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<img height="35" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Aids ribbon.jpg" width="25"/>
ILO Starts Process to Establish HIV/AIDS Guidelines for the Mining Sector 
The ICEM has been invited by the ILO to participate in the formulation of HIV/AIDS Guidelines for the mining sector. 
 
In 2000, when the ILO established a programme on HIV/AIDS, the Director General called HIV/AIDS “a workplace issue and a development challenge”. 
 
“The workplace” is not a simple idea: it covers the informal – a small repair shop, a market stall – to the formal: a government office, a hotel, a gold mine. Similarly, the workforce may be one family or thousands of workers in plants across the world. The different nature of work in different sectors means that the working conditions and needs of workforces differ greatly. 
 
At the same time, workplaces have points in common, including a common interest in recognising and responding to the threat of HIV and AIDS. For this reason, the ILO developed the Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. 
 
To complement the Code, assist in its implementation and recognise the different situations, needs and interests in different sectors, ILOAIDS has worked on more targeted guidelines. HIV/AIDS guidelines exist for the transport sector, education and for health services, the latter elaborated jointly with the WHO. 
 
With a clear timetable, draft HIV/AIDS guidelines for the mining sector should be ready by autumn this year and tested in a tripartite workshop before the end of 2007.
<img height="35" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Aids%20ribbon.jpg" width="25"/>
VCT Counsellors’ Training Begins in Five African Countries
Training of VCT (Voluntary Counselling and Testing) counsellors from ICEM affiliates in five countries (Botswana, Ghana, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania) has started with a financial contribution from Pfizer, the US based pharmaceutical company. 
 
The ICEM “5 by 5” project (five counsellors each in five countries) aims at up-scaling voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) at the workplace. 
 
The current reach of HIV testing services remains poor. The low level of VCT is an issue. HIV testing and counselling services are the entry point to HIV prevention, care and treatment. Without the knowledge of an individual’s HIV status no timely access to care, treatment and support can be undertaken and no protection of unborn children (PMTCT) can be affected. For the community a wider knowledge of the HIV status and its links to interventions can lead to a reduction in denial, stigma and discrimination and to collective responsibility and action. 
 
The ICEM is convinced that counsellors coming from unions and being the peers of employees can better convince them to take an HIV test than medical staff employed by companies or public servants. They can reach out to families of workers and often have standing in the community to increase uptake outside the workplace. They also give a better guarantee that such testing of individuals is confidential, will be accompanied by counselling and is only to be conducted with informed consent. 
 
The training is done in line with certified curricula and ends in recognised accreditation of the VCT Counsellors.
<img height="35" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Aids%20ribbon.jpg" width="25"/>
Canadian CEP Humanity Fund in Solidarity Action
The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers’ Union of Canada (CEP/SCEP), affiliated to the ICEM, has for the last 15 years assisted partners in the global South. Among the current projects supported by the Humanity Fund are two directly related to the response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic: fighting HIV/AIDS in the petroleum sector in Chad and HIV/AIDS education and training in Nigeria. 
 
The CEP Humanity Fund raises money with a 1-cent an hour contribution negotiated through the collective bargaining process. The Humanity Fund is building partnerships with workers’, community and women’s organisations, which are involved in improving living and working conditions, organising workers, defending human rights and organising health and safety courses. 
 
For more information go to <a href="http://www.cep.ca">www.cep.ca</a>. CEP is also affiliated to UNI and IFJ. 
<img height="35" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Aids%20ribbon.jpg" width="25"/>
Brazil and Thailand Defy Big Pharmaceutical Companies
Brazil will bypass the commercial patent on a crucial anti-AIDS drug manufactured by Merck in order to ensure that those who desperately need treatment can get a cheaper, generic Indian-made version. 
 
The country will import a generic version of Efavirenz for the price of USD 0.45, less than half of the price of USD 1.10 offered by Merck. Brazil offers free AIDS treatment and Efavirenz is taken by about 75,000 of a total of 180,000 who are on antiretroviral drugs. 
 
Thailand approved generic production of two anti-AIDS drugs in November 2006. It recently announced a decision to adopt compulsory licensing for two more antiretroviral drugs. Abbot Laboratories, the licence holder of one of the drugs, Kaletra, then took a decision to withhold new drugs from Thailand in retaliation. 
 
In Canada and other countries, AIDS Action Now and churches took protest action on 26 April, on the eve of Abbott’s annual general meeting. 
 
Under the rules of the World Trade Organisation, a compulsory licence can be granted in a health emergency or if the pharmaceutical industry abuses its pricing. 
 
In a related development, the Clinton Foundation AIDS Initiative concluded an agreement with Indian generic manufacturers Cibla and Matrix Laboratories for the procurement of second line antiretrovirals, which are very expensive and used when AIDS sufferers have developed resistance to first line drugs. The deal is financed by UNITAID. 
 
(Source: NZZ am Sonntag, Switzerland, 6 May 2007 and Newsweek, International Edition, 9 April. For further reading on compulsory licensing, go to <a href="http://www.twnside.org"></a><a href="http://www.twnside.org.sg">www.twnside.org.sg</a> for Martin Khor’s article “Patents, Compulsory Licensing and Access to Medicines”) 
<img height="35" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Aids%20ribbon.jpg" width="25"/>
South Africa: Delayed State AIDS-Fighting Body going at last
The newly constituted South African National AIDS Council (Sanac), which will be the lead agency in the fight against HIV/AIDS, was officially launched on 1 May after years of delays by the government. 
 
The council, which is chaired by Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, has endorsed the five-year national strategic plan for HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). 
 
Last year saw increased pressure from opposition parties, anti-AIDS groups and the Congress of South African Trade Unions on the government for it to be more effective in the fight against the epidemic. 
 
The main goal of the five-year plan is to reduce the rate of new HIV infections and mitigate the effect of AIDS on individuals, families and communities. Targets of the plan to be reached by 2011 include: providing treatment to 80% of adults who need it; reducing the proportion of adults starting antiretroviral treatment in hospital to 30%; increasing the number of HIV patients on treatment overseen by nurses to 70%; and reducing the rate of new infections by 50%. 
 
Sanac’s membership includes the government at a ministerial level and leaders of business, labour and civil society. 
 
(Source: Business Day, Johannesburg, posted on the website 2 May 2007) 
<img height="35" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Aids%20ribbon.jpg" width="25"/>
Nigeria: Federal Government Approves Workplace Policy on HIV/Aids 
Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr Hassan Lawal, announced the approval of the workplace policy on HIV/AIDS when he launched a new ILO report on discrimination in the world of work. 
 
Lawal said the policy provided guidelines to facilitate the establishment of workplace responses to HIV/AIDS in both the formal and informal sectors. He said the policy would also protect the rights of infected and affected people, while also sensitising them on options of redress. 
 
The minister stated that the policy would build the capacity of management and workers in handling HIV/AIDS issues in the workplace. 
 
(Source: This Day, Lagos, 13 May 2007) 
<img height="35" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Aids%20ribbon.jpg" width="25"/>
News from ILOAIDS: ILO constituents renew commitment to act on AIDS
In 2001, governments, employers and workers agreed the ground-breaking Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. Translated into over 40 languages, a reference point for laws and policies in over 70 countries, the Code of Practice will now be complemented by a Recommendation on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. 
 
To take forward the workplace response to AIDS, the March 2007 session of the ILO Governing Body decided to place HIV/AIDS on the agenda of the International Labour Conference in 2009. 
 
This means that the ILO has now begun work towards the adoption of a Recommendation. A first discussion will be held during the International Labour Conference in June 2009, and the new standard is expected to be adopted as the outcome of a second discussion in June 2010. 
 
Recommendations provide guidance for states and for employers' and workers' organisations, among others, and form a basis for ILO promotional and assistance measures. 
 
(Note by the Editor: Agreement was not reached on a Convention which is the stronger instrument and which the workers’ representatives would have preferred). 
 
(Source: ILOAIDS Website)
<img height="35" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Aids%20ribbon.jpg" width="25"/>
News from the Global Union Programme and Global Union Federations
The German Government has agreed to raise the issue of a regular HIV/AIDS review at the upcoming G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, 6 – 8 June. The German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said, in a letter to the Chair of the Global Unions AIDS Programme, Alan Leather, that the German Government would present the findings of its own review to the G8 and discuss the need for additional monitoring exercises. Global Union leaders also raised the issue during a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on 7 May. 
 
The Global AIDS Alliance, the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance and numerous other organisations have joined the call for universal access and the need for accountability by monitoring progress through a high-level permanent working group. 
 
The Global Unions representative also lobbied ministers and government delegations at the WHO World Health Assembly in Geneva in May for a G8 high-level, permanent working group, which will ensure that responding to and reporting on the epidemic takes place regularly at the G8 summits. 
 
In its most recent HIV/AIDS updates (no. 20 and 21 of 1 and 15 May) the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) reports, among others, on its work with the World Bank in the Transport Forum where workers’ rights and HIV prevention were key issues, on the HIV/AIDS situation in Kazakhstan and on a meeting in Berlin on European Employers’ and Trade Unions’ response to HIV/AIDS (see: <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>). 
 
In its most recent newsletter on EFA and HIV/AIDS Prevention at Schools, the Education International (EI) has published, among others, an article on the ban of sex education in schools in Maharashtra state, India. The Indian teachers’ union AIFTO condemned this ban, which is also in force in a number of other Indian states <a href="http://www.ei-ie.org/efaids">www.ei-ie.org/efaids</a>.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 21

<img height="48" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief 1.gif" width="120" alt=""/>
Arrests and injuries from police gun-fire haunt Democratic of Congo’s (DRC) trade unions, as activists struggle to exert their rights in the war-torn but resource-rich African country. 
 
On 22 May, General Secretary Jean-Benoit Ntando of the ICEM affiliated mining and energy trade union, Organisation des Travailleurs Unis du Congo (OTUC), was arrested near Kinshasa. He was leading a demonstration of Foire Internationale de Kinshasa (FIKIN) workers and along with two other union leaders, was detained at a police detention centre in Limete, Kinshasa. 
 
The three were released two days later.
<img height="130" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/CongoDRC.png" width="280" alt=""/>
  
 
The main reason for industrial action by the FIKIN workers’ was non-payment of salaries and other benefits, a persistent problem in the DRC. In spite of the many promises by the company, workers, as well as middle managers, suffer from non-payment of wages for up to 17 months. Trade unionists also were protesting against the abusive dismissal of co-workers, and the employer’s failure to consult with the union on important decisions, as required by the company’s statutes. 
 
In a memorandum addressed to the DRC’s Minister of Portfolio, Jeannine Mabunda, on 22 May, the FIKIN trade union delegation called for the removal of the company’s top-level management. 
 
The situation for the workers at the state-run diamond mine called Société Minière de Bakwanga (MIBA) near Mbuji-Mayi, in south-central Kasai-Oriental Province, also remains precarious. 
 
A strike there by some eight ICEM-affiliated mining unions over non-payment of wages began on 23 April, but was suspended four weeks later after a new interim management team was installed. Although the company did pay one month’s back wages, the dispute regressed when MIBA used police force against workers. 
 
Ngandu Ntumba, a union leader of the ICEM-affiliated SYTRAME-CDT, disappeared for 48 hours into the hands of DRC’s security forces, while another SYTRAME trade unionist named Tshimpaka was shot in the leg by police, and then was trampled by police forces as they rushed other protesters. This occurred in mid-May. 
 
The victim remains in a hospital in Bonzola in eastern DRC, after doctors removed a bullet from his left leg. But he is still without proper medical necessities. The ICEM is cooperating with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in order to get the necessary care and medicines to him.
<img height="105" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/0706Bululu.jpg" width="80" alt=""/>
 Léon Ngoy Bululu 

Also in the DRC, Vice President Léon Ngoy Bululu of the Solidarité Syndicale des Travailleurs et Cadres du Congo, an affiliate of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) was released from Makala prison in Kinshasa on 15 May. Bululu was arrested on 20 April following an appearance on local television, where he criticised the state-owned transport agency ONATRA. 
 
A hearing on 11 May had already acquitted him of all charges. Both ITF and ICEM had demanded his release.

Dangerous Times for Mining Union Activists in Congo

<img height="40" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief 1.gif" width="100"/>
Jeff Lawrence, the 17-year president of ICEM affiliate Liquor, Hospitality, and Miscellaneous Union (LHMU), won selection last week as Secretary-elect of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). 
 
He will succeed Greg Combet, who will stand down late this year as the day-to-day leader of the Australia’s national labour centre and run for Parliament from the New South Wales district of Charlton in 2007 elections. Combet has served as secretary of the 1.9-million-member ACTU since the year 2000. 
<img height="187" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/0706JeffLawrence.jpg" width="200"/>
Jeff Lawrence, new ACTU Secretary-elect
Lawrence, 55, was the only person nominated for the post at the ACTU’s Organising Conference on 13 June at the University of New South Wales. He began his trade union career in 1977 for the Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union, one of several predecessor unions to the 130,000-member LHMU. 
 
“I am determined to work hard to see off the Howard government and its unfair IR laws,” Lawrence stated. “As ACTU Secretary, I want to work with Australian working families to ensure that they and their rights are given respect. (That includes) respect for them to be heard … in the workplace and in society in general; respect for their role as parents and carers; (and) respect for their skills and their ability to improve themselves. 
<img height="56" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/AUSTRALIALHMU.gif" width="350"/>
“That’s what WorkChoices, the Howard government’s industrial law, has taken away.” 
ACTU President Sharan Burrow called Lawrence a trade unionist who has led the charge against the Howard government’s draconian labour relations reforms. “He is from a union that has members at the forefront of the impact of WorkChoices," she said. “I look forward to working with Jeff Lawrence and to developing a new partnership to lead the community campaign to restore the rights of working Australians taken away by the Australian government.”

LHMU’s Jeff Lawrence to Succeed Greg Combet as head of Australian Council of Trade Unions

<img height="40" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief 1.gif" width="100" alt=""/>
With private equity funds in 2006 going on unprecedented buying sprees totaling US$725 billion, the International Union of Food and Agricultural Workers (IUF) has published a 36-page booklet entitled “Workers’ Guide to Private Equity.” 

The booklet is aimed at trade unions and their members, and highlights the threat of private equity companies when they take over companies. The IUF says the heavy debt loads that companies often carry following such buy-outs means they pay less in taxes, thus creating a more increased tax burden for individuals and small businesses. 
<img height="112" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/0706IUFBooklet.png" width="110" alt=""/>
The IUF also says cost-slashing following takeovers by private equity funds means that research and development budgets of major companies are cut, so new product innovations go by the wayside. The sole corporate investment strategy by such funds is maximum short-term financial returns to shareholders. 
“Workers’ Guide to Private Equity” includes chapters on the Impact to Unions and Undercutting the Public Interest. It also contains two “Trade Union Action” programmes, one on the “organising challenge,” the other entitled “mobilising and intervening for re-registration.” The booklet, in its appendix, lists the top 50 private equity buy-out funds. It also contains an IUF Public Equity Buyout Watch. 
A PDF version of the booklet can be viewed <a href="http://www.iufdocuments.org/www/documents/A%20Worker's%20Guide%20to%20Private%20Equity-e.pdf">here</a>.  The IUF is selling the booklet for CHF 5 each (plus postage), or for CHF 3 (plus postage) each for bulk copies of ten or more. 
The IUF also has a part of its web-site decidated to the private equity problem: <a href="http://www.iuf.org/buyoutwatch">http://www.iuf.org/buyoutwatch</a>.

IUF Offers ‘Workers’ Guide to Private Equity’

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Provisional Programme for the Fourth ICEM World Congress
Saturday 17 November 2007  
10.00 – 17.00 <a href="/en/?id=184&doc=2429&la=EN" type="internal">Women’s Conference 
</a> 
Sunday 18 November 2007 
09.30 – 17.00 <a href="/en/?id=184&doc=2429&la=EN" type="internal">Women’s Conference</a> 
 
Monday 19 November 2007  
09.00 – 17.30 Presidium 
19:00 Dinner for ICEM Presidium Members and accompanying persons 
 
Tuesday 20 November 2007   
09:00 - 17:00 Executive Committee Meeting 
19.00 Dinner for ICEM Executive Committee Members and accompanying persons 
 
Wednesday 21 November 2007   
09:00 - 17:00 <a href="/en/?id=184&doc=2428&la=EN" type="internal">Contract and Agency Labour Conference</a> 
10:00 - 16:00 <a href="/en/?id=184&doc=2441&la=EN" type="internal">Meeting of the ICEM Pulp and Paper Section</a> 
17.00+ Meeting of Congress Credentials Committee 
 
Thursday 22 November 2007   
10.00 Opening of Congress 
12:00 WFIW Integration 
17.30 Congress Sessions close 
19.00 Dinner 
 
Friday 23 November 2007   
09:00 Congress Sessions continue 
17:30 Congress Sessions close 
19.00 Dinner 
 
Saturday 24 November 2007   
09:00 Final Congress Sessions 
14:00 Congress Closure 
15:00-17:00 New ICEM Presidium meets 
<img height="29" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/ICEMCongresslogo50.jpg" width="25" align="absMiddle"/>  <a href="/en/?id=184&doc=2430&la=EN" type="internal">Click here for a more detailed Draft Congress Agenda 
(22-24 November)</a>  <img height="29" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/ICEMCongresslogo50.jpg" width="25" align="absMiddle"/> 
 
Departure of Delegations
 
<img height="113" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/0705ICEM2007Congresslogo-100.jpg" width="100"/><a name="practical"></a>
4th ICEM World Congress - 2007 
Practical general information 

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1. Congress Venue 
 
Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre 
60 New Rachadapisek Road, Kongtoey 
Bangkok 10110 
Thailand 
Tel: +66/2229-3000 
Fax: +66/2229-3392 
Website: <a href="http://www.qsncc.com">www.qsncc.com</a> 
2. Timetable 
Congress Registration will be every day, from Monday 19 November until Wednesday 21 November, from 08:00 to 17.00. Last minute Congress Registration will be on Thursday 22 November, from 08:00 to 10:00.
3. Transportation during congress 
 
A skytrain and a metro line are disserving the congress venue from all hotels block booked by the ICEM for the congress. The ICEM will provide tickets for delegates during the 3 days of Congress (22, 23 and 24 November). Those tickets will be available on site upon registration.
4. Social Activities 
 
Thursday 22 November – a dinner will be organised for congress delegates and accompanying persons. The information on the venue and other arrangements will be distributed at the time of the congress. 
 
Friday 23 November – a gala dinner will be organised for congress delegates and accompanying persons. The venue for the dinner will be the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre. Further information on the arrangements will be distributed at the time of the congress. 
5. Tourism Information 
 
An information desk with tourism info, including on tours will be available on the congress site. 
6. Currency 
 
The Monetary unity of Thailand is the baht (THB). 
Exchange rate in early 2007 is: 1€ = +/- 44 THB. 
There is no black market. Changing Euros can be done, without any problems, everywhere, even in traveller’s checks. For European countries, it is not necessary to bring dollars. 
7. Climate in Thailand 
Thailand's climate is tropical, high both in temperature and humidity, and dominated by monsoons. From November to the end of February the climate is much less trying with a cooling North East breeze and a reduction in the humidity level. This is also the main tourist season, and the best time to visit Thailand. 
The north and north-east are generally cooler than Bangkok in winter and hotter in summer. In the far north, around Mae Hong Son temperatures can occasionally drop as low as 20C. 
8. Time 
 
The standard time zone for Bangkok is GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) + 7 hours. 
9. Visa for Thailand 
 
Visa on Arrival: 
 
- According to the Interior Ministerial Announcements, passport holders from 20 countries may apply for visas at the immigration checkpoints for the purpose of tourism for the period of not exceeding 15 days. 
 
- The applicant must possess means of living expenses at the amount of 10,000 Baht per person and 20,000 Baht per family accordingly. 
 
- The applicant must present full paid ticket which is usable within 15 days since the date of entry 
 
- Visa on arrival is provided at 32 designated international checkpoints and applicants should submit the application form duly filled out and to which his/her recent photograph (4 x 6 cm) is attached. The application fee is 1,000 Baht. 
 
- Visitors who enter the Kingdom with Visa on Arrival generally cannot file an application for extension of stay except in special cases such as illness which prevents them from travelling, etc. They can submit an application at the Office of Immigration Bureau, Immigration Division 1, Soi Suan Plu, South Sathorn Road, Bangkok 10120. Tel. 02 287-3127 or 02 287-3101-10 ext. 2264-5 or at website <a href="http://www.immigration.go.th">http://www.immigration.go.th</a>. 
The list of 20 countries is as follows: 
 
1. Bhutan 
2. China 
3. Cyprus 
4. Czech Republic 
5. Estonia 
6. Hungary 
7. India 
8. Kazakhstan 
9. Latvia 
10. Liechtenstein 
11. Lithuania 
12. Maldives 
13. Mauritius 
14. Sultanate of Oman 
15. Poland 
16. Russia 
17. Saudi Arabia 
18. Slovakia 
19. Slovenia 
20. Ukraine 
 
Further information can be found on the website of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kingdom of Thailand: <a href="http://www.mfa.gov.th">www.mfa.gov.th</a>.
Visa not needed for the following countries: 
1. Australia 
2. Austria 
3. Belgium 
4. Brazil 
5. Bahrain 
6. Brunei 
7. Canada 
8. Denmark 
9. Finland 
10. France 
11. Germany 
12. Greece 
13. Hong Kong 
14. Iceland 
15. Indonesia 
16. Ireland 
17. Israel 
18. Italy 
19. Japan 
20. Korea 
21. Kuwait 
22. Luxembourg 
23. Malaysia 
24. Netherlands 
25. New Zealand 
26. Norway 
27. Oman 
28. Peru 
29. Philippines 
30. Portugal 
31. Qatar 
32. Singapore 
33. Spain 
34. South África 
35. Sweden 
36. Switzerland 
37. Turkey 
38. United Arab Emirates 
39. United Kingdom 
40. USA 
41. Vietnam 
10. Vaccination – Yellow Fever Certificate 
 
List of countries which are declared YELLOW FEVER INFECTED AREAS: 
 
- The Ministry of Public Health has issued regulations that applicants who have travelled from or through the countries which have been declared Yellow Fever Infected Areas must provide an International Health Certificate proving that they have received a Yellow Fever vaccination. 
 
- The International Health Certificate must be submitted together with the visa application form. The traveller will also have to present the said certificate to the Immigration Officer upon arrival at the port of entry in the Kingdom. As for those nationals of the countries listed below but who have not travelled from/through those countries, such a certificate is not required. However, they should possess concrete evidence showing that their domicile is not in an infected area so as to prevent unnecessary inconvenience. 
 
1. Angola 
2. Benin 
3. Bolivia 
4. Brazil 
5. Burkina Faso 
6. Burundi 
7. Cameroon 
8. Central Africa 
9. Chad 
10. Colombia 
11. Democratic Republic of Congo 
12. Congo 
13. Ivory Coast 
14. Ecuador 
15. Equatorial Guinea 
16. Ethiopia 
17. French-Guiana 
18. Gabon 
19. Gâmbia 
20. Ghana 
21. Guinea-Bissau 
22. Guinea 
23. Guyana 
24. Kenya 
25. Libéria 
26. Mali 
27. Mauritânia 
28. Niger 
29. Nigeria 
30. Panamá 
31. Peru 
32. Rwanda 
33. São Tome & Príncipe 
34. Senegal 
35. Sierra Leone 
36. Somalia 
37. Sudan 
38. Suriname 
39. Tanzania 
40. Togo 
41. Trinidad and Tobago 
42. Uganda 
43. Venezuela 
 
Further information can be found on the website of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kingdom of Thailand: <a href="http://www.mfa.gov.th">www.mfa.gov.th</a>.

4th ICEM World Congress - Agenda and Practical general information

A.G.Lukashenko 
President 
Republic of Belarus 
By fax: +375-17-226-06-10 
 
Brussels, 
18 June 2007 
 
Dear Mr. President, 
I am writing to you on behalf of the 20 million workers whom our International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) represents through its 384 affiliates in 125 countries of the world. 
 
We see the decision of the European Union to withdraw the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) benefits from Belarus, effective from June 21, 2007, solely as a result of your Government’s persistent disregard for internationally recognised labour standards and its systematic failure to comply with the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry of the International Labour Organisation. 
 
The Belarusian State Administration has had more than adequate time for implementing measures required to convince the international community of the seriousness of its declared intention to ensure freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining for all workers in Belarus. 
In reality, the measures taken by your Government proved to be largely cosmetic; the existing legal framework for trade union activities still allows for suppressive and discriminatory actions by managers and authorities who arbitrarily use it against members of independent trade unions; and the new Draft Law on Trade Unions equally does not guarantee genuine trade union rights and freedoms. 
 
We wholeheartedly support the independent trade unions and workers in Belarus and resent all attempts to lay the blame for the withdrawal of the GSP benefits at their door. The full responsibility for this decision of the European Union is borne by the Belarusian State Administration, and we believe that only expeditious and earnest implementation of the recommendations of the ILO Commission of Inquiry can form a credible basis for any future resolution of this situation. 
 
Sincerely Yours, 
 
Manfred Warda 
ICEM General Secretary 
 
Cc: 
S.S.Sidorskiy, Prime-Minister, Republic of Belarus 
L.P.Kozik, Chairman, Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus 
A.I.Jaroshuk, President, Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions

ICEM letter to Belarus President on GSP withdrawal

<img height="40" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief 1.gif" width="100"/>
South Africa's mining industry is getting more dangerous, judging from a rash of deaths in June in the country's gold and platinum sectors. Overall, mining deaths in 2007 far outpace those occurring in preceding years, making a 2003 goal by the Chamber of Mines of achieving zero workplace deaths by 2013 difficult to imagine. 
 
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), ICEM's largest trade union affiliate in South Africa, believes mining houses are spending large sums to increase production in this period of high precious commodity pricing, but very little on safety prevention. 
<img height="100" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/ICEMminingsector.JPG" width="100"/>
A study done by a South African organisation, Bench Marks Foundation, cites an audit done by AngloPlatinum, a company hit with the most June mining deaths. The audit reveals that an AngloPlats review of its deaths in mining shows more emphasis is placed on establishing blame "rather than on identifying causes and instituting measures to prevent the occurrence of accidents." 
The world's largest producer of platinum, 75% owned by AngloAmerican, witnessed five June deaths in its South African operations, which caused the company to close its massive Rustenburg operations for seven days on 18 June in order to conduct a safety audit. 
 
AngloPlatinum is responsible for 17 deaths in South African mines so far in 2007. Twelve of those came at Rustenberg. That compares with a total of 19 in 2006, 17 of which came at Rustenburg.
AngloPlat's sister company, AngloGold Ashanti, has fared no better. Globally, in the first quarter of 2007, AngloGold experienced its worst quarter of mining deaths since 2004. Fourteen miners perished in the first three months of 2007, including nine in the company's South African gold operations. 
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Rival Goldfields is responsible for ten mining deaths in South Africa so far in 2007. 
 
Last year, a total of 199 mining deaths were recorded in the country's mines, including 113 in gold operations and 40 in platinum. If the recent May-June spate of nearly 50 deaths continues, the 2007 death toll will far exceed those occurring in 2006. 
 
The NUM has formally called for an urgent tripartite meeting to resuscitate South Africa's Mining Health and Safety Summit in order to address the current deficiencies in mine safety. Even the Chamber of Mines, at its third annual health and safety meetings early in June, said that drastic action is needed now to curb the high level of mining deaths. 
 
The NUM endorsed the chamber's statement, but says mining houses must begin to "walk the talk." In the Bench Mark's study, commissioned by the three major platinum producers, AngloPlatinum, Impala, and Lonmin, the NGO said the dramatic increase in production levels is responsible for an adverse effect on safety. 
 
The chief researcher to the year-long study recommends that bonuses of top executives be linked closely to safety performances. 
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NUM and ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana
NUM President Senzeni Zokwana said, "Workers feel let down by the state's judicial system since no employer has ever been hauled before a court of law in the circumstances in which people lose their lives, although legislation is clear on that." 
 
"Miners are losing their lives and limbs, while the majority of accidents are preventable," added NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni. The NUM insists that all parties concerned in South Africa, from the relevant governmental agencies to all levels of management inside the mining companies, give the matter of health and safety in mining the top priority it deserves.

2007 Mining Deaths Become Worrisome in South Africa

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Miners of the United Steelworkers (USW) in Canada are on strike at the Iron Ore Co. of Canada for better workplace protections and reductions to subcontracting. The strike, by 1,300 USW members at a mine and pellet plant in Labrador City, Newfoundland, and an export water facility at Sept-Iles, Quebec, also involves wages and benefits. 
 
Major mining house Rio Tinto owns 59% of Iron Ore Co. of Canada.
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USW members in Labrador City, over 1,000 strong, walked out on 8 March, while port workers of another USW branch union joined the strike last week. The two sides have not held talks since the strikes began. 
 
Management forced the strike with an inadequate pay package, and refusal to address the contractors’ issue, a matter that has brought hundreds of grievances by maintenance staff and production workers alike. 
 
“The tipping point in this dispute included such fundamental issues as seniority rights,” stated USW District 6 Director Wayne Fraser. “It’s all about corporate control. Workers deserve to have their most basic rights respected.”
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USW Disrtict 6 Director Wayne Fraser
Just minutes after the strike deadline on 8 March, management slid a revised offer under the office door of the branch unions’ bargaining committee. The company did move some on wages, and dropped its unfettered right to contract out any job at the mine site and pellet plant. But it was too little to stop the strike. 
 
The two USW unions in Labrador City, Locals 5795 and 6731, have 500 grievances pending for arbitration. Many of these grievances involve work being performed by contractors, work that could be done by USW miners. Despite movement on the wage and benefit package, the company’s 8 March offer still falls short of what other mining companies in eastern Canada pay. 
 
“This fight is about recognizing the intrinsic value our members bring to this operation,” stated USW Local 5795 President George Kean. The year “2006 broke all production records and our members gave the company the biggest profit in its history.” 
 
Kean said employee morale is at an all-time low, citing a company survey of workers revealed that 87% of them felt they were not treated with respect and dignity. Management has turned a deaf ear to the survey. 
 
USW Locals 5795 and 6731, on 1 March, voted by 98% to strike. The 250 port and dock workers at Sept-Iles, represented by USW Local 9344, voted to strike on 14 March, also with a 98% ballot. 
 
The grievances and subcontracting issues date to 2004, when workers at the two locations undertook a 12-week strike to win a renewal labour agreement.

Work Issues, Subcontracting Cause Mining Strike at Canadian Rio Tinto Subsidiary

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A Unity Accord was developed 19-21 March in Canada for unions representing workers at Brazilian-based Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD). Last year, the giant Brazilian iron ore, coal, and metal mining company took over Canadian-based, the western world’s leading nickel producer. 
 
Signing the accord, which contains six priorities for the trade unions, were the United Steelworkers (USW) of Canada, host of the unity event in Sudbury, Ontario, and trade unions from Brazil, Mozambique, and New Caledonia. ICEM Vice President Ken Neumann, USW’s National Director for Canada, opened the conference.
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USW Canadian National Director Ken Neumann 
The unions participating include the National Confederation for Workers in the Mineral Sector (CNTSM) and Sindi-Metals (CNM-CUT) of Brazil, the National Union of ConstructionWorkers (SINTICIM) of Mozambique, and Union des Syndicate d'Ouvriers et Employés de Nouvelle-Calédonie (USOENC) of New Caledonia, the largest mining union on the French territorial islands. They were joined by branch unions of the USW from five CVRD/Inco locations in Canada.
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USW President Leo Gerard, a former miner at Inco in Sudbury, said the Unity Accord was not signed in an adversarial or confrontational manner. “When there are companies as big as CVRD, it is tremendously important that workers come together in solidarity and unity, in order to build on each other’s victories and to minimize each other defeats,” said Gerard at a press conference, as reported in the Sudbury Star newspaper. 
 
Added USW District Canadian District 6 Director Wayne Fraser, “As companies become more global, it’s no longer a matter of flag-waving for your union. You need to be a global union network, because you are dealing with a global, transnational company.” 
 
The six priorities of the CVRD Unity Accord include: stronger collective agreements; pushing for more capital expenditures to ensure job security in mining communities; safe and healthy workplaces, and environmentally sustainable operations; respecting the human rights within communities, including the right to organise and bargain collectively; full access from CVRD on acquisitions, mergers, or other reorganizations; and eliminating outsourcing and contract labour.

Union Mining Alliance Comes Together Around CVRD of Brazil

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A report issued by the Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA), an employers grouping, says that reversing the Howard government’s WorkChoices law related to individual work agreements will reduce mining productivity, and cost Australia A$6 billion in exports. 
 
But labour unions contest that assertion, claiming mining employers are “scaremongering” while anticipating that a victory by the Labour Party in federal elections this year will reverse Prime Minister John Howard’s radical changes to industrial relations law. The worst of those changes, called the Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs), or individual work pacts that replace enterprise agreements, took effect a year ago. 
 
The erroneous report, issued at the AMMA’s resources conference in Perth last week, states that 80% of all workers in the resource sector are on AWAs. It also falsely claims that AWAs have not been detrimental to workers’ employment conditions.
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ACTU Sec. Greg Combet
“The AMMA’s arguments don’t stack up,” said Australian Council of Trade Unions Secretary Greg Combet. “The suggestion that getting rid of AWAs will hurt the economy is scaremongering, and all that we’re seeing is big business getting between the Howard’s government’s industrial relations laws.” 
 
Combet refuted the AMMA study by stating that the coal sector, which is overwhelmingly comprised of enterprise or collective labour agreements, has far outpaced productivity in metals mining over the past ten years. 
 
“We are opposed to AWAs for a very good reason,” said Combet. “They have been used to exclude people being represented by a union.”

Mining Bosses ‘Scaremongering’ to Preserve Australian Individual Work Agreements

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