English

Español

Français

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action Plan 2025-2029

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Campaigns

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Women

Youth

LGBTQI+

Gender, equality, diversity and inclusion (GEDI)

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected Officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Press

&nbsp;<img height="55" src="" width="138" alt="" />
Pressure brought by potential sympathy strikes at an ABB Power Technologies paper mill near Oskarshamn, Sweden, and promised industrial actions at the company&rsquo;s Finnish installations, proved too much for the Swiss-based engineering firm. 
Within hours of a 15 November strike deadline by 130 paperworkers, members of ICEM affiliate Svenska Pappers, ABB abandoned a two-year-long effort to undercut established social standards in Sweden&rsquo;s paper sector. 
The resulting two-year labour agreement actually surpasses the social norms of the sector. ABB agreed to pay the union 1.5% of the total salary cost for administrative costs of the long overdue collective agreement at the paperboard mill. 
ICEM Finnish affiliate Paperiliitto said it would target ABB in Finland if a strike at the Figeholm mill near Oskarshamn were to occur, and a labour court in Sweden issued a unanimous ruling that a strike by the 130 workers, as well as any sympathy actions surrounding the mill&rsquo;s operations would be legal.

Solidarity Fashions New Labour Contract at ABB Paper Mill in Sweden

<img height="55" alt="" src="" width="138" />
Some 6,000 trade union members of UK affiliate GMB have voted by a four-to-one margin for industrial action against British Gas, wholly-owned by British-based Centrica Plc. 
The workers are resisting company attempts to close the final salary pension scheme to new workers. GMB has offered to review the pension scheme at the next actuarial valuation, but Centrica is insistent on achieving &pound;200 million in costs savings immediately and final salary pension benefits for new hires is on the company&rsquo;s hit list. 
The 6,000 are technicians and engineers who install, service and repair domestic furnaces. GMB shop stewards will decide this week on dates of action.

British Gas Engineers Vote for Industrial Action

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
With a 1 March deadline looming, bargaining has temporarily stalled between the ICEM-affiliated general union, Central Organization of Industrial Employees in Denmark (CO-industri) and the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI). Negotiations are aimed at renewing collective agreements across the country&rsquo;s industrial sector. CO-industri represents 276,000 employees in the trade and service industries, while DI is the leading business lobbying organisation. 
 
The collective bargaining round directly affects 240,000 workers in the manufacturing industry and indirectly affects an additional 350,000 workers in the private sector. Historically, the manufacturing agreement is used as a blueprint for other negotiations. 
 
Business leaders set the tone for negotiations even before it began. DI CEO Hans Skov Christensen outlined his priority for the talks as an opportunity to &ldquo;restore the competitiveness of Danish companies,&rdquo; adding that wages are not the only element in competitiveness, but still a &ldquo;highly central part.&rdquo; These remarks were made by Christensen at the 6 January press conference, immediately prior to the start of discussions with CO-industri. 

<img alt="" src="" width="150" height="114" />
The chief negotiator and President of CO-industri, Thorkild Jensen&rsquo;s, said the union&rsquo;s clear primary demand in talks is the continued positive development of real wages. The secondary demands include improvements in social clauses, including improved pay during sick leave, improved maternity allowances, and improved conditions for shift workers and apprentices. 
 
Equal pay across the gender divide is also high on the agenda for this negotiation, as is the review of a special rule in prior agreements affecting clerical workers. Currently, clerical workers are only covered by the collective agreement if over 50% of workers in a specific company are members of HK, the union for commercial and clerical employees. 
 
Co-industri is following the guidance of the recently established European Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (EMF) policy resolution that calls &ldquo;for more secure employment, against precarious work.&rdquo; This will be included in union demands in terms of increased investment in training and education of workers, and protections for temporary agency workers. 
 
The parties will continue to work towards an agreement without the conciliation of the Ministry of Labour. According to CO-industri&rsquo;s rulebook, every agreement must be put to a ballot, with a simple majority needed for ratification.

Danish Contract Negotiations Deadlocked on National Level

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The renegade Indian steel company run by Pramod Mittal was made to pay back wages to 1,250 members of ICEM affiliate Independent Trade Union of Chemistry and Non-Metals of Bosnia-Herzegovina (SSHN-FBIH) this month. A deadline of 15 February was met by Mittal&rsquo;s company, Global Ispat Koksana Industtrija Lukavac (GIKIL), which manages and half-owns the sodium carbonate plant, and wages were paid through December 2009. 
 
Workers at GIKIL, also half-owned by the Canton of Tuzla, and SSHN-FBIH&rsquo;s President Kata Ivelijc assured that back wages were paid by the delinquent Mittal through their vigilant strikes and determination. They received assistance outside of Bosnia-Herzegovina from the ICEM, the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), and the European Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (EMF). 
<img alt="" src="" width="338" height="189" />
Manfred Warda (centre) with Central European Project Coordinator Mato Lalic (next to Warda), and Kata Ivelijc, 5th from left
After receiving no pay for work performed over the final quarter of 2009, SSHN-FBIH took a week-long strike action on 6 January. That strike gained them back-pay for October and November, and then the outside intervention and workers&rsquo; actions at the plant and inside Tuzla got them December&rsquo;s pay by the deadline, 15 February, a date in which workers were braced to take another strike action. 
 
The empowerment by workers in highly industrialized northern Bosnia was widely noted across Europe. But it stands as a reminder that such victories can be fleeting against wayward companies like Mittal&rsquo;s. Both the ICEM and SSHN-FBIH pledge unified vigilance on future salaries to be paid on time, justified increases to those salaries, and improved health and safety conditions at GIKIL. (Read the background to this dispute and information on Pramod Mittal&rsquo;s companies <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3588-ICEM-IMF-Decry-Mittal’s-Pay-Delinquencies-in-Bosnia-Herzegovina">here</a>.)&nbsp; 
<img alt="" src="" width="272" height="161" />
GIKIL Factory in Lukavac
On 9 February, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda visited the area and together with workers&rsquo; leaders, met with Tuzla Canton Prime Minister Enes Mujić and three of his ministers. The meeting produced a promise to seriously question Mittal, in a scheduled and upcoming meeting with government authorities, over his management neglect. The trade union delegation also impressed on the Tuzla government that health and safety concerns around the plant&rsquo;s coking ovens must also be addressed. 
 
The government took up the matter at its regular 11 February session and determined that workers&rsquo; strike actions were justified and legitimate. Those and other conclusions favouring the union were then forwarded to the Assembly of the canton on 16 February. 
 
Further, a commission was established to make corrections to salaries in accord with a previous collective agreement. The commission also will be charged with investigating the health hazards inside the plant. The ICEM is confident that the union and GIKIL workers are now well placed to monitor and participate in the commission&rsquo;s full work. 
 
Kata Ivelijc thanked the ICEM, IMF, and EMF for &ldquo;the cooperation and support&rdquo; and said the intervention &ldquo;left a strong impression on the institutions and media&rdquo; in the region.

GIKIL Pays Back Wages to Bosnian Workers; Monitoring Begins

Two global union federations are urging the Mexican government and Mexican armed forces to use restraint in any attempt to secure Grupo M&eacute;xico&rsquo;s Cananea copper mine in Sonora State. The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) are deeply concerned that a court ruling last week will precipitate violence between armed Mexican troops and miners represented by an affiliate of the two Geneva-based labour federations, Mexico&rsquo;s National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (SNTMMSRM). 
 
The caution to Mexican authorities comes following an 11 February decision by a labour appellate court upholding a Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board declaration to end a 31-month strike by the union, and terminating the collective agreement between SNTMMSRM and Grupo M&eacute;xico. 
 
The ICEM and IMF are aware that federal troops have been dispatched to northern Sonora State. The ICEM and IMF are also in direct contact with the Mexican trade union and believe miners at Cananea are resolved to continue occupying the mine until a fair and equitable labour agreement is reached. 
 
&ldquo;This week is a very critical time at Cananea and we urge the Mexican government to order its forces to use prudence and abeyance in dealing with workers,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;If the mine is to reopen, we insist that Grupo M&eacute;xico, the government, and the union engage in honest dialogue to address the issues that are unresolved, and to recognise the union in a productive spirit.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;The use of violence of any kind will serve only to further isolate the parties,&rdquo; said IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina. &ldquo;We understand that the legal process has now been exhausted, so we urge respect and balance and hopefully a negotiated resolve can occur that will put the miners back to work in a region of Mexico that desperately needs income-generating jobs.&rdquo; 
 
Together, the ICEM and IMF represent 45 million workers globally. The ICEM serves as the umbrella global union federation for 467 trade unions in 132 countries, while the IMF represents the interests of 200 trade unions in 100 countries.

ICEM, IMF Urge Restraint by Mexico at Cananea Copper Mine

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
A special feature at the IGBCE Congress in Hannover, Germany, occurred on closing day, 16 October. It was a round-table forum on Global Networks. The panel was moderated by Constantin Grund of the Freidrich Ebert Foundation, and included&nbsp;ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana. 
 
It also included Fabio Lins from ICEM Brazilian affiliate CNQ/CUT, who addressed the highly successful Latin American network of workers within the German chemical company BASF; Robert Oswald, chairman of the European Works Council of BASF; and Ralf Blauth, Human Resources director of Evonik, now a German chemicals firm that evolved from another company, RAG, that had been signatory to a Global Framework Agreement with the ICEM. 

<img alt="" src="" width="300" height="225" />
Fabio Lins, Senzeni Zokwana,&nbsp;Constantin Grund, Robert Oswald, Ralf Blauth
Zokwana spelled out the ICEM&rsquo;s philosophy behind Global Agreements, as well as the distinct features of ICEM workers&rsquo; networks within single multinational companies, specifically related to the regional and global level. 
 
&ldquo;These networks are the direct result of several years of contact between workers of the same company,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We have found that the regional networks are working the best, partly because of language and work similarities, but also because company managers have joined with these taking on a high degree of dialogue and actual negotiations.&rdquo; 
 
Lins added that the best example of this might be BASF in Latin America, which has now completed its tenth year. &ldquo;We have succeeded in convincing the BASF managers in both Europe and Latin America to play a hands-on role in this network,&rdquo; said Lins. &ldquo;That has enhanced our work, brought better safety standards to all worksites, and addressed such issues as subcontracting directly with management.&rdquo; 

<img alt="" src="" width="300" height="104" />
Oswald added that the BASF Asia-Pacific Network is moving forward, with the introduction of methods and common values brought forward from both Europe and Latin America. &ldquo;I must add that Supervisory Board members and workers&rsquo; representatives on BASF&rsquo;s European Works Council have gained valuable knowledge and benefited greatly from the experiences that have been shared in both regions,&rdquo; said Oswald. 
 
Blauth addressed the question of a merged company &ndash; RAG and Degussa forming Evonik &ndash; coming forward now to re-negotiate a Global Agreement. He said it is still too early in the process to predict an outcome. &ldquo;We are pragmatic and will place great emphasis on the practicability of reaching such an agreement. The communication process is important in and of itself, and this process inevitably leads to improved company practices. 
 
Warda concluded the session by stating both Global Framework Agreements and multinational workers&rsquo; networks are invaluable instruments to improve dialogue between labour and management, as well as setting forth best practices for trade unions in cross-border workplaces to adopt and implement so work standards can become harmonized.

IGBCE Congress Features Panel on Global Workers’ Network on Closing Day

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
Trade unions of the pulp and paper sector affiliated to the ICEM acted in concert with Dutch unions last week in their protest against inferior contract terms put forward by Sappi. On 15 October, 50 protesters from ICEM Netherlands affiliates FNV Bondgenoten and CNV Bedrijenbond, along with two other Dutch unions, made their way to Sappi&rsquo;s European headquarters in Brussels to present a petition signed by the 800 workers of the two paper mills stating they are dissatisfied with contract terms presented. 
 
The 50 shop-floor leaders from Sappi&rsquo;s mills in Nijmegen and Maastricht were joined by scores of protest letters by ICEM affiliates of the sectors. 
 
In mid-September, Dutch workers of all four unions rejected a 21-month pay deal with a 95% vote that would have provided only a miniscule pay rise. Sappi proposed a 0.4% increase effective on 1 July 2009, with a 0.9% increase proposed for 1 April 2010. 

<img src="" width="180" height="183" alt="" />
What&rsquo;s perhaps worse, the South African-based company proposed elimination of &ldquo;seniorendagen&rdquo; for workers 55 years or older. This is the Dutch system of granting days off annually to workers when they reach ages 45, 50, 55 years or older. The days-off do not amount to many per year, but are seen as a just reward to senior workers who have given valuable years of service to the company. 
 
Sappi told union negotiators that its pay proposal as presented was low because Nijmegen and Maastricht workers refuse to give up the senior days. In the ICEM&rsquo;s letter to Sappi European CEO Berry Wiersum on 15 October, General Secretary Manfred Warda said, &ldquo;The ICEM, and its family of 470 unions in 143 countries, finds this type of dialogue repulsive, and implore you to intervene on behalf of a socially responsible company to change this type of attitude.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM and affiliated unions in the pulp and paper sector will be monitoring Sappi&rsquo;s collective bargaining dispute at its Dutch mills, as well as a developing contract dispute at a Sappi mill in North America and upcoming redundancy talks at three Sappi mills in South Africa, where the company is attempting to pare 500 jobs from ICEM affiliate Chemical, Energy, Pulp, Paper, Wood, and Allied Workers&rsquo; Union (CEPPWAWU).

Pulp, Paper Unions Assist Dutch Unionists in Contract Dispute with Sappi

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
In late September, the ICEM continued to carry out reinvigorated activities in its Middle East/North Africa Region (MENA) by organising a workshop for chemicals and petrochemical unions of the region. The two-day set of workshops, sponsored by the Friedrich-Ebert (FES) Foundation of Germany, were held in Beirut, Lebanon, on 28-29 September. 
 
Energy and particularly oil have been one of the major driving forces of the economies of the region, and of ICEM activities in MENA of late. But in addition, the region has increased its overall production capacity in petrochemicals, specifically ethylene and its derivatives such as polyethylene and ethylene glycol. 
 
The joint ICEM-FES workshops were entitled, &ldquo;A Seminar on Reinforcing Trade Union Representation, Industrial Relations, and Social Dialogue in the Petrochemical Industry in MENA.&rdquo; The seminar was chaired by Suleiman Hamdan, President of Chemical Workers Union of Lebanon. 

<img src="" width="332" height="89" alt="" />
It was attended by 30 participants from Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Palestine, Turkey, and France. Following a presentation by ICEM Chemicals and Rubber Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan, entitled &ldquo;Main Developments and Global Challenges in the Global Chemical &amp; Petrochemical Industry,&rdquo; the seminar received reports from individual countries. 
 
The workshop was called &ldquo;Global Dimension of Industrial Relations: International Mechanisms, Social Dialogue, Global Framework Agreements, and Global/Regional Networks&rdquo;. Another session &ldquo;The Rising New Threat to Working Conditions: Precarious Employment,&rdquo; focused on the ICEM&rsquo;s global campaign on Contract and Agency Labour. 

<img src="" width="146" height="66" alt="" />
At the end of the meeting, the participants decided to create an &quot;ICEM MENA Region Chemical/Petrochemical Sectoral Network,&quot; with a series of suggestions for future follow-up activities. Those include social dialogue and industrial relations; labour legislation and international instruments; multinational companies in the sector; Contract and Agency Labour and precarious employment; and Health, Safety, and Environmental issues. 
 
&ldquo;This is a new area of work for the ICEM in the MENA Region,&rdquo; said &Ouml;zkan. &ldquo;The enthusiasm and readiness which participants displayed at this seminar shows there is great potential for a MENA network of petrochemical unions. Reinforcing activities in areas of industrial production and manufacture will be one of the priorities of ICEM in the region.&rdquo;

Middle East, North African Chemical Unions Form Network

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The Mexican government of President Felipe Calder&oacute;n Hinojosa surprised many nine days ago by sending federal agents and police in to take over the country&rsquo;s second largest electrical power distributor, Luz y Fuerza del Centro (LyFC) or Central Light and Power. Calder&oacute;n used an executive decree to dissolve the debt-ridden utility, but in doing so he also sacked the entire 60,000 LyFC workforce, and disbanded their union, the 95 year old, Mexican Electrical Workers&rsquo; Union (SME). 
 
The action to bust SME disturbed many in the global union movement, as well as activist groups that monitor trade union rights within Mexico, but did not come as a surprise, considering the repressive measures taken by Calder&oacute;n against trade unions. 

<img alt="" src="" width="329" height="210" />
In July, SME members re-elected Secretary-General Mart&iacute;n Esparza, but the government has refused to certify the election, citing voting irregularities. But the real reason for the government&rsquo;s elimination of SME is the union leadership&rsquo;s opposition to Calder&oacute;n&rsquo;s economic policies, specifically regarding privatisation of the utility. Not incidentally, Esparza&rsquo;s opponent in last summer&rsquo;s elections, Alejandro Munoz, has joined with Esparza in condemning the takeover and has pledged to resist the dissolution. 
 
In a joint letter last week to Calder&oacute;n by the ICEM and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), General Secretaries Manfred Warda and Jyrki Raina called the action &ldquo;retaliatory because the leadership of the union opposed your anti-worker, anti-societal economic policies.&rdquo; See the letter <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/67%20ICEM%20IMF%20letter%20to%20Mr%20Calderon%20-%20Mexico%20-%2015Oct09.pdf">here</a>. 
 
The non-affiliated SME, which has not taken many strides to join the global trade union movement, deserves the support of unions everywhere because it has now become a victim of the current Mexican government&rsquo;s systematic plan to eliminate any workers&rsquo; group which stands in the way of business interests and unencumbered markets. 

<img alt="" src="" width="310" height="212" />
The SME has vowed to resist through peaceful methods the late-night, 10 October takeover, which was carried out by military police. The government has already offered redundancy packages, with the maximum up to 33 months pay, and said it would recall 10,000 of the electrical workers. But the SME has urged workers to reject the packages, and to participate in peaceful manifestations, the latest of which occurred on 15 October, when 100,000 people marched through Mexico City and gathered in the City&rsquo;s main square the Zocalo. The full day of large scale demonstration passed without incident and was widely supported in the capital, including from the left-wing city government. 
 
The huge manifestation of 15 October coincided with an international trade union forum on the issue of Multinational Corporations and their Protection Collective Agreements, sponsored by the Friedrich-Ebert (FES) Foundation of Germany. The contracts represent an enormous obstacle to free trade unionism in Mexico, and allow companies to sign &lsquo;collective&rsquo; agreements on work conditions and salaries, without including workers in negotiations, and without workers even being aware of the agreement made in their name. Calder&oacute;n&rsquo;s government encourages this practice and continues to block new democratic unions by repeatedly delaying official recognition for years, blacklisting trade unionists, and allowing company managements to act with impunity. The Forum issued a statement of solidarity with the SME. 

<img alt="" src="" width="324" height="180" />
A noteworthy statistic in Mexico is that 95% of companies have a collective agreement, whereas union membership in the country is at 10%, clearly the vast majority of collective agreements are signed with yellow unions. Many union leaders are millionaires, due to mafia-style deals with management. Visit the campaign website <a href="http://www.democraciaylibertadsindical.org.mex">here</a>.&nbsp; 
 
The Calder&oacute;n government has temporarily rolled LyFC&rsquo;s day to day operations into the country&rsquo;s largest utility, the Federal Electricity Commission, from which LyFC buys most of its generated capacity, but the speculation is that LyFC will now be sold to private sources. LyFC serves Mexico City and portions of the surrounding states of Mexico, Hidalgo, Morelos, and Puebla.

Mexican Government Shuts Major Electric Utility, Crushes Trade Union SME

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report, among other items, on the VCT campaign in Tanzania sponsored by the IG BCE&rsquo;s Women Department, the efforts to include people living with HIV/AIDS in the health insurance scheme in India, and how the 2010 Soccer World Cup can score goals of another kind.
The ICEM Calls on its Affiliates to Contribute to this e-bulletin 
 
ICEM affiliates are already engaged in a wide range of HIV/AIDS activities. To spread the information on new agreements, awareness, and prevention campaigns, and educational activities, affiliates and project coordinators are invited to send news and information to <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a>. Any feedback on the format and contents of the e-bulletin is also welcome. 
 
Editor: Hans J Schwass, ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
IG BCE Women Support Project in Tanzania 
 
Since their Congress in October 2008, the Women&rsquo;s Department of the German ICEM affiliate IG BCE (mining, chemical and energy workers) has collected funds for an HIV/AIDS project in Tanzania, in cooperation with ICEM affiliates TUICO (industry) and TAMICO (mining). 
 
After extensive preparatory work, which included a workshop for the TAMICO and TUICO Women&rsquo;s Committees, and a refresher course for male and female peer educators and lay counsellors, activities culminated in a &lsquo;Know-your-Status&rsquo; Campaign in Dar es Salam on 13 June. 

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

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

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

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
News from the Global Union Federations 
 
The fortnightly HIV/AIDS updates of the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) report on, among other things, the UNAIDS Outcome Framework 2009-2011, the inclusion of the Guyana Clerical and Commercial Workers&rsquo; Union in the country&rsquo;s Global Fund Coordinating mechanism, and on increased efforts in Ghana to create HIV/AIDS workplace policies (<a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>). 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe or Translate? 
 
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 &ldquo;Translate a Web page&ldquo;: 
 
<a href="/index.php?id=72&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3322">/index.php?id=72&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3322</a> 
 
Or click directly on the links below: 
 
<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3322&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=fr&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">Cliquez ici pour une traduction automatique en fran&ccedil;ais.</a> 
 
Cette traduction est faite automatiquement par un logiciel internet gratuit. L&rsquo;ICEM n&rsquo;assume aucune responsabilit&eacute; &agrave; cet &eacute;gard. Elle est approximative, mais peut n&eacute;anmoins vous donner une id&eacute;e g&eacute;n&eacute;rale du contenu de l&rsquo;article. 
 
<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3322&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=de&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">Hier Klicken f&uuml;r eine maschinelle &Uuml;bersetzung ins Deutsche.</a> 
 
Diese &Uuml;bersetzung, f&uuml;r die die ICEM keine Verantwortung &uuml;bernimmt, erfolgt durch eine frei zug&auml;ngliche Internetsoftware. Diese &Uuml;bersetzung ist nicht perfekt, gibt aber eine ann&auml;hernende Idee, wor&uuml;ber der Artikel handelt. 
 
<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3322&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=ru&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">Щелкните мышью здесь для получения машинного перевода на Русский.</a> 
 
Этот перевод выполняется автоматически с помощью бесплатной Интернет-программы, и ICEM не несет за него ответственности. Перевод приблизительный, но все же может дать общее представление о содержании статьи. 
 
<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3322&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=ja&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">日本語への翻訳について、無料オン� ��イン翻訳サービス利用されたい方はここをクリックしてください。ただし、当該サ� ��ビスを利用した翻訳の質等について 、ICEMは一切責任を負いませんので、� ��了承ください。</a> 
 
<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3322&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=es&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">Haga clic aqu&iacute; para una traducci&oacute;n autom&aacute;tica en espa&ntilde;ol. 
</a> 
Esta traducci&oacute;n se hace autom&aacute;ticamente con tecnolog&iacute;a libre del Internet. La ICEM no se responsabiliza de ella. La traducci&oacute;n es aproximada, pero puede proveer una idea general del contenido del art&iacute;culo. 
 
<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3322&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=sv&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">Klicka h&auml;r f&ouml;r en maskin&ouml;vers&auml;ttning till svenska.</a> 
 
Denna &ouml;vers&auml;ttning utf&ouml;rs automatiskt med kostnadsfri internetteknik. ICEM tar inget ansvar f&ouml;r den. Den &auml;r inte helt korrekt men ger dig &auml;nd&aring; en allm&auml;n uppfattning om vad artikeln handlar om.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin No. 46 July 2009

Archive