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The ICEM has put its weight behind an effort by its Ivory Coast affiliate, SYNASEG, to get local company CIE, the country’s electricity operator and subsidiary of the Bouygues Group, to stop its union-busting campaign, and to enter into a meaningful dialogue with the union. 
 
The problems between the union and CIE started in August 2005, after SYNASEG decided to support a national electric sector reform that was proposed by the government then. The government failed to carry out its own plan, and, instead, renewed CIE – and Bouygues’ – contract for a further 15 years. 
<img height="66" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/IvorycoastFlag.gif" width="100"/>
Shortly after that, CIE started its systematic and vindictive campaign to silence SYNASEG. As part of that, the company refused to engage in social dialogue, devised several delaying tactics, obstructed trade union freedoms, and abused the system of dues check-off by withholding fees and used the funds to favour third parties. The company also set up a Mutual Investment Fund, to which employees contribute but do not receive the benefits. 
 
ICEM sent a message to all its affiliated trade unions last week, seeking messages of support be sent to SYNASEG on the occasion of their strike, which was originally targeted for 23-25 October. The strike was first postponed by one week because of state-requested mediation efforts. Talks on Friday, 27 October, in the presence of Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo produced an agreement to resume negotiations until the issues are favourably resolved.

ICEM affiliate in Ivory Coast Gets Presidential Commitment to Resolve Work Issues

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1 December is World AIDS Day 
 
Since 1988, World AIDS Day has been commemorated around the world to raise awareness of the global AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. 
 
The global theme this year is accountability with the slogan: 
 
Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise
Workers and their organisations play an important role in making World AIDS Day a success, yet they are often not recognised for their efforts. Global leaders have promised to deliver Universal Access to HIV/AIDS services for prevention, care and support and treatment by 2010. For unions and workers, this promise needs to become a reality in every workplace. 
 
ICEM affiliates are encouraged to join the campaign against stigma, discrimination and victimisation, and for prevention, care and support and treatment. Go to our website at <a href="/72-HIV-AIDS" type="internal">/72-HIV-AIDS</a> to find materials on HIV/AIDS. 
 
The World AIDS Campaign has been working with the international trade union movement to develop a poster with the slogan Universal Access to HIV and AIDS services in the workplace. See <a href="http://www.worldaidscampaign.org">www.worldaidscampaign.org</a> for more information. 
 
Please, report back to <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a> on any actions you have taken. 
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Trade Unionists Focus on Fight against HIV/AIDS 
 
A special meeting of the Global Union Programme on HIV/AIDS was held in Nairobi on 19 and 20 October. The meeting reviewed the lobbying activities of the international trade union movement at major conferences in 2006, such as UNGASS, the G8 Campaign and the International AIDS Conference – all aimed at emphasising the crucial role of trade unions in the fight against the pandemic. 
 
The useful exchange of information and experience will enable unionists to develop effective strategies to prevent the spread of the disease, care for those living with it and combat stigma and discrimination associated with it. The meeting also considered new partnerships. The argument was made for a union involvement in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and for union representation on Country Coordinating Mechanisms. 
 
The ICEM was represented by John Brimpong, Ghana Mineworkers’ Union, and Agnes Manowe, Botswana Mining Workers’ Union. 
 
(Source: TUC e-bulletin International Development Matters, Issue 52 – October 2006) 
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Global Fund Fails to Choose New Executive Director – Approves Some Round 6 Grants 
 
At its Board Meeting in Guatemala City, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria had to abandon its efforts to choose a new Executive Director from among the short-list of five candidates. 
 
All important Board decisions require a double two-thirds majority, with votes in favour needed from at least seven of the ten board members from the donor group, and the same number from the recipient group. None of the candidates achieved that support. The Board decided to launch a new search and will try to make an appointment at a specially-convened Board Meeting by mid-February 2007. 
In the meantime Richard Feachem, who announced that he will be leaving already eight months ago, will continue to serve as Executive Director. 
 
The Board approved 85 Round 6 grants that will cost USD 846 million over the first two years and USD 2,519 million over the full five-year grant period. As a result of recent new pledges, the Global Fund now has sufficient money to pay for all grants that were recommended by the Technical Review Panel. In total 196 proposals were submitted, giving an approval rate of 43%. In all six rounds 1,184 proposals were submitted, of which 444, or 37.5%, were approved. 
 
The Board also decided that a Call for Proposals for Round 7 will be made by 1 March 2007, with proposals to be submitted by early July 2007. Round 8 will follow the same pattern one year later. The early announcement is intended to encourage applicants to start the planning and development of proposals much earlier. 
The board further approved the establishment of a “rolling continuation channel” that will, under certain circumstances, permit a Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) to apply for up to six years of further funding when a grant is coming to its end. However, only between a quarter and one-third of grants are expected to meet the eligibility criteria. The Fund’s “continuity of service” policy only provides for two years’ worth of funding for treatment-based services for people who have already been placed on treatment. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer Issue 66, 2 November, Issue 67, 4 November and Issue 68, 6 November – GFO is a free service of Aidspan <a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>) 
<img height="28" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Aids%20ribbon.jpg" width="20"/>
UNITAID Becomes Operational 
 
The UNITAID International Drug Purchase Facility was officially established during the UN General Assembly in September. Its Board of Governors met for the first time on 9 October in Geneva. WHO will host the secretariat and administer the UNITAID fiduciary fund. 
 
UNITAID generates money through an airline ticket levy first introduced by France on 1 July 2006. Founding members of the initiative are Brazil, Chile, France, Great Britain and Norway, with the Clinton Foundation facilitating bulk purchase of drugs at lowest prices. UNITAID contributed USD 69.5 million to the Global Fund, the bulk of which will go towards the cost of those Round 6 grants that will increase the number of patients on antiretroviral treatment. 
 
(Source: Website of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs – <a href="http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr">www.diplomatie.gouv.fr</a>) 
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NUMSA Gives Credit to Carmaker on HIV/AIDS Programme 
 
Automotive giants in the Eastern Cape have received the thumbs-up from the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) for their effective HIV/AIDS wellness programmes. A workshop hosted by the South African Business Coalition against HIV/AIDS gave companies an opportunity to exchange ideas on how to improve their health and wellness programmes. 
 
Daimler Chrysler SA stated that 96% of its employees had at least one HIV test in the last five years. Close to 10% of tested employees are living with the virus. The company’s health services manager said that retrenched workers are entitled to stay on the HIV/AIDS treatment programme. 
 
The workshop also revealed, however, that especially small and medium size companies did not have any HIV/AIDS programmes because they did not understand the long-term negative impact of ignoring the disease. 
 
(Source: The Herald, 23 October) 
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South Africa: New Directions for the Fight against HIV/AIDS? 
 
In a statement, COSATU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi welcomed the establishment of an inter-ministerial committee to oversee the implementation of the government’s comprehensive plan against HIV/AIDS and the revitalisation the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC). SANAC will be chaired by the Deputy President, with the Deputy Chair coming from civil society. 
 
In a remarkable turn-around from earlier statements by the Minister of Health, the Deputy Minister of Health also clarified the government’s position on the role of nutrition and stated: “We need to do everything we can to remove all confusion. We cannot afford a single death more and it is very important that we get that message across to people who have been misinformed that eating specific kinds of food is a replacement for antiretroviral drugs.” 
 
(Source: Star and Business Day, 1 November 2006) 
<img height="28" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Aids%20ribbon.jpg" width="20"/>
Case Studies of Union Action 
 
“Global Reach: How Trade Unions are Responding to AIDS” has now been published in the UNAIDS best practice collection jointly with the ILO and the Global Union Programme on HIV/AIDS. 
 
The report shows how the power of working people and their organisations can be harnessed in responding to HIV/AIDS. Eleven case studies from different settings show how trade unions are mounting new responses to HIV in the workplace: challenging stigma and discrimination, addressing the factors that increase vulnerability and risk, educating their members on prevention, providing care and treatment and building worldwide coalitions that campaign for more to be done to tackle the disease. 
 
The publication can be accessed at <a href="http://www.unaids.org">www.unaids.org</a>.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 14

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The Mineworkers’ Union of Namibia (MUN) ended a 13-day strike last Friday, 10 November, by 360 miners at the Kumba Resources’ Rosh Pinah zinc and lead mine in the south of the country. 
 
Miners won salary increases of 10% for workers in lower pay grades and 9% for those in higher grades. MUN General Secretary Joseph Hengari said miners also won a benefit of one month’s salary when they resign or are retrenched. The collective agreement is for one year.
“At first, the company refused to move from its salary position,” said Hengari. “So the final settlement is an improvement over what the company originally offered.” South African-based Kumba had offered miners wage increases of 8% and 9%, while workers were seeking an across-the-board increase of 13%. 
<img height="66" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/NamibiaFlag.gif" width="100"/>
Besides a pay increase reflecting the high prices and demand for Rosh Pinah’s major export, zinc concentrates, strikers were seeking better housing subsidies and relocation allowances. They were also seeking to bridge the parity gap that exists between Kumba’s workers in South Africa and Namibia. 
 
Kumba is a Black Empowerment Enterprise of South Africa that was spun off from the global mining house, Anglo American. The company is currently undergoing a further split, separating some of its iron ore operations from base metal and coal operations. The latter, which will be called Exxaro Resources, will be the company that the Rosh Pinah operations will be part of. Anglo American will still control 19% of Exxaro. 
 
Rosh Pinah produces 70,000 tonnes of zinc concentrates annually, the majority of which is exported to South Africa for processing. It also produces 28,000 tonnes of lead. Kumba announced during the strike last week that a special “unbundling dividend” of the company will occur shortly, based on surplus cash after costs. 
 
The MUN also negotiated salary adjustments recently for some 100 uranium miners who had engaged in a two-day work stoppage at Roessing Uranium in late October. Roessing Uranium accounts for 7% of the world’s uranium supply.

Kumba’s Namibian Mining Strike Ends in One-Year Agreement

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ICEM affiliate National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) of South Africa is outraged by the further retrenchment of 400 miners in the diamond-mining region of Kimberley, Northern Cape. DeBeers said that it would sack the workers, employed near the Koffiefontein diamond mine’s New Treatment Plant, by the end of the year. 
 
The company has not, as of yet, conducted the proper consultation process with the NUM. The union also is angered at DeBeers for not providing advance notice of the closure so that “avenues or alternatives to retrenchments” could be explored.
<img height="95" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/ICEMminingsector4.jpg" width="100"/>
“In our view, this constitutes bad faith on the side of the employer, who know the magnitude of problems that come (for people) with this kind of mass retrenchment,” said the NUM. 
 
The New Treatment Plant was only opened in the year 2000, and was expected then to extend the life of diamond-mining operations in Koffiefontein by 15 to 25 years. But DeBeers closed the Koffiefontein mine last year, costing 600 miners their jobs. In all, over 2,500 miners have been left jobless in the Kimberley area.

South Africa’s NUM Disputes DeBeers’ Further Retrenchments at Koffiefontein

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The former battery workers at two Gold Peak Industrial Holding plants in China who had been diagnosed with excessive levels of cadmium had their case heard in a Chinese court on 3 November. Some 146 workers – mostly young women – are being victimised by the Hong Kong-based company.
In 2004, some 400 workers at two of Gold Peak’s battery plants in China engaged in strike action to overcome the company’s refusal to carry out health tests. Now, Gold Peak is arguing that the 146 workers have no legal basis for claims to compensation, claims for lost working time, or re-employment. 
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The 146 employees, 95% of whom are women between ages 20 and 30, worked at the Gold Peak battery plants of Huizhou Xianjin and Huizhou Chaoba in Guangdong province. In documents, the workers said they were terminated from employment and given little compensation when high levels of cadmium were found in their bodies. The Huizhou city government had certified that a total of 177 Gold Peak workers had been tested and that excessive levels of cadmium had been found in their blood systems. 
 
The Chinese court, after hearing the case on 3 November, adjourned without issuing a verdict. 
 
Investor-based Gold Peak operates several battery-producing factories in China, and sells the batteries under different brand names worldwide.

Gold Peak Battery Workers Have Their Day in Court in China

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Another Colombian trade unionist was murdered, continuing a trend that labels the South American country as one of the worst in the world with respect to trade union rights and human rights. 
 
Jesús Marino Mosquera, an activist in the rural workers’ agricultural union of SINTRAINAGRO, was murdered last month while returning home from the farm that he worked at in Carepa, Urabá state. He served as a union representative for SINTRAINAGRO on a joint labour-management committee for the past 12 years. 
 
Following the mid-October assassination, two members of the union’s national executive received death threats. On 26 October, masked gunmen broke into the home of one of those members, Medardo Cuesta, who was not there, and left a death note for him.
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SINTRAINAGRO, an affiliate of the International Union of Food Workers’ (IUF), and of the Colombian national labour centre CUT have denounced the murder and death threats, and have called on the government to provide all necessary protective measures for SINTRAINAGRO officers and members. 
 
Far more trade unionists are murdered in Colombia each year than in any other country in the world. Last year, the count was listed at 70, although it is believed another 25 trade union leaders were victims of death squads. 
 
The IUF provides further information on this latest instance of trade union killings in Colombia, as well as a link to send a message of protest to the government on its website. To get there, click <a href="http://www.iufdocuments.org/cgi-bin/dbman/db.cgi?db=default&uid=default&ID=3823&view_records=1&ww=1&en=1">here</a>.

Agricultural Trade Unionist Slain in Colombia

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A founding Congress in Vienna, Austria, on 3 November gave birth to a new global union confederation for national labour centres. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) was formed, taking the place of its two founding members, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Confederation of Labour (WCL). 
 
The new ITUC will represent 168 million workers from 306 affiliates in 154 countries. In addition to affiliates from the former ICFTU and WCL, eight other national trade unions, who were not affiliated to a global union organisation prior, are now affiliated to the new organisation. These include Nepal’s GEFONT, France’s CGT, Poland’s OPZZ, Argentina’s CGT and Colombia’s CUT. 
<img height="166" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/0611ITUCCongress1.jpg" width="250"/>
ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder
At the Vienna Congress, the new organisation stressed the need to tackle the adverse consequences of economic globalisation and the devastating effect this has had on millions of workers. Specifically highlighted problems included off-shoring, abuse of workers’ rights, and increased levels of poverty. 
Fred Higgs, ICEM General Secretary, said the unification of ICFTU and WCL is an “inevitable and welcome development, which we hope will lead to others uniting, creating a single global union confederation.” 
 
He also said that the unity at the national centre level was preceded “by agreements at sectoral level, including the one on integration between the ICEM and the World Federation of Industrial Workers (WFIW).” 
 
Guy Ryder, former head of the ICFTU, was elected General Secretary of the ITUC, while Sharan Burrow of the Australian Council of Trade Unions won election as president. While those two were ICFTU incumbents, at the levels of deputy GSs and deputy presidents, each organisation will have one seat. 
 
Mamounata Cissé (ICFTU) and Jaap Wienen (WCL) became the deputy GSs, while Michael Sommer (DGB-Gemany) and Luc Cortebeeck (CSC-Belgium) will serve as deputy presidents. The new ITUC will undergo a four-year transitional process, after which vice presidential seats and representation will be based on the organisation’s affiliation protocol. 
 
The new website of the organisation is: <a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org">http://www.ituc-csi.org</a>.

ITUC Founding: A New International Trade Union Confederation

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Contents 
1. Chile – Government Publishes 
Gender Equity Guide 
2. France – Women’s Position at EdF and GdF 
Worsens 
3. Germany – Men and Women 
Experience Stress Differently 
4. Kenya – Nairobi +21 Conference Held 
5. Korea – Equality Job Index Increases 
6. New Zealand – Government Prepares 
for Equal Pay Reviews 
7. Nicaragua – National Assembly Passes Total Abortion Ban 
8. South Africa – NUMSA Gender Awareness Quiz 
9. United Kingdom – Women’s Pay Gap Narrows 
10. United States – Supreme Court To Hear Goodyear Case 
11. From Our Readers 
12. Resources 
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1. Chile – Government Publishes Gender Equity Guide 
 
SERNAM, the Chilean Women’s National Office, published, on 9 November, a guide on gender equity in companies, called Guía para Impulsar la Equidad de Género en las Empresas. The guide contains examples of good practice, as well as tools to put the ideas into practice. 
 
With Chile’s president Michelle Bachelet currently promoting corporate social responsibility, SERNAM found that discrimination against women continues to exist: women’s average pay is still 30% below men’s, with those in higher pay categories even earning 52% less. 
 
87% of all women work in services where they have less access than men to skills and management jobs. Chile ranks 110th out of 125 in terms of gender equity. There is, therefore, plenty of room for improvement. The SERNAM guide will soon be available on the Acción RSE site (in Spanish - <a href="http://www.accionrse.cl/">www.accionrse.cl</a>). 
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2. France – Women’s Position at EdF and GdF Worsens 
 
In spite of the fact that an ambitious equal opportunities agreement was signed one and a half years ago, FCE-CFDT has found women’s position worsening, or at best stagnating, at EdF (Electricité de France) and GdF (Gaz de France). 
 
In 2005, the average number of hours’ training that women took advantage of went down, as did the number of women taking vocational training. There were also fewer men taking parental leave than the year before. In addition, new hires are generally found in technical areas, where fewer women are present. 
 
Women make up 23.1% of the workforce in the two companies, whereas they make up 49% of the precarious jobs. The union has also found that stereotypes still prevail – management still refuses men’s requests to look after sick children, for example. 
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3. Germany – Men and Women Experience Stress Differently 
 
IGBCE has launched a pilot project to investigate stress factors at three companies in Germany. The aim is for employees to cope better with stress so that, for instance, they can go home free of stress in the evening. 
 
Since women and men experience stress differently, preventive and curing measures have to be applied differently according to gender. In general, men have more injuries and accidents, whereas women suffer more from psychological problems. 
Men are more afraid of failure and high performance standards; women suffer more from poor communication and lack of recognition. Strategies to manage stress also differ – women get rid of stress by doing yoga or relaxation exercises, while men play football. 
 
The Infracor Company has distributed a questionnaire to track stress factors. While still analysing the results, one finding is that work against deadlines, heavy workloads, lack of decision-making power, fear of job loss or the double burden of working and looking after the family are all possible causes of stress. 
 
Stress has physical and psychological effects, which, if not eliminated, often reduce performance and concentration. However, they also lead to allergies and cardiovascular ailments. The IGBCE found that managing stress and health on the job pays for itself. 
<img height="31" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/womenlogo.jpg" width="25"/>
4. Kenya – Nairobi +21 Conference Held 
 
The Nairobi +21 Conference was held in Nairobi on 27 October 2006 to reflect on what has happened since the first UN International Women’s Conference, which was held in 1985. Women evaluated the progress made over the years, by following the development of strategies aimed at fostering the advancement of women. Speakers reminisced about times gone by, when women’s issues were treated with disdain. 
 
However, 20 years later, things are different. Kenya now has 18 women parliamentarians, and many women have been appointed to the judiciary and senior public service positions. Many battles have been won, but the war for realizing gender equality is far from over. 
 
Women are still under-represented in policy making. Societal and cultural biases and practices, such as female genital mutilation, still pose a health risk to girls. Insecurity and conflicts continue to expose more women to hunger, poverty and assault, and HIV/AIDS destructs millions of women’s lives in sub-Saharan Africa. 
 
One conclusion of the conference was to demand better resource allocation for gender ministries and to push for 50-50 representation in leadership. 
<img height="31" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/womenlogo.jpg" width="25"/>
5. Korea – Equality Job Index Increases 
 
Two recent findings by the Korea Labor Institute are that the labor status of women in Korea is lower than men’s and that the labor status of workers over 50 has been declining. These findings are the result of an analysis of the Employment Equality Index in Korea, which includes factors such as gender, age, labor status and wage levels for the past 10 years. 
 
The Employment Equality Index consists of four sub-categories: the Labor Compensation Index, based on wage levels per hour; the Labor Participation Index, based on the ratio of wage workers; the Labor Status Index, based on the ratio of management level workers; and the Job Security Index, based on the ratio of regular workers. A figure above 100 indicates that the employment equality status is higher than that of men, whereas a figure below 100 indicates that the status is lower. 
 
With the male workers’ Employment Equality Index set at 100, the female workers’ index started at 50.1% in 1995, went down to 49.5% during the 1998 crisis, and reached 55.7% last year. 
 
According to the study, the women’s Labor Status Index was 8.1%, indicating that the number of female management-level workers is less than one tenth that of men. The women’s Labor Compensation Index stood at 69.4%, and the Job Security Index at 61.3%. The study also found that the labor status of older workers was gradually worsening. 
 
The Ministry of Labor hopes that more women will take management jobs after the government’s affirmative action programs. The government also hopes to encourage workers over 50 to stay in the labor market. 
<img height="31" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/womenlogo.jpg" width="25"/>
6. New Zealand – Government Prepares for Equal Pay Reviews 
 
The New Zealand Cabinet has agreed on the terms of reference for the equal pay and employment equity reviews. Although the equal pay law has been in existence since 1972, women’s average hourly earnings are still only 86.4% of men’s. 
 
The public service, health and education sectors will all be subjected to a review designed to ensure that occupations dominated by women pay women fairly and provide equal employment opportunities. 
 
A template must be completed, which tests each occupation’s job size and remuneration against a comparable occupation, before a pay equity or equal employment opportunity claim is lodged. A review will also be carried out before a claim is lodged. 
 
Depending on the review’s findings, workers such as teachers, secretaries, librarians, dental therapists and nurses may have their pay boosted. 
 
New Zealand’s Council of Trade Unions Vice-President Helen Kelly said that, with pay equity claims resolved, women would look at the state as a preferred employer, boosting the need for the private sector to undertake similar actions. 
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7. Nicaragua – National Assembly Passes Total Abortion Ban 
 
Nicaragua’s national assembly has voted - 52 to 0 - to ban all abortions, even in those cases where the mother’s life is at stake. Nicaragua already had restrictive anti-abortion laws, with women and doctors who take part in abortions facing prison sentences of up to six years. 
 
Members of Nicaragua’s medical association and United Nations representatives opposed the timing of the vote, which coincided with the presidential elections on 5 November. They claimed the abortion debate had become too politicized. Hundreds of people protested outside the National Assembly in Managua before the vote took place, saying the law would be a death penalty for some. They fear the law will force women to die. 
<img height="31" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/womenlogo.jpg" width="25"/>
8. South Africa – NUMSA Gender Awareness Quiz 
 
NUMSA, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, has published a gender awareness quiz. Answer the questions and check where you stand on the public and private struggle. 
 
1. Your wife/partner wants to stand as a shop steward in her union. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Say that she cannot stand because you are worried that the children will be neglected and it will interfere with the cooking and the cleaning of the household. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Support her and say that together as a family you will all discuss how she can be active in the union and how the family will accommodate her. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
2. Your wife/partner is a shop steward and wants to attend NUMSA National Congress for five days. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Say she cannot go because a NUMSA National Congress is not a good place for a woman to be. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Encourage her to go and together with your family work out how you will all manage. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
3. Your workplace has many women workers. In shop steward elections, workers voted for three new women shop stewards. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Carry on having your shop steward committee meetings after work as you have always done. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Ask the new women shop stewards if the time is all right for them or if they want to suggest an alternative time. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
4. Your workplace has always had many women workers but no women have ever stood as shop stewards. Shop steward elections will take place in 18 months time. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Assume that it’s because women are not committed and that’s why they don’t stand as shop stewards. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Speak to workers and set up a gender committee in your factory. Link the gender committee to the shop stewards committee and provide training to the gender committee reps so that they can learn the job of the shop steward. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
5. You are holding a shop steward council in your local. The meeting was meant to start at 9h00 and finish at 12h00. However some of the male office bearers are late and the meeting only started at 10h30. At 12h00 many people start to leave, especially the women comrades. Do you: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div>a) Complain that those leaving are not committed. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div>b) Apologise to those that are leaving for having started the meeting late and appeal to all those present to respect the times so that next time the meeting can start and finish on time. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
ANSWERS: If you answered mostly (a) then you need to seriously look at your views on gender and your relationship with your wife/partner. If you answered mostly (b) then you have opened the door to challenge patriarchy. Congratulations but don’t stop here! 
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9. United Kingdom – Women’s Pay Gap Narrows 
 
Women are closing the pay gap with men, as indicated by recent government figures. The gap between male and female pay is at its lowest since 1938, the year when recording began. 
 
Men’s average pay went up by 3.5%, while women’s pay rose by 4.2%. Women now earn, on average, 12.6% less than men, compared to 13% last year. A man’s weekly average earnings stands at 487 pounds. A typical woman is paid 387 pounds a week. The reason for the large gap is that men work more overtime. 
 
A key reason behind the change is that more women now work in high-earning professions. In the 22-29 age group, women actually earn more than 1.5% more than men. But beyond the age of 29, male earnings greatly outstrip those of women, as women returning to the workplace after childbirth tend to miss out on several years of pay rises. 
 
The Equal Opportunities Commission estimates that the pay gap means that the average women working full time will lose out on about 330,000 pounds over her working life. That means 19 years of down payments on a house, 15 new cars or 10,500 nights out. 
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10. United States – Supreme Court To Hear Goodyear Case 
 
On 27 November, the US Supreme Court will hear the arguments on a pay discrimination case involving a former Goodyear employee. Ms. Ledbetter charged that she earned 15% less than the next lowest paid manager in her work group. She claimed that she had been underpaid for her management positions since she was first hired. 
 
Goodyear claims her lower salary was based on low performance ratings. Ledbetter, however, claimed her evaluations had been falsified, at least in part because one of those who reviewed her job performance was an immediate supervisor whose sexual advances she had rebuffed. 
 
A jury in the US District Court awarded Ledbetter nearly US$234,000 in back pay, almost US$5,000 for mental anguish and nearly US$3,3 million in punitive damages. In the end, the court was required by statute to limit the verdict to US$360,000. Goodyear is appealing this verdict. 
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FROM OUR READERS: 
 
Oluchi Okorie from Nupeng, Nigeria, comments about Bulletin 16: 
 
 
“It is surprising that Indian women still face these problems of dowry to their husbands. Unlike in our country Nigeria, the reverse is the case. 
 
The bride’s family receives the bride price and other gifts from the groom and his family. Some extended family members of the bride also make their demands which, if not met, sometimes will lead to the threat of withdrawing from the marriage contract. 
 
The major problem with this in some cases is that the groom will start maltreating the bride after the marriage must have been contracted with the belief that he bought her expensively. There are other cases where the groom may not have enough resources to take care of the bride after marriage. 
 
In either way, none is perfect because the whole thing falls back on women. We pray there should be a remedy to this in this modern age."
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RESOURCES 
 
Falling Through the Floor lets young Chinese women workers tell us in their own words about their arduous experiences of trying to earn a decent living in the boomtowns of the Chinese economic miracle today. See at: <a href="http://www.china-labour.org.hk/public/main">http://www.china-labour.org.hk/public/main</a>.  
 
WOMANKIND Worldwide helps women in developing countries - silenced or isolated by harmful traditions, conflict, violence and intimidation or the sheer exhaustion of surviving in poverty – to have a distinctive say in what goes on in their family, community and country. See <a href="http://www.womankind.org.uk/">http://www.womankind.org.uk</a>. 
 
Public Services International has done an evaluation of its 2002-2006 Pay Equity Campaign. The evaluation can be obtained from ICEM – write to <a href="mailto:carol.bruce@icem.org">carol.bruce@icem.org</a>.

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN N° 17

Photos of the march and rally can be found <a href="/index.php?id=21&doc=2038&la=EN" type="internal">here</a>.
A march and mass rally against Imerys’ rash restructuring in the UK'S South West was held on Saturday, 18 November, in St. Austell.
Sponsored by UK trade unions Transport & General Workers Union (TGWU), Amicus, and GMB, the colourful march featured French, American and global union representatives, who reminded Imerys workers in the Cornwall and Devon region that the company will grant nothing without a fight. The march culminated with the rally and speeches at Polkyth Carpark. 
 
The march and rally, in which 450 people participated, was part of a build-up to an industrial ballot that the UK unions will take in the South West Imerys, a Paris-based multinational that produces building materials. Imerys is targeting some 610 jobs to be made redundant at its kaolin mine and processing operations in the South West by the end of next year.
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The restructuring has gained global attention through the TGWU’s outreach to other unions representing Imerys workers around the world. 
Speakers at Saturday’s event included Serge Gonzales, from the French trade union Fédération Force Ouvrière (FO) Matériaux, Céramique et Thermique, who is Secretary of Imerys’ European Works Council; Keith Fulbright, a shop-floor leader at Imery’s Sylacauga, Alabama, calcium carbonate mine and plant, who is President of Local Branch 3-0516 of the United Steelworkers (USW) of America; and Dick Blin, a representative of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine & General Workers' (ICEM) Unions, the Brussels-based Global Union Federation, which includes Imerys’ trade unions worldwide. 
 
Also speaking were Jennie Formby, TGWU National Secretary, and Laura Lamprell, TGWU Regional Industrial Organiser. 
 
“Imerys has exhibited utter contempt in regards to workers, their families and, indeed, the entire well-being of communities built by the labours of English China Clay,” said Formby. “That contempt has stretched from the manner in which they made the announcement last July, to the manner in which they’ve conducted the consultation process with the workers’ representatives.” 
 
“We have told Imerys that their anti-social policies in the UK will affect their reputation globally,” said Serge Gonzales. “We demand of Imerys a reversal to the anti-worker conduct that it is displaying in various countries throughout Europe.” 
<img height="60" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/FranceFO.jpg" width="100"/>     <img height="62" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/USAUSW.jpg" width="113"/>      <img height="60" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Icemrouge.GIF" width="70"/>
In Sylacauga, Alabama, Imerys also has demonstrated a record of union-busting and non-adherence to its social obligations. The USW has fended off two de-unionisation efforts by the company since the turn of the decade, and it is only now, through renewed strength of the USW among the 500-member workforce, that the company has tempered its anti-worker agenda. 
 
“The lesson that I bring about Imerys from America to workers of the South West is this: ‘Stay united, stay focused,’” said the USW’s Keith Fulbright. “Our experience is that Imerys will attack when they know the union is weak. It was only after we signed nearly every worker into the union that everyone began displaying that fact on the shop floor. It was only then that Imerys backed off.” 
 
“Imerys must begin making real commitments to workers and communities of the South West,” said ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. “The ICEM guarantees that unless fairness and respect are granted, we will do everything in our power to bring this dispute into all the company’s global workplaces.”

Anger at Imerys Expressed at Rally in UK's South West

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In the United Kingdom, a private member’s bill in Parliament to extend full employment rights to workers of employment agencies has the full support of the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) and Amicus, both ICEM affiliates. UK’s government has been lax in implementing a new European Union directive giving agency and migrant workers new rights across all 27 EU nations. 
 
But that now has changed, thanks to a bill by Labour MP Paul Farrelly of Newcastle-under-Lyme. His bill to introduce into law the same rights, pensions, and working conditions that full-time workers enjoy, apparently has awoken the UK’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), at least partially.
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On 20 February, DTI ministers agreed that they will consult on measures to protect the 1.4 million agency employees working in UK’s economy. 
 
TGWU Gen. Sec. Tony Woodley said, however, that UK’s government must go further, while pledging full support to MP Farrelly’s bill: “Agency workers need protection, not simply advice on how to deal with abusive employers. Without domestic legislation, 1.4 million agency workers in this country will continue to face discrimination.” 
 
Regarding DTI’s announcement, Woodley added, “At Warwick, the government agreed to support the EU directive on agency workers, the fundamental principle of which is equal treatment. In the absence of any progress at EU level, we need EU legislation that will ensure this equality. What has been announced (by DTI) falls far, far short of this and will not significantly assist workers who endure abuse or undercutting because the law allows agency workers to be discriminated against on essential matters like pay, sick leave, and overtime. 
 
“There is an opportunity with Paul Farrelly’s private member’s bill to outlaw this mistreatment. We urge government to grab it – and we urge MPs not to be misled into thinking that (DTI’s) consultation will deliver the fundamental employment protections that vulnerable agency workers need.” 
 
The Farrelly bill received full support from Amicus Gen. Sec. Derek Simpson when it was introduced. MP Farrelly is hoping to get backing from 100 MPs in March for the measure. Britain’s government stands accused of actively blocking the directive at the EU level.

UK Unions in Support of Full Rights for Contract and Agency Labourers

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