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A global ICEM Conference dedicated to discussing CAL took place immediately prior to the ICEM Fifth Statutory Congress in Buenos Aires on 23 November. The Conference brought together more than 400 delegates from 69 countries to exchange stories of best practice, to evaluate work done on CAL, and to probe the future fight against Contract and Agency Labour (CAL). 
 
The meeting was chaired by Sergio Novais, ICEM Vice President for Latin America/Caribbean, with an introduction by ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, who said, &ldquo;This conference is about an issue that has been one of the highest on the political agenda of the ICEM for many years. But despite our efforts, CAL is still spreading. In some countries it has become the regular employment situation.&rdquo; 
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Sergio Novais
For individual workers, Warda said, there is more job insecurity, less regular hours, lower and irregular pay, fewer benefits, and in many cases no access to social benefits and an increased health and safety risk. There is evidence that CAL is being used by employers to deny workers their right to freedom of association, and in many countries CAL workers are either legally or in practice prevented from joining a union. 
 
The conference began with ICEM CAL Project Coordinators and J&ouml;rgen Juul Rasmussen, General Secretary of DEF Denmark, introducing the CAL situation in Asia, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe. Aranya Pakapath, ICEM CAL Coordinator for Asia, shared a number of recent developments in the fight against CAL. In India, following a number of training workshops conducted by the ICEM, the Indian mineworkers&rsquo; union managed to negotiate a clause on CAL in a new mining sector agreement. The language states that companies should not engage contract workers on work of a permanent nature and that payment of contract workers will either be by cheque or bank transfer &ndash; so there is proof there is a relationship. 
 
In Malaysia, said Pakapath, the government last year attempted to introduce legislation to legalise employment agencies. After a conference the ICEM held with the Malaysian Trades Union Confederation (MTUC), the confederation petitioned the government to withdraw the bill. The bill was withdrawn, but last month was reintroduced and Parliament approved it. Pakapath highlighted the efforts of unions in Indonesia &ndash;where the paper unions have been actively organising outsourced workers and succeeded in recruiting 580 workers &ndash; and the Philippines where unions have been trying to ban employment agencies through legislation and the industrial courts. 
 
In Pakapath&rsquo;s home country, she noted that at the Electric Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), EGAT-LU, with the solidarity and support of the Danish Electricians&rsquo; Union, managed to make fixed term workers into permanent workers, who are now entitled to social benefits. 
 
The ICEM and German affiliate IGBCE supported the Linde union in their struggle to get the industrial gas company to take responsibility for and respect the rights of CAL workers which finally resulted in the signing of an agreement between the company and the union. 
 
Elias Pintado of Brazil &ndash; who works together with Rosane Sasse to coordinate the CAL project in Latin America &ndash; highlighted some of the work carried out by ICEM affiliates to fight CAL and to improve legislation on outsourcing. Pintado explained that, with the exception of Brazil, all countries in the region have specific legislation to regulate outsourcing. 
 
Often these laws stipulate joint responsibility for employers who use outsourcing. In Brazil, the national congress is currently debating 26 bills to regulate outsourcing, most of which make it possible to outsource almost all functions. Brazilian unions are currently trying to collect one million signatures in support of one particular bill that would safeguard workers. 
 
Other Latin America unions have brought legal cases on the basis of legislation in force in countries, and in some cases have met with success. As a result of the many cases taking place in Brazil, the Higher Labour Court held a consultation on outsourcing. The chemical workers&rsquo; union has negotiated a code of conduct with Bayer in Brazil on outsourcing, which states that the employer is required to discuss CAL with the unions and inform the unions of the reasons why certain sectors would be subject to outsourcing. The code guarantees that user enterprises will pay wages and taxes for the CAL workers if the agency fails to do so. 
 
Before agencies can work for Bayer they must prove that they have no responsibility regarding workers&rsquo; wage arrears. Pintado informed delegates that on 28 July 2011, the Latin America Day against CAL was launched at a seminar in Colombia. Following the seminar, ICEM affiliates wrote to the head of Mercosur proposing unique legislation in the region on CAL. Many trade unions in the region have modified their statues and set up secretariats dedicated to CAL to monitor implementation of contracts and to represent workers. There are also shop stewards elected from among the CAL workers. 
 
The Sub-Saharan Africa strand of the ICEM CAL project has carried out activities in Senegal, Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Mozambique, Mauritius, South Africa and Namibia. In the multitude of cases, the region has the aim of strengthening union negotiations and campaigns, to find solutions to negative practices, and to influence governments to introduce binding regulations on the use of CAL. 
 
A report by Joseph Toe, ICEM CAL Project Coordinator for the region, highlighted the fact that unions are joining forces on these common objectives. In Guinea, the three ICEM affiliates have formed a CAL Steering Committee; in Nigeria, the two ICEM affiliates in the oil and gas sectors are working closely together, and there is close cooperation between ICEM&rsquo;s affiliates in South Africa and Namibia. 
 
Toe highlighted how Global Framework Agreements (GFAs) with Anglo Gold Ashanti and Umicore have been used to create space for collective agreements that cover all workers. In Sierra Leone, the Ministry of Labour has an action plan to stop the extension of agencies. In Nigeria, the Ministry for Petrol has published guidelines to control the activities of agencies. 
 
The guidelines cover industrial relations, collective bargaining for CAL workers, employment security and vocational training for CAL workers. In Mozambique, SINTIQUIAF has recruited into their ranks 300 CAL workers &ndash; the majority of whom are women aged 18-30. There is excellent cooperation between the labour inspectorate and the leadership of SINTIQUIAF, and labour inspectorate officials have attended all ICEM CAL seminars. The statutes of some unions have been amended &ndash; for example, Mauritius and Senegal &ndash; to make it possible for unions to recruit CAL workers. 
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Introducing the CAL situation in Europe, J&ouml;rgen Juul Rasmussen of Denmark, said that insecure work is the most rapidly-growing form of employment in Europe said that about 14% of all workers in Europe are on precarious jobs. At a company level, said Rasmussen, it is vital that shop stewards address the problem. In Denmark, the unions are fighting at the national level to include language on CAL in CBAs and the labour courts have ruled that when you have an agreement it must also apply to CAL workers. 
 
In Europe, for many years unions have demanded a Directive on agency work &ndash; this was agreed in 2008. All EU member states are implementing the Directive, although some countries are finding national solutions. Globally, unions can use ILO Conventions and Recommendations and, where necessary, engage in global campaigns. 
 
European labour organisations EMCEF, EMF, and ETUF: TCL have agreed that CAL is a major negotiating priority. 
 
Rasmussen highlighted some inspirational examples from Europe. For instance in Denmark, there is a major industrial agreement with a paragraph that says CAL workers should have the same rights as permanent workers. In Sweden, the unions and employers have joint committees to authorise the use of agencies and agency workers must have the same average wages as their permanent equivalents. 
 
A 2010 agreement, states that companies cannot hire agency workers if they have dismissed permanent workers over the previous six months. IF Metall in Sweden has agreed that employers must negotiate with the union before taking on agency workers for more than one month. In the construction sector in Belgium, the unions managed to ban the use of one-day contracts through collective agreements. 
 
The second part of the conference saw the exchange of best practice examples, with panels composed of ICEM affiliates from Mauritius, India, the Netherlands, Colombia, Senegal, Malaysia, Turkey and Argentina. Sascha Meijer described how FNV Bondgenoten is working to protect the rights of between 3,000 and 4,000 migrant workers involved in a major construction project in the Netherlands. The migrant workers, the vast majority of whom work through agencies or subcontractors, put in long days for low wages, do not get extra pay for working weekends, and are deducted amounts for accommodation and transport. 
 
The wrong social security regime is being used and the cheapest CBA &ndash; the wrong one &ndash; is being applied, all amounting to unequal pay for the same work. FNV Bondgenoten in the Netherlands developed a new, flexible approach to organising workers in this challenging context. They are building relationships with the workers, using the media to name and shame the exploitative agencies and employers, and making sure that relevant questions are put to Parliament. 
 
Bondgenoten is establishing better relations with unions in the home countries of the workers, and has signed a framework agreement with the energy employers on CAL matters, which includes a procedure for resolving conflicts and it also necessitates regular dialogue. Meijer highlighted the need for stronger international cooperation between unions to make union membership more worthwhile for migrant workers. 
 
Panellists shared examples of actions being taken at national, company and trade union levels in the fight for permanent direct employment and for equality of treatment. At the national level, Sutids, the industrial workers&rsquo; union of Senegal, launched an awareness-raising media campaign, communicated with employers and lobbied the President of Senegal, the national assembly, the Senate and the Ministry of Labour. These actions contributed to the passing of a bill on employment agencies. 
 
The provisions include employers can only use temporary workers to carry out specific tasks, and not for more than two years; that CAL workers must be paid the same as permanent workers; and that at the end of the contract the agency must pay 7% of the total gross remuneration during the whole period of the contract. Sutids also recruited 1,200 new CAL members. 
In Mauritius, in October, the ICEM affiliate SYNDICATRAVAYER signed the first ever collective agreement in the construction sector where permanent and CAL workers are both covered &ndash; there is a 15% wage increase for all workers and, most importantly, all workers doing work of the same value must be equally remunerated. 
 
ICEM Turkish affiliate Petrol-Is drew attention to the protocol signed with T&uuml;praş, Turkey&rsquo;s largest industrial enterprise, which states that CAL workers must become permanent employees once they have worked at the company for seven months. The Chemical Mazdoor Federation of India reported that an affiliated union managed to recruit all 650 CAL workers in a chemical plant, who then got almost all the benefits given to permanent workers. 
 
At the same time, there are several cases pending in the Indian courts as unions have filed complaints against employers for using &ldquo;sham and bogus&rdquo; contracts. For more than ten years, Sintracarbon of Colombia has been organising CAL workers. Some 6,000 of the 11,000 workers at Carbones del Cerrejon, the world&rsquo;s largest open cast coal mines, are contract workers &ndash; they work long days, are far from their families, and are paid the minimum possible. Recently, the union had successes in organising mechanical workers and is working on a set of demands with the supplier company. Now 20% of Sintracarbon&rsquo;s members are contract workers. 
 
The panellists also discussed actions unions are taking to improve recruitment, active involvement and representation of CAL members. In India, dedicated unions have been established for CAL workers and others have opened their door to CAL workers &ndash; for example the Indian National Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation has succeeded in organising 10,000 CAL members. In Mauritius, SYNDICATRAVAYER amended their rules and reduced membership fees from 50 Rupees to 1 Rupee. The union constructed a two-story building which members can use, created an IT school were CAL workers and their families can receive free training and established a credit union where members can take out loans. Within 18 months, 3,000 new members have been recruited in the construction sector alone. 
 
The final panel of the day, comprising the General Secretaries of the IMF, the ICEM and the ITGLWF and chaired by the Coordinator of the Council of Global Unions, Jim Baker, discussion centered on future strategies. Jyrki Raina, IMF General Secretary, said that the fight against precarious work must be one of the key priorities of the new global union federation, which will be founded in June 2012. Raina explained that cooperation with the ITUC and all other GUFs is vital as we are facing the powerful lobby of MNEs and Ciett who want to use international institutions to legitimise the spread of precarious work. 
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Employers argue that temporary agencies create new jobs but, said Raina, the fact is that temporary agencies make decent jobs, with social protections, precarious jobs. Unions should work to limit the use of precarious work in all its forms and if precarious work is used unions should work to guarantee the same level of wages and benefits for all workers. 
 
According to ILO figures, 80% of all workers have no social security protection &ndash; this has to be a priority for the new global union. ICEM&rsquo;s Manfred Warda reflected on the First Global CAL Conference in Bangkok in 2007, where the problem of CAL was identified. Since then, Warda said, serious work has been taken by ICEM affiliates and the affiliates of other GUFs, which must form the foundations for future work. 
 
The first task is organise, organise, organise. CAL workers must be included in the bargaining unit, and unions should help them gain permanent employment status. Warda highlighted that factors contributing to recent mining disasters included that workers did not get adequate safety training and were not employed directly. Following the Deepwater Horizon disaster, BP said that the responsibilities were shared by various subcontractor companies. 
 
Klaus Priegnitz, ITGLWF General Secretary, spoke about how conditions in textile plants in countries such as the Philippines and Bangladesh are being driven down even further by the growing use of CAL. The only objective, he said, is to have cheaper and cheaper labour. 
 
He said we must fight this at a national level &ndash; organise, recruit and become stronger. We can use GFAs as tools to fight precarious work. We should also use the revised OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. In summary, the General Secretaries drew attention to the importance of continuing and expanding the joint work carried out through the Council of Global Unions Work Relationships Group. They said that the ICEM, the IMF and the ITGLWF must increase cooperation and the founding of a new GUF is the right next step &ndash; the three GUFs will be stronger together.

Affiliates Reaffirm CAL Fight at 2nd Global Conference

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Local 27 members of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union were locked out at the New Year by Caterpillar Inc.&rsquo;s Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) in a callous display of corporate might that could lead to corporate flight from Canada. The 650 CAW members in London, Ontario, voted by 98% on 30 December for strike action and 24 hours later &ndash; just as they were returning to jobs on New Year&rsquo;s Eve following a holiday shutdown &ndash; they were locked out. 

The lockout indignation comes on the heels of deeper indignation: Caterpillar&rsquo;s EMD &ndash; run as part of the US company&rsquo;s Progress Rail Services Corp. &ndash; attempt to extract unreasonable wage and benefit concessions from Canadian union members as excuse to shift production of electric-powered diesel engines and associated railroad components to a start-up and lower wage plant in Muncie, US state of Indiana. 

EMD began operations in Muncie in October 2011. Until Saturday night&rsquo;s lockout, CAW and EMD had bargained under a seven-month contract extension, something the two sides agreed to in May 2011. However, EMD never once wavered from an initial, hostile and family-wrecking proposal demanding wage cuts from C$35-per hour to C$16.50, health benefits cut in half, and elimination of a pension scheme. 

At the same time, EMD was advertising for a Human Resources manager in Muncie with the stipulation that he/she have &ldquo;experience with providing union-free culture and union avoidance.&rdquo; 

EMD is paying average salaries between US$12-16-per hour in Muncie. Caterpillar and its wholly-owned Progress Rail Services is seeking to dislodge General Electric&rsquo;s (GE) Transportation Division as the US&rsquo;s premiere supplier of train locomotives at a time of government stimulus funding for infrastructure and transport needs. GE operates three major rail division plants that are unionised and pay average salaries of US$30-per hour or more. 

EMD&rsquo;s London, Ontario, plant was purchased by Caterpillar in August 2010 for US$820 million from Greenbriar Equity Group and Berkshire Partners. The two capital companies in turn bought the manufacturing plant in 2005 for a quarter of that amount from General Motors when GM was shedding its non-auto making businesses.
<img src="" width="130" height="188" alt="" />
CAW President Ken Lewenza&nbsp; 

Then, Caterpillar was interested in buying the southwestern Ontario plant but CAW opposed the deal because of Caterpillar&rsquo;s horrid labour relations record in the US. Now, with Caterpillar in control and deploying obvious whipsawing of CAW members against non-union Muncie workers that will number 650 this year, CAW Local 27 is forced to blockade the London plant to prevent equipment from leaving for the Indiana city 350 miles to the south. 

On Saturday, CAW President Ken Lewenza called the lockout &ldquo;a serious attack on working people, their families and the greater community of London. 

&ldquo;If (Caterpillar) is not going to do business in Canada, this wage cut is designed as a mechanism to blame workers,&rdquo; Lewenza said in a published report, referring to production flight and a possible plant closing. In mid-December, the CAW lodged a formal complaint with the government over Caterpillar&rsquo;s violation of the Investment Canada Act. 

EMD has other railroad manufacturing facilities in Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, and Sahag&uacute;n, Hidalgo state, Mexico, a facility it operates jointly with Bombardier. EMD sells locomotives, replacement parts, and diesel powered engines for marine propulsion, oil drilling and power generation in 130 countries, and currently has major contracts with companies providing equipment for state railways in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa. 

Caterpillar&rsquo;s deep contract concession proposals, the lockout, matched with lucrative incentives from Indiana&rsquo;s anti-union state government for the Muncie start-up are a cause of great concern, particularly for two countries that each lack socially-minded industrial policies in the wake of a financial crisis.

CAW Members Victimized in Lockout by Caterpillar’s Rail Division

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Union members of US affiliated Teamsters Union (IBT) used a broadening corporate campaign to win reprieve over job losses at a BMW auto-parts warehouse in California. IBT Local 495 and North American bosses of German auto-maker BMW agreed on 9 August to a six-month extension of a collective agreement that was to expire 31 August.
BMW North America had given notice in June that it would terminate the agreement at a parts distribution warehouse in Ontario, California, then and outsource the 68 Teamster jobs to a third party logistics company. The IBT nationally then ramped up a pressure campaign on both sides of the Atlantic (see prior <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4570-US-Teamsters-Ardently-Resist-BMW-s-Auto-Parts-Outsourcing">ICEM news article</a> here) and there is little question that adverse publicity on the luxury auto producer caused management to re-consider.
<div>Last week, just as dockworkers belonging to unions affiliated with the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) organised informational pickets at nine ports in 10 countries on behalf of the California warehouse workers, BMW North America sat down with Local 495 in Southern California and agreed to extend the contract for six months to allow the two sides to work out a mutually acceptable solution that addresses long-term employment for Teamster members.</div>
<img alt="" src="" width="223" height="160" />
<div align="center">Dockworkers picket in Bremerhaven, Germany, on behalf of US Teamsters</div>
<div align="center"> 
&ldquo;We sent a clear message to BMW with our campaign actions that outsourcing these jobs is unacceptable,&rdquo; said Teamsters Joint Council 42 Public Affairs Director Ed Rendon. &ldquo;We won&rsquo;t be happy until we get a full agreement, but we&rsquo;re highly optimistic this will happen and BMW will better run their business with our members&rdquo; maintaining direct employment.</div>
Added IBT Local 495 Secretary-Treasurer Bob Lennox, &ldquo;I am confident that BMW will honor its promises to find a solution to keep their long-time, dedicated workforce and ensure that these jobs remain good, middle-class jobs.&quot;
Teamster members and supporters protested at a 6-7 August weekend event called &ldquo;Bimmerfest&rdquo; in the state of Maryland where BMW enthusiasts annually turn out to celebrate ownership of the German car. Thousands of handbills were distributed and a Teamster-hired airplane flew overhead with a banner emblazoned &ldquo;BMW: the Ultimate Misery,&rdquo; the campaign&rsquo;s slogan.
And on 8 August, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa sent a letter to BMW North America CEO Jim O&rsquo;Donnell telling him that members of the International Longshore &amp; Warehouse Union (ILWU) were about to picket the Port of Los Angeles, and reminded him that the company received monetary assistance during the 2008-09 financial crisis from the US federal government.
The 68 Ontario warehouse workers themselves had spent their weekends handbilling BMW dealerships in California, Oregon, and Washington state, telling consumers about on BMW&rsquo;s intended social dumping.
The Ontario, California, warehouse is one of six parts depots in the US, supplying and distributing BMW parts to auto dealerships and auto-supply outlets in the western region of the US.

Campaign Action Wins US Teamsters BMW Contract Extension

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<div> 
An unbroken chain of solidarity and staunch resolve by all 157 members of Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Local 2228 staved off contract concessions in Canada recently. On 8 August, union members ratified a three-year agreement with Sandvik Materials Technology Canada, a subsidiary of Swedish industrial giant Sandvik AB, with an 80.6% vote, ending a successful strike that began on 13 July. 
 
On 9 and 10 August, CAW members returned to their Arnprior, Ontario, factory knowing they bested the company&rsquo;s mid-July &ldquo;last, best offer&rdquo; of pension reductions, cost-of-living (COLA) rollbacks, and contract language deletions. After Sandvik made some modifications in its original proposals in talks on 29 July, changes that CAW members saw as insufficient and which they rejected. The company returned to bargaining in early August with more revisions that essentially left a prior labour agreement intact. 
</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img alt="" src="" width="295" height="159" /> 
</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>26 July Protest in Mississauga (CAW President Ken Lewenza, kneeling, center, giving an early prompt how strike would end)</div>
<div> 
There will be no changes to the roll-in effect of the COLA, no changes to job security, and pension benefits will remain the same. In addition, there were some benefit improvements and strengthened contract language regarding layoffs. A 1% wage increase is also due at the beginning of the third year. 
 
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m humbled by the level of support the membership ha shown in their first-even strike, in the facility&rsquo;s more than 30-year existence,&rdquo; said CAW Eastern Ontario Area Director Harry Ghadban. Local 2228 Unit Chairman Derek Mosley said: &ldquo;We could not have done it without the unwavering support from the membership and the support from the national union. 
 
&ldquo;We are proud of the solidarity of our membership in fighting back concessions and holding tough until a negotiated settlement was reached.&rdquo; 
</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img alt="" src="" width="215" height="161" /> 
</div>
On 26 July, hundreds of CAW members turned out to manifest at Sandvik&rsquo;s Canadian headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario. 
 
And on Local 2228&rsquo;s blog after the 8 August ratification vote, one union member stated: &ldquo;We can all hold our heads high as we return to work knowing we sent a message to management saying we will not accept your final offer, we go back on our terms. I cannot express how proud I am.&rdquo; 
 
Sandvik Materials Technology in Arnprior manufactures stainless steel and nickel alloy speciality tubing used in the nuclear, aerospace, automotive, and oil and gas industries.

Canadian Auto Workers Win 27-Day Strike at Sandvik Metals

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<div> 
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" /></div>
 
The ICEM affiliated trade union in Botswana, the Diamond Sorters and Valuators (BDSVU), reacted angrily to the government renewing the diamond industry&rsquo;s classification as an essential service in June that would effectively deny workers and trade unions of the sector their legitimate rights.</div>
The union, under the leadership of General Secretary Jacob Mpasopi, was particularly incensed that they heard of the decision for the first time through local media, and were never consulted. The BDSVU is the main stakeholder of the industry in the southern Africa nation.
<img src="" width="100" height="87" alt="" />
<div>The Minister of Labour and Home Affairs had been advised by parliament to consult relevant stakeholders before making a decision. However the union was never given an opportunity to voice its position.</div>
Mpasopi points to the ILO Committee of Experts&rsquo; definition of essential services as services in which &ldquo;the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population.&rdquo; Indisputably, this definition cannot be applied to the finished diamond sector of Botswana.
The BDSVU has struggled hard to achieve recognition agreements with several employers in the sector, formalizing negotiation, and dispute resolution procedures. All of these gains are put at risk by the unilateral decision by Peter Siele, the Minister of Labour and Home Affairs.
The ICEM fully supports its affiliate BDSVU in its call for this determination to be reversed.

Botswana Diamond Sorters Balk at Government’s Industry Re-Classification

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on a survey on HIV/AIDS workplace policies and on the call for proposals for Round 11 by the Global Fund. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Workplace Policies: Survey Reveals Progress by ICEM Affiliates 
 
Since 2005, the ICEM has implemented a comprehensive HIV and AIDS programme. National coordinators acquired knowledge and skills; hundreds of peer educators were trained; tens of thousands of workers and members of the communities attended awareness meetings and VCT campaigns and queued up for being tested and counselled. At a time when still more than two new infections occur for every additional person receiving antiretroviral treatment, prevention is a priority. 
 
Although no baseline information exists, it can be assumed from anecdotal evidence that, with the exception of South Africa, in 2005 only some HIV/AIDS policies unilaterally drafted by companies existed. While more workplace policies and HIV and AIDS clauses in collective agreements have now been concluded, progress in this respect is still unsatisfactory. The ICEM has made a model workplace policy available for its affiliates. This aspect of the HIV and AIDS work of the ICEM and its affiliates has to be intensified. 
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="132" />
No doubt, non-discrimination is the key to any strategy to fight HIV and AIDS at the workplace. Workplace policies negotiated and agreed by unions and employers are a first step. The effectiveness of such policies depends on employer commitment and the ability of a union to monitor implementation of the policy. While such policies commit the parties morally, their implementation can still be weak and workplace policies, as a rule, cannot be legally enforced. Therefore, the establishment of clauses in collective agreements provides one of the strongest measures to deal with HIV and AIDS at the workplace. 
 
A preliminary survey conducted during the recent African regional workshop for nine sub-Saharan African countries revealed that affiliates have started to engage employers or sectoral employers&rsquo; bodies, such as Chambers of Mines, in discussions and negotiations to conclude bilaterally acceptable policies and draw up programmes. 
 
To give but a few examples: in Ghana, major mining houses have HIV/AIDS workplace policies. Although some were initially drawn up unilaterally, the Ghana Mine Workers&rsquo; Union (GMWU) is now involved in the implementation. In Mauritius, collective bargaining agreements with ten companies, out of 36 which are bargaining partners of the ICEM affiliate Chemical, Manufacturing, and Connected Trades Employees&rsquo; Union (CMCTEU), contain non-discriminatory clauses. Affiliates Associated Mine Workers&rsquo; of Zimbabwe (AMWZ) and the Zimbabwe Energy Workers&rsquo; Union (ZEWU) have negotiated and concluded industry-wide HIV/AIDS workplace policies for the mining and energy sectors. 
 
It has to be seen how further commitments to include specific HIV and AIDS clauses in collective bargaining agreements will bear results. Employers&rsquo; awareness of the threat of a spread of HIV infections to their operations helps. The existence of a national legislative framework is conducive. And union strength, leadership commitment, and membership support are absolute prerequisites. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Global Fund: Call for Proposals for Round 11, Change in Grant Architecture 
 
The call for proposals for grants from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will open on 15 August. Deadline for submitting proposals is 15 December. This is later than expected and poses some problems. As decisions concerning Round 11 funding will only be made by the meeting of the Global Fund Board in 2012, countries which have grants expiring would need special extension funding to avoid interruptions, especially of treatment. 
 
Furthermore, new eligibility criteria apply for Round 11. Under the &ldquo;history of funding&rdquo; criterion, 78 countries, which have a history of recent funding for one or more of the diseases, are ineligible to apply in Round 11 for those components. 
<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="53" />
The Global Fund is also going to implement new grant architecture. It is designed to streamline and improve both the applications process and programme implementation. One of the ways it does so is by consolidating programmes and grants so that there is only one agreement per principal recipient (PR) per disease or health systems strengthening (HSS) programme. 
 
Grant consolidation involves merging two or more existing grants for the same PR and disease into one. Anytime two or more existing grants have been consolidated into one, a single-stream-of-funding (SSF) agreement is signed with the PR. SSF agreements are very similar to the grant agreements that have been used up to now. The most significant differences are (a) the provisions for periodic reviews (replacing Phase 2 reviews); and (b) the fact that the SSF grant agreements will be revised after each periodic review and whenever additional funding for the PR is approved in a future round. Under the new grant architecture, the periodic reviews will be carried out at the same time for all SSF agreements for a given disease/HSS programme, regardless of how many different PRs are involved. 
 
By the time proposals for Round 11 are approved, the Global Fund will be well on its way to implementing the new grant architecture. Grants will be replaced by single-stream-of-funding. All proposals submitted for Round 11 have to be consolidated proposals. For all of the proposals approved in Round 11, single-stream-of-funding agreements will be signed with PRs. In most cases, a single-stream-of-funding agreement will cover not only new initiatives included in the proposal, but also all of the PR&rsquo;s active &ldquo;grants&rdquo; for that disease. By the time the Round 12 single-stream-of-funding agreements have all been signed, the old grant agreements will be an endangered species. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 152 of 5 July. 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>) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Nepal: Migration Main Factor for HIV Prevalence 
 
HIV prevalence in Achham is estimated at 1.7%, but many residents, who have never left the remote western district, know HIV only as &ldquo;Bombay [Mumbai] disease.&rdquo; Naming HIV after India&rsquo;s bustling commercial city is considered the most logical explanation for what happened to men who were healthy when they migrated for work and returned home years later sick. The district has supplied cheap migrant labour to cities such as Mumbai for years. 
 
Although HIV prevalence in Nepal&rsquo;s general population is a low, 0.5%, the country has been experiencing a concentrated epidemic among high-risk groups such as seasonal migrant workers. The government found that in 2008, 41% of all HIV cases in the country were among labour migrants. 
 
Testing and public awareness for HIV are said to be increasing in Achham, where nearly 70% of households migrate at some stage, according to the ILO. An inclusive maternal care programme at district hospitals, which provide women with US$20 if they give birth on-site, has helped control mother-to-child transmission of HIV; the Achham District Hospital reports only 42 cases of transmission since 2005. 
 
(Source: PlusNews, 27 July) 
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Swaziland Crisis Affects Treatment 
 
Unease is mounting in Swaziland after reports that supplies of antiretrovirals are dangerously low. Resources have never been adequate to tackle the world&rsquo;s highest HIV infection rate in the tiny kingdom, but in recent months, the cash-poor government and dwindling donor funding have led to increasing panic among people living with HIV. One in four Swazis between the ages of 15 and 49 is living with HIV &ndash; at 26.1%, the world's highest prevalence &ndash; in a population of about one million. 
 
More than 64,000 Swazis were receiving ARVs by the end of June, a number expected to climb to about 69,000 by the end of July, according to the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit at the Ministry of Health. However, 200,000 Swazi adults are believed to be HIV-positive. 
 
Swaziland is in the grips of an acute financial crisis. Social services have been cut and public servants are facing looming retrenchments. The government is the country's biggest employer. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture last month reported a 29,000-million-tonne shortfall in the annual maize requirement &ndash; the country&rsquo;s staple food &ndash; of a total of about 114,000 million tonnes. 
 
The Southern African Customs Union (SACU), comprising Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland, applies a common set of tariffs and disproportionately distributes the revenue to member states. It has provided an economic lifeline to Lesotho and Swaziland, in particular, which have small impoverished populations, large numbers of HIV-infected people, and few or no natural resources. SACU revenue accounted for about 66% of the Swazi government&rsquo;s income two years ago. Following a reorganization of customs union receipts, it will only make up 32% of this year&rsquo;s budget. 
 
Government has requested financial assistance from South Africa, which is obliged to consider the loan to avoid a humanitarian crisis on its doorstep and a flood of economic refugees. But Swazi NGOs, led by the Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations, and organizations in South Africa, such as the national trade union centre, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), are calling for political reforms to be linked to any financial aid. Swaziland is also the last absolute monarchy in the world. 
 
(Source: PlusNews, Mbabane 18 July) 
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Debt Swap Agreement Benefits Global Fund 
 
The Global Fund has brokered debt swap agreements before, but not like the latest one between Germany and Egypt. 
 
Under the Global Fund&rsquo;s Debt2Health mechanism, creditors (i.e., countries that are owed money) may agree to write off a portion of the debt owed to them, on the condition that the debtor countries (i.e., the countries that owe money) invest an agreed-upon amount in local programmes approved by the Global Fund. Until recently, four Debt2Health agreements had been concluded &ndash; three involving Germany and, respectively, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Cote d&rsquo;Ivoire; and one between Australia and Indonesia. 
 
In June 2011, Germany agreed to write off &euro;6.6 million of Egyptian debt. What makes this agreement unique is that Egypt has agreed to contribute half of the &euro;6.6 million to Global Fund programmes to fight malaria in Ethiopia. This is the first time that a debt swap arrangement under the Debt2Health mechanism has involved reinvestment in programmes in a country other than the original debtor. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 154 of 25 July. 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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New Hope in Fight Against AIDS 
 
Aids drugs designed to treat HIV can also be used to reduce dramatically the risk of infection among heterosexual couples; two studies conducted in Africa have shown for the first time. The findings add to growing evidence that the type of medicines prescribed since the mid-1990s to treat people who are already sick may also hold the key to slowing or even halting the spread of the disease. 
 
The research involved 4,758 &ldquo;discordant&rdquo; couples, i.e. in which one partner was HIV positive and the other negative, in Kenya and Uganda and more than 1,200 sexually active men and women in Botswana. The studies found that daily Aids drugs reduced infection rates by an average of at least 62% when compared with a placebo. 
 
The idea of such &quot;pre-exposure prophylaxis,&quot; known as PrEP, has gained traction in the past year, following results of other research showing a fall in infection rates among gay men taking Aids drugs. 
 
(Source: aljazeera.net, 14 July and Health Day News, 13 July) 
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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 110 of 1 and 15 July, reports on a long-term HIV/AIDS workplace education project in cooperation with the National Union of Seafarers of Sri Lanka, which will cover all sectors represented by the union in Colombo Port, as well as four seafarers&rsquo; and maritime schools in Sri Lanka. The programme is funded by UNAIDS and the ILO and the UNFPA will provide technical guidance. 
 
In anticipation of the next call for proposals for funding for Round 11 by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) issued a circular to all its affiliates and to the Global Union Federations. The circular gives details for a step-by-step approach to include workplace-related components in proposals submitted by Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM). As cited above, Round 11 will open on 15 August; the deadline for submitting national proposals is 15 December. 
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Five Years Ago: From the August/September 2006 Issue (No. 11/12) 
 
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 August/September 2006, we reported on the 16th International AIDS Conference which was held in Toronto from 14-18 August 2006. Over 20,000 scientists, politicians and activists participated in the event. The labour movement was well represented, highlighting the impact of HIV and AIDS on the workplace and outlining the role of workers in fighting the pandemic. 
 
Prior to the Conference, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) organised a two-day labour forum with the support of the ILO. The forum convened union representatives from all over the world who expressed their support for intensifying the involvement of trade unionists and unions and to build strong coalitions with civil society organisations. On the occasion of the labour forum the CLC released a new report, &ldquo;Labour Fights AIDS,&rdquo; which demonstrates that unions are at the fore in the global fight against AIDS 
 
The ICEM abstract written for the Conference was accepted for a poster exhibition. The ICEM was also invited to speak on &ldquo;The importance of social dialogue and workers&rsquo; participation in public/private partnerships&rdquo; at a Satellite Meeting Session with the theme &ldquo;From the workplace to the community &ndash; Co-investment to access prevention, treatment and care in public/private partnerships.&rdquo; 
 
Several broader trends emerged from the Conference. Although still inadequate, treatment is becoming more available. However, those on antiretrovirals (ARVs) remain infected and require treatment indefinitely. This requires a re-emphasis on prevention. Despite many years of research at huge cost, a vaccine has not yet been found. 
 
Also noted was that prevention techniques away from consent-requiring condom use focus on female protection to empower women to take control. 
 
In that issue, we also reported on the 2nd Global Fund Partnership Forum in Durban in July 2006 and on the renewed commitment made by the G8 meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, to tackle HIV/AIDS and to create a regular monitoring of its work. 
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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. 71/72, August/September 2011

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The ICEM-affiliated FGTB-ABVV reached a settlement last Friday, 15 July, with management of the Belgian Refining Corporation (BRC), over the unjust sacking of three employees. Negotiations were held following a strong manifestation of solidarity, nationally and internationally, calling for the workers&rsquo; reinstatement. 
 
Two of the three dismissed employees were FGTB-ABVV union reps. A heated month of protest followed the sackings over invented charges of harassing a security guard. Joint protests were launched by all six Belgian unions representing oil workers, and were supported by ICEM and the European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers&rsquo; Federation (EMCEF). 
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FGTB-ABVV made clear that the solidarity efforts had been important in reaching a settlement, and thanked all BRC workers and trade union activists involved in pickets and other actions during the month. 
 
The union&rsquo;s General Secretary, Paul Lootens, and President Alain Clauwaert said that members at BRC would now put the conflict behind them, and hope to restore good relations and social dialogue with the Swiss-based refiner. 
 
The BRC refinery is located north of the Port of Antwerp at the centre of the ARA region, owned by European refiner Petroplus Holdings. BRC has production capacity of 107,500 barrels per day, and sells primarily inside the Benelux countries.

BRC Belgium Conflict Settled, Sacked Oil Workers Reinstated

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The National Garment Workers Federation of Bangladesh (NGWF) organised a hunger strike on 8 July in the capital city of Dhaka. The hunger protest was done due to appalling conditions for workers in the industry, and focused on four current disputes. 
 
The NGWF is a highly active member trade union of the International Textile, Garment &amp; Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF). 
 
NGWF President Amirul Haque Amin reports that the four on-going disputes are all occurring in Dhaka. At Onyx Knitex, a knitwear manufacturer, management arbitrarily closed the plant on 14 June, with no prior discussion or warning to the union or to the government. The 250 workers at the plant are now jobless and they received no salaries or overtime pay due them for the months of May and June. Onyx Knitex paid no compensation for the factory closure. The NGWF filed a complaint to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) on 15 June, and are awaiting action toward a resolution. 
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NGWF President Amirul Haque Amin
The second conflict is at Benson Apparels, a clothing manufacturer supplying markets in North and South America. The company sacked 97 workers on 14 March. The NGWF lodged a complaint with the BGMEA on 25 March, but the company management has rejected calls for negotiation with BGMEA or the union. 
 
A similar story occurred at Hong Kong-based Riz Fashion, a manufacturer selling mainly in Eastern Europe. On 14 December, management of Riz Fashion in Dhaka fired 28 workers. Following an official complaint by the NGWF, negotiations were conducted with the company director via the BGMEA. Negotiations reached a solution, whereby management would pay outstanding wages, overtime, and compensation. However, those payments have never been made. 
 
On 24 December, management of Indian manufacturer ADITI Apparels fired 27 workers. Similarly to the Riz Fashion case, talks at the BGMEA in the presence of ADITI management, concluded that management must pay outstanding wages, overtime, and compensation. Again, compensation due has not been made. 
 
These four labour-abuse complaints have been brought to the government&rsquo;s attention. The ICEM and the ITGLWF is hopeful that the government of Bangladesh will pressure employers to respect labour rights, instead of allowing companies to abuse workers with impunity.

Bangladesh Garment Workers’ Take Hunger Strike Actions over Delinquent Employers

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The ICEM-affiliated Brazil Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Unified Federation (FUP) conducted three days of selected work stoppages from 6-8 July at selected workplaces of state-controlled Petr&oacute;leo Brasileiro, or Petrobr&aacute;s. The protests reflect the union&rsquo;s disgruntlement with the profit-sharing plan of the company, and work slowdowns occurred at some 65 worksites. 
 
FUP is seeking higher profit-sharing payouts than the current and outdated 12% put in place in 2008. The union is demanding that workers receive an amount equal to the 25% dividend payments made to Petrobr&aacute;s shareholders. The company, which ranks in the top of the world&rsquo;s oil and gas producers, saw profits grow last year to R$35.2 billion, or US$22.7 billion. 
<img alt="" src="" width="140" height="140" />
FUP demands also call on the 56% state-owned company to drop special bonus payments to executives. 
 
The strikes began 6 July at 35 offshore platforms in the ultra-deep Campos Basin off Brazil&rsquo;s southeastern coast and spread the next day to exploration and production worksites in northern Bahia and Cear&aacute; states. Reduction of work hours on 7 July also occurred at the Cacimbas gas production plant in Espirito Santo state in southeastern Brazil. 
 
On 8 July, FUP members delayed the start of their work day at the Campo do Amaro and Rancho da Forquiha on-land oilfields in northeastern Rio Grande do Norte state. And job actions also occurred at several of the company&rsquo;s 11 refineries, bio-diesel plants, and administrative offices. 
 
Petrobr&aacute;s is Brazil&rsquo;s largest corporation, the country&rsquo;s leader retailer of oil and fuel-based products, and operates subsidiaries in 27 countries.

FUP Members in Brazil Conduct Short Strikes at Petrobrás

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The second union-wide Conference for the Electric Power Industry was held in Boston USA on 12-13 July, with 60 delegates from 19 countries attending. The ICEM conference was aptly hosted by the Utility Workers&rsquo; Union of America (UWUA), which turned out delegates from several electric power branch unions. 
 
Delegates adopted a strong statement condemning recent trends in electric power that prioritise profit-making at the expense of the public good. The statement said unions must continue to promote democratic energy policies, and noted, &ldquo;Increased globalisation in the Electric Power sector necessitates increased international contacts between unions in the parent multinational country with unions in the countries subject to new investments by these companies.&rdquo; (The full ICEM Electric Power <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/1Conclusions%20of%20ICEM%20World%20Conference%20for%20the%20Electric%20Power%20Industry%20Boston%20July%2012.pdf">Conference conclusions</a> can be viewed here.)&nbsp;
<img alt="" src="" width="245" height="160" />
Denryoku Soren&rsquo;s Manabu Sasaki
A highlight of the event was a thorough presentation on the work done to save the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant station in Japan following the 11 March earthquake and tsunami. Members of the ICEM-affiliated Federation of Electric Power Related Industry Workers&rsquo; Union of Japan, or Denryoku Soren, gave heart-rendering descriptions of their work to cool down reactors after the tsunami cut power to the northeast Japan power station. 
 
The union&rsquo;s policy officer, Takashi Wakasugi, who hails from Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), said that no one has died from radiation exposure at Fukushima, although two young workers were trapped and killed by the tsunami in the turbine building basement of the 4th reactor. That reactor was on a maintenance shutdown at the time. Eleven Denryoku Soren members and another 180 family members lost their lives away from the plant and over 6,000 homes of union members have been destroyed. 
<img alt="" src="" width="129" height="161" />
NUM Education Chairperson Helen Diatile Inspired Delegates for Greater Solidarity
Since mid-March, the union has dispatched some 3,500 volunteers from Denryoku Soren in aid and rescue missions. The Japanese unionists, including Kiyoaki Kotabe and Manabu Sasaki, stressed that the natural disaster also affected coal-fired power stations in Fukushima Prefecture, including the Haramachi power plant where some workers were killed. Nuclear power, Sasaki said, accounts for less than 30% of Japan&rsquo;s power mix. With total electric supply decreasing to 55% after the twin natural disasters, the bulk of the loss came from outages at coal- oil- and gas-fired plants. 
 
The unionists were critical of Japan&rsquo;s current government administration for laying blame on the utilities and on workers. They said the government insists on imposing indemnity on the affected utilities, and has submitted a bill to Parliament that ultimately would encourage layoffs of Denryoku Soren members and the lowering of working conditions to the bare minimum. 
 
&ldquo;We at Denryoku Soren will continue to fight to stabilise the situation at Fukushima Daiichi,&rdquo; stated Sasaki, the union&rsquo;s Social and Industrial Policy Officer. &ldquo;We will face all predicaments bravely to secure the safety of the Japanese people and by all and any means, we will restore and revitalize East Japan, which suffered devastating damage. 
 
&ldquo;What has supported us while we fight for this has been the strong solidarity by the member unions of the ICEM.&rdquo; 
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UWUA President Mike Langford
The Electric Conference also included panels on campaigning and on networking, with the latter including the ICEM&rsquo;s Asia-Pacific Electric Power Workers&rsquo; Network by Japanese Affiliates&rsquo; Federation (JAF) General Secretary Yoshio Sato, the Nuclear Workers&rsquo; Network by David Shier, and an inspired presentation by&nbsp;Ndlela Radebe of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on the newly created Southern Africa Energy Network. 
 
Campaign presentations were made by UWUA Local 389 President Dave Leonardi on the successful UWUA-ICEM campaign to achieve a first collective agreement with waste-to-energy company Covanta in the US, and on privatisation fight-backs by David Black of the Canadian Office and Professional Employees (COPE) in British Colombia and by Saffet Asiksou and Huseyln Sonmezoglu of the Turkish Electricity Authority of Cyprus Workers&rsquo; Union (El-Sen). 
 
UWUA President Mike Langford also directly addressed the &ldquo;virus&rdquo; of the US that is slowly permeating both developed and developing nations of the world, and said trade unions must rise up to unite against such &ldquo;anti-people, anti-society practices.&rdquo;

ICEM’s Electric Conference Condemns Profiteering by Private-Sector Providers

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