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According to UNAIDS, more than 33 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. In 2008 alone, 2 million people died worldwide of AIDS, 2.7 million more were newly infected with HIV. The high death rates have turned the clock back reversing decades of development gains. The UN Millennium Goals look ever more unachievable. 
 
Medical science has advanced dramatically since HIV/AIDS was first discovered 30 years ago. The appropriate use of the right antiretroviral drugs (ARV) can give an infected person a high quality of life for many years. But too few people have access to life-saving drugs. Although the percentage of those needing ARV treatment who actually receive it rose from 7 percent in 2003 to 42 percent in 2008 or 4 million, about 5 million people are still not receiving it. 
 
The vast majority of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are engaged in productive activity. HIV/AIDS is a union issue. Unions have workplace access and roots in the community; they fight discrimination, victimisation and stigma. Unions can build on the trust of workers; their capacity to negotiate agreements with companies is important in securing non-discrimination, non-victimisation, voluntary counselling and testing and anti-retroviral treatment. 
 
Women are particularly hard hit by the pandemic. Inequalities and dependency expose them to partner infidelity and sexual violence. Yet they are more aware of HIV/AIDS issues and have a vital role as carers of families, children and PLWHA. 
 
The ICEM covers sectors which are hardest hit by the pandemic such as mining because of the working and living conditions of miners. It also organises workers in the pharmaceutical industry. The ICEM and its affiliates are strategically positioned to play an important role in the fight against HIV/AIDS. 
 
Global Framework Agreements (GFA) are an invaluable tool for national affiliates to hold Multinational Companies (MNCs) responsible for what has been agreed at global level. Therefore an HIV/AIDS clause based on the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work should be included in GFAs. The ICEM and its affiliates also seek agreement with key MNCs on the provision of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) and treatment with effective and affordable drugs. It advocates the expansion of medical services to dependents and to the wider community. 
 
The ICEM supports the call to the international community for a long-term commitment to massively increase funding to provide protection and treatment. 
ICEM HIV/AIDS Project
The project started with a workshop for sub-Saharan African countries in November 2004. From 2005 to 2009 it was sponsored by the LO/TCO Secretariat of Sweden and FNV Mondiaal of the Netherlands with support from the Swedish and Dutch ICEM affiliates. The present project cycle from 2010 to 2012 is sponsored by SASK Finland and FNV Mondiaal. 
 
Achievements 
 
At the global level, an information policy is in place. The ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin has been published monthly since October 2005 and the ICEM web pages on HIV/AIDS are being updated. Affiliates are given guidance on World AIDS Day campaigns. Two manuals on collective bargaining and resources were published. Working relations are established with ILO/AIDS, UNAIDS, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the World Bank/International Finance Corporation and other organisations such as the World AIDS Campaign and the Global Business Coalition. 
 
The ICEM has lobbied hard for ILO HIV/AIDS Guidelines for the mining sector, which have yet to be adopted. An HIV/AIDS clause based on the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work has been included in some ICEM Global Framework Agreements. The ICEM cooperates with the Global Union AIDS Programme. The wider impact of ICEM’s HIV/AIDS work is demonstrated by the increasing recognition it receives. In terms of fundraising for sustainability, the ICEM has had some success (see projects below). 
 
An HIV/AIDS Consultant, based in Geneva, looks after the global aspects of the project. He is also in charge of additional projects which are listed below. 
 
At the regional level, national coordinators have been trained in five regional workshops which covered a wide range of topics. In 2008, missions to all project countries and three sub-regional workshops for Southern and East Africa, Anglophone West Africa and Francophone West Africa assessed the progress in the HIV/AIDS project and laid the basis for future activities. 
 
At national level, coordinating committees were established. In cooperation with national coordinators, they have elaborated annual projects which concentrated on peer education and advocacy for voluntary counselling and testing (VCT). Training of VCT counsellors was implemented in 2007 in four African countries with a grant from a major US pharmaceutical company. Pilot co-investment projects were discussed with major mining companies in Ghana and Namibia. Still lagging behind are negotiations on HIV/AIDS workplace policies and protective clauses in collective bargaining agreements. In 2009, most participating countries produced their own HIV/AIDS leaflets and other materials. 
 
The project in Africa is run by a Project Manager based in Johannesburg with the assistance of a coordinator for Francophone Africa, based in Abidjan. 
 
Additional Projects 
 
The ICEM managed to widen the scope of its HIV/AIDS work with additional funding from ICEM affiliates, solidarity support organisations and corporate partnership. 
 
The Danish LO/FTF supports a project on HIV/AIDS and the mining sector in Ethiopia, which runs until 2011. Major outcomes of this project in 2009 include an HIV/AIDS policy for the ICEM-affiliated National Industrial Federation of Energy, Chemical and Mine Trade Unions, the draft of an HIV/AIDS workplace policy as well as the production of materials for a toolkit for peer educators. 
 
The Humanity Fund of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers’ Union of Canada (CEP) co-sponsored a project in Nigeria together with the ICEM HIV/AIDS Project and the Nigerian affiliates NUPENG and PENGASSAN. The training of unionists as peer educators/lay counsellors led to a massive uptake of VCT among workers, their dependents and members of the community. An application for an extension of this project is pending. 
 
The CEP also made funds available for an HIV/AIDS project in Trinidad and Tobago in 2009 and 2010 in cooperation with the Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union. 
 
Collection of funds by the Women’s Department of the German affiliate IG BCE enabled affiliates in Tanzania in 2009 to focus on gender issues and a large VCT campaign, which will be continued in 2010. 
 
Affiliates in Japan and Taiwan contributed to a programme in Mongolia in 2009. 
 
Discussions are underway with the Norwegian affiliate Industri Energi for a project in Jordan. 
 
The German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim sponsored a large HIV/AIDS project in India in 2008 and 2009. With the technical assistance from the ILO Office in Delhi, master trainers were trained who in turn prepared peer educators for their awareness and prevention work at workplaces and in villages. The project also adapted ILO material, such as manuals, leaflets and posters for training purposes and mass distribution. 
For further information please contact the 
ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant Hans J Schwass 
<a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a> or <a href="mailto:schwass@bluewin.ch">schwass@bluewin.ch</a> 
+41 22 7574920, +41 79 3330394

ICEM Responding to HIV/AIDS

Contents: 
	 
	1. Africa - Gender Equality Protocol 
	2. Australia - Gender Wage Gap Grows 
	3. Brazil - FETIESC - Gender and Labor Market 
	4. Colombia - Message from Beatriz Chinchilla 
	5. France - New Anti-Discrimination Panel 
	6. Iceland solves the Problems of an ageing Society? 
	7. Italy - Violence Hot-Line 
	8. Norway - Boardroom Equality 
	9. WHO - Avoiding Maternal Deaths 
	10. Resources 
	 
	 
	1. Africa - Gender Equality Protocol 
	 
	A petition was handed over to Navin Ramgoolam, Prime Minister of Mauritius and Chairman of the Southern African Development Community, to demand a protocol for accelerating gender equality in the region. It was signed by 100 civil society leaders and regional groups. The regional bloc adopted a 1997 Declaration on Gender and Development, but the petitioners believe it has not achieved its objectives. Only South Africa and Mozambique have achieved the target of 30 percent female representation in parliament, for example. The groups want the declaration elevated to a legally binding protocol that would include new targets, such as appointing women to 50 percent of decision-making positions by 2010. It would also require member states to guarantee gender equality in their constitutions, take legislative aciton and allocate funds to fight gender violence, and ensure that constitutional law takes precedence over customary law. The proposed protocol enjoys broad support and has already been endorsed by senior officials. 
	 
	 
	2. Australia - Gender Wage Gap Grows 
	 
	The wage gap between men and women in Australia has widened by 2 percent in the past decade, as announced by the Australian Social Trends report. The report found that as of 2004, females earned only 92 percent as much as their male counterparts, resulting in a gender wage gap of 8 percent. Ten years earlier the gap was only 6 percent. But it also found that women aged 20-24 who have recently entered the workforce actually earned 7 percent more than their male counterparts, although the figure slips back behind men as they get older. The report compared men and women on the basis of hourly average weekly earnings, rather than overall earnings, to allow for the fact that women were more likely to work fewer hours because of family responsibilities. Only full-time employees who worked in non-managerial positions were considered, to allow easier comparison across different sectors. But there was a 23 percent gap between male and female workers in the finance and insurance sector, while women are 21 percent worse off in the mining sector, although recent pay increases for women in the mining sector have outstripped those of men. 
	 
	 
	3. Brazil - FETIESC Gender and Labor Market 
	 
	FETIESC held a seminar on gender and the labor market on 5 August, where ex-state deputy Pedro Uczai conducted the debate on gender and stated that, "women have to manage conflict at work and at home in order to combat discrimination." For him, workers have internalised the exploitation so that they double output in the same time, which results in work-related illnesses such as RSI, repetitive strain injury. "Pay discrimination is huge to the extent that women's pay is subordinate to men's; the men are comfortable with this because they have internalised on-the-job discrimination." According to Professor Cristiani Bareta da Silva, we are living in an emergency for women as individuals. "In Brazil it is inadmissible for women to earn 30% less than men, even with higher educational levels." The situation is even worse in the case of black women - they earn half what men earn. Cristiani Bareta da Silva calls it age and racial inequality. For her the solution is to revitalise domestic space, to create more convivial areas, to raise children with gender equality and to do away with the idea that women have a monopoly on the home. 
	 
	 
	4. Colombia - Message from Beatriz Chinchilla 
	 
	"I would like to say that in my union we have already started working on the action plan that we adopted in Sao Paulo in May. We reported to the national executive, and next 11 August we have a national meeting of CONAMUS, our national committee in SINTRAELECOL, to develop the plan. On the other hand, I would like to say that the government took away from men and women workers the possibility to have a collectively agreed pension, and they left only one scheme where women have to contribute much more money and much longer time, which means very little possibility for a pension. The women's groups are asking for abortion to be decriminalized in case of rape or fetus malformation." 
	 
	 
	5. France - New Anti-Discrimination Panel 
	 
	President Jacques Chirac inaugurated a new panel to monitor and fight discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, beliefs or physical disability. The 11- member panel, headed by the former chief executive of automaker Renault, includes leaders of women's rights groups, labor unions and the French Red Cross. The panel will have an annual budget of 10.7 million euros. 
	 
	 
	6. Iceland solves the problems of an ageing society? 
	According to OECD figures, 45% of the population of the European Union will be over 65 in the year 2020. One small country in the North Atlantic seems to have a solution, Iceland. Iceland ranks first in Europe in the birth rate, and it is a pioneer in women's participation in working life in addition. At the same time it has the lowest unemployment figures, both for women and men. Part of the solution can be found in its generous treatment of parents. In Iceland parents are entitled to a total of 8 months of parental leave at 80% pay. Both fathers and mothers are entitled to parental leave. A similar system exists in Sweden. About 80% of fathers in Iceland do take advantage of parental leave. Both men and women are able to work and enjoy family life. This means that for employers it is just as "risky" to hire a man as to hire a woman. The concerns about rising unemployment were also relieved, since unemployment amounts to about 3%. In our ageing societies we need to have a debate on a social model in which taking care of children and working life can be combined as they should be. 
	 
	 
	7. Italy - Violence Hot-Line 
	 
	The Italian government has set up a hot-line for women victims of violence. It is a 24-hour service, which will put women into contact with all help agencies, from police to psychologists. In the last three years 118,000 women have been victims of sexual violence in Italy, although the figure is likely to be higher since many cases are certainly not reported. 
	 
	 
	8. Norway - Boardroom equality 
	 
	Get more women on your board or we will shut you down, is the message from the Norwegian government to companies. Norwegian women have a tough time getting seats on boards. In Norway over 15 % of board members in private sector companies are women, but in a country where over a third of MP's and 8 out of 19 cabinet ministers are women, the figure is too low. Last year the Norwegian parliament passed a bill to force private companies to have at least 40% women on their boards. Companies had until July to boost participation of their own accord. If the number are insufficient, which the government will decide by August, then sanctions will be applied. From September new companies that do not comply will not be able to register, while existing firms will have another two years to find women for their boards. If they do not, they will be closed down. Already more than half way to its goal of 40%, Norway has the highest female participation rate in the world, ahead of Sweden and the United States. 
	 
	 
	9. WHO - Avoiding Maternal Deaths 
	 
	One out of 16 women will die of birth-related causes in poor countries. The WHO, World Health Organisation, calculates that every minute a woman dies during childbirth. The worst is that 90% of these deaths are avoidable. The situation has to do with the difficulty that women have in exercising their rights in connection with education and health, the right to work and the right to equal opportunities. Ten years after the Cairo summit women's needs are still not the priority of governments. Poverty, conflicts and natural disasters worsen the reproductive situation. Some countries such as China, Egypt, Honduras, Mexico, Jamaica and Tunisia have achieved a better record in maternal mortality. But resources will have to be earmarked for campaigns and sanctions to protect maternal health. Everything is linked - education is vital. When a woman can go to school, have access to adequate training, and a dignified job, she will be prepared to make an informed decision about motherhood. 
	 
	 
	 10. Resources 
	 
	For a website on gender issues, please see www.awid.org/wrec/ , Women's Rights and Economic Change, which is also available in French and Spanish.

ICEM Women's bulletin No. 4 - September 2005

Contents: 
	 
	1. 280 million women are victims of inequality in Latin America 
	2. Brazil - Women's Leadership in Força Sindical 
	3. Brazil - FETIESC seminar on discrimination 
	4. Russia - 100 years of trade union women 
	5. Finland - Gender gap narrowing 
	6. Germany - sustainable family policies 
	7. United States - men doing more housework? 
	8. Resources 
	 
	 
	1. 280 million women are victims of inequality in Latin America 
	 
	A recent Argentine study reveals that more than 280 million women in Latin America suffer from inequality compared to men. The author of the study claims that 20% of women in the region cannot read and write, and 30% of women are heads of household. One other detail is that only 36 out of the 100 most important companies in Latin America have women at the highest level on boards, and in only 5.1% are women in middle management. In Mexico only three major companies are managed by women, which means that it ranks third in the region behind Venezuela and Brazil. At worldwide level the country ranking first in this connection is the United States and last Japan. 
	 
	 
	 2. Brazil - Women's Leadership in Força Sindical 
	 
	On the eve of the Força Sindical Congress in Sao Paulo, the women's department held a conference attended by 100 women leaders from 30 July to 1 August. 
	 
	 
	3. Brazil - FETIESC seminar on discrimination 
	 
	FETIESC held a seminar on discrimination against women at its school from 3 to 5 August to discuss the changes in the world of work and how they affect relations between women and men and their impact on the family, the union and society. The seminar was attended by women from CLAMT, the Latin American Women Workers' Commission, made up of representatives from Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. Debates focused on collective bargaining and challenges to end discrimination in terms of gender and race, as well as the struggle to end violence against women. 
	 
	 
	4. Russia - 100 years of trade union women 
	 
	A conference was held in Moscow from 30 June to 2 July on Women for Unions - Unions for Women to celebrate the centennial of Russian trade unions. A book was published on women's leadership with the history of women in trade unions and biographies of key women, including ICEM Vice-President Evgenia Esenina. Much of the history of Russian trade unions was written by women. Even today women make up more than 50% of trade union members. Gender equality is a major part of the work done by the FNPR confederation and is the object of Congress resolutions. Gender equality is relevant among other things to the labor market, social guarantees, health and safety, unemployment. Women and men must commit themselves to it. 
	 
	 
	5. Finland - Gender gap narrowing 
	 
	In the fourth quarter of 2004 the wages of men in Finnish industry were 22% higher than women's. This meant a relative improvement over 2002, when the gender-related pay gap still amounted to 24%. 
	 
	 
	6. Germany - sustainable family policies 
	 
	On 28 July 2005 IGBCE adopted a position paper on successful family policies together with the Federal Minister for Families, Seniors, Women and Youth that involve family policies for works councils and define trade unions' roles for a future with more children. Trade unions and politicians are both responsible for sustainable family policies to combine equal opportunities with economic dynamics. The Alliance for the Family made up of industry, trade unions and political parties supports modern family policies to achieve better work-life balance. Industry needs the potential offered by well trained women. Parental leave, family allowances and childcare are elements of family friendly policies that can be achieved by company agreements and collective agreements. 
	 
	 
	7. United States - men doing more housework? 
	 
	In dual-earner couples, the dominant family form in the United States, men's handling of household chores and childcare has increased steadily since 1977, according to a recent study by the Families and Work Institute. Moreover, the time women in these couples spend in such tasks has either decreased or stayed the same over the same period. For example, in 1977 employed fathers in dual-earner couples with children spent on average 1.3 hours per workday on household chores compared to 3.7 for employed mothers. By 2002, the comparable figures were two hours per day for fathers and three for mothers. The researchers speculate that if these trends continue, the housework gap will close entirely. 
	 
	The nurturing gap has also closed considerably. In 1977, employed fathers in dual-earner couples allocated 1.9 hours per work day to their children compared to 3.3 hours for employed mothers. By 2003, when the comparable figures for dual-earner couples were 2.7 hours for fathers and 3.5 hours for mothers, the gap had narrowed by 57%. 
	 
	American men seem to do more housework and childcare than men in other industrialized countries such as France, Italy, Germany and Japan, according to the Council on Contemporary Families. The US government, however, was last on the list in providing programs and benefits for families. Other research tells us that men, especially young men, want more time with their families. Men between the ages of 20 and 39 were more likely to give family matters top billing over career success, a national survey by the Radcliffe Public Policy Center found. 82% put family first, and 71% said they would sacrifice part of their pay to have more time with their families. This agrees with surveys conducted by DuPont and Merck and Co. 
	 
	 
	8. Resources 
	 
	For websites on gender issues, please see www.eldis.org/gender/ and www.socialwatch.org, which is also available in Spanish.

ICEM Women’s bulletin No. 3 - August 2005

A mass rally and march will occur next month in Botswana over the government’s failure to intervene in the dismissal of 461 workers last year at diamond-mining enterprise Debswana. The Botswana Federation of Trade Unions is conducting the strike, and it is also a protest by the country’s unions against Debswana’s refusal to recognise new leadership of ICEM affiliate Botswana Mining Workers’ Union. Trade unions are seeking a re-work of employer-favoured labour legislation passed in May 2004, legislation which Debswana—a joint venture between DeBeers and the government—used to sack the 461 for striking illegally.

Mass Rally in Botswana over Debswana's Intransigence

ICEM white-collar affiliate PENGASSAN in Nigeria is calling for complete transparency and full accountability in the acquisition by state Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) of African Petroleum (AP). PENGASSAN is standing with workers of AP who now face uncertain futures at the hands of NNPC following the official 6 July take-over of debt-ridden AP. The companies have not agreed to terms and even a panel of inquiry set up by the government to ascertain debt level cannot reach a decision on the matter. PENGASSAN believes it is wrong for NNPC to acquire AP before due process and an investigation into AP’s indebtedness happens. PENGASSAN President Uche Okoro stated that NNPC should take “a more civilized approach to recover the debt and not wake up one morning and take over AP or stop if from doing business. That will have a lot of impact on our workers of AP and we are not comfortable with that.”

PENGASSAN Demands Transparency in NNPC's Buy-up

Nigerian unions welcomed a recent ruling from the Abuja Federal High Court that struck down the controversial Public Order Act, which required citizens to obtain a police permit before staging any protest. Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution gave citizens the right to assemble and protest peacefully, and the court’s ruling supports that.
 Said Nigerian Labour Congress President Adams Oshiomhole, “We have always believed the Constitution is superior to any other Act. If the colonial masters had cause to enact that law, a democratic government doesn’t need it because it makes a society of democratic right through police licensing. 
Like any licensing, it can always be abused, as it has been abused.” Added Peter Akpatason, president of ICEM affiliate NUPENG, “The actual challenge is for the court to be able to implement or ensure that the ruling is obeyed because in Nigeria of today, it is obvious that obedience to court judgments has become selective.” 
Labour leaders in Nigeria were sharply critical of acting Inspector General of Police Sunday Ehindero who publicly stated the police would appeal the High Court ruling.

Nigerian Unions Applaud Court's Free Assemby Ruling

Year 2005 has been an important year for the expansion of ICEM’s activities in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The Global Union Federation’s commitment has manifested itself in an up scaling of innovative projects and activities. Many of ICEM’s 389 trade union affiliates in 122 countries have joined the fight to reverse the pandemic. 
<img height="122" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Aids%20ribbon.jpg" width="86"/>
From the beginning of Year 2005, a Global HIV/AIDS Coordinator based in Geneva has been in place and a regional coordinator manages the African project from Johannesburg. Two training workshops were held in June and November for national coordinators from twelve sub-Saharan African countries. A manual on collective bargaining is being finalised. 
 
HIV/AIDS has been mainstreamed in ICEM global and regional meetings. A seminar for the Asian and Pacific region in Tokyo in October sponsored by ICEM-JAF laid the foundation for the expansion of ICEM work in that region. 
 
ICEM’s global information policy has been carried forward. The new ICEM website includes <a href="/?id=72" type="internal">web pages on HIV/AIDS</a> with links to important HIV/AIDS sites and materials of intergovernmental organisations, NGOs and other Global Union Federations, as well as the Global Unions Programme against HIV/AIDS in which the ICEM takes an active part. Power Point Presentations have been developed and posted on the web for the use by affiliates. An e-bulletin is being published monthly. The latest version, also released on December 1, can be read <a href="/index.php?id=72&doc=1539" type="internal">here</a>.
The leaflet “ICEM Responds to HIV/AIDS” is launched on World AIDS Day, and can be <a href="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/0511AIDSleaflet.pdf" type="internal">downloaded here</a>. 
 
A central part of ICEM strategy is the expansion of services of existing health clinics of major mining companies to the wider community. It is the logical progression of the valuable workplace education and awareness programmes, which have been in place. And it is here where the ICEM will have a real impact. Agreement in principle has been reached with two multinational mining companies to up scale voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) and the provision of antiretroviral treatment (ART). Substantial amounts of funding with a long-term perspective are required from sources not previously accessed by trade unions. The ICEM calls on the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) to support more co-financed workplace projects to provide VCT and ART in partnership with unions and companies. 
 
“The ICEM is strategically positioned for such a direct role in the fight against HIV/AIDS,” says General Secretary Fred Higgs. “We represent workers in the mining industry, a sector disproportionately stricken by the virus due to living and working conditions. We also represent chemical workers in the major drug-producing companies of the world.” The ICEM will continue to be engaged with pharmaceutical companies to provide affordable drugs to those living with HIV/AIDS in the least developed countries. 
 
The ICEM continues its advocacy for genuine poverty eradication policies and for an increased financial commitment to fight the pandemic, especially through the Global Fund. The establishment of a permanent G8 working group is central to this. The newly established partnership between the WHO and the Global Unions must result in concrete assistance for workplace VCT and ART programmes. 
 
The ICEM calls on all affiliates to use World AIDS Day to intensive their campaigns to reverse the pandemic.

ICEM reiterates strong commitment to combat HIV/AIDS

<img height="40" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief 1.gif" width="100"/>
A branch of Canadian affiliate Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) Union issued a strike notice against Swedish-Finnish paper company Stora Enso a week ago at a mill in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia. 
The notice was served after 98% of 660 members of CEP Local 972 voted to strike. The company has refused to comply with the non-monetary portion of the pattern agreement for the paper industry in eastern Canada. Other unresolved issues include local ones such as Stora Enso’s drive to contract out bargaining unit work, including outsourcing of clerical jobs.
A provincial mediator has called the two sides back to the table for three days of talks from 16-18 December, and another session if necessary on 19 December, the earliest day that a strike could begin. CEP workers at the magazine papers and newsprint mill have been without a current collective agreement for 16 months.

CEP Branch in Canada Braced to Strike Stora Enso

<img height="40" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief 1.gif" width="100" alt=""/>
German affiliate IGBCE focuses its attention even harder on Continental’s broken promises. On 6 December, 30,000 workers of the tyre maker held stop-work meetings at 26 locations throughout Germany to protest the announced closure of the Stöcken plant in Hannover and the resulting loss of 320 jobs by year-end 2006.
IGBCE agreed with Continental on more flexible working rights, including work weeks of 40 hours without additional pay, in exchange for a pledge of no job cuts. Continental Chief Executive Manfred Wennemer broke that pledge last month with the announcement on the fate of the Stöcken plant.
IGBCE will now terminate ten programmes inside Continental that were established jointly with the company to save some €42 million annually.

IGBCE Rescinds Cooperation Efforts with Continental Tyre

<img height="40" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief 1.gif" width="100" alt=""/>
French affiliate FCE-CFDT has grown impatient with progress in wage negotiations in France’s chemicals sector. 
The union refused last week to sign a memorandum on the chemicals sector wage policy. FCE-CFDT termed results of a joint committee meeting on 18 November as unacceptable. In 11 months of futile bargaining on the wage issue, FCE-CFDT’s agenda and goals have not been realized.
The union expressed dissatisfaction with that in a letter to the chemical employers’ federation and to the Minister of Employment. FCE-CFDT week is meeting this week with the other French trade unions in the sector to formulate future action.

French FCE-CFDT Union Expresses Chemicals Bargaining Concerns

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