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French rubber workers at the Goodyear-Dunlop twin plants in Amiens rejected a company restructuring plan that would increase work hours. With a 65% vote, the two factories, totalling 2,700 workers, said &lsquo;no&rsquo; to the American company&rsquo;s plan to reduce weekly rotation teams from five to four, and cut weekend pay for each worker by 10%. 
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All the primary French unions at the plants, including ICEM affiliate CFDT, recommended that workers reject the plan, and following the vote, they urged a quick return to dialogue to re-shape the restructuring plan. 
 
Goodyear&rsquo;s plan would also eliminate 450 jobs over three years through attrition. The company is seeking reorganisation of the plants in northern France in order to implement a &euro;52 million modernisation plan to produce high-performance tyres. But the reorganisation would increase work time by rotation of shifts every eight days. Weekend work would also have increased from 28 to 35 hours, had workers accepted the plan.

French Goodyear Workers Reject Reorganisation that would Increase Work Hours

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Trade unions in the UK are campaigning behind a Private Member's Bill that would give equal treatment to the more than one million contract and agency workers employed in the UK. 
Both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and UK&rsquo;s largest union, Unite, are campaigning for legislation that will give agency workers the same rights as full-time, permanent staff. Also on board are the unions GMB, Unison, Communication Workers Union, and the Union of Construction, Allied Trades, and Technicians (UCATT). 
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The campaign begins after draft legislation, called the Temporary Agency Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Bill, was brought by Labour MP Paul Farrelly. The unions are also pressing that a European Directive on full rights for contract and agency workers be adopted before the end of the Portuguese Presidency, which ends at year&rsquo;s end.
The TUC said if negotiations on an EU Directive fail to make progress, the British government must pass domestic legislation. The Blair government broke a pledge to support a 2006 Private Member&rsquo;s Bill by Farrelly, a promise that was made in the 2004 Warwick Agreement. Farrelly's bill did get the support of more than 100 Labour MPs. 
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&quot;Too many employers are replacing permanent staff with badly paid, insecure agency staff,&rdquo; said TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber. &ldquo;Far from providing a bridge to permanent work, this runs the risk of creating a whole underclass of temporary workers.&rdquo; 
Barber said the simple solution is an EU Directive that would give UK agency workers new rights to equal treatment from the first day on the job. But UK&rsquo;s government has led a blocking minority at the EU, which has prevented progress on a Directive that would provide equal treatment for contract and agency workers.

UK Unions Campaign for Legislation Granting Agency Workers Full Rights

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Mobilisation of European trade unions is in full force, counting down to a 4 December European Day of Action in Rotterdam, Netherlands, against food and chemicals company Unilever&rsquo;s unjust job cuts. The mobilisation is being headed by the European Federation of Food, Agriculture, and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT), and has the full support of the European Trade Union Congress (ETUC), the European Mine, Chemical, and Energy Federation (EMCEF), and the ICEM. 
In August, the Anglo-Dutch company announced a global reorganisation plan that would make redundant one-tenth of its 180,000 employees. Unilever would close 60 workplaces, out of 300 worldwide. In Europe, the company&rsquo;s global plan results in 10,000 to 12,000 job losses, with 20 to 25 plants endangered over the next 3 years. 
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In The Netherlands, where a number of strikes have already occurred, FNV Bondgenoten and CNV Voeding came to agreement with Unilever recently over a new collective agreement, as well as job security terms over closure of three Dutch plants by the end of 2008. The plants targeted for closure are in Delft, where Calv&eacute; food products are made; in Loosdrecht, a plant making Knorr food products; and in Vlaardingen, a Lever Faberg&eacute; plant where consumer products are made. 
 
The job security terms state that plant-site Works Councils will study the company&rsquo;s plans and be allowed to develop alternatives. Those alternatives will then be seriously considered by the company in consultations with workers&rsquo; representatives. The two unions also agreed to fair compensation for any proposed job cuts. Unilever also guarantees that there will be no compulsory redundancies. 
In the collective agreement, running from May 2007 to March 2009, Dutch workers received a retroactive backpay award of 3% to last May. On 1 March 2008, they will receive a structural pay raise of 3.5%. The contract covers 3,000 workers. 
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For the 4 December manifestation, the ICEM and EMCEF issued a joint declaration regarding Unilever&rsquo;s global restructuring. In part, it reads, &ldquo;Unilever&rsquo;s August 2007 announced restructuring is the wrong response to the financial community&rsquo;s criticism of the company.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM, along with its sister Global Union Federation, the International Union of Food Workers&rsquo; Association (IUF), cites Unilever&rsquo;s anti-worker behaviour elsewhere as well. In India, the company has engaged in union-busting with the Hindustan Lever Employees Union at a factory in Assam. In trying to avoid social dialogue with the union, Unilever sold the food operation to a shell company. In Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan, at a foods and tea factory, Unilever called in armed militia to break workers protest against a plan to replace 950 permanent jobs, out of 1,200, with casual and contract workers. 
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In Vinheido, Brazil, Unilever took an uncompromising position in collective negotiations that set the worst precedents on implementing precarious work. Likewise, in Chile, South Africa, and Colombia, Unilever has exhibited clear and negative attitudes relating to labour relations.

European Unions to March 4 December Against Unilever’s Restructuring

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1. The ICEM Women&rsquo;s Conference Runs 17-18 November in Bangkok 
2. Africa &ndash; More Women in Governments 
3. Mexico &ndash; Discrimination Is on the Rise 
4. The Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) Meets in Washington 
5. &lsquo;Molecular condom&rsquo; Is Developed To Fight HIV/AIDS 
6. From Our Readers 
7. Resources
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1. The ICEM Women&rsquo;s Conference Runs 17-18 November in Bangkok
All systems are go for the ICEM Women&rsquo;s Conference, which will kick off week-long events of the ICEM&rsquo;s Fourth Congress in Bangkok, Thailand. The Women&rsquo;s Committee will be meeting on 17 and 18 November, and most delegates will stay on to attend Congress as delegates. The conference theme is &ldquo;Women &ndash; Work &ndash; 21st Century.&rdquo; 
 
The theme blocks for the conference will cover peace, contract and agency labour, women&rsquo;s health in the broadest sense, and the work-life balance. Presentations, debates, and working groups will contemplate these subjects and decide on a work plan covering these issues for the next four years. Congress motions will also be discussed. 
 
The conference will elect the chair and vice-chair of the Women&rsquo;s Section, who in turn will sit on the ICEM Presidium. We look forward to seeing you in great numbers in Bangkok! 
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2. Africa &ndash; More Women in Governments 
In Morocco, seven women were appointed to head strategic ministries, ranging from energy to culture. This compares with two in the previous government. In Senegal, the new Senate has double the number of women. There are now 40 women in that body, out of 100 total, and this compares with the previous chamber, which had only 18 women. 
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3. Mexico &ndash; Discrimination Is on the Rise 
A recent Mexican report indicates that accusations for job-related discrimination have gone up astronomically. From 2001 to 2006 the accusations of sexual harassment went up by 122%, firing for pregnancy-related causes by 106%, work-related violence by 61% and general discrimination by 133%. 
 
Employers tend to consider pregnancy to be a crime, instead of it being normal and a social responsibility. The Women&rsquo;s Institute considers sexual harassment to be one of the reasons why women are not promoted. The salary gap in Mexico is between 7% and 35%. The old forms of discrimination still remain, but they have been joined by new ones &ndash; emphasis on size, stature, figure, physical appearance, and simply on being single. 
 
Discrimination is banned by the Constitution, but the Labour Ministry feels that not much can be done against it because there are too loopholes. The main problem is that there is no culture of equality. Economic necessity also forces women to accept jobs that they know beforehand discrimination exists. But when women are heads of families, they have little choice. 
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4. The Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) Meets in Washington 
The Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) met in Washington on 5-6 November. The Commission worked on the Draft Declaration of San Salvador: Gender, Violence, and HIV and redrafting its statutes. CIM, a specialized organization of the Organization of American States, is the principal forum for generating hemispheric policy to advance women's rights and gender equality. 
 
Established in 1928 at the Sixth International Conference of American States (Havana, Cuba), the CIM was the first official intergovernmental agency in the world created expressly to ensure recognition of the civil and political rights of women. As such, it has played a crucial role in making the participation and support of women a legitimate and indispensable part of governance and international consensus building in the Americas. 
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5. &lsquo;Molecular condom&rsquo; Is Developed To Fight HIV/AIDS
Kavita Gupta, a female doctoral student from India at the University of Utah in the US, has developed a &quot;molecular condom.&quot; The condom is really a microbicide gel that kills HIV, and is designed to allow women more control in preventing AIDS since partners need to be involved in the application. 
The university is partnering with a contraceptive marketer to sell the products in India, where AIDS in increasingly being seen as a feminized disease. AIDS is spreading most rapidly in India among young women, according to the World Health Organization, and 2.5 million people there carry the virus. 
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6. From Our Readers 
 
The Women&rsquo;s Committee in the Petrochemical, Mines and Energy Workers Union in Palestine held a four-day workshop to train women. The aim of the workshop was to enable women to make plans and support women&rsquo;s issues so that they would have experience and insight into women&rsquo;s activities in Arab countries and the world. 
The workshop dealt with women and democracy, new technologies, public speaking, and support mechanisms for women workers. The women had many ideas about trade unions and society. At the end they received a diploma. 
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7. Resources
<a href="http://www.siyanda.org/docs/WGEKN_sen_ostlin_george.pdf">Unequal, Unfair, Ineffective and Inefficient Gender Inequity in Health</a>: Why it exists and how we can change it - Final Report to the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health - September 2007 - Women and Gender Equity Knowledge Network 
<a href="http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTOGMC/EXTEXTINDWOM/0,,menuPK:3157100~pagePK:149018~piPK:149093~theSitePK:3156914,00.html">World Bank&rsquo;s website &ndash; Extractive Industries and Gender</a> 
<a href="http://www.mdgmonitor.org">http://www.mdgmonitor.org</a> 
UN&rsquo;s new website to track progress on the Millennium Development Goals. 
<a href="http://www.catalystwomen.org">http://www.catalystwomen.org</a> 
On reports on gender stereotyping at work, inclusive work environments and women&rsquo;s progress in business. 
<a href="http://www.uchastings.edu/?pid=3624">http://www.uchastings.edu/?pid=3624</a> 
Work Life Law, a site dealing with family responsibilities and discrimination 
<a href="http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Feature_stories/lang--en/WCMS_084620/index.htm">Women in the workplace</a>: New ILO report highlights how action in the world of work can help reduce maternal deaths 
<a href="http://www.observatoriogeneroyliderazgo.cl/">http://www.observatoriogeneroyliderazgo.cl/</a> 
Women Leadership (in Spanish) 
<a href="http://www.generoycomercio.org/">http://www.generoycomercio.org/</a> 
Gender and Trade (in Spanish) 
<a href="http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/Gender%20Gap/index.htm ">The Global Gender Gap Report 2007</a> 
<a href="http://nomasviolenciacontramujeres.cl/cms/">http://nomasviolenciacontramujeres.cl/cms/</a> 
Chilean network against domestic and sexual violence (in Spanish)

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN 26

UK affiliate Unite has called for more vigilance on machine guards in factories following the tragic death of a Kimberly Clark (KC) employee at Barrow-in-Furness on 8 November. That accident, in which 28-year-old Christopher Massey was dismembered by a Perini 900 series winder machine inside the tissue mill, has caused Unite to seek a statement from KC.
<img height="117" alt="" src="" width="100" />
&nbsp; 
The company has responded by stating that the investigation is still ongoing by both the Health and Safety Executive and the company. Unite is seeking expedited information so as to encourage preventative measures in other workplaces. 
 
The union&rsquo;s review of the accident states that the machine had been modified by the manufacturer to handle two-ply sheets of tissue rolls. Christopher Massey was trapped by a cross bar connecting two guards &ndash; fitted as part of the modification &ndash; when the carriage moved into position as part of a reel change. 
 
Unite states that it must be standard industry practice to review risk assessments on winder operations in the wake of this tragedy. Specifically, the union demands that all parts of machinery be properly guarded; that Safe Systems of Work are in place; that any manual intervention is governed strictly by Standard Operating Procedures; and that all personnel are competent. 

The ICEM offered its condolences to United and to the family of Christopher Massey. That can be found <a href="/en/?id=19&amp;doc=2508&amp;la=EN">here.</a> 
Unite is offering legal support to his family.

Unite Demands Safety Answers from Kimberly Clark on Barrow Death in the UK

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ICEM Reconfirms Commitment to Fight HIV/AIDS Pandemic 
On the eve of World AIDS Day, 1 December, the ICEM leadership recommitted to fight the battle to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS through awareness, education, and poverty eradication campaigns. The ICEM&rsquo;s 4th World Congress, held 22-24 November in Bangkok, Thailand, affirmed that commitment. 
 
&ldquo;As the newly-elected leaders, we reaffirm ICEM&rsquo;s commitment to fight HIV/AIDS,&rdquo; said ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana and General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;Hundreds of union leaders representing 180 affiliates in 75 countries signed the pledge for World AIDS Day at our Congress.&rdquo; 
 
That pledge, signed by not only the 840 trade unions leaders attending the Bangkok Congress, but taken back to national unions for thousands more signatures, commits the trade unionists to take the fight inside the workplace. 
 
It commits to outright rejection of all forms of discrimination and victimisation of people living with HIV/AIDS; it recognises that the gender dimension of HIV/AIDS, and promises to fight for equal gender relations and the empowerment of women; and, in maintaining ICEM&rsquo;s continued work in this area, it encourages voluntary counselling and testing of workers and family members, as well as providing support for those who disclose their HIV-positive status. 
<img height="113" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The pledge also makes demands of employers and governments. It demands that companies negotiate policies with trade union that are in sync with the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work; it calls on employers to implement awareness-raising and prevention programmes jointly with trade unions; it call on firms operating in remote geographic areas with little or no health services to take responsibility for providing care and treatment; and it promises to undertake efforts to obtain affordable drugs from pharmaceutical companies and production of high-quality generics for those afflicted with the virus. 
 
Regarding governments, the pledge advocates access for all to public health, including free or affordable antiretroviral treatments; it promises to promote legislation on discrimination and social protection; and it promises to lobby donor countries for accelerated financial resources for the global fight against HIV/AIDS. 
 
&ldquo;The ICEM and its affiliates are strategically positioned in our sectors, and in our thousands of workplaces, to play a direct role in stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS,&rdquo; said Zokwana and Warda. &ldquo;On World AIDS Day 2007, we call on all social partners to intensify campaigns in order to reverse the HIV/AIDS pandemic.&rdquo; 
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Global Fund Approves Round 7 Grants 
The board meeting of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria held in Kunming, China, approved 73 Round 7 grants that will cost US$1,119 million over the first two years and US$2,762 million over five years. As a result of recent new pledges, the Fund has sufficient money to pay for all grants that were recommended by the Technical Review Panel. 
 
Round 7 applicants to the Global Fund submitted fewer, but bigger and better, proposals than applicants in all previous rounds. 
 
The two-year cost of approved Round 7 grants &ndash; US$1,119 million over two years &ndash; is a record amount. In the six previous rounds, the two-year cost of approved grants ranged from US$571 to 968 million. 
 
The percentage of proposals recommended for approval was also a record &ndash; 49%, up from an average of 38% over the previous six rounds. On the other hand, this still means that just over half of all proposals submitted were not approved, despite the fact that there is an enormous need for scaled-up programmes to tackle the three diseases and that there is an increased availability of funding. 
 
The average two-year cost of the proposals recommended for approval in Round 7 was US$15 million &ndash; again a record, up from an average of US$10 million over the previous rounds. On the other hand, the number of eligible proposals submitted in Round 7, at 150, was the lowest ever. 
 
The Board's decisions as to which proposals got approval was, as always, entirely based on the advice it received from the Technical Review Panel (TRP), an independent and non-political body of 34 experts from around the world who serve in their personal capacities. No board members or Secretariat employees are members of the TRP. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Press Release, 12 November 2007 and Global Fund Observer Issue 79, 12 November 2007. GFO is a free service of Aidspan <a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>. To receive GFO, send an email to <a href="mailto:receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>) 
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
News from Affiliates 
The United Mineworkers&rsquo; Union in Sierra Leone continues its excellent work in peer education. Two more training workshops were held in Hangha and Jembeh in November. A total of 76 participants attended these two workshops. 
 
The training was conducted in partnership with mining companies, artisanal miners, and the communities. Funding was provided by the ICEM HIV/AIDS project. 
 
The union&rsquo;s General Secretary, Ezekiel Dyke, attended the Workshop on the Role of the Private Sector in the Fight against HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa in Bamako, capital of Mali, organised by the World Bank. 
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Swedish Project Targets Workplaces 
The Swedish Industrial and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union, IF Metall, and the International Council of Swedish Industry are jointly involved in workplace-based HIV/AIDS programmes throughout sub-Saharan Africa. 
 
The project, which is co-funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), presently operates in 25 workplaces of large Swedish multinational companies, involving over 10,000 workers with more than 45,000 family members. 
 
The project aims to strengthen workers and management leadership through joint workplace committees. Through these committees voluntary counselling and testing, peer education, management awareness, condom distribution, couple counselling, and treatment are made possible.
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
UNAIDS 2007 Epidemic Update 
The 2007 AIDS Epidemic Update by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that global HIV prevalence - the percentage of people living with HIV - has levelled off and that the number of new infections has fallen, in part as a result of the impact of HIV programmes. 
 
However, in 2007, 33.2 million people were estimated to be living with HIV, 2.5 million people became newly infected, two-thirds of them in sub-Saharan Africa, and 2.1 million people died of AIDS. 
 
The significant reduction from almost 40 million people infected at the end of 2006 is only, to a small extent, due to the impact of HIV programmes. The new report reflects improved and expanded epidemiological data and analyses that present a better understanding of the global epidemic. These new data and advances in methodology have resulted in substantial revisions from previous estimates. 
 
While the global prevalence of HIV infection&mdash;the percentage of people infected with HIV&mdash;has levelled off, the total number of people living with HIV is increasing because of ongoing acquisition of HIV infection, combined with longer survival times, in a continuously growing general population. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS Press Release, 20 November. The report can be accessed at <a href="http://www.unaids.org">www.unaids.org</a>) 
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
News from the Global Union Programme and Global Unions 
 
In its most recent HIV/AIDS updates (nos. 32 and 33 of 1 and 28 November) the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a> reports on the signing of a joint commitment of the central unions in India, and the launching by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees of an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign among high-risk groups in Nepal. 
 
On the eve of World AIDS Day, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) launched a global action plan against HIV/AIDS. It will focus on three main aims: enhance HIV/AIDS work by ITUC affiliates; strengthen global advocacy on HIV/AIDS; and coordination and cooperation between national union centres and the Global Union Federations. (Source: ITUC Press Release, 30 November).

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin

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Annual two-day pay negotiations for 12,000 paperworkers in the UK converting sector produced gains of 3.65% for 2008. The talks, between ICEM affiliates Unite and GMB and the paper employers&rsquo; grouping, Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI), were conducted in late November, and balloting will now begin and conclude in mid-January. 
 
&ldquo;This year&rsquo;s talks were against a back-cloth of mixed fortunes among papermakers,&rdquo; said Unite National Officer Peter Ellis, &ldquo;with some companies making fairly modest profits and one or two causing us some concern. 
<img height="99" alt="" src="" width="100" />
&ldquo;However, our members faced above inflation pressures in 2006-07, across a whole basket of consumables that make up the day-to-day demands on income. We believe 3.65% represents an affordable outcome for the industry, and I will be very disappointed to be dealing with any &lsquo;inability to pay&rsquo; claims.&rdquo; 
 
In October, Unite and the CPI formally put in place a partnership agreement that had been negotiated late last year and early in 2007. The launch occurred inside UK&rsquo;s House of Commons. It is intended to bring a modern approach to employment practices in the paper industry, including full equalities on the job, employee development, skills training, health screening, and regulation of temporary or agency workers.

Pay Deal Put to Ballot for Paperworkers in the UK

<img height="39" src="" width="100" alt="" />
A campaign for equal treatment for agency workers was launched by the Irish trade union federation SIPTU on 19 November at Liberty Hall in Dublin. The campaign is aimed at securing enabling legislation in Ireland to forbid employment agencies from circumventing existing equality provisions in labour legislation. 
 
The 200,000-member Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU) held a press briefing in the afternoon on 19 November, and then conducted a full public hearing that evening with workplace testimony from victimised contract workers. 
<img height="202" src="" width="142" alt="" />
Under the heading &ldquo;An Injury to One Is a Concern to All,&rdquo; SIPTU launched a campaign that includes a petition drive to build support for legislation, as well as materials to secure equal treatment for contract workers in collective agreements. That campaign can be found here <a href="http://www.siptu.ie/agency">www.siptu.ie/agency</a>. 
&ldquo;The abuse of agency workers is the most serious issue of substance in the workplace,&rdquo; stated SIPTU General President Jack O&rsquo;Connor at the launch of the campaign. &ldquo;The absence of legislation to prevent abuse is not only detrimental to those directly affected, but also harms all other workers because it facilitates the undermining of standards,&rdquo; he added. 
SIPTU indicated on the day of the launch that Ireland is one of three EU countries in which temporary workers recruited through agencies can be employed at lesser terms and conditions than those in direct employment. O&rsquo;Connor also hit out at the Irish government for being one of the few countries that is blocking an EU Directive on full rights for contract and agency workers. 
<img height="203" src="" width="200" alt="" />
&ldquo;We cannot continue with the paradox of social partnership on the one hand, while we are virtually unique in Europe in our treatment of agency workers,&rdquo; he said. 
SIPTU estimates there are over 520 employment agencies operating in Ireland. The union is campaigning for agency work to be confined to a period no longer than one month, after which an agency employee must become directly employed by the primary employer.

SIPTU Kicks Off ‘Justice for Agency Workers Campaign’ in Ireland

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Workers, retirees, and students marched in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 17 November, in a mass protest against employers, who are stalling needed salary increases. Some 70,000 protestors, most clad in red bibs, marched in a peaceful assembly to one of Ljubljana&rsquo;s main squares, marking unification of six trade union federations. 
The six union federations jointly called the manifestation to protest employers&rsquo; reluctance to pay fair salaries in this round of wage talks in the EU country. The six include Zveza Svoodnih Sindikatov Slovenije (ZSSS), Neodvisnost (KNSS), KSS-Pergam, Konfederacija &rsquo;90 of Slovenia, Zveza Sindikatov Alternativa, and Zveza Delacev Solidarnost. 
<img height="120" alt="" src="" width="118" />
Slovenia, which adopted the Euro at the beginning of 2007, is beset by rising prices and an inflation rate that reached 5.1% in 2007. The trade unions seek autumn salary increases of 3.5%, and they want a February 2008 increase tied to inflation, instead of the normal, untimely August inflationary hike. The union federations are jointly calling for a system of productivity bonuses, as well. Slovenia, which became a member-nation of the EU in 2005, has seen a growth rate this year of 6.5%. 
 
In respect to the workers&rsquo; 17 November manifestation, President-elect Danilo Turek and Labour Minister Marjeta Cotman attended the mass public event. Earlier, Prime Minister Janez Jansa said protests were the wrong forum to address rising prices and stagnant salaries. The average net salary in Slovenia currently is &euro;820-per-month. 
 
All six leaders of the labour federations addressed the manifestation, and all stated that a general strike was possible if employers did not move from their entrenched wage offer, and were willing to move away from their reluctance to award productivity bonuses to the people generating Slovenia&rsquo;s growth.

Slovenian Union Federations Unite, 70,000 March in Ljubljana on 17 November

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The ICEM&rsquo;s 4th World Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, elected Senzeni Zokwana, president of the National Union of Mineworkers, as President of the Global Union Federation, and Manfred Warda, former head of the International Department of German union IGBCE, and Acting ICEM General Secretary, as General Secretary. 
 
The 22-24 November Congress also saw the full integration of the former World Federation of Industry Workers (WFIW) into the ICEM, as well as the selection of two WFIW representatives to ICEM&rsquo;s Presidium, and two to the Executive Committee. 
<img height="253" alt="" src="" width="380" />
Italo Rodomonti and Manfred Warda signing the agreement
Representing the former WFIW on ICEM's Presidium are Italo Rodomonti, Belgium, and Achille Dutu, Romania. Former WFIW unionists on the Executive Committee include Wilson Viera, Brazil, and Alphonse Tshimbu, Democratic Republic of Congo, with Justin Daerden and Alphonse De Potter, both from Belgium, servings as Executive Committee substitutes. 
 
Also at the Bangkok Congress, elected to the ICEM Presidium from Western Europe were: Augusto Pascussi, Italy; Hubertus Schmoldt, Germany; Phil McNulty, UK; and Ben Roodhuizen (Netherlands) and Paul Lootens (Belgium) to the rotating seat. 
 
Elected to the Presidium from the Nordic Region: Anders Ferbe, Sweden; and Liv Undheim, Norway. Elected to the Presidium from the Central Europe Region: Juraj Blahak, Slovak Republic. Elected to the Presidium from the Eastern Europe/Central Asia Region was: Ivan Mokhnachuk, Russia. 
<img height="285" alt="" src="" width="380" />
The newly elected ICEM Presidium
Elected to the Presidium from the North American Region: Ken Neumann, Canada; and Dave Coles, Canada. Elected to the Presidium from the Asia-Pacific Region: Kiyoshi Ochiai, Japan; and Chueh-an Chuang, Taiwan. 
 
Elected to the Presidium from the Middle East/North Africa Region was Mohamed El Sayed Morsi Aly of Egypt. Elected from the Sub-Saharan Africa Region to the Presidium was Rayford Mbulu, Zambia. 
 
And elected from the Latin America/Caribbean Region was Sergio Novais, Brazil. 
 
The two Women&rsquo;s seats to the ICEM Presidium were selected by the Women&rsquo;s Committee, with Evgenia Esenina, Russia, chair of that committee, and Angeline Chitambo, Zimbabwe, the designees.

ICEM Congress Elects Statutory Officers, Welcomes WFIW

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