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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. 
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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>) 
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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. 
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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.
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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>) 
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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. 
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&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

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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. 
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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. 
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&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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The ICEM mourns the death of German trade unionist Egon Sch&auml;fer, a former auditor of the ICEM who served with distinction on behalf of his trade union, IGBCE. He died on 14 February 2008 after a long illness. He was 69. 
 
He began his trade union service in 1962 for IGBCE&rsquo;s predecessor, IG Chemie, Papier, Keramik, in the union&rsquo;s Kassel office. He worked as head of collective bargaining and social issues for IG Chemie&rsquo;s white-collar membership, and was elected a regional chairman in 1973.
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&nbsp;Egon Sch&auml;fer 

He was elected to the union&rsquo;s central executive committee in1978 and rose to Deputy Chairman of the union, after which he took the major role on social policy matters. He also served on the supervisory board of German chemicals company Hoechst AG. He retired from union service in 1997. ICEM General Secretary said he had &ldquo;long and dedicated service&rdquo; in his voluntary role as ICEF and ICEM auditor. 
 
IGBCE President Hubertus Schmoldt called Egon Sch&auml;fer an &ldquo;outstanding social representative and a good friend,&rdquo; and said he was an ideological thinker who stood strongly behind his beliefs.

ICEM Mourns Death of Former Auditor, IGBCE Leader Egon Schäfer

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A near labour dispute by 2,100 Dutch workers at two of Europe&rsquo;s biggest oil refineries was averted last week when ICEM affiliates FNV Bondgenoten and CNV Bedrijvenbond came to terms with Royal Dutch Shell. The accord, reached on 4 March, will now be brought before the workforces for approval. 
 
The two-year agreement, which would become retroactive to 1 March at Shell&rsquo;s Pernis oil refinery, as well as at the company&rsquo;s Moerdijk refinery and chemicals operations, would give workers a 3.5% wage increase this year, and another 3.5% hike on 1 March 2009. It also grants one-half percent bonuses to workers each year of the agreement.
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The major stumbling block in negotiations throughout February was Shell&rsquo;s demand to buy back four ADV days. Those days were compensation for a cut in the work-week from 40 to 36 hours several years ago. Shell wanted the leave days back due to a shortage of personnel at the two refineries. 
 
The unions had sought to allow workers to keep the leave days, or, seek a higher compensation for these days. A compromise on this difficult matter was mutually accepted. 
 
The two unions engaged in joint membership consultations throughout in order to forge the agreement.

Settlement Expected for 2,100 Oil, Chemical Workers of Royal Dutch Shell in NL

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&nbsp;1. Colombia &ndash; ICEM focuses on South American Country on International Women&rsquo;s Day, 8 March 
2. Germany &ndash; Women Set up Network for Nanotechnology 
3. India &ndash; SEWA Assists Women in Afghanistan in Organising and Skills Building 
4. International Labour Organisation &ndash; Indigenous and Afro-descendant Women Are Still the Hardest Hit by Workplace-Discrimination 
5. International RSI Awareness Day 2008 
6. ITUC Launches Decent Work, Decent Life for Women Campaign 
7. Iraq &ndash; Women are Terrorised in Basra 
8. Nicaragua &ndash; Equality Law is Passed 
9. Peru &ndash; Luz y Fuerza Holds Women&rsquo;s Conference 
10. Spain &ndash; USO and Solvay Redress Discrimination - University Study Proposes Some 50 Measures for Work-Life Balance - CCOO publishes Booklet on Pregnancy and Breast Feeding 
11. United Kingdom &ndash; Single, Young Women Work More Overtime than Men 
12. Resources 
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1. COLOMBIA &ndash; ICEM focuses on South American Country on International Women&rsquo;s Day, 8 March
This year, on International Women&rsquo;s Day (8 March), the ICEM focuses on Colombia, a South American country with some 43 million inhabitants, 52% of whom are women. The country has 20 million people that are economically active, and of that figure, 50% are women. Due to the violence brought on by internal armed conflict, there are four million displaced persons, with 57% of them are women. 
Their lands and properties have been confiscated, while children, husbands, and partners have been murdered. Many have been sexually abused and taken advantage of by paramilitaries who arrive at their houses and force them to tend to their needs. It is a familiar sight to see many women in the streets of the main cities begging for food for their children. 
 
Informal workers are estimated to make up the 60% of the working population, or a total of 12 million people. Of this, 63% of them are women, or a total of 7.56 million. 
 
Through ICEM projects, the Global Union Federation has been carrying out leadership development among women members of its affiliated trade unions. As a result, many women have made their way into leadership positions in their organizations. 
 
However, a major concern is the phenomenon of domestic violence. 
 
The ICEM will be in Colombia on 6 March, the Day of the March against Violence, Kidnappings, and Violation of Human and Trade Union Rights in Solidarity with the Victims. On 8 March, of course, we will celebrate International Women&rsquo;s Day together with the women of ICEM Colombia, where the ICEM will receive a more detailed report on the situation of women in Colombia. 
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2. Germany &ndash; Women Set up Network for Nanotechnology 
Nanotechnology is the future. Nano 4 Women has been founded as an independent grouping of women who work in nanotechnology in Germany. It may be that nanotechnology is more open to women than other areas of technology. 
 
Evonik is a company involved in the women&rsquo;s network for nanotechnology. The network&rsquo;s goal is to support women in their jobs and in science-related careers. Women are encouraged to have an exchange in the network, and also on the internet, where forums are available and databases that include experts can be culled for concrete projects. Advice is also available for start-ups in nanotechnology. A photography competition has also been held. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.nano4women.de">www.nano4women.de</a>. 
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3. India &ndash; SEWA Assists Women in Afghanistan in Organising and Skills Building 
Warfare, drought, economic instability, insecurity and unemployment have wreaked havoc on Afghanistan in the past three decades. Almost 60% of the population of Afghanistan is women. 
 
Decades of civil conflict and hardline rule by the Taliban have left most Afghan women isolated and illiterate. It is challenging for women even to go out alone. India&rsquo;s Self-Employed Women&rsquo;s Association (SEWA) has been working with women, widows, and the destitute in Afghanistan since 2004. 
In 2006, the government of India requested SEWA to help develop Bagh-e-Zanana as a centre for vocational training. The idea is to develop the centre with facilities for income generation, skills development, and training, recreation, childcare, healthcare, and marketing support. This would help to empower women and enable them to join the mainstream Afghan economy. 
 
In the strife-ridden country, organizations such as the Afghan Women Resource Centre are fighting to combat the practice of families selling their daughters into forced marriages in order to pay off debts. Women&rsquo;s organizations are doing advocacy and empowering women as well as encouraging them to vote. 
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4. International Labour Organisation &ndash; Indigenous and Afro-descendant Women Are Still the Hardest Hit by Workplace-Discrimination 
In its recent Labour Overview 2007 for Latin America and the Caribbean, in spite of overall optimism, the ILO finds that the unemployment rate for women is 1.6 times higher than that of men, with the situation of indigenous and Afro-descendant women much worse. 
 
The ILO finds that hourly wages for the two groups of women make up only 39% of the wages earned by men who are not in those groups. The study was carried out in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Uruguay. 
 
The problem should be combated by strengthening members of the two groups&rsquo; knowledge, and improving statistics and studies on these groups in order to develop suitable policies for change. ILO Convention 100 on Equal Pay, Convention 111 on Employment and Workplace Discrimination, and Convention 169 on Indigenous Peoples has to be better applied. All these conventions make mention of women. 
 
Altogether, policies and programmes must be improved in order to do justice to these two groups. The existing barriers must be eliminated to enable women, the indigenous, and Afro-descendant persons to be fairly incorporated into the job market. 
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5. International RSI Awareness Day 2008 
On 29 February 2008, it was Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI) Awareness Day. RSI is the most common workplace injury in Canada, and it is nearly an epidemic in Brazil. Governments and employers must start taking the disorder seriously. In Canada, for example, one in ten adults suffer from it. 
 
Women have traditionally had high rates of RSI. They often suffer a lifetime of pain. RSI mostly affects neck, shoulders, arms, and hands. RSI Day is a good opportunity to raise awareness and contemplate measures to eliminate it. The injuries can best be eliminated by avoiding monotonous, repetitive and stressful work at fast speeds, and poor work organization, including unnecessary overtime.
&nbsp;Cutbacks and layoffs aggravate the problem. Substandard equipment and lack of control also contribute to it. The first RSI Awareness Day was 29 February 2000. It was chosen because it is the only non-repetitive day on the yearly calendar. In most years, the day is remembered on 28 February. 
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6. ITUC Launches Decent Work, Decent Life for Women Campaign 
The ITUC has produced a poster and a campaign guide for Decent Work, Decent Life for Women. The ITUC also has produced a report on the gender pay gap. There are 67 national labour centres in 55 countries that are participating in the campaign. The poster is available at <a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/AffWomenCampaingEN.pdf">here</a>.&nbsp;The&nbsp;Campaign Guide on Decent Work, Decent Life for Women can be found <a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/ITUC_Campaign_Guide_08_ENG.pdf ">here</a>. 
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7. Iraq &ndash; Women are Terrorised in Basra 
Since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, militias have been circulating in Basra, Iraq&rsquo;s second largest city, killing and torturing those seen to be an obstacle to the establishment of an Islamist state. Ambulance drivers know that more than 15 women are killed each and every month. Most are mostly professional women. 
 
The point to the killing and violence is to keep women home and to restrain their participation in political and social life. The Iraqi Women&rsquo;s League calls for the following actions to be taken to stop the violence: 
1. Send an international fact-finding mission to Iraq that is organized by the UN High Commission for Human Rights. Such a mission should investigate crimes against women, help the Iraqi authorities identify the perpetrators, and to stop the crimes; 
2. Reveal the criminals and those backing them, and bring them to justice; 
3. Disclose the outcome of the investigations; 
4. Take measures to safeguard personal freedoms that are constitutionally guaranteed; 
5. Take deterrent measures to ensure the safety of citizens and protect their lives; and 
6. Act firmly to improve the conditions of women and facilitate their involvement in the reconstruction process. 
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8. Nicaragua &ndash; Equality Law is Passed 
The Law of Equal Rights and Opportunities was passed in Nicaragua, after 11 years of being stalled. The Catholic hierarchy and ultra-conservative leaders lamented the approval of the law. 
 
After more then 10 years of opposition by religious and conservative sectors, the law will enter into force in a month&rsquo;s time after publication in the official bulletin. The term gender is not mentioned in the law, but the point is to promote equality and equity human, civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights between women and men. 
 
Feminists congratulated the Central American&rsquo;s parliament for passage, but still condemned one stumbling block in the country&rsquo;s constitution, which prohibits therapeutic abortion, only allowing it in very rare circumstances. 
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9. Peru &ndash; Luz y Fuerza Holds Women&rsquo;s Conference 
The 2nd Women&rsquo;s Workshop of the Luz y Fuerza Federation was held 24-26 January 2008 in Arequipa, Peru. The objectives of the workshop were to integrate women into the trade union movement, make the women&rsquo;s role in the federation more visible, and to broaden women workers&rsquo; knowledge of themes such as collective bargaining, privatization, history of the trade union movement, etc. 
 
Women should be able to bring their demands into collective bargaining. Case studies were presented on tools that women can use to bring their rights to bear on the basis of international human rights instruments. Amnesty International and several practical cases were explained. 
ILO Conventions on equal opportunities were presented. It is important for awareness of rights that are defended by the ILO to be brought to all workers. More and more women attend these meetings every year, and the results get better and better. The women committed themselves to replicating the results of the workshop in their own workplaces. 
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10. Spain&nbsp;- USO and Solvay Redress Discrimination - University Study Proposes Some 50 Measures for Work-Life Balance - CCOO publishes Booklet on Pregnancy and Breast Feeding 
In January, Belgian chemicals company Solvay and the USO union of Spain signed an agreement, which commits Solvay to hire six women who were discriminated against. These women faced bias on the basis of gender between 1999 and 2003. 
 
The six will follow five others who have already integrated into the production process. Solvay must acknowledge that the women passed all tests, including a psycho-technical one, but that they were excluded during the interview, in spite of the fact that all of them met the requirements for hiring valid from 1999 to 2003. This decision will open the way for more women to have access more readily to jobs at Solvay. 
 
A recent study by the Carlos III University in Madrid proposed some 50 measures to promote work-life balance. The measures are geared to administration and business, as well as social partners, and they are also intended to improve the working conditions of those with special difficulties, such as young people and immigrants. 
The proposals include the creation of public and private instruments for reconciling work and family life, subsidies and counseling for small and medium-sized companies, and making leave more flexible, as well as making part-time work more accessible. 
 
One of the aims of the study was to examine productivity. There is a close connection between productivity and work-life balance. Better work-life balance generally reduces turnover and absenteeism. Thus, the higher the qualification, training, and experience the worker has, the more expensive it is for the company to replace her or him. 
Findings show that people are less and less willing to dedicate their efforts to paid work alone, and therefore, people need to know that they will not be damaging their careers if they take advantage of measures to promote work-life balance. 
 
New technologies have a part to play in better reconciliation of work and family life. This does, however, require a cultural change &ndash; typical companies work on the basis of control. Commitment to the company is measured on the basis of time spent at work. New technology enables confidence to be built and evaluation to be based on results instead of working time. Teleworking could be one element of this. 
 
The stress prevalent in the typical women&rsquo;s jobs must be controlled and reduced, such as in health and education. Similarly, authorities and businesses have to work toward eliminating harassment, bullying, and violence on the job. 
 
All in all, networks must be created on the basis of social services to promote work-life balance. 
 
The CCOO trade union confederation in Spain has published a booklet for trade unions on preventing hazards during pregnancy and breast-feeding. Most women do work during pregnancy and go back to work during the period of breast-feeding. 
Companies need to adapt measures to facilitate women working during these times, and risk-prevention should be included in collective bargaining. Some hazards, such as noise and stress, are dangerous for all workers, but they do imply a higher health hazard for pregnant women because of the changes to their bodies or the potential danger to the fetus. For the booklet see <a href="http://www.ccoo.es">www.ccoo.es</a>.
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11. United Kingdom &ndash; Single, Young Women Work More Overtime than Men 
Single women in their 30s do more overtime than anyone else. On the occasion of Work Your Proper Hours Day, which was held on 22 February, UK&rsquo;s national labour centre, the Trades Union Congress, released a study on overtime. The general assumption is that men work longer hours than women, but the analysis shows that single women of all ages work more unpaid overtime than men. 
 
Women without children are more likely to work unpaid overtime than men without children, but the trend reverses when they have children, with the figure dropping from 24.2% to 27%. The percentage of men working unpaid overtime remains relatively unchanged. 
 
Women no longer have the option to put in extra hours once they have children. This goes a long way toward explaining why the senior levels of most organizations are male and why the gender pay gap persists. Career opportunities are measured by the number of hours put in at work. This limits women&rsquo;s choices. The unproductive long hours culture does no one any good and detracts from work-life balance. 
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12. Resources 
<a href="http://www.msc.es/novedades/docs/informeSaludGenero2006.pdf ">Health and Gender (in Spanish) by Observatory of Women&rsquo;s Health, Spanish Health Ministry</a> 
 
<a href="http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef07108.htm ">Working Conditions in the European Union: the Gender Perspective 
</a> 
<a href="http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef0789.htm ">Foundation Findings: Work-life Balance &ndash; Solving the Dilemma 
</a> 
<a href="http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/gender_equality/docs/com_2008_0010_en.pdf ">European Commission Report on Equality between Women and Men, 2008 
</a> 
<a href="http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/gender_equality/gender_mainstreaming/balancedparticipation/report_trends_final_2007_en.pdf ">Women and Men in Decision-making, 2007 (European Commission)</a> 
 
<a href="http://www.unicef.org/sowc08/index.php ">The State of the World&rsquo;s Children 2008</a> 
 
<a href="http://www.hazards.org/women">UK: TUC Gender and Occupational Safety and Health &lsquo;Gender-sensitivity&rsquo; Checklist</a>&nbsp;

WOMEN’S BULLETIN NO. 27

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ICEM Planning sub-regional Workshops and Assessment Missions 
More than three years into the HIV/AIDS project, the ICEM will conduct sub-regional workshops and assessment missions in three African sub-regions: English-speaking West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone), French-speaking West Africa (C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire, DR Congo and Mali) and southern Africa (Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia). 
 
After five regional training courses for national coordinators the impact of their work at national level has to be assessed. Sub-regional workshops will include union leadership to renew their commitment in the fight against the pandemic. 
 
The HIV/AIDS resolution of the 4th World Congress called on the ICEM to continue to treat HIV/AIDS as a priority. Assessment of the current project will also identify national priorities and objectives for an extension of the present project. 
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Mauritius: ICEM Affiliate Raises Issue of Migrant Workers 
The Chemical, Manufacturing and Connected Trades Employees&rsquo; Union (CMCTEU) has approached the ICEM for cooperation in dealing with the issue of migrant workers. 
 
In a total workforce of 550,000 there are around 30,000 migrant workers mainly from the Indian sub-continent, China and Madagascar. Some of those workers become commercial sex workers during their free time to supplement their meagre salary. 
 
According to UNAIDS, the prevalence rate in Mauritius is a low 0.6% but it is much higher among injecting drug users and sex workers. In 2004, when tested for HIV, 13% of surveyed sex workers were found to be HIV-positive (only 32% stated that they had consistently used condoms). 
 
CMCTEU also reported on their successful activity on World AIDS Day in which they used ICEM, ILOAIDS and UNAIDS/WAC material made available at the ICEM World Congress. 
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Chevron Commits USD 30 million to the Global Fund 
Chevron Corporation, one of the world&rsquo;s leading integrated energy companies, has become the Global Fund&rsquo;s first &ldquo;Corporate Champion,&rdquo; donating US$30 million over three years to support programmes financed by the Fund in parts of Asia and Africa. 
 
With the announcement of this donation on 21 January 2008, the Global Fund officially launched its Corporate Champions Program, which the Fund describes as &ldquo;an innovative way for multinational corporations to significantly invest in the fight against the three diseases.&rdquo; The plan is that each Corporate Champion will contribute to Global Fund-supported programs in the countries where the company operates. 
 
The launch of the Corporate Champions program and the announcement of the Chevron donation are important developments for the Global Fund, which has had a long-standing goal of increasing investments from the private sector. 
 
A copy of the press release announcing these developments can be downloaded from the Global Fund&rsquo;s home page at <a href="http://www.theglobalfund.org">www.theglobalfund.org</a>. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer Issue 84, 29 January 2008. GFO is a free service of Aidspan <a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>.&nbsp;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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PEPFAR Renewal 
The US President&rsquo;s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, expires this year. The five-year, USD 15 billion effort to combat AIDS in 15 mostly sub-Saharan African countries is arguably the most important and popular international programme of the Bush Presidency. 
 
The President wants to double global AIDS money to USD 30 billion over the next five years; Congress wants to increase it to USD 50 billion. Yet its renewal has gotten hung up over ideology and political debate about disease prevention. 
 
Democrats want to remove a provision in the bill that requires one-third of all prevention spending go to abstinence programmes. Another controversial provision forbids grants to groups that provide care to commercial sex workers. 
 
(Source: USA Today, 18 February and AP, 2 February) 
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Global Fund Guidelines on Representation on CCMs 
The revised Global Fund Guidelines for the Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs) contain an annex entitled &quot;Guidelines on Types of Civil Society and Private Sector Representation Most Relevant to the Work of CCMs&rdquo;. The Global Fund says that the Representation Guidelines &quot;are intended to provide guidance for CCMs wishing to strengthen and/or improve&quot; representation from these sectors, particularly in light of the CCMs' roles in proposal development and grant oversight. 
 
The Representation Guidelines contain lists of the types of representation from civil society and the private sector that the Global Fund suggests to be included on CCMs. 
 
The list for civil society representatives includes, among others, vulnerable groups/key populations, women's organisations and religious and faith-based groups. Under private sector representatives large for-profit companies, business associations to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria representatives from exposed industries and charitable foundations established by corporations are mentioned. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer Issue 85, 25 February 2008. GFO is a free service of Aidspan <a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>.&nbsp;To receive GFO, send an email to <a href="mailto:receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>. 
 
Comment by the Editor of the ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin: 
The Global Fund has again failed to recognize the role of organized labour. Nowhere in the detailed annex to the Guidelines are trade unions or workers&rsquo; organizations mentioned; neither under civil society nor under the private sector. 
 
Large for-profit companies are credited for having pioneered responses to fight HIV/AIDS totally ignoring the contribution of organised labour. One can only wonder what the South African National Union of Mineworkers would say to a statement that large mining houses in South Africa have &ldquo;pioneered&rdquo; the response to HIV/AIDS when they have often only reacted to union pressure. 
 
Out of four sectors specifically mentioned, two &ndash; oil/gas and mining &ndash; are represented by the ICEM and its affiliates. Again, all that the Global Fund can say about it is that &ldquo;for-profit companies, business coalitions and/or employers&rsquo; associations who represent the exposed industries can offer insight and support&hellip;.&rdquo; Not one word about workers&rsquo; organisations. 
 
It is time that the Global Fund changes its ways. Global Unions and their national affiliates should pull their weight to question procedures and operations of the Global Fund. It cannot be that business and companies get such exclusive recognition and that workers&rsquo; organizations are completely ignored. Global Unions and national trade union centres have lobbied hard that donor countries increase their contribution and make long-term financial commitments to the Global Fund. 
 
(For the full text of the Guidelines go to the website of the Global Fund <a href="http://www.theglobalfund.org">www.theglobalfund.org</a>) 
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News from the ILO 
To expand and strengthen AIDS responses in the world of work, the ILO Governing Body decided in March 2007 to develop a new labour standard on HIV/AIDS. In preparation, the Office assembled information for an overview 'law and practice' report, including the most comprehensive compilation to date of national laws and policies on HIV/AIDS, covering 170 countries. 
 
The report and its accompanying questionnaire have been sent to the ILO's member states for consultation with its constituents on the form and content of the proposed standard. Governments are to reply to the questionnaire in consultation with employers and workers. The draft standard - an &quot;autonomous Recommendation&quot; - will be discussed at the International Labour Conference in June 2009. 
 
The report is available on the website of ILOAIDS &ndash; <a href="http://www.ilo.org/aids">www.ilo.org/aids</a>. 
HIV/AIDS guidelines for the construction sector were published recently. They are also available on the ILOAIDS website. 
 
On 29 January 2008, trade union representatives in Sri Lanka signed the Trade Union Joint Policy on HIV/AIDS. This policy aims to strengthen trade union interventions in HIV prevention and impact management. It was developed in the framework of the draft National Policy on HIV/AIDS and is based on he ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. 
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News from the Global Union Programme and Global Unions 
In its most recent HIV/AIDS updates (nos. 36 and 37 of 1 and 15 February) the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a> reports, among others, on awareness programmes and care work of its affiliates in Thailand where an explosion of the infection rate among injecting drug users and commercial sex workers was successfully contained. 
The nautical school in Argentina will include HIV/AIDS in its curriculum to ensure that seafarers have an understanding of HIV/AIDS and will be able to provide education to their peers on ships. It also informs about the alarming situation in Papua New Guinea which by UNAIDS is described as the new frontline of the epidemic in the Asia-Pacific region. 
 
Public-sector union UNISON of Great Britain is expanding its work in southern Africa with a massive new programme covering unions in teaching, nursing and local government.

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Among the scores of new affiliates to join the ICEM at the turn of the year, one from Cyprus is particularly grateful due to the fact that the ICEM website now includes Turkish-language features. It is the Union of Turkish Electricity Institution Employees (EL-SEN).
The union, founded in 1957, represents workers of the Turkish Electricity Institution, and it is headed by President Caglayan Cesurer and General Secretary Ercan K&ouml;seoglu. It has several hundred members and it also affiliated to the Cypress-Turkish Trade Union Federation (T&Uuml;RK-SEN). 
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The ICEM welcomes EL-SEN to its family of affiliates, and wishes the union and its members many years of Turkish-language reading, courtesy of the ICEM website.

Cypriot Electrical Union Takes to Turkish-language ICEM Website

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Earlier in February, workplace sit-ins by the Federation of Workers&rsquo; Councils and Union in Iraq (FWCUI) occurred in Basra, Hilla, Musayab, and Kut, following the failure of the Electricity Minister to accede to demands by workers. 
 
After a few hours of sit-ins by thousands of workers on 4 February, Minister Karim Wahid Hasan called FWCUI leaders with a readiness to hear those demands. FWCUI called the sit-ins successful for that result, saying in a statement that it was &ldquo;a courageous step for all workers of Iraq.&rdquo;
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The sit-ins had been called by the Union of Engineering Technicians of FWCUI, as well as other workers&rsquo; groups. 
 
Workers&rsquo; demands include a halt to the corruption inside the Ministry of Electricity, creation of new electric stations to serve Iraqi provinces, housing for workers in the sector, repayment of danger entitlements to workers, giving day labourers work contracts, and lifting the status of temporary workers to permanent staff. 
 
At a news conference last week, Electricity Minister Wahid called on the government to increase the ministry&rsquo;s 2008 budget nearly three-fold to US$4 billion in order to re-build the occupied country&rsquo;s power network. Current electric generation is less than half the 9,500 megawatts needed in Iraq, with power outages resulting mainly from sabotage, according to the UN&rsquo;s Humanitarian Office.
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United Press International reports that in a period from March to November 2007, 1,211 workers in the electric sector had been targeted for attacks. A study done for the news agency found that the sector in that period had undergone 651 attacks on distribution and transmission lines, 66 attacks on thermal power stations, and 18 attacks on other power operations. 
 
The ICEM supports FWCUI in their efforts to achieve security and just economic entitlements for workers in Iraq.

Iraqi Union Federation, FWCUI, Stages Electrical Sector Sit-In

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This Friday, 29 February, is a Day of Action for ICEM North American affiliate Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) against Petro-Canada. CEP members will protest and handbill at many of the company&rsquo;s petrol stations country-wide to draw attention to an unfair, 15-week lockout imposed by Petro-Canada on 267 workers at an oil refinery in Montreal, Quebec. 
 
Teams of locked-out workers are also travelling Canada, speaking at union meetings and other forums. They are also warning the public at home, in Montr&eacute;al, of the safety risks that the Calgary, Alberta-based company is taking by operating the refinery with managers and scabs. The union has called on Quebec&rsquo;s Environmental Office, as well as on city of Montr&eacute;al regulators, to inspect reports of leaks and malfunctions.
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&nbsp;CEP Local 175 members at a January rally
A provincial Ministry of Labour team, which visited the refinery late in January, found that at least 26 replacement workers are grouped with bosses in working long hours to maintain throughput. Employing replacements during a labour dispute in Quebec is a labour law violation. But worse, the company is jeopardizing the safety and welfare of the community, since bosses and scabs &ndash; some 120 in total, compared to 267 skilled and trained CEP members &ndash; have each been working in excess of 70 hours per week. 
 
The refinery, which saw a production increase from 105,000 barrels-per-day to 130,000 in 2006, is located in a residential area called Point-aux-Trembles, in the east end of Montreal. 
 
Among the contract concessions the company is seeking from CEP Local 175 is elimination of a health and safety prevention officer. Petro-Canada is seeking to break the CEP&rsquo;s National Energy and Chemical Bargaining Programme for 2007-2008, a pattern that was set in May 2007 in a three-year agreement between the CEP and Petro-Canada at a refinery in Edmonton, Alberta. 
 
Management in Montr&eacute;al is seeking a six-year term, and also is demanding unwanted changes to scheduling, job assignments, and an accelerated training programme that will further jeopardize health and safety. 
 
Petro-Canada bought the refinery from Fina in 1981. The lockout began on 17 November 2007. 

Petro-Canada is seeking to break the CEP&rsquo;s National Energy and Chemical Bargaining Programme for 2007-2008, a pattern that was set in May 2007 in a three-year agreement between the CEP and Petro-Canada at a refinery in Edmonton, Alberta. Management in Montr&eacute;al is seeking a six-year term, and also is demanding unwanted changes to scheduling, job assignments, and an accelerated training programme that will further jeopardize health and safety.

CEP Brings Ills of Petro-Canada’s Montréal Lockout Across the Country

Archive

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin

Pay Deal Put to Ballot for Paperworkers in the UK

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

ICEM Mourns Death of Former Auditor, IGBCE Leader Egon Schäfer

Settlement Expected for 2,100 Oil, Chemical Workers of Royal Dutch Shell in NL

WOMEN’S BULLETIN NO. 27

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin

Cypriot Electrical Union Takes to Turkish-language ICEM Website

Iraqi Union Federation, FWCUI, Stages Electrical Sector Sit-In

CEP Brings Ills of Petro-Canada’s Montréal Lockout Across the Country

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