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The ICEM is in strong support of oilworkers&rsquo; trade unions in Iraq over the most recent denial of their rights. Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Sharistani, through his legal adviser Laith abd al Hussein Shahir, issued a formal directive to the country&rsquo;s oil companies, ordering them not to deal with trade unions and to exclude trade unionists from work committees. 
 
The directive, in effect, is meant to silence Iraq&rsquo;s oil unions from having an effect on the proposed Hydrocarbon Law. That law, which allows outside companies to exploit Iraq&rsquo;s wealth, has been approved by the Iraqi government and now is before the country&rsquo;s parliament. Iraq&rsquo;s oil workers and their unions have become the most outspoken opponents to the measure, arguing that it would ignite already dangerous regional rivalries and enrich global oil companies at the expense of ordinary Iraqis.
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Sharistani&rsquo;s directive, which states that &ldquo;unions do not enjoy any legal status to work inside the government sector,&rdquo; is a repeat of the Coalition Provisional Authority&rsquo;s Decree 8750, issued by the occupational forces in 2003 to prevent public-sector oil workers from forming trade unions. It is also a replay of Saddam&rsquo;s Decree 150, which banned all public-sector unions. 
 
&ldquo;The promotion and development of free and democratic trade unions, and the necessary social dialogue attached to that is essential for the reconstruction and reconciliation in Iraq,&rdquo; stated ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We stand with our Iraqi brothers and sisters, and ask that this draconian directive be rescinded.&rdquo; 
 
Iraq&rsquo;s constitution, passed in 2005 with great hoopla praise from the occupational forces, enshrines the right of forming and joining professional associations and unions, and states this will be set in law. Sharistani&rsquo;s directive of 18 July 2007 is directly contradictory to Iraq&rsquo;s constitution. Iraq has also ratified ILO Convention 98 on Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining, and thus has international obligations to promote voluntary unionism and collective bargaining rights.
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Hassan Jumaa Awad, president of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Workers, representing 26,000 workers in the Southern Oil Companies, said his members would not recognise the directive since &ldquo;we are working for Iraq.&rdquo; He had called the oil law a &ldquo;planned theft of Iraqi oil disguised as &lsquo;The Hydrocarbon Law.&rsquo;&rdquo; 
 
The General Union of Oil Workers and Technicians (GUOWT), part of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW), sent a delegation on 6 August to meet with the oil minister. Sharistani refused to meet, but sent the Information director of the ministry to tell the trade unionists that the oil minister &ldquo;will not meet with people that represent unions in the oil sector&rdquo; because there are no workers in this sector, only &ldquo;state employees.&rdquo; 
 
The GFIW delegation did deliver a letter, which demanded that Sharistani withdraw the directive.

Reckless and Repressive Union-Busting by Iraqi Oil Minister

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Turkish affiliates of the ICEM, some 13 in total, have come together to form a committee with a view to working efficiently and being actively involved in the activities of the ICEM. 
 
The first meeting of the ICEM Turkish Coordination Committee was held in Ankara on 2 August 2007. Chaired by Mustafa Kumlu, President of Turkish Electricity, Water and Gas Workers&rsquo; Union (Tes-İş), which hosted the historic gathering, the meeting was attended by 30 representatives from the affiliates. 
 
At his opening speech, Mustafa Kumlu, an ICEM Executive Committee member, said, &ldquo;Turkey is situated in a unique part of the world. On the one hand we have Europe and the Balkans, and on the other Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Middle East and Mediterranean basin.
<img height="260" alt="" src="" width="390" />
&nbsp;From left, ICEM&rsquo;s &Ouml;zkan and Warda; Mustafa Kumlu, President of Tes-İş; and Mustafa &Ouml;ztaskin, president of Turkish ICEM affiliate Petrol-İş 
&ldquo;This gives us very important, but very difficult tasks,&rdquo; he added. Kumla said part of the difficulty lies with the fact that the Turkish trade union movement is facing an era of privatisation, rampant subcontracting, trade union rights violations, and redundancies that are steadily growing. &ldquo;We expect the ICEM to support us in promoting trade union rights and freedoms, as well as to provide solidarity in time of conflicts, especially during organising drives,&rdquo; Kumla said. 
 
Turkish unions, he stressed, want to make their own inputs into the activities of the ICEM, as well as support and solidarity worldwide. &ldquo;One of the important pillars of our trade union work is to reinforce international solidarity and transnational cooperation,&rdquo; Kumla said. 
 
But there can be no denying that Turkish labour legislation is wilfully lacking in meeting international standards, particularly ILO conventions. Turkey&rsquo;s trade union leaders are well aware that the ILO&rsquo;s Committee on Applications of Standards has placed the country and employers operating in the country on the agenda at its meetings this year. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda presented the federation&rsquo;s activities, and spoke of the developments in connection with ICEM&rsquo;s 4th World Congress in November in Bangkok, Thailand. He also spoke on the different projects of the ICEM, including HIV/AIDS and Contract and Agency Labour. He also addressed regional-based projects, and said that it was essential that affiliates use the ICEM&rsquo;s Global Framework Agreements to organise inside multinational companies. 
 
Warda took up potential cooperation areas and joint initiatives in which Turkish unions are welcome and invited to participate. Specifically, he mentioned the ICEM&rsquo;s role in bringing free and democratic trade unions in Iraq and other countries in the Middle East, as well as further involvement in the highly successful energy project in the Caspian Region.
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&nbsp; 
The ICEM Chemicals and Rubber Industry Officer, Kemal &Ouml;zkan, informed participants about ICEM&rsquo;s specific services for affiliates, such as efforts to create a Turkish language version on the ICEM website. &Ouml;zkan, a trade unionist who spent many years in the Turkish labour movement, also cited specific projects for the country in the coming months, including a workshop on Contract and Agency Labour in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES). 
 
Commenting on the reports given, the participants expressed their appreciation to the ICEM as it actively continues to back ongoing industrial actions and strikes in different industries inside Turkey.

ICEM’s Turkish Affiliates’ Coordinating Committee Meets in Ankara

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The ICEM has taken issue with a global building contractor following the dismissal of a union leader in Argentina. 
 
Management of Swedish-based Skanska AB&rsquo;s Argentine subsidiary fired the leader of ICEM affiliate Federaci&oacute;n Argentina Sindicol del Petr&oacute;leo y Gas Privados (FASPyGP), Marcelo Turchetti, while he was engaged in legitimate union activities for the Austral Basin branch of the union in Santa Cruz Province.
The sacking occurred in June, and FASPyGP began a boycott of Skanska&rsquo;s contracting services at all of Argentina&rsquo;s energy worksites. The company operates as a contractor for ExxonMobil, Petrobras, Repsol, Royal Dutch Shell, and Chevron operations in Argentina. Skanska employs 1,000 construction workers in Argentina. 
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&ldquo;We have implemented a boycott campaign and we have taken all the necessary legal steps under our country&rsquo;s laws to get him reinstated,&rdquo; said FASPyGP Secretary General Alberto Roberti. 
 
The ICEM alerted the Building and Wood Workers&rsquo; International (BWI) prior to lodging the complaint. The BWI and Skanska are signatories to a Global Framework Agreement (GFA), agreed to in 2001. 
 
In the ICEM letter, General Secretary Manfred Warda states that &ldquo;Turchetti was discharged in the performance of his legitimate union duties &hellip; this is counter to Core Labour Conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and is counter to the principles contained in the (GFA) that your company has signed with ICEM&rsquo;s fellow GUF, the Building and Wood Workers&rsquo; International (BWI).&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM is seeking for the branch leader&rsquo;s immediate reinstatement with full back wages. The ICEM&rsquo;s letter to Skanska can be found <a href="http://herecem.org/index.php?id=21&amp;doc=2353.&amp;la=EN">here</a>.

Swedish Builder Skanska Charged with Union-Busting in Argentina

Mr. Stuart E. Graham 
President, CEO and Managing Director 
Skanska AB 
Rasundavagen, 2 
169 83 Solna 
SWEDEN 
 
Mr. Graham: 
 
I write on behalf of the over 400 trade unions in 125 countries that are affiliated to the ICEM, the Global Union Federation (GUF) for the Energy, Oil, Gas, and Mining and other industrial sectors worldwide. 
 
I write on behalf of our trade union affiliate in Argentina, Federaci&oacute;n Argentina Sindicol del Petr&oacute;leo y Gas Privados (FASPyGP), who has informed us of the unfair dismissal of union leader Marcelo Nevil Turchetti, the general secretary of the Austral Basin branch of that union in Santa Cruz Province. 
 
He was fired from his job by Skanska&rsquo;s Argentine management on 6 June 2007. Following an investigation by the ICEM, we have found that Turchetti was discharged in the performance of his legitimate union duties. We have determined that this is counter to Core Labour Conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and is counter to the principles contained in the framework labour agreement that your company has signed with ICEM&rsquo;s fellow GUF, the Building and Wood Workers&rsquo; International (BWI). 
 
Senior leadership at FASPyGP has informed us they have filed the necessary appeals under the Argentine labour code, as well as an appeal to the Ministry of Work over this matter. They also inform us they have started a boycott of the company. Skanska as a contracting agent for a number of petroleum and gas facilities in Argentina. 
 
As you know doubt know, Skanska&rsquo;s business in the South American country is vast, employing 1,000 workers, with work at the facilities of ExxonMobil, Petrobras, Repsol, Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron. FASPyGP has asked ICEM to assist them in this effort, as well as to inform our affiliates worldwide of Skanska&rsquo;s conduct toward legitimate trade union activities in Argentina. 

I write to urgently call on you to intervene. I respectfully request that you intervene to reinstate Mr. Turchetti to his rightful position, and that he be made whole for lost earnings and benefits. I also urge you to inform your subsidiary in Argentina of the respect for trade union rights inherent in your company. I am confident that by you taking these actions, the legal matter that is pending on behalf of Mr. Turchetti can be dropped, saving both sides time and expense. 
 
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your response. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
Manfred Warda 
General Secretary 
 
CC Alberto Roberti, Secretary General, FASPyGP 
Anita Normark, Gneral Secretary, BWI

ICEM&#039;s Letter to Skanska AB Over Labour Abuses in Argentina

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ICEM affiliate Argentine Federation of Private Oil and Workers Union (FASPyGP) launched a series of rolling strikes to oil and gas production on 3 May across several provinces of the South American nation. The dispute is over a continued wage impasse between the union and several companies, covering 35,000 workers. 
 
The companies have balked at paying 2007 wage increases of 20%, an amount FASPyGP claims is only 45 minutes of combined production in oil and gas fields. The strikes have occurred at gas deposits near Mendoza and Salta, and other energy extraction in the provinces of Tierra del Fuego, Chubut, and Neuqu&eacute;n y Santa Cruz. 
<img height="66" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The companies being targeted include Repsol YPF, Argentine-British Pan American Energy, Apache, Argentina&rsquo;s PlusPetrol, as well as units of major energy producers, such as Petrobras and ExxonMobil. The industry has offered only 15% increases. 
 
Oil and gas companies doing exploratory and extraction work in Argentina have increased gas output by 5.2% in the first quarter of 2007, while oil production has jumped 4.9%. The companies export some 65% of all production and with oil and gas prices remaining high, multinationals have prospered from the country&rsquo;s natural resources. 
 
The government of Nestor Kirchner has called on oil and gas companies to expand their investment efforts in Argentina&rsquo;s energy sector, as well as to compensate oil and gas workers fairly as a means to curbing consumer price inflation.

Argentina Oil Union, FASPyGP, Launches Oil, Gas Strike

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A gem-polishing dispute that saw intense ICEM involvement in 2001 has flared again at Almond Jewellery in Bangkok. The New York-based jewellery exporter locked out 254 workers on 9 April. 
 
Workers are in protest over the firing of two key leaders of the plant-level union, which occurred in September 2006, and management&rsquo;s refusal to enter into to obligatory social talks over renewed labour terms. Workers began picketing the factory on 17 April. On 19 April, 200 of Almond&rsquo;s workers marched to the Government House in Bangkok and presented a petition. They were joined by trade union leaders from ICEM&rsquo;s Thai-affiliated unions. 
<img height="263" src="" width="350" alt="" />
Almond unionists marched to Govt House on 19 April
A government representative met with leaders of the workers at Almond, and pledged to investigate the lockout within seven days. That is now in progress. 
 
Almond is continuing to operate the gem-polishing factory with a small number of regular workers and some 400-500 agency workers. 
 
The contract dispute started in late January, after the union requested the re-opening of contract talks. Managers responded by demanding benefits back from workers that had previously been obtained during negotiations. Managers then made threats of dismissal to workers if they engaged in union activity, and they have forced some workers to sign petitions indicating their withdrawal from the union. 
<img height="263" src="" width="350" alt="" />
The ICEM obtained bargaining rights for workers at Almond&rsquo;s factory in Bangkok in late 2001. Then, Almond had sacked over 50 workers, including the entire leadership of the plant-level committee. The ICEM pressured Almond&rsquo;s owners to reinstate the workers, begin negotiations with the union, and to drop lawsuits the company brought against leaders for legitimate trade union activity. 
 
Almond&rsquo;s New York-based leader Jonathan Mandelbaum agreed to a four-point charter, which included the above. Since 2001, gem-polishing workers made positive gains in negotiations with managers. Almond&rsquo;s managers now seek to dismantle those gains. 
But workers have been tested before, and the 19 April march and protest at the Government House signals renewed resistance. Workers are demanding the re-hiring of plant-level President Patoom Kamdeewan and Committee Member Akom Thongdeewan, and are insisting on backpay for both, as well as for all locked-out workers.
<img height="264" alt="" src="" width="350" />
Former ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs&nbsp;talking to 
Thai Almond workers in 2001
The united workforce is seeking a 5% wage increase, plus a bonus payment. Workers seek a monthly-wage pattern, instead of daily wages, and demand that Almond pay them a transportation allowance. 
 
They also are demanding inclusion of contract and agency workers under terms of the collective bargaining agreement. 
 
The ICEM supports these demands as fair and just.

Thai Gem-Polishing Firm Again Bringing Labour Problems to the Fore

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The ICEM teamed with the International Transport Workers&acute; Federation (ITF) in applying pressure on President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The ICEM also lodged strong protest to Kabila over the dispute by workers at the Soci&eacute;t&eacute; Mini&egrave;re de Bakwanga (MIBA), a diamond extraction company. 
 
The transport matter concerned the unfair and arbitrary arrest of trade unionist Leon Ngoy Bululu, vice-president of ITF-affiliated Solidarit&eacute; Syndicale des Travailleurs et Cadres du Congo (SOLIDARITE). 
He was arrested on 20 April 2007, following an appearance on a 14 March television programme on the Moli&egrave;re channel. In the broadcast, he reportedly spoke out against ongoing mismanagement of the national transport company, Office National des Transports (ONATRA). Mr. Bululu was arrested at his office by agents of the Brigade Criminelle du parquet de la Gombe and detained, following a complaint by the management of the transport company. 
<img height="93" alt="" src="" width="200" />
ONATRA employs 17,800 workers throughout DRC&rsquo;s five provinces: Kinshasa, Bas-Congo, Bandungu, Equateur and the Province Orientale. Among the issues raised by Comrade Bululu was the fact that the company keeps hiring new workers, over 1,200 recently, even though wages for current workers are delayed by four months. 
 
Bululu was first imprisoned at the &quot;Parquet de Grande Instance de la Gombe.&quot; Later, he was transferred to the notorious Makala prison, where he finds himself incarcerated without due and diligent legal processes. Efforts to find out more about his current condition have, so far, been without result. 
 
Both ICEM and ITF call for his immediate release, which they say is clear and calculated trade union repression. 
 
The diamond mining dispute at state-run Soci&eacute;t&eacute; Mini&egrave;re de Bakwanga (MIBA), a diamond extraction operation near Mbuji-Mayi, in south-central Kasai-Oriental Province, has forced a strike by workers also over non-payment of wages. The strike began 23 April. 
MIBA is some seven months behind in paying wages.
<img height="63" src="" width="100" alt="" />
A joint trade union delegation is furthermore demanding a return of social benefits that the government has taken away from diamond miners and others, and calls on the company to provide adequate equipment to guarantee health and safety. 
 
Participating unions in the strike are FENAMICO, SYTRAME, CTP, GST, SYGEMI, SLC, FGTK, FTF, all of which are ICEM affiliates, and FOSYCO, which is affiliated to the International Energy &amp; Mines Organisation (IEMO).

ICEM protests Congo’s Transport, Diamond Injustices

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Some three months after miners of AVVS de Moederbond trade union in Suriname staged a strike at a Canadian-based gold-mining enterprise, called IAM Gold, they know their rewards. A new collective agreement was formally signed 25 April 2007, giving 900 miners their first collective agreement. 
 
It was the second strike within a year at the two-year-old gold pits &ndash; both against Canadian mining houses. IAM Gold bought the central Suriname site from Ciambor Inc. late in 2006. AVVS de Moederbond hit already that Canadian company with a strike that lasted four days in May 2006. 
<img height="115" alt="" src="" width="250" />
This first labour accord serves as a strong precedent in the resource-rich South American country, since new mining development is occurring and IAM Gold is keenly interested in moving into eastern Suriname. 
 
In this initial three-year collective agreement, miners will receive a 24% increase, retroactive to 1 January 2007. They will also receive a 10% raise in 2008. In 2009, the union and management will negotiate a further raise.
In addition, the union won improved medical care and child benefits, while the vacation scheme was enhanced. In signing the agreement on 25 April, IAM Gold, a company with assets in Botswana, Ghana, Mali, Peru, and other South American countries, expressed public conviction to AVVS de Moederbond President Errol Snijders that it will build a trusting, cooperative relationship with the mining union. 
<img height="166" alt="" src="" width="200" />
President Errol Snijders
IAM Gold, founded in 1996, holds joint venture stakes with AngloGold Ashanti in Mali, Goldfields in Ghana, and owns the Mupane gold mine in Botswana. Mupane is a shared enterprise with the state, and the ten-year lease with civil society comes due in the year 2013. 
 
IAM Gold was a takeover target of Goldfields in the recent past, but the deal failed when shareholders of Goldfields rejected it. IAM Gold, in 2006, acquired Gallery Gold, and has several shared investments with Battle Mountain Gold. It also has mining interests in Senegal and Tanzania in Africa, and in Argentina, Brazil, and Ecuador in South America. 
 
The Toronto-based company also holds mining interests in Canada and collects mining royalties on Canadian precious-metal mining.

Gold Miners in Suriname Win Two-year, 34% Wage Hikes

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A mass strike in Peru has proven successful, despite government efforts to downplay the effect the strike has had on a number of mining enterprises. The strike was called by ICEM affiliate National Federation of Mining, Metallurgy, and Steel Workers Union (FNTMMSP) on 30 April and, by all accounts, over 40 copper, nickel, zinc, iron, gold, and silver mining operations have lost high levels of production since last week. 
 
The strike can easily be said to be a success, with the government already guaranteeing higher social benefits for contract and agency workers at the outset of the strike. After the union&rsquo;s return to tri-partite bargaining on 4 May, and following cessation of the strike, FNTMMSP is now pushing for further regularisation of the contract labour status, which needs to include the right to unionisation for contract workers. 
<img height="100" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The strike by the 28,000-member FNTMMSP saw roughly half of Peru&rsquo;s 110,000 miners participating. This included a good number of the mining sector&rsquo;s 50,000 contract or agency workers. 
Peru&rsquo;s Labour Minister Susanna Pinilla, however, has taken to the airwaves and has been quoted in the business press playing down the success of the strike. Throughout last week&rsquo;s strike, she kept providing a regular narrative of mining operations in Peru that continued production. 
 
The mining union federation, FNTMMSP, covering some 75 individual site-level unions, has complained bitterly to the government for some time that the Labour Ministry and other monitors have failed to keep pace with the burgeoning number of agencies or contract labour providers doing business in Peru&rsquo;s booming mining industry. Many of these agencies and service providers operate in the black. 
<img height="240" alt="" src="" width="380" />
&ldquo;The over-exploitation of these workers has been going on for too long,&rdquo; said FNTMMSP Sec. Gen. Luis Castillo Carlos, who himself has participated in ICEM conferences on Contract and Agency Labour. &ldquo;The miners&rsquo; strike was called because the authorities lack the political will to enforce labour rights,&rdquo; he added. 
 
FNTMMSP and its affiliated mining unions are seeking strict regularisation of mining employment agencies; enhanced profit-sharing arrangements for its members and newly-established profit-sharing for contract and agency workers; shorter work days; and improved pension benefits.
The 30 April strike actually started two days earlier when miners from two sites of Grupo Mexico-connected Southern Peru Copper Co. blocked roads around Ilo, Peru. Southern Peru&rsquo;s mines in Toquepala and Cuajone suffered deep production losses during the strike. FNTMMSP held marches in several regions on 1 May, and also conducted rallies on 2 May and 4 May at the Labour Ministry in Lima. 
A sampling of mining operations in Peru affected by the strike includes: Southern Peru Copper Co.; US-operated Doe Run&rsquo;s La Oroya copper and lead smelting operations; several of Volcan Cia Minera SA&rsquo;s zinc smelters; BHP Billiton&rsquo;s Tintaya copper operations in Cusco; Chinese state-run Shougang Hierroperu&rsquo;s iron ore mines in the country&rsquo;s south; Glencore International AG&rsquo;s Los Quenuales zinc operation; Cia. De Minas Buenaventura; and zinc producers Cia. Minera Santa Luisa SA and Cia. Minera Raura SA. 
<img height="93" alt="" src="" width="200" />
At US-based Newmont Mining&rsquo;s Yanacocha SRL&rsquo;s gold mine and smelter, South America&rsquo;s largest gold operation, miners conducted a march and protest in support of FNTMMSP&rsquo;s strike. 
 
One already achieved result of the strike is that the government did commit to increase the number of labour inspectors in Peru from 100 to 250 by the end of the year. That should help in monitoring and in getting agency labour agencies to comply with Peruvian law. 
 
Despite Labour Minister Pinilla downplaying the effect of the strike, one cabinet minister did publicly confirm the significance of the strike. &ldquo;The demands voiced by these workers are fair,&rdquo; stated Energy and Mines Minister Juan Valdivia in a published report. 
 
Referring to the vast proliferation of service-providing entities inside Peru&rsquo;s mining sector, he added, &ldquo;There are companies that comply and others that don&rsquo;t. The ones that do not respect labour rights should be punished,&rdquo; said Valdiva.

Mining Strike in Peru Produces Gains for Contract Workers

<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
ICEM Gives Priority to Global Union G8 Campaign
A special issue of ICEM InBrief, published prior to 28 April &ndash; International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers &ndash; deals with global union efforts to press the United Nations to recognise 28 April as an Official Day. It also reports on national trade union centres&rsquo; events, as well as on plans of ICEM affiliates for 28 April. 
 
InBrief gives priority to the global trade union campaign to create a permanent high-level G8 Working Group on HIV/AIDS as a major part of the G8 programme to combat the pandemic. The ICEM has urged its affiliates to send letters to the German embassy or consulate in their countries, requesting the creation of such a Working Group. Germany is to host the G8 Summit this year. 
 
The ICEM strongly believes that such a Working Group is needed to guarantee that there is progress on prior G8 commitments, including achieving universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment and care by 2010 and developing a vaccine to prevent HIV infection. The ICEM further believes that a more sustained political commitment and commitment of resources by the world&rsquo;s richest nations must occur to reverse the pandemic, which hits workers and their families in the developing world hardest. 
&nbsp;<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Leadership: The World AIDS Day Theme for 2007 and 2008 
The theme for World AIDS Day 2007 and 2008 is &ldquo;leadership&rdquo; This theme will be promoted with the campaign slogan &ldquo;Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise&rdquo;. 
 
Since the beginning of the epidemic, experience has clearly demonstrated that significant advances in the response to HIV/AIDS have been made when there is strong and committed leadership. Leadership must be demonstrated at every level to get ahead of the disease &ndash; in families, in communities, in trade unions, in countries and internationally. 
 
We have to start early. The ICEM Global HIV/AIDS Coordinator will keep affiliates informed on materials available and will give guidance on campaigning on World AIDS Day, 1 December 2007. 
 
We should also bear in mind that the leadership of ICEM affiliates will meet for the World Congress in Bangkok, 22 &ndash; 24 November, just one week before World AIDS Day. 
 
(Source: World AIDS Campaign website <a href="http://www.worldaidscampaign.org">www.worldaidscampaign.org</a>) 
&nbsp;<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Mining Sector the Focus at Ghana Health Conference 
 
The Ghana Health Conference brought together a wide range of private and public sector participants. The ICEM Global HIV/AIDS Coordinator was invited to speak at the roundtable on &ldquo;Mobilizing the Mining Industry in Ghana and West Africa&rdquo;. 
 
At the roundtable and in plenary sessions, he had several opportunities to intervene and emphasise the role of organised labour in workplace programmes and co-investments projects. 
 
He urged the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria, a co-sponsor of the Conference, to set targets for the conclusion of workplace agreements with union participation in all mining companies in Ghana and West Africa by the end of 2007; to start massive VCT &ndash; Know Your Status Campaigns; to provide anti-retroviral treatment and to form public/private partnerships to bring HIV/AIDS services, including ART, to the wider community around mining sites. 
 
A major development in Ghana is the inclusion of a private sector representative in the Country Coordinating Mechanism. This development is an outcome of the joint ICEM/Global Fund mission to Ghana in May 2006. The Manager of the AngloGold Ashanti Malaria Control Programme is a member of the CCM. A proposal for a public/private sector co-investment project for malaria is being prepared for Round 7 of the Global Fund. 
&nbsp;<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
ICEM Feasibility Study on HIV/AIDS Services in Mining Areas in Ghana 
While in Accra, the ICEM Global HIV/AIDS Coordinator also had an opportunity to discuss the recommendations and follow-up action to be taken of the recently completed feasibility study of HIV/AIDS services in Obuasi and Tarkwa, two major mining areas in Ghana where HIV prevalence rates are higher than the country&rsquo;s average. 
 
The study was prepared by the Credible Technical Forum, Accra, in cooperation with the Ghana Mineworkers&rsquo; Union (GMWU) and some major mining companies in order to identify gaps in HIV/AIDS services in these areas. Work will continue with the GMWU, companies and local health authorities to close these gaps. 
 
Priorities will be the conclusion of workplace policies where they do not yet exist, hiring of full-time HIV/AIDS coordinators, training of VCT counsellors and the extension of VCT and ART to those members of the community who are not able to secure this for themselves. 
&nbsp;<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Thailand: Strategic Plan to Reduce HIV Prevalence among Youth 
Thailand&rsquo;s National AIDS Prevention and Control Committee recently approved a three-year plan to reduce the alarmingly increasing HIV cases among young people in the country. The plan will focus on educating youth about HIV prevention and promoting social values with the involvement of local civil society organisations. 
 
About 17,000 new HIV cases occur annually in Thailand, about half of them among young people aged between 18 and 19. 
 
(Source: Medical News Today, 23 April 2007, <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com">www.medicalnewstoday.com</a>) 
&nbsp;<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Bangladesh: Awareness for HIV/AIDS Prevention 
 
According to UNAIDS estimates, only 7,500 people are infected with the virus in Bangladesh. At a recent workshop, however, a warning was sounded that the number is on the rise. If hard measures are not taken now, HIV/AIDS could reach epidemic proportions in the country soon. 
 
The closeness to India and Thailand, two major HIV/AIDS afflicted countries, widespread poverty, illiteracy, high practice of pre and extra marital sex are reasons to spread awareness about prevention methods. Of great concern are also the large number of private blood banks without facilities for screening blood and the multiple use of syringes and needles. 
 
(Source: New Nation, Dhaka, online edition 29 April 2007, <a href="http://www.nation.ittefaq.com/">www.nation.ittefaq.com</a>) 
&nbsp;<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Global Fund Board Meeting Makes Progress on Many Fronts 
At its meeting in Geneva at the end of April, the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria reached agreement on a number of issues. 
 
Board members agreed on a new Chair from the private sector (Rajah Gupta, formerly CEO of McKinsey &amp; Co); a new Vice-Chair from an African NGO (Elizabeth Mataka from Zambia); an ambitious new target for fundraising; a new concept that each grant should normally have one Principal Recipient from government and one from outside government; a new method whereby countries can obtain financial support for well-developed national strategies for tackling HIV/AIDS, TB or malaria; a new approach to appointing Local Fund Agents; and more. 
 
The Board recommended (but did not require) that, starting with Round 8, each proposal submitted to the Global Fund should specify both a government Principal Recipient (PR) and a non-government PR. The Fund refers to this concept as &quot;dual-track financing&quot;. If a proposal does not include both types of PR, it should contain an explanation for this. 
The Board noted that the possible benefits achieved through dual-track financing include increased absorption capacity (from taking full advantage of the implementation capacity of all domestic sectors, both governmental and non-governmental), accelerated implementation and performance of grants, and the strengthening of weaker sectors. 
 
The Board meeting took place just two days after Dr. Michel Kazatchkine, the Fund's new Executive Director, took office. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer Issue 75, 30 April 2007. GFO is a free service of Aidspan www.aidspan.org. 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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News from the Global Union Programme and Global Union Federations 
The Steering and Advisory Committees of the Global Union AIDS Programme met in Geneva, 2 &ndash; 4 April to assess progress in the programme and discuss a work plan for 2007 and 2008. The meeting was addressed by Peter Piot, UNAIDS Executive Director and Sophia Kisting, Director of ILOAIDS. 
 
A delegation of the Steering Committee met the Director of External Affairs of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Christoph Benn, and its Civil Society Officer, Mick Mathews, to discuss the way forward for a greater involvement of workers organisations in Global Fund structures, such as the Board and national Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM). The delegation also met the focal point of the Global Business Coalition (GBC) at the Global Fund, Barbara Bulc. 
 
In its most recent HIV/AIDS updates (no. 18 and 19 of 1 and 15 April) the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) reports, among others, on efforts to develop an HIV vaccine, on increases in HIV infections in Korea and on producing more affordable antiretroviral drugs in Zimbabwe <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>. 
 
Education International (EI) has published an interview with Clementine Dehwe, the Global Union HIV/AIDS Coordinator, <a href="http://www.ei-ie.org/en/news/show.php?id=455&amp;theme=hivaids&amp;country=global">http://www.ei-ie.org/en/news/show.php?id=455&amp;theme=hivaids&amp;country=global</a>. EI launched its new website of the EFAIDS programme in April <a href="http://www.ei-ie.org/efaids">www.ei-ie.org/efaids</a>.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 20

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ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 20

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