English

Español

Français

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action Plan 2025-2029

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Campaigns

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Women

Youth

LGBTQI+

Gender, equality, diversity and inclusion (GEDI)

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected Officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Press

<img height="48" src="" width="120" alt="" />
The Finnish Electrical Workers&rsquo; Union succeeded in a four-month campaign, winning &euro;700,000 in backpay and reciprocity for 88 Polish electricians. The electricians worked on construction projects in Finland. 
 
The union discovered that a Gdansk, Poland-based contractor, MSB, was violating Finnish pay guidelines at a huge construction site near Tampere in November 2006. 
 
The electricians were earning &euro;5-per-hour, while the average electrician&rsquo;s pay in Finland is about &euro;14-per-hour.
<img height="285" src="" width="280" alt="" />
When the Electrical Workers&rsquo; Union sought information from MSB on working conditions in November, the company did not respond. The union then commenced a blockade against MSB, preventing the Polish company from performing any work in Finland. The union demanded that all companies, and their workers, abstain from working with MSB on any construction project. 
 
The Electrical Workers&rsquo; Union also pressed Finnish state authorities to intervene in the company&rsquo;s illegal work practices, as well. 
 
The pressure campaign worked. In early February, MSB came to agreement with the union on the process for paying wage arrears, as well as social security and tax reciprocation with Poland&rsquo;s government. Last week, Trade Union News from Finland reported that the agreement calls for wages to be brought up to levels common in Finnish collective agreements &ndash; &euro;12.30- to &euro;14-per-hour &ndash; and that of the &euro;700,000 sum, &euro;330,000 will be transferred to the Polish tax and social security authorities. 
 
&ldquo;This case is a strong message to companies that employ foreign labour,&rdquo; the Electrical Workers&rsquo; Keijo Rimmist&ouml; told Trade Union News. &ldquo;Respect, voluntarily, the Finnish collective agreements, as, in case you don&rsquo;t, our union will compel you to pay the arrears payments. Letting things go &hellip; you not only risk your reputation, but also risk waking the interest of the police.&rdquo;

Boycott Pressure Forces Polish Firm to Pay Back-Wages in Finland

<img height="48" src="" width="120" alt="" />
The deadly 19 March methane explosion at the Ulyanovskaya coal mine in Russia is still under review, with dozens of possible causes being prematurely suggested. The safety technical inspectorate of Russia will issue a report on the tragedy in April, two weeks after the official on-site inquiry ends. 
 
Meanwhile, the inspectorate, early in April, closed 29 other coal mines in the Kutnetsk coal fields of Kemerovo region, as well as four other collieries in the Rostov region. Several of the mines belong to Yuzhkuzbassugol, owner of the Ulyanovskaya mine and Russia&rsquo;s largest coal producer. Others belong to Sibirsky coal.
<img height="155" src="" width="280" alt="" />
&quot;Danger Zone&quot; (entrance at Ulyanovskaya mine)
&nbsp;The head of the state inspectorate agency ordered work at the 33 mines halted for five days, so the agency could check for compliance of technological documentation per estimated project capacity, as well as safety regulations and changes in project designs. 
 
The Ulyanovskaya mine disaster of 19 March 2007 is Russia and the Soviet Union&rsquo;s worst in decades. It has claimed 110 lives. Recovery efforts have found the bodies of 108 miners, while two others remain deep inside mine shafts. 
 
The Ulyanovskaya mine is recognised as having the most current and sophisticated gas control equipment of any coal mine in Russia. Some 20 senior managers and technicians were inside the mine when the blast occurred, killing all of them. Included among them was a British technician of the company that designed the system, and his interpreter.
<img height="164" src="" width="140" alt="" />
ROSUGLEPROF President Ivan Mokhnachuk
Nearly all of the 1,068 miners employed at Ulyanovskaya are members of ICEM Russian affiliate Independent Coal Miners&rsquo; Union (ROSUGLEPROF). The union&rsquo;s vice president, Ruben Badalov, served on the official investigation team of the Russian state commission at the mine site. He recently returned to Moscow, and the investigative report on the cause of the tragedy is due in the coming weeks.

Cause of Russian Coal Mine Deaths to be Announced Shortly

<img height="48" src="" width="120" alt="" />
ICEM Belgian affiliates CG-FGTB and SETCa-FGTB have warned Japanese-owned Asahi Glaverbel Glass that further restructuring at the AGC Automotive glass plant in Fleurus, Wallonia, or other AGC worksites, can only be done through strict adherence to solutions already put forward by the unions. 
 
On 29 March, Asahi Glaverbel announced possible redundancies of 380 jobs at Fleurus, Zeebrugge, and Lodelinsart in Belgium. This restructuring occurs a short two years after Belgian unions mounted a 105-day strike at the Fleurus plant. That strike, from December 2005 to March 2006, came about because of Asahi&rsquo;s failure to come to meaningful social dialogue over an irrational restructuring plan.
<img height="224" src="" width="220" alt="" />
That restructuring exercise cost some 280 jobs at Fleurus then, and other job losses occurred a year later at Asahi Glaverbel&rsquo;s Zeebrugge flat-glass plant. 
 
&ldquo;In all three plants,&rdquo; said the CG-FGTB in a press release, &ldquo;the workers of Glaverbel have made major efforts in terms of productivity, flexibility, and efficiency. The management of AGC-Fleurus recognises this fact today, and this is also evident by investments&rdquo; made in other Belgian operations of Glaverbel. 
 
&ldquo;The workers of Glaverbel-ACG do not deserve&rdquo; further redundancies, stated CG-FGTB. 
 
The unions did enter social dialogue with the company late in March, and a second meeting was scheduled for 3 April. CG-FGTB and SETCa-FGTB are insistent that they will be thoroughly involved in any business plan put forward this time by the company.
<img height="78" src="" width="120" alt="" />
CG-FGTB and SETCa-FGTB say their first priority will be to save all the jobs, and they will not tolerate outright sackings. If necessary, transfers for workers between Glaverbel worksites, or voluntary and pre-pension arrangements will be put negotiated. 
 
&ldquo;Industrial managers (of Asahi) and the political community made promises in the past,&rdquo; stated the two unions, referring to the negotiated outcome in 2005. &ldquo;Today, they must honour those pacts. They must listen to the solutions that we have proposed, and support the industrial projects at Glaverbel-ACG that are worthy of solid, job-sustaining initiatives.&rdquo;

Belgian Unions Declare Strong Intent to Save Asahi Glass Jobs

<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
NUPENG in the Forefront for VCT.&nbsp; &nbsp;
ICEM&rsquo;s blue-collar oilworkers&rsquo; affiliate in Nigeria, the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), has made good use of the ICEM grant for national activities under the LO/TCO-FNV Mondiaal project. 
 
At the end of last year, NUPENG organised, in cooperation with the senior staff oilworkers&rsquo; union PENGASSAN (also an affiliate to the ICEM), a massive &ldquo;Know your Status&rdquo; campaign in petroleum refineries in the Port Harcourt area. In a three-day period, about 4,500 people were counselled, and 2,785 agreed to be tested at a mobile VCT facility. This followed a campaign among petrol tanker drivers, also NUPENG members, earlier in 2006. 
 
NUPENG sourced additional funding at national level from AED/SMARTwork for a follow-up round of voluntary counselling and testing in February 2007. A total of 3,200 people were counselled and 885 agreed to be tested. The average rate of people who tested positive was between 5-6%. That is above the national prevalence rate of 3.9%, among adults aged 15 to 49. 
 
Speaking to the ICEM Global HIV/AIDS Coordinator in Abuja, NUPENG&rsquo;s HIV/AIDS Coordinator Olawale Afolabi expressed great concern that post test programmes are almost unavailable. Those tested positive are sent to referral hospitals. One of these hospitals, in Port Harcourt, the Braithwaite Memorial Hospital, is open only one day a week for PLWHA. They are left to wait from dawn to dust in an open space, clearly marked as HIV/AIDS patients section. 
 
There is a complete absence of confidentiality, and a lack of care as medical staff often does not turn up. If they are attended to, they are made to pay exorbitant fees for services which should be free, or only have a nominal fee. 
 
In Afolabi&rsquo;s words, &ldquo;Patients are left to die in instalments. The only way out is suicide or further spread of the disease.&rdquo; 
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Global Union G8 Campaign 
 
As a follow-up to the article in the March issue of ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin, we give you the links to model letters to be delivered to German embassies before or on 28 April, International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers, or Workers Memorial Day. These letters exist in English, French, German, and Spanish. 
Deutsch <a href="http://www.global-unions.org/pdf/ohsewpT_9Ba.GE.pdf">http://www.global-unions.org/pdf/ohsewpT_9Ba.GE.pdf</a>&nbsp; 
English: <a href="http://www.global-unions.org/pdf/ohsewpT_9Ba.EN.pdf">http://www.global-unions.org/pdf/ohsewpT_9Ba.EN.pdf</a> 
Fran&ccedil;ais: <a href="http://www.global-unions.org/pdf/ohsewpT_9Ba.FR.pdf">http://www.global-unions.org/pdf/ohsewpT_9Ba.FR.pdf</a> 
Espa&ntilde;ol: <a href="http://www.global-unions.org/pdf/ohsewpT_9Ba.SP.pdf">http://www.global-unions.org/pdf/ohsewpT_9Ba.SP.pdf</a> 
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire on the Right Track 
Following the 4th Regional Workshop in Johannesburg in December 2006, affiliates in C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire have lost no time to put the conclusions of the workshop into practical work on the ground. 
 
Under the able guidance of the National Coordinator, Charlotte Nguessan, numerous meetings have been held with potential partners at national level and from international organisations during the first quarter of 2007. 
 
An analysis of the HIV/AIDS situation, based on a questionnaire to companies, is being completed. In cooperation with the newly-formed Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, which is supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft f&uuml;r Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), a sustainable development organisation that does work with the German federal government, and the respective ministries, as well as the national Country Coordinating Mechanism, a project is being elaborated. 
The project will focus on workplace interventions with emphasis on awareness, education, voluntary counselling, and testing and treatment. 
 
The progress so far underlines the importance of having a full-time coordinator in focus countries. This was part of the conclusions of the 4th Regional Workshop and is supported by the LO/TCO-FNV Mondiaal project in 2007-2008. 
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
EU Presidency Conference on HIV/AIDS 
Responsibility and Partnership &ndash; Together Against HIV/AIDS was the theme of the EU Presidency Conference on HIV/AIDS in Bremen, 12-13 March 2007. 
 
The German Government has chosen HIV/AIDS as the main health policy topic for the German EC Presidency. Angela Merkel gave the keynote speech. HIV/AIDS is &ldquo;Chefsache,&rdquo; meaning a topic at the highest level. 
 
The Conference brought together health ministers and health ministry officials from EU countries as well as NGOs and the private sector &ndash; notably Daimler Chrysler South Africa &ndash; and major pharmaceutical companies (Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck and Gilead) as well as the ILO, the Global Fund, and other international organisations. As happens so often, trade unionists were not invited. The ICEM Global HIV/AIDS Coordinator was the only active trade unionist among more than 600 participants. 
 
Important (and understandable because of the German double presidency) was the repeated reference to the G8 Summit. The Chancellor has put HIV/AIDS on the agenda of the Summit. &ldquo;We will make headway in Heiligendamm,&rdquo; Merkel promised. A press release from the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) stated that, under the German G8 Presidency, the first ever report on the efforts of the G8 countries in connection with the global fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria will be elaborated. 
 
The Bremen Declaration is available at <a href="http://www.bmg.bund.de/EN/">www.bmg.bund.de/EN/</a>. It does make reference to trade unions in the last article: &ldquo;We invite the employers and trade unions to ensure non-discriminatory policies for people living with HIV/AIDS and vulnerable groups in the workplace and to reduce fears of infection, stigma and discrimination among staff by providing objective, evidence-based information, and access to prevention, testing, treatment and care according to the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work&rdquo;. 
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Global Union Programme in Abuja 
Some 20 unionists from Ghana and Nigeria took part in a sub-regional Workshop in Abuja, capital of Nigeria, from 19-21 March. The workshop was organised by the Global Union Coordinator, Clementine Dehwe and the HIV/AIDS Coordinator of the national centre NLC, Maureen Onyia. The ICEM Global HIV/AIDS Coordinator participated on behalf of the GU Steering Committee. 
 
Emphasis in the programme was on group work. Mixed groups discussed activities presented in country reports and the impact of elements of global programme at national level. 
 
Following a presentation by the ICEM Global HIV/AIDS Coordinator on resources and funding, country groups debated country initiatives in place (Global Fund, UNAIDS, WHO, ILO, etc.) and key country programmes by National AIDS Commissions, NGOs, faith-based organisations, and others. These working groups also assessed the role of potential partners and obstacles to work with them. 
 
On the third day, country working groups discussed establishing national coordinating committees and their terms of reference and programmes and initiatives with a plan of action. 
 
Together with the outcome of previous sub-regional workshops organised by the Global Union programme, and the African Consultative and Planning Workshop in Johannesburg, the results and conclusions of the working groups in Abuja have to be analysed, and key elements pulled together and shaped into country programmes for future funding. 
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
South Africa Unveils New 5-Year Plan to Fight HIV/AIDS 
 
South Africa unveiled a new five-year plan on 14 March to fight HIV/AIDS, hoping to turn the tide against the disease that affects some 5.5 million of the country&rsquo;s 47 million people. 
 
The plan will be implemented by the South African National AIDS Council under the leadership of Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. 
 
The plan aims, among others, at reducing new infections by 50% and bringing treatment, care and support to 80% of all HIV-positive people and their families. Availability and uptake of voluntary testing and counselling services is to be increased massively and anti-discrimination and stigma-reduction efforts are to be strengthened. 
 
A report, published in February by the University of South Africa and the market research institute Markinor, showed some unexpected results. The epidemic is not spreading fastest among the poor and the youth, but among the 30- to 34- year-olds of the well-educated middle and upper classes. New wealth, carelessness to practice safe sex, and misguided statements by the government have contributed to this development. 
 
(Source: Reuters World Report, 14 March 2007 and NZZ Switzerland, 1 February 2007) 
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
India: Government proposes five fold Increase in HIV/AIDS Funding 
 
According to a recent report in the Hindustan Times, India&rsquo;s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has proposed a more than fivefold increase in funding for HIV/AIDS programmes in the country. The proposed $2.6 billion in funding will be administered by the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) under the third phase of the country's National AIDS Control Programme. The money will be allocated over the next five years for HIV/AIDS prevention, care, support, and treatment. 
 
The large increase is made possible by massive funding from the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. 
 
About one-third of the $2.6 billion in proposed funding will be allocated for HIV/AIDS care, treatment, and support, while the remaining funds will be allocated for awareness about the disease. Some HIV/AIDS advocates said that although they welcome the increase in funding for HIV/AIDS awareness, the funding allocated for HIV/AIDS treatment is inadequate. The HIV/AIDS control programme's third phase will focus on six states with high HIV prevalence: Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Manipur, and Nagaland, although district level allocations will be modified to ensure that other states receive adequate funding as well. 
 
(Source: Article adapted from the ITF HIV/AIDS Update 17, 15 March 2007) 
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
News from Global Union Federations 
The International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) has published the first edition of Agenda, an annual publication on HIV/AIDS and transport workers entitled, &ldquo;How unions can help close the door on HIV.&rdquo; The objective of the publication is to help affiliates and other relevant stakeholders to develop a trade union perspective of the epidemic. 
 
The publication can be accessed at <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>. 
 
Since 1994, the Education International (EI) has recognised the urgency for a broad and strong response to HIV/AIDS through schools. It has worked with its affiliates and international organisations to prevent the further spread of the disease. For information on EI&rsquo;s activities, including its regular bulletin, please visit the website <a href="http://www.ei-ie.org/efaids">www.ei-ie.org/efaids</a>. 
 
Two other Global Union Federations with websites and regular newsletters on HIV/AIDS include the ITF&rsquo;s (see above) and the ICEM&rsquo;s at <a href="http://www.icem.org">www.icem.org</a>.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 19

A rank-and-file vote to merge two major British trade unions was approved on 8 March, and the UK will have its biggest union, totalling two million workers, on 1 May. In a mail ballot referendum, union members of Amicus and Transport &amp; General Workers Union (TGWU) in the UK and Ireland voted to merge their unions. 
 
Eighty-six percent of all TGWU members that voted backed the merger, while 70% of Amicus members that voted also gave approval to create the new, yet-to-be named union. The union will now comprise 30% of the UK&rsquo;s Trade Union Congress, and will be the country&rsquo;s dominant trade union in a wide swath of services and industries, ranging from transport and manufacturing &ndash; including print, paper, rubber, chemicals and oil &ndash; to food and farming, as well as banking, public services, and the voluntary sector. 
<img height="62" alt="" src="" width="120" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; <img height="63" alt="" src="" width="113" />
Both unions utilised a full and transparent process which took two years to complete. In the initial stages, the trade union GMB was included in three-way discussions, but that union dropped out due to regional structure differences. 
 
&quot;The new union will be a progressive, organising, fighting-back industrial giant,&rdquo; said TGWU Gen. Sec. Tony Woodley, that is &ldquo;focused above all on winning for our members in the workplace, and taking trade unionism to the millions who need it.&quot; 
 
&quot;The new union will be the greatest campaigning force on behalf of ordinary people that has ever existed,&rdquo; stated Amicus Gen. Sec. Derek Simpson. &ldquo;It is a precursor to the creation of a single global trade union movement capable of challenging the might of multinationals who seek to play workforces and governments off against each other to reduce jobs and hard won pay and conditions.&quot; 
<img height="232" alt="" src="" width="350" />
Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson shaking hands
Woodley and Simpson will serve as Joint General Secretaries of the new union. A sole general secretary will be elected in a membership ballot in 2010. Both expressed a strong commitment to organising, stating that within three years, 10% of the combined union&rsquo;s budget will be aimed at recruitment. 
 
A short list of possible names for the new union has been developed, and those names will be put before the membership in a democratic vote in the near future. 
 
TGWU was formed in 1922 when 14 unions, representing factory workers, dockers, stevedores, lightermen, transport staff, and clerks, merged into one union. Amicus was a more recent merger of trade unions. In 2002, the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU) and Manufacturing, Science, Finance (MSF) merged to create it. In 2004, The Graphical, Paper and Media Union (GPMU) merged into Amicus and the same year, the financial services union UNIFI did the same.

Britain’s Biggest Union Formed with Amicus, TGWU Merger

Global Fund Calls for Round 7 Proposals 
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has issued its Seventh Call for Proposals. The application form and support documentation are available in six languages at <a href="http://www.theglobalfund.org">www.theglobalfund.org</a>. Proposals have to reach the Global Fund by 4 July 2007. 
 
All proposals submitted by the closing date of 4 July 2007 will be reviewed by the Global Fund&rsquo;s Secretariat to ensure that they meet the eligibility criteria. Eligible proposals will then be forwarded to the Technical Review Panel (TRP) for consideration. The TRP will make recommendations to the Global Fund Board, which will make its decisions at its November board meeting. 
 
 
How does the Global Fund work? 
 
The Global Fund, itself a public/private partnership, is a funding mechanism. Since it was registered in January 2002 and up to December 2006, the Global Fund has approved 450 programmes in 136 countries with a total commitment of US$7 billion. 
 
The Global Fund is based in Geneva. It does not have any country representation. The proposal process and the implementation of grants are devolved to the national level. The Global Fund gives the policy framework and issues guidelines on various aspects of its operations. It raises money, spends it and proves it &ndash; the Global Fund is performance based. 
 
All proposals have to go through the Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM). The composition of the CCMs is supposed to be representative of all stakeholders in the fight against HIV/AIDS, including civil society, the private sector and organisations of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). In reality, most CCMs are dominated by the public sector. 
 
 
How can unions get involved? 
The role of the workplace in the fight against HIV/AIDS is recognised. No workplace activities can be efficiently implemented without unions. The role of national unions and their international bodies, the Global Union Federations, is acknowledged by international organisations such as the ILO, the WHO and UNAIDS. 
 
The Global Fund is keen to build public/private partnerships and to implement co-investment projects. Without the involvement of the private sector, universal access to voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), and to anti-retroviral treatment (ART), is not possible or will be further delayed. The private sector is business and trade unions as workers&rsquo; representatives. The ICEM has worked with the Global Fund to establish this principle in public/private co-investment projects. 
 
The manpower capacities of unions are limited. They have to attend to other day-to-day business. Unions are not single-issue NGOs. They have to look for partners and build alliances with companies and NGOs. 
 
Very few CCMs include unionists. While we continue to call for union representation on CCMs, in the short term it is vital that unions work through members of the CCMs who are sympathetic to their cause. It is important that unions find cooperating partners who can develop their project ideas into proposals for the CCM. 
 
The German Organisation for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) operates the BACKUP Initiative (Building Alliances &ndash; Creating Knowledge &ndash; Updating Partners), which provides support. GTZ is represented in more than 130 countries. 
A lot of USAID offices have HIV/AIDS Coordinators and certain embassies, notably the Nordic countries, the Netherlands, the UK and the European Union may be able to give assistance. Global Unions and the WHO have agreed to use the potential of unions in up-scaling and accelerating access to VCT and ART. The ILO and its workplace programme, ILOAIDS, has focal points on HIV/AIDS in a number of offices. 
 
Grants are allocated to a Principal Recipient in a country &ndash; in the majority of cases to a ministry. For a more efficient implementation sub-recipients may be nominated, and it is here where specific workplace programmes can receive funding. 
 
 
What are your next steps? 
 
&bull; Put down your ideas about a workplace programme on one page and prepare a draft budget. 
 
&bull; Get to know the members of your country&rsquo;s CCM and lobby those potentially sympathetic to union causes for the inclusion of workplace programmes in Round 6 proposals. Country-specific information is accessible at <a href="http://www.theglobalfund.org">www.theglobalfund.org</a>. 
 
&bull; Contact GTZ, USAID, the ILO, UNAIDS and WHO offices. 
 
&bull; Build alliances with companies; remind them of their social responsibility. 
 
&bull; Cooperate with NGOs and organisations of PLWHA. 
 
&bull; Access the website <a href="http://www.aidspan.org/guides">www.aidspan.org/guides</a> on which a guide to Round 7 applications is available. 
 
 
How can the ICEM help? 
 
The ICEM&rsquo;s Global Coordinator has good working relations with all the organisations mentioned. He can help you with contacts and links to materials. Send your ideas about a workplace programme and inquiries to <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a>. The ICEM has Global Framework Agreements with a dozen multinational companies which should be engaged in the fight against the pandemic.
 
Above all 
 
&bull; Start today if you want to do something. 
 
&bull; Remember that the private sector includes business and unions as the workers&rsquo; representatives. 
 
&bull; Remember that you have allies who can be mobilized and who can give assistance. 
 
&bull; Write to the ICEM Global HIV/AIDS Coordinator at <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a> for further information and help.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - Special Issue

+ First Ever Strike in a Free Trade Zone in Turkey 
+ Strike Started on 26 September 2006 
+ 98% of 300 Strikers are Women 
+ Petrol-Is successfully organised workers in March 2005 
+ Women subjected to constant insults by managers; they were forced to apply to management if they wished to marry; they were forbidden to talk to one another on the job; and were subjected to breath tests following 2 daily breaks of 15 and 25 minutes for smoking 
+ Management began collective bargaining with Petrol-Is in April 2006 with no intention of arriving at collective agreement 
+ Management threatened to move the plant out of Turkey if workers did not reject the union 
+ Management has retained 50-60 scabs during the strike, a violation of Turkish law

Fact Sheet on Strike at Novamed GmbH (Fresenius Medical Care) in Turkey

<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Global Framework Agreement with SCA Includes HIV/AIDS Clause
During a review meeting in Stockholm in January with the Swedish paper multinational Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA), the ICEM and the Swedish paperworkers&rsquo; union, Svenska Pappers, proposed to include a clause on HIV/AIDS in the updated Global Framework Agreement, which SCA accepted. The company agreed to comply with the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work. 
Note to ICEM affiliates 
If a company agrees to comply with the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work, this opens a whole range of possibilities for negotiations and activities for the unions organising in a Global Agreement company. The ten key principles of the Code of Practice include non-discrimination, gender equality, confidentiality, prevention, care and support. You can obtain the Code of Practice from any ILO office or download it at <a href="http://www.ilo.org">www.ilo.org</a>. It exists in more than 30 languages. 
 
Please note that a Global Agreement applies to all operations of a company worldwide. Often, local management is not familiar with a Global Agreement signed by their head office. Insist on implementation and compliance! 
 
ICEM&rsquo;s other Global Agreements which include an HIV/AIDS clause are Lukoil, Statoil, and Lafarge. The latter company signed one jointly with the Building Workers&rsquo; International. In reviews of existing Global Agreements or in drafting new ones, the ICEM will insist on the inclusion of an HIV/AIDS clause referring to the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work.
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Global Fund Chooses new Executive Director 
 
The Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria has chosen Michel Kazatchkine, a physician and global health expert, as the next Executive Director of the Global Fund. He replaces Sir Richard Feachem, the founding Executive Director, who steps down at the end of his five-year term on 31 March. 
 
Professor Kazatchkine is a physician who has treated people with AIDS for more than 20 years, and led the world&rsquo;s second-largest AIDS research agency. He currently serves as France's Ambassador for HIV/AIDS and Communicable Diseases. Professor Kazatchkine is a former Vice Chair of the Global Fund Board and first Chair of the Global Fund&rsquo;s Technical Review Panel, which assesses the quality of grant proposals. 
 
In just five years, the Global Fund has become a leading force in the fight against the three diseases. It provides two-thirds of international funding for the fight against malaria and TB, and 20% of the global funding to fight AIDS. 
 
The Global Fund has approved grants for 450 programs in 136 countries with a total commitment of US$7 billion. As of December 2006, 770,000 people have begun antiretroviral (ARV) treatment through Global Fund-supported programmes and nearly 18 million insecticide-treated bed nets have been distributed to prevent malaria. In addition, tuberculosis programmes have detected and treated two million TB cases under DOTS, the internationally-approved TB control strategy. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Press Release, 8 February 2007)
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Global Unions Continue G8 HIV/AIDS Campaign 
 
Global Unions continue their campaign for the creation of a high-level Working Group on HIV/AIDS by calling on unions to make representation to German embassies. Such actions are hoped to convince the Heads of State attending the G8 summit this June in Germany to agree to such a Working Group. 
 
The G8 summit in St. Petersburg last year agreed on a tangible process for surveillance of infectious diseases like AIDS. But the G8 has not identified how this process would become a reality and so this has remained an undelivered promise. 
 
The Global Union HIV/AIDS Programme calls on unions to organise special events to deliver letters to the German Embassy in their country on 28 April, the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers. 
 
The German embassy action is twined with lobbying at international meetings of environment, health, and labour ministers at the annual meeting of the United Nations Environmental Programme, the World Health Assembly, and the International Labour Conference. 
 
(Source: Global Unions press release, 23 February) 
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Some 71,000 people in Ghana are HIV-positive 
Out of 71,000 people living with HIV/AIDS throughout Ghana who need drugs, only 6,000 are receiving anti-retroviral drugs from 32 health facilities. 
 
The director-general of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Professor Sakyi Awuku Amoa, said by July this year, 50% of all district hospitals will be prepared to administer the drugs. 
 
Awuku Amoa was speaking at a workshop for some selected people from the private sector and FM stations in Accra. More than 50 participants from all over the country attended. 
 
Awuku Amoa also said this year a lot of attention will be given to the youth, women and girls as they are more vulnerable. He therefore urged the media to champion the course of the crusade. 
 
The monitoring and evaluation coordinator at the AIDS Commission, Emmanuel Larbi, urged the participants to develop and implement workplace programmes such as condom distribution to reduce the spread of the disease. Topics treated included the National HIV and AIDS Research Agenda, and Ghana HIV Stigma Reduction campaign. 
 
(Source: Radio Ghana, Accra, 7 Feb 07 as supplied by the BBC Monitoring Service) 
&nbsp;<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
NUM Protest against Impala Platinum&rsquo;s Hospital Care 
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in South Africa gave Impala Platinum a seven-day ultimatum to respond to demands to improve health care services at the Impala Mine Hospital near Rustenberg, North West State. 
 
The ultimatum was given when miners staged a march on 23 January. NUM was protesting unfair and inferior treatment of workers at the facility. The union also accused the mine management, doctors and hospital administrators of denying antiretroviral drugs for treatment of HIV/AIDS. 
 
The subsequent strike ended on 18 February after management agreed to address the grievances presented to them. 
&nbsp;<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
China: Workplace Programme to Help AIDS Prevention 
At the end of January, China launched a national program on HIV/AIDS prevention and care in the workplace. 
 
The $3.5 million HIV/AIDS Workplace Education Program, funded by the United States Department of Labor, will be overseen by the International Labour Organization (ILO), and implemented in the provinces of Anhui, Guangdong, and Yunnan. 
 
&quot;China is now at a critical stage in fighting HIV/AIDS,&quot; said Hu Xiaoyi, vice-minister of Labor and Social Security, during the launching of the programme in Beijing. &quot;We should try our best to prevent the spread of the disease from high-risk groups to the general public.&quot; Hu believed the 39-month programme would be a good model to promote China's anti-AIDS education policy and implementation. 
 
Hu said another five-year education program, jointly launched by 12 ministries in 2005, had set a target of making 85% of the nation's rural migrant workers knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS prevention by 2010. 
 
The Regulation on AIDS Prevention and Control stipulated that no employer or individual should discriminate against people with HIV/AIDS or their relatives. The regulation protects their rights of marriage, employment, medical care, and education. 
 
The goal is that all workers with HIV/AIDS are well protected; that they can get jobs, keep jobs and have access to AIDS prevention services, such as education, treatment, and voluntary testing and counselling, 
 
Statistics by the ministry shows in some of the provinces, working-age HIV/AIDS people account for 90% of the total infected population and a majority of them are under age 35 years. 
 
(Source: chinadaily.com.ch 27 January 2007) 
&nbsp;<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Global Fund Round 7: Aidspan Releases Documents to Help Applicants 
With the Call for Proposals for Round 7 due on 1 March, Aidspan has published three documents providing guidance for applicants considering applying in this round. The three documents are: 
 
1. &ldquo;Deciding Whether to Apply for a Round 7 Global Fund Grant.&rdquo; 
2. &ldquo;Deciding Whether to Submit a Non-CCM Proposal for Round 7.&rdquo; 
3. &ldquo;Deciding Whether to Submit a Regional Proposal for Round 7.&rdquo; 
 
All three documents are available at <a href="http://www.aidspan.org/guides">www.aidspan.org/guides</a>. 
 
The text of each document has been extracted from a forthcoming guide, entitled &ldquo;The Aidspan Guide to Round 7 Applications to the Global Fund,&rdquo; which will be released shortly after 1 March 2007, the expected date for the release of the Call for Proposals. 
 
Already available on the same web page, is &ldquo;An Analysis of the Strengths and Weaknesses of Proposals Submitted to the Global Fund in Rounds 3-6 &ndash; Based on Comments of the Technical Review Panel,&rdquo; which is another excerpt from the forthcoming Round 7 guide. 
 
When &ldquo;The Aidspan Guide to Round 7 Applications to the Global Fund&rdquo; is released, it will contain, in addition to the above-mention extracts, a step-by-step guide to filling out the Round 7 Proposal Form. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 70, 5 February 2007. GFO is a free service of Aidspan <a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>.) To receive GFO (if you haven't already subscribed), send an email to <a href="mailto:receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 18

More Sappi Activity in South Africa 

Sappi: Health &amp; Safety is Sacred &hellip; Respond to this Call 

Sappi management at the Enstra mill in South Africa refuses to accept responsibility for a chain of events that happened at the pulp and paper mill 50 days ago. The matter involves safety, or more specifically, a worker who refused to perform unsafe work. 
 
Because CEPPWAWU shop stewards took up his case, 19 are now suspended and face discipline following spirited safety strikes. Now, Sappi refuses to do what is right and just and fair &hellip; to reinstate the trade unionists. 23 other workers face disciplinary panels. They are still on the job, but with no legitimate, duly-elected union representation. 
 
ICEM is urgently calling for further, decisive action. Write to Sappi and tell the company to drop this ugly dispute and correct the wrongs that have gotten out of hand at Enstra. Write Sappi CEO Ralph J. Bo&euml;ttger at <a href="mailto:Ralph.Boettger@sappi.com">Ralph.Boettger@sappi.com</a> and <a href="mailto:Wikus.van.Zyl@sappi.com">Wikus.van.Zyl@sappi.com</a> and <a href="mailto:Jan.labuschagne@sappi.com">Jan.labuschagne@sappi.com</a> with the message below, or one from your own hand. 
 
The ICEM considers the Sappi/Enstra situation at present a serious violation of basic trade union rights. Consider only part of the chain of events sequence: CEPPWAWU branch union and Sappi get bridge-building tools to forge a new relationship. A worker refuses unsafe work and the dispute escalates. But the issue is still safety. And that is borne out when the manager who ordered the unsafe work, supposedly apologizes inside a joint and subsequent report. The probe was done to get at the causes and effects of the work disruptions. But the report, presumable containing a different set of conclusions than what Sappi is now pursuing, has not been circulated. 
 
 
Take the message below and send it to Sappi executives above, with the simple heading Enstra: 
 
Sappi is displaying malicious, anti-democratic, anti-people conduct at the Enstra Pulp &amp; Paper Mill in South Africa. It is wrong to target union stewards and others because they have taken a stand on safety. It is wrong to deny workers at Enstra &ndash; CEPPWAWU members &ndash; no shop-floor protection because Sappi has suspended all 19 CEPPWAWU shop stewards at Enstra. 
 
First and foremost, safety; Sappi cannot afford this kind of reputation. Drop the disciplinary cases, Sappi, and get on with making paper at Enstra. 
 
(Signed) 
&nbsp;
<hr />
&nbsp;
<img height="81" alt="" src="" width="300" />
&nbsp;
<hr />
&nbsp;
Poursuite de l&rsquo;action &agrave; Sappi, Afrique du Sud 
 
Sappi : la sant&eacute; et la s&eacute;curit&eacute; sont sacr&eacute;es &hellip; Merci de r&eacute;pondre &agrave; cet appel 
 
La Direction de Sappi r&eacute;cuse sa responsabilit&eacute; dans un encha&icirc;nement d&rsquo;&eacute;v&eacute;nements survenus il y a 50 jours dans la papeterie sud-africaine d&rsquo;Enstra. Cette affaire concerne la s&eacute;curit&eacute;, ou plus pr&eacute;cis&eacute;ment le refus par un ouvrier d&rsquo;effectuer des travaux dangereux. 
 
Pour s&rsquo;&ecirc;tre empar&eacute;s de cette affaire et avoir r&eacute;solument cess&eacute; le travail pour leur s&eacute;curit&eacute;, 19 employ&eacute;s affili&eacute;s au CEPPWAWU (Syndicat des travailleurs de la chimie, de l&rsquo;&eacute;nergie, du papier, de l&rsquo;impression et du bois) ont &eacute;t&eacute; mis &agrave; pied et risquent des mesures disciplinaires. Or Sappi refuse de rendre la plus &eacute;l&eacute;mentaire des justices &agrave; ces syndicalistes, c. &agrave; d. de les r&eacute;embaucher. Et 23 autres travailleurs sont expos&eacute;s &agrave; des proc&eacute;dures disciplinaires. Ils sont encore &agrave; leurs postes, mais sans repr&eacute;sentation syndicale l&eacute;gitime et d&ucirc;ment &eacute;lue. 
 
L&rsquo;ICEM appelle urgemment &agrave; poursuivre des actions r&eacute;solues. &Eacute;crivez &agrave; la soci&eacute;t&eacute; Sappi, exigez qu&rsquo;elle mette un terme &agrave; ce conflit indigne et qu&rsquo;elle redresse les torts qui n&rsquo;ont cess&eacute; de s&rsquo;aggraver &agrave; l&rsquo;usine d&rsquo;Enstra. &Eacute;crivez au PDG de Sappi, Ralph J. Bo&euml;ttger, <a href="mailto:Ralph.Boettger@sappi.com">Ralph.Boettger@sappi.com</a>, &agrave; <a href="mailto:Wikus.van.Zyl@sappi.com">Wikus.van.Zyl@sappi.com</a> et &agrave; <a href="mailto:Jan.labuschagne@sappi.com">Jan.labuschagne@sappi.com</a> en joignant le texte ci-dessous ou un message &eacute;crit de votre propre plume. 
 
L&rsquo;ICEM voit dans l&rsquo;actuelle situation &agrave; Sappi/Enstra une grave violation des droits syndicaux fondamentaux. Il suffit de se rem&eacute;morer quelques &eacute;v&eacute;nements de cette escalade : le syndicat de branche CEPPWAWU et Sappi tentent de se rapprocher et de forger de nouvelles relations. Mais un travailleur refuse d&rsquo;effectuer des travaux dangereux, le conflit s&rsquo;envenime et la s&eacute;curit&eacute; reste le probl&egrave;me. D&rsquo;autant plus que le dirigeant ayant ordonn&eacute; ces travaux dangereux se serait par la suite excus&eacute; dans un compte rendu conjoint. Une enqu&ecirc;te a &eacute;t&eacute; men&eacute;e pour conna&icirc;tre les causes et les effets de ces interruptions du travail. Or ce compte rendu, qui contient vraisemblablement des conclusions diff&eacute;rentes de celles que Sappi avance maintenant, n&rsquo;a pas &eacute;t&eacute; publi&eacute;. 
 
Envoyez aux dirigeants de Sappi le message ci-dessous assorti du simple intitul&eacute; Enstra : 
 
Sappi montre une attitude malveillante, antid&eacute;mocratique et hostile aux gens dans son usine Enstra de p&acirc;te et de papier en Afrique du Sud. Il est injuste de s&rsquo;en prendre aux d&eacute;l&eacute;gu&eacute;s syndicaux et &agrave; d&rsquo;autres sous pr&eacute;texte qu&rsquo;ils ont pris position en mati&egrave;re de s&eacute;curit&eacute;. Il est injuste de contester aux travailleurs d&rsquo;Enstra &ndash; et membres du CEPPWAWU &ndash; toute protection sur le lieu de travail, alors que Sappi a mis &agrave; pied les 19 d&eacute;l&eacute;gu&eacute;s syndicaux du CEPPWAWU &agrave; Enstra. 
 
La s&eacute;curit&eacute; est la premi&egrave;re des priorit&eacute;s ; Sappi ne peut pas se permettre ce genre de r&eacute;putation. Sappi, mettez un terme aux proc&eacute;dures disciplinaires et continuez &agrave; produire du papier &agrave; Enstra. 
 
(Signature) 
 

&nbsp;
<hr />
&nbsp;
<img height="81" alt="" src="" width="300" />
&nbsp;
<hr />
 
 
Se intensifica actividad de Sappi en Sud&aacute;frica 
 
Sappi: la salud y seguridad son sagradas&hellip; es importante que respondan a este llamado 
 
La administraci&oacute;n de Sappi en la planta de Enstra en Sud&aacute;frica se niega a aceptar la responsabilidad por una serie de hechos que se produjeron hace 50 d&iacute;as en la planta de pulpa y papel que se indica. El asunto es una cuesti&oacute;n de seguridad, o, m&aacute;s espec&iacute;ficamente, de un trabajador que se neg&oacute; a realizar trabajo inseguro. 
 
Debido a que los enlaces sindicales de CEPPWAWU defendieron el caso de este trabajador, actualmente se ha suspendido a 19 personas, que enfrentan medidas disciplinarias despu&eacute;s de haber realizado algunos paros de protestas sin claudicar, reclamando soluciones a los problemas de seguridad. Ahora, Sappi se niega a hacer lo que ser&iacute;a justo y equitativo&hellip; la reincorporaci&oacute;n de los sindicalistas. Otros 23 trabajadores enfrentan paneles disciplinarios. Siguen trabajando, pero carecen de representaci&oacute;n sindical leg&iacute;tima y debidamente elegida. 
 
La ICEM est&aacute; iniciando una campa&ntilde;a con un llamado urgente para que se tomen nuevas y decisivas medidas. Rogamos escribir a Sappi, dici&eacute;ndole a la empresa que abandone su peligrosa actitud conflictiva y remedie los excesos cometidos en Enstra. Se debe escribir al Director General de Sappi, Ralph J. Bo&euml;ttger, en <a href="mailto:Ralph.Boettger@sappi.com">Ralph.Boettger@sappi.com</a>, a <a href="mailto:Wikus.van.Zyl@sappi.com">Wikus.van.Zyl@sappi.com</a>, y a <a href="mailto:Jan.labuschagne@sappi.com">Jan.labuschagne@sappi.com</a>, con el mensaje que se se&ntilde;ala m&aacute;s abajo, u otro que redacten Uds. mismos. 
 
La ICEM considera que la situaci&oacute;n actual en Sappi/Enstra constituye una grave violaci&oacute;n de los derechos sindicales fundamentales. Veamos una parte solamente de la secuencia de los hechos ocurridos: el ramo sindical de CEPPWAWU y Sappi obtienen herramientas para &ldquo;construir puentes&rdquo;, con el fin de crear una nueva relaci&oacute;n entre la empresa y los sindicalistas. Un trabajador se niega a realizar trabajos inseguros, y se intensifica el conflicto. El problema sigue siendo la inseguridad, lo cual se comprob&oacute; cuando el gerente que mand&oacute; a realizar el trabajo inseguro aparentemente pidi&oacute; disculpas en un informe conjunto posterior. Se realiz&oacute; una investigaci&oacute;n para averiguar las causas y consecuencias de la interrupci&oacute;n del trabajo. Sin embargo, todav&iacute;a no se ha hecho circular el informe, que presumiblemente contiene conclusiones diferentes de las que Sappi est&aacute; se&ntilde;alando actualmente. 
 
 
Rogamos enviar a los ejecutivos mencionados de Sappi el mensaje que se se&ntilde;ala a continuaci&oacute;n, con un encabezamiento que diga simplemente &ldquo;Enstra&rdquo;: 
 
Sappi demuestra conducta maliciosa, antidemocr&aacute;tica e inhumana en la planta de pulpa y papel de Enstra en Sud&aacute;frica. Est&aacute; mal el aplicar castigos a los enlaces sindicales y otros porque han adoptado una actitud firme, reclamando mayores medidas de seguridad en el trabajo. Est&aacute; mal que a los trabajadores de Enstra, que son miembros de CEPPWAWU, se les niegue protecci&oacute;n en el lugar de trabajo, porque Sappi ha suspendido a los 19 enlaces sindicales que laboran en Enstra. 
 
Antes que nada, est&aacute; la seguridad. A Sappi no le conviene esta mala fama. Deje los casos disciplinarios, Sappi, y ded&iacute;quense a producir papel en Enstra. 
 
(Firmado)
&nbsp;

ICEM pulp &amp; paper/pâte et de papier/pulp y papel : Sappi

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
Including Report VI at the ILO&rsquo;s 98th session, International Labour Conference, the ILO Gender Equality Committee finished its work on 10 June with conclusions on the global economic crisis, gender and decent work, export processing zones, occupational safety and health, unequal pay, maternity protection, and social dialogue. In spite of the fact that women are often achieving better results in education than men, the gender pay gap still exists. Women are disproportionately present in low-paying jobs with poor working conditions. Gender-based violence is rampant, and HIV/AIDS affect more women, and the poor in particular. 
 
Men have a role to play in gender equality. In some countries men are taking parental leave. This leads to a change in mentalities and stereotypes. Awareness of paternity as a social value is now taking hold. 
 
Globalization has often created jobs for women that have low pay, little or no access to social security, no access to benefits of collective bargaining, and or to protection of workers&rsquo; rights. Rather, efforts must continue to ensure that gender equality is at the heart of decent work. This is a central tenet at this year&rsquo;s ILO Conference. 

<img src="" width="320" height="119" alt="" />
The current financial crisis should not be used to undermine women&rsquo;s rights and achievements. The Global Employment Agenda has to be monitored to promote gender equality as a core element. 
 
Occupational safety and health once only focused on dangerous jobs done by men, but more work must be done on work-related hazards and how they affect women and men differently. Reproductive health is equally an issue that affects both women and men. 
 
The conclusions at the ILO include wording to eliminate job segregation. That alone will be a large step to equal pay. Women can only fully participate in working life if they are assured of measures to provide for their children. The sharing of parental responsibilities is key to breaking down barriers. 
 
Social dialogue is an essential tool for achieving gender equality at work. But in order for it to effective, more women must be involved in it at all levels.

Gender Equity, Decent Work Linked at Current ILO Session

Archive

Boycott Pressure Forces Polish Firm to Pay Back-Wages in Finland

Cause of Russian Coal Mine Deaths to be Announced Shortly

Belgian Unions Declare Strong Intent to Save Asahi Glass Jobs

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 19

Britain’s Biggest Union Formed with Amicus, TGWU Merger

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - Special Issue

Fact Sheet on Strike at Novamed GmbH (Fresenius Medical Care) in Turkey

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 18

ICEM pulp & paper/pâte et de papier/pulp y papel : Sappi

Gender Equity, Decent Work Linked at Current ILO Session

About IndustriALL

Follow us

Contact us