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Following 168 days of bargaining, management at the Pampilla refinery, in the Ventanilla district on the Western edge of capital Lima, continues to refuse to bargain in good faith. 
 
The refinery is a subsidiary of the Spanish multinational Repsol. With a daily capacity of 102,000 barrels, La Pampilla is responsible for over half the refining capacity of Peru. 
 
Fenupetrol, the Oil Workers&rsquo; Union in Peru, has found Repsol to behave very differently than the image that the company portrays &ndash; one of being an ethical company, with high regard for corporate social responsibility. 
 
Moises Ochoa, National Secretary of International Relations at Fenupetrol, reports that following management&rsquo;s failure to offer anything reasonable to the bargaining committee since negotiations began on 15 December 2009, the union has moved to request legal arbitration for bargaining. 

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As collective bargaining at the company enters its second stage, Fenupetrol reiterate its demands in light of recent large company profits and following five years with no increase in workers&rsquo; salaries. The Pampilla employees now earn 33% less than oil workers elsewhere in the country, for instance at Petroperu. Sales for the rest of 2010 are projected to be very high. The bargaining committee now seeks 25-30% rise in base salaries, improvements in the profit bonus and shift bonus, as well as a significant increase in the food allowance for workers. 
 
The Pampilla refinery reported revenues of US$802 million during the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 68.4% over last year. 
 
The ICEM calls on Repsol and the local Pampilla management to bargain in good faith, and come to terms with wages deficiencies incurred over the last five years.

Repsol Subsidiary in Peru Hinders Collective Negotiations with Oil Workers

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State-run electric power utility Eskom got a court intervention last week preventing South Africa&rsquo;s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from striking. The order came on the eve of a mass demonstration by NUM at the company&rsquo;s headquarters in MegaWatt Park, Johannesburg, on 26 May. 
 
The strike by NUM&rsquo;s 16,000 members at Eskom was supposed to begin that same day. The company has reneged on an agreement reached last summer that increased housing allowances would be put into effect by late in 2009. Eskom also has recanted over installing full-time safety representatives. A further demand by NUM is that shop stewards be given training and allowed to represent workers on issues before South Africa&rsquo;s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA). 
 
Meanwhile, the utility dumped salt in the wounds of utility workers in the final round of a three-session set of 2010 wage talks. On Friday, 28 May, Eskom offered workers a paltry 3.5% wage increase, far below South Africa&rsquo;s inflation index. 
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The proposed increase was intended as part of a three-year labour agreement. &ldquo;This is a serious insult to workers who are classified as essential but treated like dirt,&rdquo; stated NUM Energy Sector Coordinator Job Matsepe. 
 
A South African labour court ruled late on 25 May that &ldquo;Eskom is an essential service and employees of an organisation classified as such are prohibited from taking part in industrial action.&rdquo; 
 
A strike was averted last year when Eskom, the NUM, and two other unions agreed to refer the housing allowance to a task team that would meet and make the increase by 1 December 2009. That did not happen. All three unions seek a R5,000 (US$654) housing allowance. &ldquo;We have discovered that referring matters to a task team is an Eskom delay tactic,&rdquo; said Num spokesman Lesibo Seshoka. 
 
At NUM&rsquo;s National Central Committee meeting early in May, leadership came out strongly against privatisation of any portion of power generating plants or other state-owned assets.

South African Court Blocks NUM from Striking Electric Utility Eskom

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A wage agreement will likely will be signed today giving 5,800 miners and metalworkers in Georgia a minimum 15% pay increase, backdated to 1 May. For those working shifts at the Zestafoni Ferroalloys plant and Georgian Manganese mines, a further 7% was won on top of the 15%. 
 
That was assured on Friday, 28 May, when one of the Georgian shareholders of the two enterprises signed off on the increase. The managing directors of the manganese processing plant and mines are expected to sign the wage portion of the contract today in Zestafoni with leaders of the ICEM affiliate, Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of Georgia, Imereti Region branch. 
 
A further agreement covering paid holiday leave, sick leave, a joint contributory pension plan, and other workplace conditions is expected to be consummated in the very near future. The union, with valuable assistance from the national labour centre, Georgian Trade Unions Confederation (GTUC), as well through ICEM intervention, won recognition in mid-May after strikes and public activities in the previous weeks. (See earlier ICEM report <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3777-Free-Trade-Union-Recognised-for-Miners-Metalworkers-of-Georgia">here</a>.) 
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The boost to salaries is fair and just, since pay at the Zestafoni Ferroalloys plant and manganese mines in Chiatura is extremely low. Miners had earned an average monthly wage of GEL (lari) 450, or US$238, &euro;192. The average monthly salary inside the ferroalloy plant, where 2,200 of the 5,800 workers are employed, is GEL 562, or US$298, &euro;240. 
 
As often happens when such struggles for democratic trade union representation and workplace improvements become public and are successful, industrial workers in other Georgian enterprises also are seeking representation. Both GTUC and the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of Georgia are currently working with employees in steel and other industrial enterprises for recognition, wage improvements, and workplace rights. 
 
The ICEM congratulates the federation and its Georgian trade union affiliate on its accomplishments at Zestafoni and Chiatura, and pledges continued resources and a global presence as the unions better the working lives of all Georgian industrial workers.

Georgian Miners, Metalworkers Get Long Overdue Pay Rises

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A historic event took place early this month in the northern Iraq region of Kurdistan: the region&rsquo;s two labour federations, traditional tied to Kurdistan&rsquo;s two political parties, merged, creating a single voice for workers in northern Iraq. 
 
The new federation is called the Kurdistan United Workers&rsquo; Union, and consolidates the Kurdistan Workers&rsquo; Union and the General Workers and Crafts Syndicate Union. The merger was first reported ten days ago on the website of UK&rsquo;s Trades Union Council (TUC). Hangam Abdullah Khan and Yassin Aziz Ali are to serve as co-Presidents. 
 
&ldquo;When we were two federations, we spoke with two voices,&rdquo; stated Hangam Abdullah Khan. &ldquo;Now it is working people who will benefit from us having one voice.&rdquo; 
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Added Yassin Aziz Ali, &ldquo;With this new union, we have high hopes. We hope to have an increasing membership, women in leadership positions in the union, and more campaigning power, especially on our top priority &ndash; new progressive labour laws in the Kurdistan region and across federal Iraq, and on social security, too.&rdquo; 
 
The new trade union federation, according to the TUC site, is 95% merged and is in a one-year transitional state. Despite that, it already has a President for Women &ndash; Nazanin Tariq Ali. 
 
The ICEM congratulates the leaders of the former union federations for coming together in the best interests of not just Kurdish workers, but for setting an example throughout Iraq.

The Two Trade Union Federations in Iraqi Kurdistan Unite, Merge

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The ICEM Executive Committee, on the second day of its annual deliberations 27 May, denounced Iraq&rsquo;s government for continued failure to enact a draft labour law, as well as numerous and current prohibitions against trade union activities. 
 
The resolution noted continued adherence to a Saddam Hussein decree that bans trade unions in the public sector, which includes the oil, gas, and electric power industries, and continued imposition of Decree 8750, imposed by the occupation forces in August 2005. That draconian decree, equally restriction on trade union rights as the Saddam one, grants government the power to take over unions at will and forbids trade unions from holding any assets or collecting subscriptions from workers. 
 
The resolution also addresses the forced removals of trade union leaders from their work in the oil, gas, and related sectors, and condemns the most recent imposition by the government in restricting trade unionists from travelling outside the country. In that, the Supreme Ministerial Committee on Supervising the Implementation of the Governing Council Resolution No. 3-2005 must issue approval to those trade unionists seeking to travel or those invited outside of Iraq. 
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ICEM Executive Committee
&ldquo;The ICEM Executive Committee condemns all of these Iraqi government acts against trade unions,&rdquo; states the resolution. &ldquo;We salute the bravery of our Iraqi brothers and sisters who continue to organise, represent and protect workers despite these attacks and a background of continued and escalating violence in the society at large. 
 
&ldquo;We are appalled that seven years after the fall of Saddam Hussein&rsquo;s regime, workers in Iraq are still without legislative protection of their fundamental rights at work.&rdquo; 
 
(The complete resolution can be found in English <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/IraqExecResolution27May2010.pdf">here</a>, and in Arabic <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/1006.iraqresolution.ec.pdf">here</a>.) 
 
The resolution notes the fact that trade unions inside Iraq have mounted a campaign for a globally-recognised labour law, complete with a website (found <a href="http://www.iraqitradeunions.org/cgi-bin/campaign1.cgi">here</a>) and encourages all trade unionists everywhere to visit the site and register your support for a fair and just labour law inside Iraq. The ICEM strongly supports the campaign and the website.

ICEM Executive Condemns Repressive Union Actions by Iraq

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Rio Tinto Zimbabwe Ltd. (RioZim), operator of the Renco Gold Mine in Zimbabwe&rsquo;s Masvingo province, has maliciously taken revenge on members of the Associated Mine Workers&rsquo; of Zimbabwe (AMWZ) immediately after the end of a five-day national mine strike in mid-May. The company has discharged 70 miners, suspended 370, and given a total of 760 of Renco&rsquo;s 1,000 workers final warnings for taking part in the strike. 
 
Management&rsquo;s disciplinary actions come despite the fact that all strikers at Renco returned to work within the mandatory 24-hour period after Zimbabwe&rsquo;s Labour Ministry stopped the strike with a &ldquo;show-cause&rdquo; order on 14 May. 
 
&ldquo;Our concern now is that other mining enterprises will use this as a precedent to fire workers who took strike action,&rdquo; said AMWZ President Tinago Ruzive. &ldquo;In fact, as soon as we received the order, we informed all strikers to return to their jobs and we were successful in communicating this.&rdquo; 
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(A 17 May ICEM briefing on the strike&rsquo;s end can be found <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3779-Zimbabwe-Mine-Strike-Suspended-by-Decree-of-Labour-Ministry">here</a>.) Ruzive and the AMWZ attempted to meet with Renco management over the unfair disciplinary measures, but management refused the meeting. The union must now take the matter to a labour court. 
 
The &ldquo;show-cause&rdquo; order called for a 20 May hearing on the pay strike in Harare. But the Labour Ministry cancelled that hearing and no new date has been scheduled. Some 20,000 miners struck 45 different mining companies affiliated to the Chamber of Mines in mid-May over non-payment of wage adjustments made in an arbitration award last year. 
 
Mining companies affiliated to the chamber have also neglected to remit contributions to the Mining Industry Pension Fund, monies owed to the National Employment Council for the Mining Industry, and to the AMWZ for subscriptions, a further cause of miners taking legal strike action after the AMWZ issued the mandatory 14-day strike notice in late April. 
 
RioZim is the country&rsquo;s largest resource company listed on Zimbabwe&rsquo;s bourse. Besides the Zenco Gold Mine, its assets include 22% of the Murowa diamond mine (with Rio Tinto Group holding 78%), the Empress nickel refinery in Kadoma, which processes matte from Botswana, and 50% of the Senga coal fields in Gokwe North.

Rio Tinto Sacks 70, Suspends 370 Following Zimbabwe Mine Strike

The Executive Committee of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) Federation, meeting today 26 May in Geneva, passed three key resolutions. Firstly, the Executive drew sharp attention on the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and its role to improve safety conditions in the world&rsquo;s mines. 
 
The ICEM also passed resolutions reiterating its strong support to the United Steelworkers in Canada in its 11-month strike against Brazilian-based Vale, and support to the National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM), also known as Los Mineros, in its lengthy struggle against Grupo Mexico and the government of Mexico. 
 
The adopted statement on mine safety called on the ILO to do more to press member states to ratify Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention. Recent mining tragedies in Turkey and Russia served as a backdrop for the Executive issuing strong rhetoric for immediate action by the ILO. 
 
&ldquo;Our statutory body strongly feels that the ILO must become more pro-active in investigating causes of safety negligence, and insist on a greater trade union role in promoting safe work conditions,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. 
 
In Turkey, the ICEM endorsed today&rsquo;s three one-hour work stoppages by 10,000 miners, strikes that were led by ICEM affiliate Genel Maden-Is. The strikes across the coal-mining region of Zonguldak follow the deadly 17 May methane explosion in the Karadon mine, which killed 30 non-union and short-term contract workers. The strikes were meant as a message to the Turkish government, demanding safe work conditions inside mines, as well as ratification of Convention 176.
The ICEM Executive also condemned faulty pay schemes in mining in several countries, including Russia where monthly salaries are kept extremely low, with miners expected to achieve high production quotas to supplement their pay. This likely was the case at the Raspadskaya mine in the Kemerovo region, where 90 workers died due to methane gas explosions in early May. 
 
The safety statement also addressed a rash of accidents in both the upstream and downstream oil and gas industries, including a refinery explosion in the US state of Washington that killed seven and the Gulf of Mexico disaster. &ldquo;While much is made of the environmental destruction along the United States Gulf coast brought about by the oil rig explosion, which indeed merits attention, little is made of the fact that 11 offshore workers died and 15 others were seriously injured,&rdquo; read the statement. See full resolution <a href="/index.php?id=97&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3794">here</a>. 
 
The resolution regarding the USW strike at three locations of Vale in Canada called attention to the company&rsquo;s ongoing aversion to negotiate in good faith with the union. The global campaign for justice at Vale, by the ICEM, the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), and affiliates from around the world has improved conditions for workers, said the resolution. See full document <a href="/index.php?id=5&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3796">here</a>. 
 
The third resolution, on Los Mineros&rsquo; struggle against Grupo Mexico and the government of Felipe Calderon, condemns the recent brutal and unprovoked attacks by the Mexican Federal Police on members of the union. The attack is seen as a direct attack on the autonomy of Los Mineros. Police fired on, detained, and physically attacked the workers in the city of L&aacute;zaro C&aacute;rdenas, Michoac&aacute;n. Among those attacked was Mario Garc&iacute;a Ort&iacute;z, Los Mineros&rsquo; special delegate for the State of Michoac&aacute;n, also the Alternative General Secretary of the union and President of the recent Convention of the union. 
 
The ICEM statement calls on the Mexican government to acknowledge the result of the democratic election of the Los Mineros Congress, in which Napoleon Gomez Urrutia was elected. See the full document <a href="/index.php?id=5&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3795">here</a>. 
 
The ICEM is a Global Union Federation consisting of 467 trade unions in 132 countries, representing in total 20 million workers. 
 
For further information, contact ICEM Information Officer, Dick Blin, <a href="mailto:dick.blin@icem.org">dick.blin@icem.org</a>, or +41 79 734 8994 (mobile), or Tom Grinter, ICEM Communications and Campaigns, <a href="mailto:tom.grinter@icem.org">tom.grinter@icem.org</a>, +41 79 693 4499 (mobile).

ICEM Executive Demands ILO Action on Mine Safety, Justice in Canada and Mexico

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Canadian-based energy company Pacific Rubiales continues to hit new lows in its illegal efforts to put down ICEM affiliate Uni&oacute;n Sindical Obrera (USO) in the Meta region oil fields of Colombia. On 27 October the ICEM reported on the company signing an accord with company union UTEN on deadline day for a settlement with USO. 
 
Now as the USO activists continue to demonstrate en-masse, the company organises gatherings of its yellow union, complete with armed protection including from a company helicopter. At the same time, the company is financing propaganda campaigns exaggerating the small gatherings. 
 
Evidence is now coming to light of the sinister alliance between the company and local mayor of Puerto Gait&aacute;n, Edgar Humberto Silva. Evidence suggests that dead people were registered to have voted for the company candidate in the mayoral elections, with local indigenous communities harassed and intimidated into voting for Humberto Silva. 
<img alt="" src="" width="213" height="160" />
Unsurprisingly then, Humberto Silva has done all in his power to allow the Canadian company to continue exploiting the region&rsquo;s rich resources and poor workers. Residents of the local community have occupied the school where voting took place and are demanding a re-run of the election. Company union UTEN organised a celebratory march following the election of Humberto Silva on 2 November. 
 
State oil company Ecopetrol is allied with Pacific Rubiales and other multinationals active in the region, in establishing the yellow union and using numerous tactics to crush USO. Ecopetrol is exercising its influence and financial strength by running tens of court cases against USO leaders, while ignoring court rulings that favour the strikers. Ecopetrol is also using its wholly-owned subsidiaries Comai and Propilco to launch legal cases against union activists. 
 
The 28 October <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/PacificRubeLet.pdf">joint letter</a> from ICEM, the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) General Secretaries, and Canadian Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union to Pacific Rubiales Co-Chairmen and Executive Directors Serafino Iacono, and Miguel de la Campa, has not received a response. 
<img alt="" src="" width="276" height="160" />
In the letter, the three trade union organisations condemn the decision of the company to deceive USO in bargaining and then circumvent the legitimate bargaining partner in signing an accord with UTEN. USO represents over 14,000 actual oil workers in the oil fields of Rubiales and Quifa, while UTEN serves only administrative staff. 
 
The day of the false accord signing, Pacific Rubiales discharged 500 workers, and proceeded to intimidate remaining workers with threats of dismissal for remaining members of USO if they refused to switch allegiance to UTEN. 
 
It must be noted that the Colombian government has allowed Pacific Rubiales to abuse all internationally recognised minimum standards on workers&rsquo; rights with these recent tactics. And especially disappointing is the abrogation of Ministry of Labour arbitration that established a timeline for reaching settlement between USO and Pacific Rubiales. That deadline was 21 October, the same day Pacific Rubialies signed the bogus accord with the yellow union. 
 
The ICEM fully supports the campaign of USO and its permanent assembly, in place since 24 October, and the original list of demands including direct recruitment, salary increases, decent housing and adequate food, health, transport and social investment to communities. 
 
The CEP will facilitate the USO leadership to travel to Canada and meet the company management in early December.

Pacific Rubiales, Yellow Union Rig Local Elections, Indignation Rises

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on World AIDS Day 2011, occurring on 1 December, the Canadian CEP-sponsored HIV and AIDS project in Nigeria and developments at the Global Fund, as well as the HIV and AIDS situation in Argentina, host country of the ICEM World Congress. 
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World AIDS Day 2011 
 
World AIDS Day this year is about &ldquo;Getting to Zero&rdquo;: Zero New HIV Infections, Zero Discrimination, and Zero AIDS Related Deaths. 
 
ICEM affiliates are urged to join national campaigns to underline the role of unions and interventions at the workplace to get to Zero. 
<img src="" width="368" height="120" alt="" />
Backed by the UN, the &ldquo;Getting to Zero&rdquo; campaign runs until 2015 and builds on last year&rsquo;s successful World AIDS Day &ldquo;Light for Rights&rdquo; initiative encompassing a range of vital issues identified by key affected populations. 
 
World AIDS Day has been celebrated since 1988 and on 1 December each year around the world. It has become one of the most recognised health days and a key opportunity to raise awareness, commemorate those who have passed on. and celebrate successes such as increased access to treatment and prevention services. 
 
This year&rsquo;s slogan underlines that getting to Zero is a must. Only one third of the 15 million people living with HIV in need of life long treatment are receiving it. New infections continue to outpace the number of people starting treatment, while the previous upward trend in resources suffered a serious downturn this year. &rdquo;Zero New HIV Infections&rdquo; and &ldquo;Zero Discrimination&rdquo; are equally as likely to spark high impact events from small scale community vigils to nation wide events. In the words of the World AIDS Campaign (WAC), for 1 December 2011 right up until 2015, it is envisioned that different regions and groups will each year chose one or all of the Zeros that best addresses their situation. 
 
Material for World AIDS Day can be downloaded from the WAC website www.worldaidscampaign.org. On the ICEM website, <a href="http://www.icem.org">www.icem.org</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;a simple step-by-step guide can be found to help affiliates in planning their activities for World AIDS Day. 
 
(Source: World AIDS Campaign website) 
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Nigeria: Success of CEP-sponsored HIV and AIDS Project 
 
The second phase of the HIV and AIDS project in cooperation with ICEM affiliates NUPENG and PENGASSAN, and sponsored by the Humanity Fund of the Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada, has been a big success. 
 
Prior to the second phase, some 210 peer educators had been trained. Prevention campaigns were mounted in 40 workplaces across the country. Some 20,000 individuals were reached with awareness and prevention messages. Voluntary counselling and testing was carried out at 20 sites with close to 10,000 individuals tested. 
<img src="" width="220" height="136" alt="" />
Specifically in 2011, two training workshops were organised with a total of 33 participants (11 men and 22 women). Eleven advocacy meeting were held and six VCT campaigns were organised. 
 
With the advocacy campaigns, which target union branches and worksite where VCT campaigns are to be organised, a total of 388 (261 men and 127 women) were reached. 
 
During the six VCT campaigns in 2011, which last for three to four days each, close to 11,000 people were reached with awareness, prevention, and behaviour change messages. Out of these, a total of 2,302 people (21%) were tested and counselled (1,986 men and 316 women). Some 10,000 leaflets and 10,000 handbills were also produced. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
News from the Global Fund 
 
The Board of the Global Fund has decided to extend the deadline for submission of Round 11 applications from 15 December 2011 to &ldquo;at least&rdquo; 1 March 2012. The decision appears to be primarily motivated by a substantial reduction in the amount of funding that the Global Fund estimates will be available for Round 11. This was initially estimated at US$1.5 billion. However, given the current global economic insecurity, the forecast of funding available for Round 11 has been lowered to &ldquo;not more than&rdquo; US$800 million and that even this amount might not be available until the fourth quarter of 2013. 
 
The Fund also appears likely to take this opportunity to implement some of the changes to the applications process recommended by the High-Level Independent Review Panel on Fiduciary Controls and Oversight Mechanisms of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (see article in the October e-bulletin). At a special meeting on 26 September, the Board formally adopted the report of the High-Level Panel and its recommendations. 
 
The Global Fund Board has formed a working group to examine options for changes to the application, renewal and approval processes for new and existing investments. For a comprehensive reaction on the observations and recommendations to the report by the Global Fund Observer and various organisations, see GFO No. 160 at the website below. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 159 and 160 of 28 September and 13 0ctober, respectively. 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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Ghana: Homophobia Prevents Counselling and Treatment 
 
Condemnation of homosexuality by political and religious leaders in Ghana has led to a climate of fear, preventing men who have sex with men (MSM) from accessing vital health services. 
 
NGOs are alarmed at the threats of arrest and report a steady decline of participation in safe sex education and support programmes. At one site, regular peer HIV education programmes had to be stopped as nobody turned up anymore for fear of arrest. In another region, the distribution of condoms and safe sex information to MSMs was also abandoned. 
<img src="" width="200" height="92" alt="" />
An estimated 25% of Ghanaian MSMs are HIV positive. According to the WHO, since the beginning of the epidemic, MSM have been disproportionately affected by HIV. Male-to-male sexual relations are a crime in Ghana. Considered a misdemeanour, it carries a sentence of up to six months in prison. 
 
(Source: IRIN News, 1 August) 
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Zimbabwe: HIV Survey Reveals Women most Affected 
 
Women and girls account for 62% of the 1.2 million people living with HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe, a recent survey revealed. The survey also showed that only 20% of the adult population knew their HIV status. 
 
Socio-economic, cultural and religious factors increase women&rsquo;s vulnerability to HIV. Stigma and discrimination associated with an HIV positive status and fear of violence from partners deterred women from acting on prevention and treatment. 
 
Although Zimbabwe has managed a steady decline of the HIV prevalence rate from a peak in 2003 of 32% to the current 14.2%, the relative prevalence rate of women has gone up. 
 
(Source: The Herald, Harare, 16 September) 
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HIV and AIDS in Argentina 
 
According to UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, Argentina has an HIV prevalence rate of 0.5% in the age group 15 to 49 years. While this is a relatively low rate, it has gone up steadily over the years. The number of people living with HIV is 110,000 of whom 36,000, or one-third, are women. Deaths due to AIDS stood at 2,900 in 2009, the latest available figure. 
 
The Ministry of Health leads the national AIDS response and the national strategic planning process. The response is mainly focused on the provision of antiretroviral treatment. In 2007, there was a review of the National Strategic Planning on HIV and AIDS with more broad-based participation of civil society and consideration of most-at-risk groups and a clearer gender perspective. 
 
The Global Fund had approved two HIV/AIDS grants in Round 1 for a total of US$25 million. These grants have been implemented and no further grants were extended. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS and Global Fund websites) 
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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 Update 114 of 15 October, reports on the launch of its 2011 World AIDS Day campaign &ndash; Getting to Zero. As in the past, the ITF has prepared campaign material for its affiliates. The ITS documentary on HIV and AIDS in the transport sector, called &ldquo;Being Positive,&rdquo; received an award at the Delhi Development Film Festival. 
 
The September Newsletter of the Swedish Workplace HIV and AIDS Programme (SWHAP), jointly run by the International Council of Swedish Industry (NIR) and the Swedish Industrial and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (IF Metall), reports on its annual Southern Africa Regional Conference which was attended by 87 participants representing 31 companies from eight countries. Articles on community outreach, VCT campaigns and peer education can also be found in the newsletter. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Five Years Ago: From the November 2006 Issue (No. 13) 
 
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 HIV/AIDS e-bulletin of November 2006, we reported on the preparations for World AIDS Day, on a meeting of the Global Union AIDS Programme in Nairobi and on the Round 6 grant approval of the Global Fund. Then, the Board approved 85 grants with a cost of US$846 million over the first two years and US$2.52 billion over the full five-year grant period. For comparison, Round 10 grants, approved in December 2010, come at a cost of US$1.73 billion for the first two years and US$ 4.72 billion over five years. For how much the situation has changed now, read the article on the Global Fund above. 
 
At that time, UNITAID also became operational as a drug purchasing facility for the treatment of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. It was established during the UN General Assembly Special Session; its secretariat is hosted by the WHO. UNITAID generates money through an airline ticket levy first introduced by France on 1 July 2006. Founding members of the initiative were Brazil, Chile, France, Great Britain, and Norway, with the Clinton Foundation facilitating bulk purchase of drugs at lowest prices. UNITAID is now supported by 29 countries and the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation. Ninety-four countries receive UNITAID funding. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
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. 74, November 2011

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The Asia-Pacific Regional Materials Union Network of the ICEM held its third meeting in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on 10-11 October. The meeting was attended by 34 trade unionists from 14 unions in the cement, glass, and ceramics industries of Japan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, India, and the Philippines. 
 
This meeting agreed to set up a Saint Gobain Network in the Asia-Pacific Region, with affiliates in Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Vietnam, Australia, and New Zealand joining the network. Unions in the region are currently running networks at Lafarge and Holcim in India, Korea, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam. 
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The meeting was also joined by union leadership from Nippon Sheet Glass (NSG) and Taiheiyo Cement of Japan, who expressed support for networking in their subsidiaries. 
 
The Vietnamese General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) and the Vietnam National Union of Building Workers (VNUBW) hosted this meeting of the Network, supported by the German Friedrich-Ebert Foundation (FES). The meeting also welcomed the ICEM Secretariat and the Japanese Affiliates&rsquo; Federation (ICEM-JAF). 
 
&ldquo;I am very impressed with the young and talented union representatives with research capacity and language skills in the region,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;This participation guarantees a positive future for the trade union movement.&rdquo; 
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ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda
ICEM Materials Industries&rsquo; Officer Phee Jungsun presented major developments and challenges in the global materials industries and profiles on multinational companies. 
 
Participants then gave country reports with pre-arranged survey details on working conditions and occupational safety and health. For the cement unions of Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, performance of union activities is still difficult due to weak labour legislation. It was reported that both Lafarge and Holcim hire an increasing number of contract workers &ndash; averaging about 60% &ndash; with offers of voluntary retirement schemes to reduce permanent workers with long seniority. 
 
The meeting adopted a resolution to support contract workers at Swiss-based Holcim in India, who fight constantly for freedom of association rights. Also, support was extended to workers and unions at Lafarge in India, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Malaysia. The establishment of a Saint Gobain Network on the national and regional level is seen to coordinate with French trade union affiliate CFDT-FCE, which heads the Saint Gobain European Works Council. This Asia-Pacific network will work alongside a newly-planned North America Saint Gobain Network and hopefully build toward creation of a global network. 
 
The meeting also received a detailed report from ICEM-JAF General Secretary Yoshio Sato on the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Sato thanked all ICEM affiliates who showed solidarity to Japanese unions by sending messages and donations.

ICEM’s Asia-Pacific Materials Sector Network Meeting Held in Vietnam

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