainable development presentations. 
 
The Report for the Conference will be up on the ICEM website (<a href="http://www.icem.org">www.icem.org</a>) under ICEM Sectors: Rubber by late this week, as will the agenda and other background documents.

ICEM’s World Rubber Conference Set for Next Week in Nashville USA

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Arjantin'e giden bir ICEM heyeti k&uuml;resel krizin &uuml;lke &uuml;zerindeki etkilerini inceledi, ayrıca ICEM'in 2011'de Buenos Aires'de yapılacak kongresi i&ccedil;in &ouml;n incelemelerde bulundu. ICEM Genel Sekreteri Manfred Warda federasyonun Arjantin'deki &uuml;yeleri ile 29 Nisan'da bir araya gelerek ekonomik kriz konusunda g&ouml;r&uuml;ş alışverişinde bulundu. Ayrıca, ekonomik kriz konusunda ICEM &uuml;yesi olmayan sendikaların da g&ouml;r&uuml;şlerini aldı ve onlarla ICEM'e &uuml;yelikleri konusunu g&ouml;r&uuml;şt&uuml;. 
 
ICEM'in Cenevre'de 23-24 Haziran g&uuml;nlerinde yapılacak Y&ouml;netim Kurulu'nda Beşinci D&uuml;nya Kongresi'nin yapılacağı yer konusunda karar alınacak. Arjantin sendikaları Kongre'ye evsahipliği yapmak istiyorlar. 

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Warda, ICEM'in Latin Amerika İrtibat Sorumlusu Carol Bruce ile birlikte, Arjantin Kau&ccedil;uk İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası SUTNA, Enerji ve Petrol İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası FeTERA ve &ouml;zel sekt&ouml;rdeki Petrol ve Gaz İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası FASPyGP ile g&ouml;r&uuml;şt&uuml;. ICEM heyeti, n&uuml;kleer enerji iş&ccedil;ilerini temsilen ICEM'e katılmak isteyen Uni&oacute;n Obrero Metal&uacute;rgical (UOM) sendikasının yanı sıra, Arjantin ulusal sendikal merkezine (CTA) bağlı sendikalarla da ICEM'e katılım konusunu g&ouml;r&uuml;şt&uuml;. 
 
Carol Bruce Arjantin'de iki g&ouml;steri y&uuml;r&uuml;y&uuml;ş&uuml;ne katıldı. 22 Nisan'daki g&ouml;steri y&uuml;r&uuml;y&uuml;ş&uuml;n&uuml; d&uuml;zenleyen ulusal sendikal merkez CTA, Arjantin'de işten &ccedil;ıkarmalar konusunda 180 g&uuml;nl&uuml;k bir moratoryum ilanını ve iş&ccedil;ilerin &uuml;cret kayıplarını karşılamak &uuml;zere devletin bir acil durum &ouml;demesi yapmasını talep ediyor. 
 
30 Nisan'da ise, Bruce, &ouml;b&uuml;r b&uuml;y&uuml;k ulusal sendikal merkez CGT'nin, krizin ve işsizliğin sorumlusu neoliberal politikalara karşı d&uuml;zenlediği g&ouml;steri y&uuml;r&uuml;y&uuml;ş&uuml;ne katıldı.

ICEM Heyeti Arjantin&#039;deki Krizi İnceledi

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ICEM, 15-16 Nisan g&uuml;nlerinde Singapur'da, Asya/Pasifik b&ouml;lgesinde taşeron iş&ccedil;iliği &uuml;zerine bir konferans d&uuml;zenledi. Konferansa sendikalardan 50 temsilci katıldı. 
 
Katılımcıların aktardıkları deneyimler taşeron iş&ccedil;iliğinin b&ouml;lgede yaygınlaştığını ve &ccedil;alışma ilişkilerine zarar verdiğini ortaya koydu. ICEM ve Friedrich Ebert Vakfı'nın yanı sıra, Singapur, Tayland, Filipinler, Malezya, Hindistan, Endonezya, Nepal ve Kore sendikaları ile İsve&ccedil;, Danimarka ve Almanya sendikalarının temsilcileri g&ouml;r&uuml;ş ve deneyimlerini sundular. 
 
D&uuml;zenli, s&uuml;rekli ve doğrudan istihdam edilen iş&ccedil;ilerin yerine daha d&uuml;ş&uuml;k &uuml;cretli taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerinin getirilmesi aşağı yukarı her Asya &uuml;lkesinde yaygın bir sorun. 

<img alt="" src="" width="240" height="155" />
B&uuml;t&uuml;n katılımcılar ortak bir sorun olan korku fakt&ouml;r&uuml; &uuml;zerinde durdular. Taşeron iş&ccedil;ileri, işlerini kaybetme kaygısıyla, sendikalaşmak bir yana, sendikal konuları konuşmaktan bile korkuyorlar. 
 
Bu alandaki sorunlardan biri de, &ouml;zellikle Filipinler'de, Hindistan'da ve Endonezya'da olduğu gibi, yasalara uyulmamasıdır. Katılımcıların dile getirdiği bir başka sorun ise bazı &uuml;lkelerde sendika sayısının &ccedil;okluğunun işbirliğini zorlaştırmasıdır. 
 
Bu alandaki olumlu gelişme ise, sendikaların ICEM k&uuml;resel kampanyasının hedeflediği şu &uuml;&ccedil; d&uuml;zeyde ağır ama emin adımlarla ilerlemeye başlamasıdır: yasa değişiklikleri (Filipinler'de bir yasa tasarısı hazırlanıyor); şirket d&uuml;zeyinde &ccedil;alışmalar (sorunu toplu s&ouml;zleşme g&ouml;r&uuml;şmelerinin ve &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenmenin ana ve &ouml;ncelikli konusu haline getirmek); taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerinin sendikalara katılabilmesini sağlayacak sendika i&ccedil;i yapılar oluşturmak. Tayland, Malezya, Hindistan, Singapur ve Kore'de bu ger&ccedil;ekleşti. 
 
Bu bağlamda herkesin kabul ettiği &ouml;nemli bir sorun, sendikal &ccedil;alışmayı şirket d&uuml;zeyiyle sınırlı tutmayıp işkolu ya da sekt&ouml;r d&uuml;zeyinde &ouml;rg&uuml;tleme ihtiyacıdır. &Ccedil;&uuml;nk&uuml; işverenlerin şirket d&uuml;zeyinde iki iş&ccedil;i grubunu (taşeron iş&ccedil;ileri ile s&uuml;rekli iş&ccedil;ileri) &ldquo;b&ouml;l&uuml;p y&ouml;netmesi&rdquo; genellikle daha kolaydır. 
 
Ne var ki şu sıralar başarı hik&acirc;yelerinden ziyade sorunlar ağır basmaktadır. Bunun somut &ouml;rneklerinden biri, Tayland'da bir sanayi gazı şirketi olan Linde'de istihdam edilen taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerinin sayısındaki artışın &ouml;n&uuml;n&uuml;n alınması ve taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerine tamg&uuml;n ve s&uuml;rekli istihdam olanaklarının sağlanmasıdır. 
 
Asya'da &ldquo;taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerinin istihdam teknikleri&rdquo; ile ilgili olumsuz &ouml;rneklerden bazıları şunlardır: 17 aylık standart s&ouml;zleşmelerin bitiminden itibaren, toplu s&ouml;zleşmeler, iş&ccedil;ilerin haklarının artırılmasını &ouml;ng&ouml;rmektedir. Bir diğer &ouml;rnek ise, denet&ccedil;ilerin taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerine sendikal &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenme konusunda a&ccedil;ık&ccedil;a ayırımcılık uygulamasıdır. Filipinlerde, şirketler, işe başlamadan &ouml;nce taşeron iş&ccedil;ilerine istifa mektupları imzalatmaktadır. Bir kısım iş&ccedil;iden ise &ccedil;alıştıkları işe başka bir adla yeniden girmeleri istenmektedir. B&ouml;ylece iş&ccedil;ilerin s&uuml;rekli iş&ccedil;i sayılması &ouml;nlenmektedir.

ICEM&#039;in Singapur Konferansı Bölgedeki Taşeron İşçilerinin Sorunlarını Ele Aldı

&nbsp;<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="40" />
In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report, among other items, on the HIV/AIDS activities planned by ICEM affiliates in sub-Saharan African countries and on HIV/AIDS projects sponsored by the British Trades Union Congress.
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 

<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="40" />
News from Affiliates 
 
National HIV/AIDS activities by ICEM affiliates in sub-Saharan Africa in 2009 are off to a good start. During the first quarter of the year, national coordinators in participating countries submitted proposals for national activities that are supported with small subsidies from the HIV/AIDS project sponsored by the Swedish LO/TCO Secretariat and the Dutch FNV Mondiaal. Below is a description of national HIV/AIDS activities planned in 2009. 
 
In Nigeria, ICEM affiliates NUPENG and PENGASSAN will continue their successful campaign, which was started more than two years ago, to boost the uptake of voluntary and confidential counselling and testing in major worksites. The project is co-sponsored by the Humanity Fund of the ICEM&rsquo;s Canadian affiliate, Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union. Increased attention will also be paid to women to know their status and to access information. 
 
The 18 ICEM affiliates in the Democratic Republic of Congo cooperate on an HIV/AIDS Committee. Focus this year is on the elaboration of a comprehensive HIV/AIDS proposal for third-party funding. VCT campaigns in specific companies are also planned and as a pilot project, a first campaign will be implemented in a large cement factory. 
 
ICEM affiliate Mineworkers&rsquo; Union of Zambia (MUZ) and the NUCIW in Zambia are building on their earlier training activities to organise workshops and meeting for rank-and-file members, and communities, to encourage access to VCT. A gender training workshop and the development of an HIV/AIDS manual are also on their programme. 
 
In Tanzania, TUICO and TAMICO have started preparations for a major VCT campaign sponsored by funds collected by the Women&rsquo;s Department of the ICEM&rsquo;s German affiliate, IGBCE. Two workshops have already been organised for the unions&rsquo; women committees and shop stewards to prepare for the campaign. In an encouraging development, some of the facilitators were unionists who had been trained as peer educators and VCT counsellors earlier. 
 
UMU of Sierra Leone has made good use of the seed money provided by the ICEM HIV/AIDS project. A large number of shop stewards and local union officials have been trained since UMU was included in the HIV/AIDS project in 2007. As HIV/AIDS does not discriminate between formal and informal workers, the informal workers, so-called grass-diggers, have also been included in the activities. 
 
In Ghana, the Ghana Mineworkers&rsquo; Union (GMWU) is focussing on new mines and mines not previously covered, and where awareness and uptake of VCT is low. It is therefore targeting the sites of Newmont and the Ghana Bauxite Company. A training course for women on the issues and challenges they face with respect to HIV/AIDS is also planned. 
 
Women are the target group for an extensive company-based programme in C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire. The national coordinator who also organises HIV/AIDS activities in a number of Francophone West African countries, plans to work with women in nine companies organised by the three ICEM affiliates in the country. 
 
Affiliates in Botswana and Uganda are also planning training workshops and campaigns with emphasis on awareness about VCT and counselling. 
 
In 2009, Guinea is a new target country for the HIV/AIDS project (see HIV/AIDS e-bulletin 41, February 2009). During a visit earlier this year, the Coordinator for Francophone West Africa, Charlotte Nguessan, met with ICEM affiliates to assess the needs and help affiliates to set up an HIV/AIDS committee to coordinate the work. She also met with the National AIDS Commission, UNAIDS, and the ILO.
<img height="40" alt="" src="" width="40" />
British TUC Launching HIV/AIDS Projects 
 
The UK&rsquo;s Trades Union Congress (TUC) is launching a project designed to build workplace capacity to combat HIV/AIDS in Nigeria in partnership with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). 
 
The project, which is funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) at a cost of &pound;500,000 over three years, will contribute to a drop in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, better protection of employment and human rights of workers infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS, and the elimination of discrimination against them in the education and health sectors. 
 
Collective bargaining with employers on effective enforcement of the National Workplace Policy on HIV/AIDS will be an integral part of the project. Emphasis will be on prevention and advocacy for voluntary and confidential counselling and testing by unionists trained by project activities. 
 
In Ghana, the TUC cooperates with the Timber and Woodworkers&rsquo; Union in a one-year project funded by the Bill Morris Testimonial Fund for HIV/AIDS in Africa. The project is aimed at the prevention of HIV infections through behaviour change, the improvement of the quality of life of workers affected by, or infected with, HIV and the facilitation of access to testing and counselling to ensure early diagnosis. 
 
(Source: TUC Briefing documents of 28 and 29 April on website <a href="http://www.tuc.org.uk">www.tuc.org.uk</a>)
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Global Fund Approves RCC Proposals 
 
The Global Fund Board has approved six proposals in Wave 5 of the Rolling Continuation Channel (RCC), representing costs of up to US$322 million over three years. Of the six proposals, two were for HIV. 
 
The RCC is a separate channel of funding set up to allow applicants with strong performing grants to apply for continuing funding for up to an additional six years beyond the original proposal term. Applications are by invitation only. The two HIV proposals which were approved were from Armenia and China. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 103, 17 April. GFO is a free service of Aidspan &ndash; www.aidspan.org. To receive GFO send an email to <a href="mailto:receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>.)
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AIDS: Lessons Learned and Myths Dispelled 
 
In an article in the online edition of Lancet (<a href="http://www.thelancet.com">www.thelancet.com</a>), the authors, among them the head of the Global Fund, Michel Kazatchkine, and former head of UNAIDS, Peter Piot, deal with several myths which have emerged recently with respect to HIV and AIDS. 
 
The call alarming the notion, especially worrying during the time of financial crisis, that too much money is spent on AIDS. The fact is that AIDS remains the leading cause of death in Africa and the sixth highest cause of mortality worldwide. The authors also dispel the myth that HIV prevention is not working and point out that in several countries prevention programmes are effective and that global prevention of mother to child transmission has led to a substantial decrease in the number of children born with HIV. 
 
They also dismiss the myth that one solution, or a so-called silver bullet, will comprehensively prevent HIV transmission and the misconception that heterosexual transmission of HIV is uncommon outside Africa. The authors further argue that investments in AIDS are not being made at the expense of health systems which are chronically under funded. The Global Fund and PEPFAR are now among the biggest investors in health system strengthening. 
 
(Source: <a href="http://www.thelancet.com">www.thelancet.com</a> and Global Fund Observer, Issue 102, 25 March)
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World Bank&rsquo;s HIV/AIDS Efforts Failing 
 
World Bank programmes aimed at fighting HIV/AIDS, particularly in Africa, are less effective overall than programmes aimed at addressing other health and development issues, according to a report released by the organisation&rsquo;s Independent Evaluation Group on 30 April. 
 
HIV/AIDS programmes in Africa had a 25% success rate, compared with 80% for all World Bank programmes, the report found. The report cited weak monitoring and infrastructure, poor implementation and overly complex programmes as reasons for the unsatisfactory results. Difficulties in coordinating collaboration with donors, NGOs, and government agencies contributed further to the poor results. 
 
(Source: <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com">www.medicalnewstoday.com</a> of 4 May)
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HIV/AIDS Funding in Times of Economic Crisis 
 
Life-saving drug treatment for up to 1.7 million people is under threat because of funding pressures triggered by the global financial crisis, according to an analysis released by the World Bank on 24 April. 
 
The report examined the effect of the economic crisis on 69 of the most impoverished countries worldwide and found that 15 are highly exposed to interruption of antiretroviral treatment because of decreases in domestic and foreign funding. As stopping treatment is a death sentence for HIV-positive people, cuts could be made in prevention programmes to be able to continue treatment. This will, however, lead to new surge in infections requiring an ever higher proportion for funding for treatment. 
 
(Source: Financial Times, 25 April)
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News from the Global Union Federations 
 
The fortnightly HIV/AIDS update of the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) of 1 April reports, among other items, on an HIV/AIDS comic book called &ldquo;Shore Leave,&rdquo; which was developed for seafarers and on plans by the Cambodian authorities to add questions about HIV/AIDS to the drivers&rsquo; licence exams (<a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>). 

This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe or Translate? 
 
To subscribe to the e-bulletin, send an email to <a href="mailto:press@icem.org">press@icem.org</a>. Please put &ldquo;subscribe ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin&rdquo; in the subject line. 
 
Unfortunately, the e-bulletin can only be published in English. 
 
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 &quot;Translate a Web page&quot;: /en/72-HIV-AIDS/3222-ICEM-HIV-AIDS-e-bulletin-No.-44-April-2009

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin No. 44 May 2009

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The roll-out of the revised Global Framework Agreement between EDF, French and other national unions, and the ICEM and global federations did not come without workers&rsquo; representatives airing the shortcomings to the electric company&rsquo;s application of its social responsibility principles. In Paris last week, from 12-14 May, EDF senior managers and the trade unions reviewed performance of the agreement through an established joint Consultation Committee for Social Responsibility (CCSR). 
 
A renewed global pact was agreed to in January 2009 for a four-year period. Last week marked the official unveiling and signing of the improved agreement by the social partners, which included the presence of EDF Chairman and CEO Pierre Gadonneix. The meetings also saw the election of a secretary for the workers&rsquo; representatives, selection of a six-member bureau to oversee the agreement, and a thorough review of the 22 articles contained in the social responsibility document. 
 
During the review, the 22 workers&rsquo; representatives from seven countries did produce a declaration of dissatisfaction on recent corporate performance. It was read to Gadonneix during an extensive question and answer session on 13 May. The declaration specifically cited workers taking industrial actions in France over social degradation, and a break-down in social dialogue at EDF&rsquo;s four businesses in Poland which caused workers to stage a manifestation at the French embassy in Warsaw on 5 May. 

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EDF&rsquo;s CCSR Workers&rsquo; Bureau, with Pierre Gadonneix (centre), from left, Guoping Zhou, CCAP, China; Pascal Lambolez, CGT, France; Dominique Tavera, FO, France; Lee Parris, Prospect, UK; Marc Ferron, Secretary, FCE-CFDT, France; and Walentyn Sasim, Solidarnosc, Poland 
The declaration also called EDF&rsquo;s restructurings and financial deals expensive, with workers suffering adverse effects. We &ldquo;note a general worsening of the social conditions within all subsidiaries of the group, a worsening in job security due to outsourcing, a worsening of both living and working conditions, and a worsening of social dialogue, particularly when it comes to salary negotiations. We cannot accept that workers pay the price for the strategic choices made by the company.&rdquo; 
 
The workers&rsquo; representatives of the CCSR said it refuses to let the agreement be used as mere &ldquo;social window dressing for EDF&rdquo; and demanded that managers at all levels of the company &ldquo;agree and respect without restrictions&rdquo; the general spirit of all the articles of the global agreement. 
 
Gadonneix responded by saying that he heard the pronouncements of the declaration. He also said he wants the social responsibility agreement to be window dressing for EDF, but that he desires to have &ldquo;substance inside that window.&rdquo; 
 
Workers&rsquo; representatives on the CCSR come from five different unions inside France, three from the UK, and representation from trade unions of Poland, the Slovak Republic, Hungary, Vietnam, and China. 
 
Marc Ferron, representing ICEM French affiliate FCE-CFDT, was re-elected as secretary of the CCSR, and will serve a two-year term leading the global workers&rsquo; representatives to ensure EDF compliance with the agreement. The company is rapidly expanding operations both inside Europe and around the world.

EDF’s New Global Agreement Unveiled, Complete with Company’s Social Errors

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A week of industrial actions against AngloGold Ashanti by miners aligned with ICEM affiliate Ghana Mineworkers&rsquo; Union (GMWU) was avoided late last month when the union and company came to a Memorandum of Understanding that settles a three-year dispute over an Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP). 
 
The dispute dates back to November 2006, when Ashanti Goldfields fully merged with South Africa-based AngloGold. Then, GMWU proposed an ESOP for Ashanti staff at the Obuasi and Iduapriem gold mines who did not receive a US$1,000 &ldquo;goodwill package&rdquo; at the time of the merger. 

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AngloGold refused to take up the proposal, resulting in a two-and-a-year stalemate. In October 2008, the two sides resumed talks on the ESOP with GMWU giving the negotiations process six months to produce an ESOP. By 24 April, when Ghana management of the mining house still would not move toward ESOP parity for the Ghana miners with their South Africa counterparts, GMWU issued a press release calling it &ldquo;morally wrong for AngloGold Ashanti to discriminate in its employee relations,&rdquo; and stating a week of protests would result. 
 
But on 28 April, the two sides, meeting in Accra, agreed to an ESOP called for the 5,000 affected miners to receive 20 shares each of AngloGold stock, to be paid across four years in five-share increments. The first such award was made in May 2009. 
 
In a joint statement, GMWU General Secretary Prince William Ankrah and company Vice President for Ghana, Keith Faulkner, said: &ldquo;We are very pleased that this matter has been finalised. We see it as an important further step towards improved cooperation between the company and the union which we are convinced will advance the interests of both the company&rsquo;s employees and its shareholders.&rdquo;

ESOP Accord reached Between Ghana Mineworkers and AngloGold, Averting Industrial Actions

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ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin No. 44 May 2009

EDF’s New Global Agreement Unveiled, Complete with Company’s Social Errors

ESOP Accord reached Between Ghana Mineworkers and AngloGold, Averting Industrial Actions

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