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In Australia on 5 January, the Tasmanian Supreme Court struck a blow to mining and metals giant Rio Tinto&rsquo;s and delivered a victory to workplace safety and health compliance. The court denied Rio&rsquo;s appeal to block a trade union from entering a worksite to meet with staff over health and safety issues. 
 
The company had filed the appeal with the state high court to prevent representatives of the Australian Workers&rsquo; Union (AWU) from meeting in a lunch area with aluminium workers at Rio Tinto/Alcan&rsquo;s Bell Bay smelter. The AWU represents some 600 workers at the 180,000-tonne-per-year aluminium smelter, located in Launceston in northern Tasmania. 
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In late November 2010, the AWU gave legal notification under the state&rsquo;s Workplace Health and Safety Act to Rio Tinto of its intent to enter break areas to &ldquo;discuss health and safety issues with workers during a meal or other break.&rdquo; Following the company&rsquo;s refusal, both Tasmania&rsquo;s Inspector of Workplace Standards and the state&rsquo;s Solicitor General determined that AWU had that right. 
 
But Rio Tinto appealed the Solicitor General&rsquo;s decision, only to have Tasmanian Supreme Court Justice Alan Blow deny the company&rsquo;s appeal. Within minutes of the judge&rsquo;s decision on 5 January, the AWU was on its way to meet with workers employed in an industry notoriously rife with respiratory hazards. 
 
AWU National Secretary Paul Howes criticised the company for attempting to use its power and money in its litigious way to stop independent health and safety oversight. The AWU &ldquo;has successfully fought what clearly looks like a conspiracy by (Rio Tinto) to act as if Australian workplace health laws do not exist,&rdquo; he said. 
 
The case hopefully will become a precedent for other Australian state inspectors to fulfil safety laws by allowing union representatives to discuss safety issues with workers in break room areas.

Court Tosses Rio’s Australian Appeal on Safety ‘Right-of-Access’

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The spate of horrid flooding in the Australian state of Queensland has brought out the best in Australian trade unionism. Nearly all unions have either dedicated money to one relief agency or another, with some setting up their own benevolent funds to assist those in need. 
 
The Mining and Energy Division of the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union&rsquo;s (CFMEU) Central Council on 12 January authorised A$250,000 to help families caught up in the devastating Queensland floods. 
 
&ldquo;The donation is our first step in providing hands on relief,&rdquo; stated Energy and Mining General Secretary Andrew Vickers, who also serves as Chairman of ICEM&rsquo;s Mining Sector. &ldquo;Queensland and all of Australia will be affected by these floods as coal production grinds to a halt. The union will be there every step of the way supporting workers and communities.&rdquo; 
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The Queensland branch of the Australian Manufacturing Workers&rsquo; Union (AMWU) has established a fund and kick-started it with A$20,000 in seed money. The funds will go to the <a href="http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html ">Queensland Premier&rsquo;s Flood Relief Appeal</a>. 
 
&ldquo;This is an important way for our large union membership to show solidarity and make a positive difference to the devastated communities,&rdquo; said State Secretary Andrew Dettmer. &ldquo;The floods have had an impact on tens of thousands of AMWU members, their homes and workplaces in Rockhampton, Brisbane, Toowoombia, and throughout the south-east and Central Queensland. 
 
Donations to the AMWU fund can be made to: AMWU Disaster Appeal Account; Bank: NAB; BSB: 082 057; Account Number: 188 989 948. 
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As of last week, members of the Australian Workers&rsquo; Union (AWU) have collectively donated A$100,000 to the Queensland Premier&rsquo;s Flood Relief Appeal. In addition, the AWU federal office has contributed A$50,000 and the Victorian branch of the union also has donated. The AWU&rsquo;s Queensland branch office was closed for a week due to the floods, and only reopened today. 
 
The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has established the Australia Flood Appeal Fund, with both the national office and the Queensland branch each seeding A$5,000 into the fund. The MUA has many port workers and seamen affected since the Port of Brisbane was shut last week, with vessels directed out to sea. 
 
The MUA&rsquo;s Appeal Fund for international money transfers: MUA-General Fund; Bank: Maritime Mining and Power Credit Union, George Street, Haymarket, NSW 2000, Australia; BSB Number: 062-006; Account number: 10001 0464; CBA Swiftcode: CTBAAU2S.

Australian Unions Give Generously to Flood Relief in Country

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Industri Energi (IE), one of ICEM&rsquo;s Norwegian affiliates, announced opening of the nomination process for the Second Annual Arthur Svensson International Award for Trade Union Rights. The prestigious award comes with a cash prize of NOK 500,000 (&euro;65,000) and is awarded to a person or organisation for contributing greatly to promoting trade union rights and the strengthening of trade unionism on both international and national levels. 
 
Nominations are due by 1 March 2011, and can be made by Norwegian trade unions, by trade union affiliates associated with global unions, or the global unions themselves. A nomination must contain a solid justification for the candidate, make clear who is nominating the candidate, and spell out the nominator&rsquo;s relationship with the candidate. 
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Arthur Svensson
In 2010, Wellington Chibebe, the General Secretary of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), was awarded the prize at IE&rsquo;s Congress in Oslo in October. (See the ICEM news article <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4056-Zimbabwe’s-Wellington-Chibebe-Receives-First-Norwegian-Labour-Prize">here</a>.) The 2011 award winner will be announced on 16 June. 
 
The award is named after Arthur Svensson, a long-time leader of Norsk Kjemisk Forbund, the Norwegian Chemical Workers&rsquo; Association, which merged in 2006 with NOPEF to create IE. Svensson died in 2008, but left a legacy in Norway and beyond as a man who promoted global peace, disarmament, and a nuclear weapons-free world. 
 
He was also a driving force from his union leadership position in developing Norway&rsquo;s environment law, and a strong proponent of clean energy to drive clean industries. But first and foremost, he was a dedicated trade unionist, maintaining membership in LO-Norway for 61 years, the final 48 of those years with the Chemical Workers. 
 
Nominations can be e-mailed or faxed to Svensson Award Committee Chairperson <a href="http://liv.undheim@industrienergi.no">Liv Undheim</a>, fax no. +47 23 06 13 60. Further information on the award, in English, can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/1101.arthur%20svensson%20flyer%20EN.pdf ">here</a>.

Industri Energi’s Second Arthur Svensson Union Rights Award Opened

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On 11 February &ndash; day 18 of mass revolution by the Egyptian people &ndash; Hosni Mubarek was toppled as dictator of Egypt. Newly-minted Vice President Omar Suleiman, who the people reject as well, issued a brief statement on national television that evening saying Mubarek resigned as president, and power is transferred to the Armed Forces Supreme Council, a grouping of top Egyptian generals. 
 
Only speculation exists at this early writing on what steps the military might first take to reduce 30 years of repressive rule, human rights violations, and a lessening of social inequality. One Sunday, 13 February, a military decree restricted trade union freedoms. 
 
One thing is certain: the extraordinary events of the past fortnight must stand as a turning point for Egypt to embark on a road of participatory democracy. 
 
Mubarek&rsquo;s departure came after the biggest yet demonstration in Cairo&rsquo;s al-Tahrir Square on 11 February, and cities such as Alexandria, Aswan, Suez, Port Said, Asyut, and El Kharga saw huge protests as mass calls were heeded by Egyptians to take to the streets and reclaim their country. 
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Days 16 and 17 will become known as the days when workers shut down factories and businesses, bringing the country to an economic standstill. The workers' movment was vast and perhaps serving as prime example was the call &ldquo;People&rsquo;s Revolution for the People&rdquo; by the 4,000-strong Helwan Iron and Steel Workers at the Coking Coal and Basic Chemical Co. They issued an invitation to workers to join the 11 February mobilisation in al-Tahrir Square and called for creation of an independent trade union movement. 
 
The fledgling Iron and Steel Workers&rsquo; Union proclaimed the revolution to be the end of government corruption, and called for higher wages and permanent contracts for temporary workers. Tens of thousands of other Egyptian workers at state companies, and in textile, chemicals, transport, postal services, and other sectors stopped work in the middle of last week, leading surely to Mubarek&rsquo;s departure at week&rsquo;s end. 
 
In Helwan, 6,000 silk and textile workers at Misr Helwan Spinning and Weaving Co. stopped work, as did 400 workers at the Misr National Steel Co. in Suez. Some 2,000 workers of Sigma Pharmaceutical in Quesna protested. And thousands of workers of the Egyptian Petroleum Trading Service Co. (Petrotrade) joined the national demonstrations at six branches of the company, including at the Ministry of Petroleum in Nasr City. 
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In industrial Kafr al-Dawwar, thousands of textile workers took to the streets last week, and 6,000 staff of the Suez Canal Authority began sit-ins at workplaces in Suez, Port Said, and Ismailia on the evening of 8 February that lasted through the next day. 
 
This growing wave of working-class militancy was not unexpected; in the past six years, there have been nearly 3,000 strikes and workers&rsquo; protests affecting two million wage earners who have been cheated by the Egyptian regime&rsquo;s corrupt practices. 
 
Globally, countless demonstrations were held last week in cities and countries demanding an end to Mubarek&rsquo;s rule and justice for the Egyptian people. On 8 February, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) held a day of protest in a number of cities including Geneva. 
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Several ICEM staff joined a large delegation from the Global Union Federation (GUF) UNI and other GUFs to protest at the Egyptian mission to the UN&rsquo;s European headquarters. There, trade unionists led by the Workers&rsquo; Chair of by ILO Governing Body, Leroy Trotman of the Barbados Workers&rsquo; Union, presented a letter by the ITUC and four Geneva-area GUFs to Mission Counsellor Yasser Hassan. 
 
It read, in part: &ldquo;We express our solidarity with our Egyptian brothers and sisters in this difficult situation. We urge you to remind the Egyptian Government that it must fulfil its obligations under international law and respect trade union rights and fundamental liberties such as freedom of expression.&rdquo; 
 
As significant as Mubarek&rsquo;s resignation is, it is only the beginning of the struggle. On Sunday, 13 February, the military&rsquo;s Supreme Council issued an edict banning all union meetings, forbidding strikes, and ordering all Egyptian workers back to work. In the coming weeks and months in Egypt, the world will witness that the struggle for democracy is inseparable from the struggle for workers&rsquo; power and the struggle for workers&rsquo; rights.

Mubarek Overthrown; Egyptian People Await Freedoms

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the HIV/AIDS workshop in India, on the new and ambitious targets of the Global Fund, and on two cases of job-related discrimination on the basis of HIV-positive status in South Africa. 
 
The ICEM Calls on its Affiliates to Contribute to this e-bulletin 
 
ICEM affiliates are 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. 
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HIV/AIDS Workshop in India 
 
Some 30 participants and resource persons attended a three-day HIV/AIDS workshop in Kolkata, India, in February. Participants came from the ICEM affiliate, the Indian National Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation (INMF), as well as from the chemical, cement, and diamond sectors. 
 
The workshop was sponsored by the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) as part of the HIV/AIDS Project in India. It was organised by the project&rsquo;s coordinator, BK Das, who is also the General Secretary of INMF and a member of the ICEM Executive Committee. The workshop was facilitated by the HIV/AIDS Programme Officer of the ILO office in New Delhi, Ms. P. Joshila. Representatives from employers and government agencies and an organisation of people living with HIV were also involved in the workshop. 
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Emphasis in this workshop was on workplace policies. The ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant, Hans Schwass, gave a presentation on elements of an HIV/AIDS workplace policy and introduced the ICEM Training Manual for Negotiating on HIV/AIDS. Participants also split in groups to establish work plans for their respective companies and regions to the end of 2011 when the BI sponsorship ends. 
 
Much has been achieved in the HIV/AIDS work in India of the ICEM with its affiliates and sponsorship from BI. More than 50 master trainers are available to continue the work with peer educators of whom more than 600 have been trained. 
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Global Fund: Bold New Targets Set at Board Retreat 
 
The Global Fund Board says that the Fund&rsquo;s new strategic plan should have &ldquo;bold, ambitious and measurable objectives,&rdquo; including tripling the number of lives saved and the number of infections averted between 2011 and 2016. This information is contained in a report prepared by Dr. Tedros A. Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia, Chair of the Board, on the board&rsquo;s recent retreat, which was held prior to its regular meeting in December 2010 in Sofia, Bulgaria. 
 
In addition to the objectives related to lives saved and infections averted, the board said that the Global Fund needs to do more to leverage the impact of its investments, particularly with respect to health gains for women and children; to increase efforts to maximise value for money; to increase efforts to ensure protection of human rights and access to prevention, treatment, care, and support for all, including the poorest and most marginalised populations; and to increase efforts to ensure the sustainability of programmes to which the Global Fund is currently contributing. 
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One area where the board failed to reach a consensus at the retreat concerns the mandate of the Global Fund. There were divergent perspectives on whether the objectives related to the number of lives saved and infections averted should be phrased in a way that will allow the Global Fund to progressively expand its mandate. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 140 of 3 February. 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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Decline in HIV Rates in Zimbabwe Driven by Fear of Infection 
 
The big drop in the numbers of people infected with HIV in Zimbabwe is because of mass social change, driven by fear of infection, according to an international study by the journal PLoS Medicine. 
 
A major investigation of the reasons why HIV prevalence in Zimbabwe has fallen from 29% in 1997 to 16% in 2007 was carried out by epidemiologists at Imperial College, London, and Harvard University School of Public Health, Boston, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, the UN Population Fund, and UNIADS. 
 
The research included extensive analysis of epidemiological data, together with focus groups and key informant interviews, to test the different explanations of the dramatic decline of prevalence. Although HIV prevalence remains high, the fall in HIV prevalence that has taken place in Zimbabwe is the largest see anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa. 
 
(Source: as reported by World AIDS Campaign, Cape Town, 16 February) 
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South Africa: Xstrata Coal Accused of Sacking HIV-positive Miners 
 
A dispute has arisen in South Africa between ICEM affiliate National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Xstrata Coal over the apparent discharge of 12 HIV-positive miners. The miners were first sacked last fall from their jobs at the Tweefontein collieries in Mpumalanga province, but the NUM interceded on their behalf before the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) and won reinstatement to their jobs. 
 
But in mid-February, Xstrata Coal South Africa informed the NUM that it would re-sack the 12 and appeal the CCMA&rsquo;s decision to a labour court. At issue is whether or not Xstrata knew of their HIV status through a joint NUM-Xstrata Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) programme that is strictly confidential. Hundreds of Tweefontein miners were tested through the programme in October and November 2010. 
<img src="" width="225" height="169" alt="" />
NUM Highveld Regional Secretary Paris Mashego, left&nbsp;
It is uncertain if Xstrata Coal gained access to results of the screenings, but the NUM alleges that the company does know the results. A private service provider was contracted to do the screenings and results are supposed to be shared only with the individual. 
 
NUM Highveld Regional Secretary Paris Mashego accused the company of dragging backward the campaign to test for the pandemic and said the NUM will continue to press for the real motive behind Xstrata&rsquo;s reversal. 
 
(Source: <a href="http://www.iol.co.za">www.iol.co.za</a>, 23 February and ICEM InBrief, 28 February)
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South African Labour Court Affirms Rights of HIV+ Workers, Citing ILO Recommendation No. 200 
 
On 16 February 2011, in the case of Gary Shane Allpass v. Mooikloof Estates (Pty.) Ltd., (Case No. JS178/09), the Johannesburg Labour Court awarded the complainant compensatory damages for unfair dismissal and discrimination on the grounds of his HIV status. The decision examines issues of discrimination in employment on the grounds of HIV status and unfair dismissal, as well as discriminatory screening and forced disclosure of HIV status. 
 
The complainant was employed by the respondent as a horse riding instructor and stable manager on 1 November 2008. At the time of his recruitment, he had been living with HIV for almost 20 years. Prior to being hired, the complainant underwent an interview, during which he informed the respondent that he was &ldquo;in good health.&rdquo; Shortly after his hiring, the complainant &mdash; along with other employees &mdash; was asked to complete a form requiring him to disclose whether he was taking any &ldquo;chronic medication.&rdquo; The complainant complied and disclosed that he was taking, among other things, daily medication to manage his HIV condition. Upon learning of his HIV-positive status, the respondent immediately terminated the complainant on the grounds that he had fraudulently misrepresented his condition and that he was, in fact, &ldquo;severely ill&rdquo;. 
 
The Labour Court found that the complainant had been discriminated against and unfairly dismissed due to his HIV status and awarded him twelve months&rsquo; remuneration in compensatory damages and costs. Apart from considering that the dismissal violated the South African Constitution, the Labour Relations Act, and the Employment Equity Act, the Labour Court also cited the ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) and the Recommendation concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work, 2010 (No. 200). 
 
(Source: ILO/AIDS website) 
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International Cricketing Council Launches Campaign: &lsquo;Get the Facts, Protect Yourself&rsquo; 
 
The World Cup 2011, organised by the International Cricketing Council (ICC), is being held jointly in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Before this event, the ICC in partnership with UNAIDS and UNICEF launched a new campaign, &ldquo;Get the Facts, Protect Yourself.&rdquo; A number of star players feature in a public service announcement which is available to all broadcasters across the globe that encourages young people to inform themselves about HIV, take appropriate action to prevent HIV infection, and stand together against HIV-related stigma and discrimination. 
 
They may be rivals on the field of play, but international cricketing stars Virender Sehwag and Kumar Sangakkara have joined together to support a new &ldquo;Think Wise&rdquo; campaign ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. &ldquo;The ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 provides an opportunity to use our status as cricketers to deliver important social messages to the millions of supporters who will be watching the tournament across the world,&rdquo; said India&rsquo;s Virender Sehwag. &ldquo;I hope this public service announcement can encourage young people to get the facts and protect themselves from HIV.&rdquo; 
 
Other cricketing stars in the partnership include Graeme Smith (South Africa), Shakib-Al-Hasan (Bangladesh) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (West Indies). &ldquo;It is important that young people around the world have access to the right information to help them make informed decisions and break down stigma and discrimination,&rdquo; said Sri Lanka&rsquo;s Kumar Sangakkara. &ldquo;Through this public service announcement, I want to help stop the spread of HIV.&rdquo; 
 
(Source: ITF HIV/AIDS update 100, 1 February) 
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News from Global Unions 
 
The International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF &ndash; <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>) in its latest HIV/AIDS updates No. 99, 100, and 101 of 15 January, 1 February, and 15 February, respectively, reports on a training programme organised in cooperation with the Mongolian Transport, Communication, and Petroleum Workers&rsquo; Union; on a national campaign organised by the National Transport Workers&rsquo; Union of Columbia to raise awareness of HIV and to promote safer sex practices among bus workers, van, taxi, and truck drivers; and reports, as well, on passengers and on developing and implementing workplace programmes with its affiliates in Mexico. 
 
The February Newsletter of PSUFASA (Public Sector Unions Fighting AIDS in Southern Africa) reports on several in-country seminars, notably in South Africa and Swaziland, and on the ongoing evaluation of the project for which sponsorship from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) will come to an end in March 2011. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Five Years Ago: From the March 2006 Issue 
 
The first issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin was published in October 2005. In current issues, we refer to an article from the same month, five years ago, and reflect on developments. 
 
In the March 2006 issue of the e-bulletin, we reported on the integration of HIV/AIDS in the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers. On 28 April, the trade union movement remembers over two million workers who die and millions more who are injured or who fall sick each year due to unsafe, unhealthy, or unsustainable work and workplaces. The slogan for 2006 was Union Workplaces &ndash; Safe Workplaces and the selected themes are: The Global Union Ban Asbestos Campaign, HIV/AIDS &ndash; workplace aspects and implementation of programme response and ILO Conventions and Instruments that relate to Occupational Health and Safety. 
 
We also reported on the Product Red initiative. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, U2 rock musician Bono announced Product RED, an economic initiative designed to deliver a sustainable flow of private sector money to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM). Leading brands made a commitment to channel a portion of profits from sales of specially-designed RED products to the GFATM to support AIDS programmes in Africa with a focus on women and children. The GFATM welcomed this new initiative. Through RED and other initiatives, it hoped to increase the private sector share of income from less than 1% in 2005 to 10% or more in the long term. 
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This ICEM HIV/AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe 
 
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.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 66, March 2011

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Tomorrow, 8 March, marks the 100th anniversary of International Women&rsquo;s Day (IWD). It is also 16 days before the ICEM&rsquo;s largest Women&rsquo;s Conference ever, when 160 participants from 40 countries convene in Sevilla, Spain. 
 
(There is still time to register and attend the ICEM Women&rsquo;s Conference from 23-25 March. Please refer to the <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/En%20Draft%20Agenda_Nove2010%201.pdf">invitation</a>, <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/EN%20Women%20Attendance%20Form-March%202011.doc">registration form</a>, and <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/En%20Draft%20Agenda_Nove2010%201.pdf">tentative agenda</a>. The cover art for this article is courtesy of ICEM German affiliate IGBCE, which has as theme this year, &ldquo;Lay Tomorrow&rsquo;s Foundation Today.&rdquo;) 
 
Some ICEM affiliates have already held IWD events. In Thailand, ICEM-affiliated unions joined other civil society groups in a 6-7 March symposium at Thammasat University in Bangkok. A key point made was that hundreds of thousands of Thai women work longer than eight hours per day at low wages and without social benefits.
<img alt="" src="" width="140" height="215" />
ICEM Thai Project Coordinator Aranya Pakapath and GOPTU&rsquo;s Araya Kaewpradap
Araya Kaewpradap of the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation Labour Union (GOPTU) said at the symposium that the majority of Thai women are employed under short-term, fixed contracts, although in reality most have worked 20 or more years in such jobs. She said women are discriminated from entitlements, upward wage adjustments, social benefits, maternity protection, and they do not have access to the national social security scheme. 
 
The importance of Thailand ratifying ILO Convention 183 on Maternity Protection was also brought out at the symposium, which was televised throughout the country. Symposium participants and thousands of others will march tomorrow from Democracy Monument to the Government House in Bangkok to mark IWD.
<img alt="" src="" width="320" height="141" />
IWD Thai Symposium at Thammasat University 
In Spain, ICEM&rsquo;s two affiliated trade union federations, UGT and CC.OO, which will jointly co-host the Sevilla Women&rsquo;s Conference in two weeks time, issued a common IWD statement that is critical of Spain&rsquo;s government for labour revisions, &ldquo;which, far from creating employment, is contributing once again to the dismantling of too few labour guarantees.&rdquo; 
 
The statement also said: &ldquo;The elimination of the Ministry of Equality (now part of the Ministry of Health) means a step backwards on gender polices and a violation of the commitments of equality made at European and international levels that instruct governments to treat equality themes at high levels of responsibility.&rdquo; 
<img src="" width="150" height="52" alt="" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="" width="90" height="90" alt="" />
Across the world, a great number of &ldquo;bridge walks&rdquo; will occur tomorrow and throughout the rest of the week. The bridge walks, developed last year by programme directors for Women International in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), symbolise awareness toward women facing crises in war-torn countries. 
 
That is sadly reflected now in many countries of North Africa and the Middle East. And it was also on vivid display on Saturday, 5 March, when Israeli border police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at Palestinian women, who were holding an IWD manifestation at the Qalandiya border crossing north of Jerusalem. 
 
IWD is meant to be a global day to celebrate the economic, political, and social achievements of women past, present, and future, regardless of national, ethnic, or social divisions. In 1910, Clara Zetkin of Germany&rsquo;s Social Democratic Party tabled the idea at the Second International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen, Denmark. 
 
A year later, on 19 March, IWD was officially recognised by Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. In 1913, IWD was moved to 8 March. Today, it is an official holiday in 25 countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Kazakhstan, Kyrgzstan, Laos, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Russia, Tajikistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Zambia. 
 
In the US, March is Women&rsquo;s History Month and it will take on special significance this month. It was in New York City, on 25 March 1911, when 146 mostly girls and young women, ages 14 to 23, perished in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. The seamstresses were unable to escape the burning building after owners had locked stairwells and exits. US trade unions will commemorate this horrible affront to working women in several different events across the month of March. 
 
ICEM affiliates are encouraged to report their IWD actions and activities to <a href="mailto:carol.bruce@icem.org">Carol Bruce</a>, ICEM&rsquo;s Women&rsquo;s Officer.

100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day!

The second 24-hour strike at paperboard plants in Spain set for tomorrow, 3 March, was cancelled after ICEM&rsquo;s two affiliates and the employers&rsquo; association reached accord early today (2 March) in Madrid. 
 
Trade unions FSC-CCOO and FIA-UGT reached agreement with Aspapel on a three-year national labour agreement for the paperboard sector that wins a 3% retroactive increase for 17,500 workers to 1 January 2010. Retroactive to 1 January 2011 will be a one percent salary increase, plus the amount of Spain&rsquo;s consumer price increase (CPI). 
 
In 2012, another one percent was won atop the CPI. The Spanish unions also succeeded in keeping sweeping flexibility changes out of the national agreement. A special commission will be established to study that for possible future implementation on the local level. 
 
Without question, the success of a 23 February day-long work stoppage can be attributed to Aspapel and paper industry employers finally moving on a lapsed 2010 national contract. It is obvious by the terms of this agreement that employers did not want another such strike, scheduled for 3 March. 
 
Some 120 paperboard factories come under the new agreement. 
 
The ICEM congratulates paperworkers of both Spanish federations for their resolve in gaining a fair and current collective agreement, and we also thank the many pulp and paper unions worldwide who sent messages of Solidarity to Spanish paperworkers. 
 
An <a href="/en/19-Pulp-Paper/4269-Spain’s-Paperworkers-Shut-Industry;-Will-Strike-Again-3-March">ICEM news piece</a> from 28 February, naming the companies involved and citing details on the 23 February general strike, is available for viewing.

2nd Spanish Paper Strike Called Off; Settlement Reached

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In a powerful display of international solidarity, the &ldquo;Global Days of Action for Trade Union Rights in Mexico,&rdquo; 14-19 February, were marked by events in over 40 countries, on five continents, including 17 cities in the US and Canada. 
 
The International Textile, Garment, &amp; Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF) called for fundamental rights in the Mexican garment sector, where &ldquo;protection contracts&rdquo; deny workers of their basic labour rights, as is the case throughout Mexico. 
 
In Mexico, the independent labour movement conducted over 27 actions throughout the country, including visits to embassies of 23 countries, a march and demonstration in Mexico City from the Angel of Independence to the offices of Grupo M&eacute;xico, seminars, and a protest rally at the Monument of the Revolution. Each day of action was marked inside Mexico. The leaders of Los Mineros and the SME signed a pact of national unity. 
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Mexico City
An agreement was reached with the US embassy in Mexico City to begin regular discussions on the complaints presented, in particular the cases of Los Mineros and SME.
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Toronto, Canada
In Canada, high-level trade union delegations met with Mexican ambassadors and consuls in four cities, while pickets continued outside. The Vancouver action was marked by speeches from Los Mineros General Secretary Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez, SME General Secretary Martin Esparanza, and Jorge Castillo Maga&ntilde;a, Assistant General Secretary of the Telefonistas union. See video footage of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/D3Steel#p/a/u/0/Bu_BPIrvlaA">Vancouver, Canada, action</a> here. 
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Washington DC, USA
In the US, rallies, meetings with ambassadors and consuls, and pickets, sent the clear message to the Mexican Calder&oacute;n government that pressure is building inside the country&rsquo;s largest trading partner that labour rights abuses must end. See video footage of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usyexGRbDgI&amp;feature=player_embedded">Washington DC rally</a> in front of the Mexican Embassy here. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu83ni7mQHM&amp;feature=player_embedded">San Francisco</a>, <a href="http://www.fox11az.com/news/local/Mexican-consulate-picketed-by-angry-miners-116483178.html">Tucson Arizona</a>, <a href="http://www.house.state.tx.us/video-audio/press-conference/player/?ram=1102181PCB&amp;id=98&amp;session=82 ">Austin Texas</a>. 
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Geneva, Switzerland
In Switzerland, the office of the Ambassador to the United Nations was targeted by a rally, while ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, IMF Assistant General Secretary Fernando Lopes, and UNI SCORE Director Adriana Rosenzvaig met with the ambassador to convey the demands of the action. Ambassadors around the world expressed some concern, but generally denied wrongdoing by the Mexican government. Many made promises to follow-up on the demands. The dialogue and pressure will continue. 
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100 unionists rallied on the lawn in front of Parliament House in Canberra
See a video of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoImqEw00_M&amp;feature=player_embedded">Australia action</a> here, where a high-level, cross-sector delegation met with the Mexican Ambassador, and a large rally was organised in front of Parliament House in Canberra. 
 
Some of the other events around the world during the Global Days of Action included: 
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Mexico Embassy, Tokyo: meeting with the Japan Councils of the four GUFs, along with JTUC-RENGO 
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Sweden: IF Metall met with the Mexican Ambassador in Stokholm
Letters and press releases in Turkey 
 
Meetings and letters in Spain with Mexican Ambassador, Spanish Government, European Parliament. 
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A joint rally in Bangkok, Thailand, Ministry of Labour, as well as letters to the Mexican Ambassador. 
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A picket was conducted in front of the Mexican Embassy in Moscow, in temperatures of -25&deg;C, demands were transferred to the Ambassador
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In Brussels, the Mexican embassy was picketed, with a union delegation meeting the Ambassador, a meeting was conducted with the EU-Mexico Joint Parliamentary Committee
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The Mexican Embassy in Peru was picketed
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Picket of the Mexican Embassy in Indonesia
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Picket of the Mexican Embassy in New Zealand
Letters were sent from affiliated trade unions from Poland to Puerto Rico, from Norway and Germany to Bangladesh, and many others. 
 
Join the <a href="http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=863">LabourStart campaign</a> here and join thousands of protestors in writing to Calder&oacute;n. 3,000 messages were sent via the campaign in the first week, and the numbers are growing every day. 
 
The actions took place around the fifth anniversary of the Pasta de Conchos mine explosion, where the continued failure to exhume and recover the bodies of 63 of the 65 miners who died there, or to take responsibility for the &ldquo;industrial homicide&rdquo; of those workers, and properly compensate their families continues to anger the international labour movement. 
 
The action in support of the democratic and independent trade unions in Mexico was initiated by unions from around the world affiliated to the ICEM, International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF), International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), UNI Global Union, and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

Mexico Days of Action Occur Worldwide in Over 40 Countries

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In this issue of the HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on ICEM&rsquo;s Southern African Women&rsquo;s Workshop, which took place at the Midrand Conference Centre near Johnnesburg, South Africa, and we inform about the Global Fund&rsquo;s call for proposals, and we deal with funding gaps, which may soon lead to loss of lives. 
 
The ICEM Calls on its Affiliates to Contribute to this e-bulletin 
 
ICEM affiliates are 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. 
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ICEM Southern African HIV/AIDS Women&rsquo;s Workshop 
 
Participants at the Women&rsquo;s Workshop were proudly wearing their scarves with the slogan, &ldquo;Safe Sex Demands Equal Rights.&rdquo; This was the theme of the workshop, which was held in Johannesburg from 18-20 May with 26 participants from Botswana, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. 
 
The decision to hold a women-only workshop was based on the need to identify specific challenges facing women, especially the empowerment of their sexual relations through the use of female condoms (femidoms). An HIV-positive woman from the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) of South Africa stressed the importance of female condoms and demonstrated their use. Her example also stood out as she gave birth to an HIV-negative baby following the necessary treatment. 

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The workshop also discussed increasing access for women to prevention, treatment, and care and how to address violence arising from HIV and AIDS status. According to a facilitator from the Twaranang Legal Advocacy Centre, only 5% of perpetrators are brought to book. Women are discouraged by untrained police officers handling violence cases and by lengthy legal procedures. 
 
Intensive role play and group work completed the workshop programme. Participants called for a campaign to promote female condoms. They recommended that unions take a stand against violence; that the quality of counselling and testing be improved; and that police be trained to deal adequately with cases of violence. 
 
Another first of the workshop was that it was an almost paperless meeting. Participants were encouraged to save all workshop documents and presentations on memory sticks given to them as part of the workshop materials. 

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Global Fund Launches New Funding Round 
 
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria launched its tenth call for proposals on 20 May. The deadline for submissions of proposals was fixed as 20 August. Thus, applicants will have three months to prepare their proposals, one month less than in recent rounds. 
 
There is considerable uncertainty whether sufficient funds will be available to pay for all of the Round 10 proposals that are recommended for funding by the Technical Review Panel (TRP). The Global Fund says that, currently, based on confirmed pledges, no money is available for Round 10. However, the Global Fund is in the middle of &quot;replenishment,&quot; with donors due to specify in October how much they expect to give to the Fund over the next three years. Thus, the amount of money available for Round 10 will certainly increase by the time the Global Fund Board approves Round 10 proposals at its meeting in December 2010. 
 
All proposals submitted by the closing date will be reviewed by the Global Fund Secretariat to ensure that they meet the Fund's eligibility criteria. Eligible proposals will then be forwarded to the TRP for consideration. The TRP will make recommendations to the Global Fund Board, which will make its decisions at its meeting scheduled for 13-15 December 2010. (In the past, all proposals recommended by the TRP for approval have indeed been approved by the Board, though sometimes they have been waitlisted pending funding availability.) 
 
The Round 10 proposal form and various support documents are available in six languages at <a href="http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/applynow">www.theglobalfund.org/en/applynow</a>. 
 
(Source: Global Fund press release; and Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 124 of 21 May. 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>. 
 
The Global Fund Observer has also published a Guide to Round 10 applications which is available in English, French, Spanish, and Russian on the above website. 

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Malawi Moves to Adopt WHO Guidelines 
 
Developing countries like Malawi are calculating the cost of adhering to new World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines that recommend starting HIV-positive people on antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) sooner. 
 
Malawi is one of three African countries that have conducted WHO-supported feasibility studies to assess what adopting the new guidelines would mean, and has announced plans to roll out the new WHO guidelines by mid-2011. According to the feasibility study, the number of people on treatment would rise by about 50%, which could double the cost of the National ARV Programme in terms of additional drugs, personnel, and equipment, and would probably also mean waiting lists at many clinics. Malawi has a HIV prevalence rate of about 12%. 
 
Implementing the WHO guidelines would mean major changes to national treatment protocols: HIV-positive people would start taking ARVs at a much higher CD4 count of 350 (a measure of the viral load to ascertain when HIV-positive people should begin treatment). Like other countries in the region, it has begun treating HIV-positive pregnant women at the WHO-recommended CD4 count of 350, but the standard CD4 count threshold for initiating ARV treatment remains 250. 
 
Finance is among the major hurdles to adopting the guidelines, as well as infrastructure, supply-chain management, and health worker shortages. 
 
(Sources: IRIN PlusNews, Johannesburg, 27 May) 

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Eliminate Bottlenecks to End Mother-to-Child-Transmission 
 
Making services for the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) available without addressing the factors that keep mothers from accessing these services was an exercise in futility, experts told a press briefing in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. 
 
&quot;There are barriers that stop mothers from accessing prevention of mother-to-child transmission and treatment services, some of which include inadequate involvement of men and communities, and lack of information,&quot; said Chewe Luo, senior advisor on HIV/AIDS to the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF. 
 
Women might not be able to afford medical care or transport to a clinic; cultural taboos might discourage them from giving birth in medical facilities. &quot;We have to expand the scope of what we do to ensure that the burden of prevention does not fall on women's shoulders alone,&quot; Luo said. 
 
Virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission in Africa - where 20 countries share over 85% of the global burden of mother-to-child HIV transmission - would be possible but only if HIV counselling and testing services were expanded so that all mothers had access to effective antiretroviral (ARV) prophylaxis and treatment. 
 
In 2008, globally, 430,000 children became infected with HIV, 90% of whom lived in sub-Saharan Africa. In the absence of access to ARV treatment, most of them would die within one year of birth, according to UNAIDS. Fareed Abdullah, unit director for Africa at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, promised that &quot;The Global Fund will refocus funding to ensure that priority is given to PMTCT programmes in the recipient countries, and more so in the 20 countries that share the 85% of the global burden of mother to child transmission of HIV.&quot; 
 
(Sources: IRIN PlusNews, Nairobi, 28 May) 

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Lost Funding Means Lost Lives 
 
As donors retreat from funding HIV and AIDS programmes, years of progress in HIV treatment are under threat and the lives of HIV-positive people are increasingly on the line, according to a new report by the international medical charity, M&eacute;decins Sans Fronti&egrave;res (MSF). Improved access to antiretroviral (ARV) treatment has saved lives, reduced the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) and new HIV infections, and strengthened health systems in many countries hard hit by HIV. But as funding diminishes, these gains are now in jeopardy, says the report, &ldquo;No Time to Quit: HIV/AIDS Treatment Gap Widening in Africa.&rdquo; 
 
Funding shortages in eight African countries have already led to drug stock-outs, treatment rationing, and the inability of most of the countries to adopt improved ARV regimens advocated by the World Health Organization (WHO), the report noted. &quot;About 75% of HIV funding in developing countries is international &ndash; you can't replace that in the short term,&quot; said Mit Philips, a health policy analyst at MSF and one of the report's authors. 
 
The recent decision by the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to flat-line it&rsquo;s funding at 2009 levels and decrease annual budget allocations in coming years, has already led PEPFAR-supported clinics in South Africa to begin turning away patients. 
 
UNITAID, the international drug purchasing facility, is to phase out drug funding, leaving Zimbabwe, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Malawi without funding for costly second-line ARV drugs by 2012. 
 
Dr Eric Goemaere, MSF Medical Coordinator in South Africa, called donor backtracking a &quot;moral betrayal. Years ago, countries in the southern Africa region were unsure that they could afford treatment, but they were told by the international community 'Set ambitious targets, we will follow with the money',&rdquo; he said. &quot;If this funding trend is confirmed, I would call it a moral betrayal for patients, who were told to be courageous and face testing because we would provide treatment; for the health staff, who managed to enroll more than four million people on treatment, and who are suddenly told not to enroll patients.&quot; 
 
The report predicted that if the downward trend in funding continued, ARVs would become increasingly inaccessible, which would lead to increased rates of mortality and hospitalisation among those living with HIV, and place a strain on already weak health systems. The report also warned that ARV patients may adopt risky strategies for coping with drug supply shortages, such as sharing pills, thereby increasing the likelihood of widespread drug resistance. 
 
(Source: IRIN PlusNews, Johannesburg, 27 May) 
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HIV/AIDS Project in India Scores Again 
 
The ICEM HIV/AIDS project in India, sponsored by the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, has continued well into 2010 although funding ceased at the end of 2009. 
 
In the first five months of 2010, 24 courses and awareness meetings were held, under the auspices of the Indian National Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation (INMF) and coordinated by its General Secretary, BK Das. These activities did not only reach mineworkers but also school teachers and students in company schools, as well as paramedical staff in company clinics. 
 
The extension of the project was possible because companies had increasingly taken over some of the costs resulting in budgetary savings which could be deployed for organising additional activities. 

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Headaches for HIV-positive Travellers 
 
China recently became the latest country to lift travel restrictions on people living with HIV, following the footsteps of the US (see <a href="/en/72-HIV-AIDS/3492-ICEM-HIV-AIDS-e-bulletin-No.-50-November-2009">e-bulletin No. 50</a> of November 2009, and <a href="/en/72-HIV-AIDS/3582-ICEM-HIV-AIDS-e-bulletin-No.-52-January-2010">No. 52</a> of January 2010). 
 
&ldquo;Every individual should have equal access to freedom of movement regardless of his or her HIV status,&rdquo; UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidib&eacute; commented on China&rsquo;s decision. 
 
According to UNAIDS, 51 countries and territories still impose restrictions on the entry, stay and residence of HIV-positive people. Among those countries requiring an HIV test, usually for a stay longer than 30 days, are: the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Singapore, Egypt, and Iraq. 
 
The Inter-Parliamentary Union, at its 122nd Assembly, called for an elimination of all restrictions. It called on parliamentarians to play a leading role in removing them and also encouraged parliamentarians to support legislation and law enforcement to protect people living with HIV from discrimination. 
 
(Source: IRIN PlusNews, Nairobi, 6 May) 

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News from Global Unions 
 
The ICEM project in India is included in a documentation of good practices which was published by the ILO India Project, which is supported by the US Department of Labor. The publication is available on the website <a href="http://www.ilo.org/hivaidsindia">www.ilo.org/hivaidsindia</a>. 
 
The International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF &ndash; <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>) reports in its latest HIV/AIDS update No. 86 of 15 May on counselling and testing camps organised at Ethiopian international and domestic airports. The ITF also recently published the 4th issue of Agenda, an annual publication on HIV/AIDS and transport workers. 
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This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe 
 
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.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 57, June 2010

Meeting in Toronto on 19 June, 270 national trade union leaders from 50 countries put forward a stern Declaration to the G8 and G20 that a radically changed global social order must occur, one prioritizing security of employment and preservation of the environment. The Declaration, pointed at the G8 and G20 summits this week in Toronto, came from a &ldquo;Triple Crisis of Sustainability&rdquo; forum, a meeting of union leaders representing 55 million workers from industrial and manufacturing sectors. 

The Declaration was a joint undertaking of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM), the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), and the International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF). It was done with local cooperation by five trade unions representing industrial and other workers in Canada: Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada, the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), the Power Workers Union (PWU), the United Steelworkers (USW), and the International Association of Machinists (IAM).
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&nbsp; 
Gianni Alioti, Federazione Lavoratori Metalmeccanici, FLM, Italy
At the core of the Declaration is a demand that finance and political ministers put in place a stringent global financial governance system, introduce an international financial transaction tax, and reach an ambitious and binding agreement on greenhouse gas emissions at Cop16 in Mexico later this year. 

The 10-point Declaration also calls for guarantees that fundamental workers&rsquo; and trade union rights be respected in trade and investment deals; that sustainable development be made a criteria in trade and investment agreements; and that thorough assessment and assurance of social, economic, and environment well-being is contained in trade agreements. The full Declaration can be found <a href="-Toronto-Canada-19-June-2010">here</a>.
&ldquo;Industrial workers have a central role to play in building a future that lifts people out of poverty while protecting the environment,&rdquo; states the Declaration. &ldquo;Through industrial and political action, our three global federations demand that the world&rsquo;s leaders take decisive actions to solve the economic, social, and environmental crises.&rdquo; 

Regarding the timing of the Declaration, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda said, &ldquo;The global economy is still on life-support and continued stimulus is needed. Re-regulating markets, a move to full employment, and a set of social stabilizers to reduce a rapid slide into poverty by hundreds of millions of people is essential.&rdquo;
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IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina&nbsp;
Added IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina: &ldquo;Industry is the locomotive of national economies, as a provider of good quality jobs with decent wages and working hours, and the right to join a union. We need to limit precarious work by legislation and collective agreements, and develop industrial policies for sustainable development both in industrialised and developing countries.&quot; 
 
Geneva-based ICEM has 467 trade union affiliates in 132 countries, and represents 20 million workers. The IMF, also based in Geneva, represents the collective interests of 25 million metalworkers from more than 200 unions in 100 countries. The Brussels-based ITGLWF covers 217 trade unions in 110 countries. 

For more, contact: Dick Blin, ICEM Information Officer, <a href="mailto:dick.blin@icem.org">dick.blin@icem.org</a>, +1 416 361 1000 Ext. 3344, +41 79 734 8994 (mobile); or Alex Ivanou, IMF Communications, <a href="mailto:aivanou@imfmetal.org">aivanou@imfmetal.org</a>, +41 22 308 5033.

Global Union Federations Demand New Priorities from G8, G20 Summits

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