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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on, among other items, the HIV/AIDS seminar in Mongolia and how the economic crisis affects prevention and treatment.
The ICEM Calls on its Affiliates to Contribute to this e-bulletin 
 
ICEM affiliates are already engaged in a wide range of HIV/AIDS activities. To spread the information on new agreements, awareness, and prevention campaigns, and educational activities, affiliates and project coordinators are invited to send news and information to <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a>. Any feedback on the format and contents of the e-bulletin is also welcome. 
Editor: Hans J Schwass, ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant
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HIV/AIDS Workshop in Mongolia 
 
With funding from ICEM-JAF, Japan, the Taiwan Petroleum Workers&rsquo; Union, and the ICEM HIV/AIDS Project, the ICEM affiliate, the Mongolian Energy, Geology and Mine Workers&rsquo; Trade Unions (MEGMTU) organised an HIV/AIDS seminar in Ulaanbaatar from 10 to 12 August. Forty-five participants, of whom 17 were women, attended the seminar. The opening was also attended by representatives from the ILO and the Asian Development Bank, which has recently started an HIV/AIDS prevention project, focusing on infrastructure and the mining sector. 
 
Following up on the Tripartite Declaration on the prevention of HIV/AIDS at workplaces, signed in October 2007 by the Ministry of Social Welfare and Labour, the Confederation of Mongolian Trade Unions (CMTU) and the Mongolian Employers&rsquo; Federation (MONEF), the seminar had the title &ldquo;Development of Social Partner Cooperation to Prevent HIV/AIDS in the Mineral and Energy Sectors&rdquo;. In line with the objectives of the seminar, representatives from government agencies and from MONEF also attended. 
 
As an outcome of working groups, participants made detailed recommendations concerning the improvement of legislation and HIV/AIDS interventions at national, industry and workplace level. The final declaration calls for tripartite cooperation at national level and bipartite cooperation at the workplace level with action-oriented programmes to be implemented. 
 
The prevalence rate in Mongolia is still low; UNAIDS estimates 820 cases. The objective is to keep it at this low rate, or push it to zero. Prevention is therefore the focus of HIV/AIDS work in Mongolia. Mining areas and also some energy projects are in remote areas. Workers are often separated from their families for a long time; they earn wages above the national industrial average and commercial sex workers are attracted to these areas. Foreign migrant workers are also employed. The present low prevalence rate therefore hides a potentially explosive situation. 
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Disruption of Treatment Threatened by Global Economic Crisis 
 
In 22 countries, disruption of HIV prevention and treatment programmes is expected over the course of this year, as a result of the global economic crisis, according to a report by UNAIDS and the World Bank, released on 6 July. 
 
According to the report &ldquo;The Global Economic Crisis and HIV Prevention and Treatment Programmes: Vulnerabilities and Impact&rdquo;, eight countries are already facing shortages of antiretroviral drugs. Together, these countries are home to more than 60% of people receiving AIDS treatment. 
 
In 34 countries, representing 75% of people living with HIV, there is already an impact on HIV prevention programmes, focusing on high-risk groups. Furthermore, the report suggests that poor nutrition because of reduced incomes and rising unemployment could also influence the effectiveness of ARV drugs. Community networks, which often are the only social safety net for the poor, are also being crippled by the financial crisis. 
 
While there are no reports of substantial cuts in donor assistance for 2009, there is concern that financial sustainability of antiretroviral treatment programmes that depend mainly on external aid is uncertain. 
 
(Source: Press Release UNIADS, 6 July. The report can be accessed at <a href="http://www.unaids.org">www.unaids.org</a>) 
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SWHAP Network Meets on Economic Crisis 
 
The economic crisis was also the focus of the South Africa Network workshop of the Swedish Workplace HIV and AIDS Programme (SWHAP). Twenty-eight coordinators from 11 workplaces discussed the implications of the economic crisis and how workplace programmes on HIV and AIDS, as well as wellness programmes, could cope with the financial stress they are currently experiencing. 
 
Participants also discussed how health workers and lay counsellors in the programme can be empowered with the necessary skills and knowledge needed to ensure effective adherence to treatment by workers. ICEM HIV/AIDS Project Management Assistant, Paule Ndessomin, attended the meeting in Johannesburg. 
 
(Source: Information on the SWHAP website <a href="http://www.swhap.org">www.swhap.org</a>) 

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Ethiopia: Nurses are Empowered to Boost ARV Treatment 
 
Facing mounting difficulties in bringing antiretroviral drugs to people living with HIV and AIDS who need them, the Ethiopian Government has given nurses the authority to prescribe and supervise ARV therapy. This will expand access to treatment, especially in rural areas where there are few doctors. The number of clinics staffed by nurses trained to dispense the drugs will increase from 400 to 1,300 over the next three years with help from the Global Fund. 
 
About 370,000 of the 1.1 million Ethiopians with HIV/AIDS need ARVs but only 120,000 are getting the medication. Ethiopia hopes to more than double that number to meet the United Nations Millennium Goal of having 80 percent receiving treatment by 2010. 
 
The target is ambitious. Half the children under five years old are chronically malnourished and almost 40 percent of the 85 million population live below the poverty line, but the biggest hurdles are training and keeping enough doctors to distribute the drugs, bringing health services to the 80 percent of the population who live in the countryside, and making the programme self-supporting, should money from the donors dry up. Poor pay and difficult working conditions have driven many health professionals to seek higher-paid jobs abroad. 
 
(Source: IRIN PlusNews, 7 August) 

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Namibia: Court Case Highlights Workers&rsquo; Rights 
 
An out-of-court settlement was reached in the case of the Namibian hotel workers (see <a href="/en/72-HIV-AIDS/3322-ICEM-HIV-AIDS-e-bulletin-No.-46-July-2009">HIV/AIDS e-bulletin no. 46, July 2009</a>). The workers had fought a nine-year legal battle after being tested without their consent, and for having their confidentiality breached by their employer, the Oshakati Country Lodge. They settled for monetary compensation before the case was heard in court. 
 
While a court case would have set precedents, the Legal Assistance Centre in Namibia nevertheless managed to re-emphasise fundamental principles during the drawn-out case, such as: no testing without informed consent, and maintenance of confidentiality. 
 
(Source: Additional information provided by Robert E. Lovelace, Washington) 

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AIDSPAN Releases Beginners&rsquo; Guide to the Global Fund 
 
Aidspan has released a new guide, designed to provide a broad introduction to the Global Fund for people who have little or no prior experience of the Fund. A Beginner&rsquo;s Guide to the Global Fund will be of interest to a wide range of people. 
 
A Beginner&rsquo;s Guide to the Global Fund comes in three versions: the full guide (about 60 pages), an eight-page summary and a two-page summary. All three versions are available in English at <a href="http://www.aidspan.org/guides">www.aidspan.org/guides</a>. French-, Spanish- and Russian-language editions of all three versions will be available by early September 2009 at the same site. The full version of the guide contains numerous links to the websites of the Global Fund and Aidspan, for people who need in-depth information. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 105, 28 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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News from the Global Union Federations 
 
The fortnightly HIV/AIDS updates of 1 and 15 July of the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation report, among others, on the integration of HIV/AIDS in ITF Inspectors&rsquo; seminars, and the progress of the US Government to end its longstanding ban on HIV positive visitors and migrants. (<a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>). 

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This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe or Translate? 
 
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. 
Unfortunately, the e-bulletin can only be published in English. 
For a free automated (non-ICEM) translation of this HIV-AIDS bulletin into other languages, you may want to try http://www.google.com/language_tools and insert the following URL into the window &ldquo;Translate a Web page&ldquo;: 
<a href="/index.php?id=72&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3358">/index.php?id=72&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3358</a>&nbsp; 
 
Or click directly on the links below: 
 
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Cette traduction est faite automatiquement par un logiciel internet gratuit. L&rsquo;ICEM n&rsquo;assume aucune responsabilit&eacute; &agrave; cet &eacute;gard. Elle est approximative, mais peut n&eacute;anmoins vous donner une id&eacute;e g&eacute;n&eacute;rale du contenu de l&rsquo;article. 
 
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Diese &Uuml;bersetzung, f&uuml;r die die ICEM keine Verantwortung &uuml;bernimmt, erfolgt durch eine frei zug&auml;ngliche Internetsoftware. Diese &Uuml;bersetzung ist nicht perfekt, gibt aber eine ann&auml;hernende Idee, wor&uuml;ber der Artikel handelt. 
 
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</a> 
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<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3358&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=ja&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">日本語への翻訳について、無料オン� ��イン翻訳サービス利用されたい方はここをクリックしてください。ただし、当該サ� ��ビスを利用した翻訳の質等について 、ICEMは一切責任を負いませんので、� ��了承ください。</a> 
 
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</a> 
Esta traducci&oacute;n se hace autom&aacute;ticamente con tecnolog&iacute;a libre del Internet. La ICEM no se responsabiliza de ella. La traducci&oacute;n es aproximada, pero puede proveer una idea general del contenido del art&iacute;culo. 
 
<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3358&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=sv&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">Klicka h&auml;r f&ouml;r en maskin&ouml;vers&auml;ttning till svenska.</a> 
 
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ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 47 August/September 2009

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The human rights group Amnesty International said last week at the time of the illegitimate inauguration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Iran has experienced an &ldquo;alarming spike&rdquo; in the number of executions since the disputed 12 June election. 
 
&ldquo;In just over 50 days, we recorded no less than 115 executions,&rdquo; said the London-based watchdog group in a statement. &ldquo;That is an average of more than two each day.&rdquo; 
 
In comparison, Amnesty said that between 1 January 2009 and the election day, Iran carried out 196 executions. &ldquo;This represents a significant increase, even compared to the appallingly high rate of executions that has been so long a feature of the human rights scene in Iran,&rdquo; Commented Amnesty Secretary-General Irene Kahn. 
<img alt="" src="" width="70" height="70" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="70" height="70" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="70" height="70" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="70" height="67" />
Amnesty International joined Education International (EI), the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), the International Union of Food and Agricultural Workers (IUF), and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on 26 June in drawing a global focus on the plight of trade unionists who have been jailed and falsely charged and convicted for trade union activities. Mansour Osanloo and Ebrahim Madadi of the Syndicate of Workers&rsquo; of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, Farzad Kamangar of the Irainian Teachers&rsquo; Trade Association, and a group of five activists of the Haft Tapeh Sugar Workers&rsquo; Union continue to be persecuted and imprisoned for exercising their basic human rights.

Amnesty International Cites Execution Spike in Iran to June Elections

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The Federation Chimie Energie CFDT (FCE-CFDT) has pledged full support for the national framework agreement, reached between the Union des Industries Chimiques (UIC) and the Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Employment. The agreement outlines the responsibilities of companies facing difficulties during the current economic and financial crisis. Companies are encouraged to expand training programs for employees, to avoid redundancies, and to develop skills. 
 
The French state has made a commitment of &euro;8.5 million for the implementation of the programmes outlined in the agreement, until December 2011. 
 
The FCE-CFDT will ensure, in particular, that this training development plan will benefit those workers that are most vulnerable, and those companies that are truly facing serious financial difficulties.

French Chemical Workers Respond to Financial Crisis

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ICEM affiliate Petrol-Is, Turkey&rsquo;s Oil, Chemical and Rubber Workers Union, has started an organising campaign using unconventional methods. The campaign has received special commendation from ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. Choosing to target the city of Duzce, near Istanbul, the city was covered in campaign materials, with every billboard showing posters from the union. Banners, brochures, flyers, stickers, TV and radio adverts, newspaper ads, t-shirts, and a campaign website, were all produced, so that the campaign would be impossible to miss. Progressive cinema celebrities also produced films connected to the campaign. 

<img alt="" src="" width="349" height="212" />
The special website and blog for the campaign can be found <a href="http://www.sendikaliol.org">here</a>. The project&rsquo;s slogan &ldquo;Sendikalı Ol&rdquo; or &ldquo;Be unionised&rdquo; is accompanied by &ldquo;Umutlu Ol&rdquo; (Be hopeful), &ldquo;G&uuml;&ccedil;l&uuml; Ol&rdquo; (Be Strong), &ldquo;G&uuml;venli Ol&rdquo; (Be Secure), &ldquo;Mutlu Ol&rdquo; (Be Happy), &ldquo;Birlik Ol&rdquo; (Be United) and &ldquo;Etkili Ol&rdquo; (Be Effective). The blog has specific sections designed for potential new members, &ldquo;What is the Union?&rdquo;, &ldquo;Why Unionise?&rdquo;, &ldquo;What is Petrol-Is?&rdquo; 
 
The impressive project is the result of long-term research and planning by the union. Following a dramatic decline in membership in early 1990s, organizing became an urgent priority on the Petrol-Is agenda. This extremely visible campaigning technique was chosen, to break the pattern of previous trade union recruitment campaigns. Many companies in Turkey do not recognise workers&rsquo; right to organise as a legitimate right. Previous union organising campaigns had come up against repressive union-busting measures from the employers, such as threats dismissals, blacklists, redundancies. Unions had therefore been forced to be conduct campaigns in secrecy. 

<img alt="" src="" width="167" height="172" />
Petrol-Is President Mustafa &Ouml;ztaşkın
The Duzce campaign was a chance to break a mindset that identifies &ldquo;union organizing&rdquo; with &ldquo;anarchy&rdquo;. The union&rsquo;s message was conveyed, not only to unorganized workers at their worksites, but also to their families and local communities. The campaign created an atmosphere full of energy, hope and self-confidence, especially for young workers. 
 
Next steps for the campaign will be a comprehensive recruitment drive in the coming months, similar publicity campaigns in other Turkish cities and at the national level.

Turkey’s Petrol-Is Launch Creative Organising Campaign

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ICEM Planning sub-regional Workshops and Assessment Missions 
More than three years into the HIV/AIDS project, the ICEM will conduct sub-regional workshops and assessment missions in three African sub-regions: English-speaking West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone), French-speaking West Africa (C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire, DR Congo and Mali) and southern Africa (Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia). 
 
After five regional training courses for national coordinators the impact of their work at national level has to be assessed. Sub-regional workshops will include union leadership to renew their commitment in the fight against the pandemic. 
 
The HIV/AIDS resolution of the 4th World Congress called on the ICEM to continue to treat HIV/AIDS as a priority. Assessment of the current project will also identify national priorities and objectives for an extension of the present project. 
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Mauritius: ICEM Affiliate Raises Issue of Migrant Workers 
The Chemical, Manufacturing and Connected Trades Employees&rsquo; Union (CMCTEU) has approached the ICEM for cooperation in dealing with the issue of migrant workers. 
 
In a total workforce of 550,000 there are around 30,000 migrant workers mainly from the Indian sub-continent, China and Madagascar. Some of those workers become commercial sex workers during their free time to supplement their meagre salary. 
 
According to UNAIDS, the prevalence rate in Mauritius is a low 0.6% but it is much higher among injecting drug users and sex workers. In 2004, when tested for HIV, 13% of surveyed sex workers were found to be HIV-positive (only 32% stated that they had consistently used condoms). 
 
CMCTEU also reported on their successful activity on World AIDS Day in which they used ICEM, ILOAIDS and UNAIDS/WAC material made available at the ICEM World Congress. 
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Chevron Commits USD 30 million to the Global Fund 
Chevron Corporation, one of the world&rsquo;s leading integrated energy companies, has become the Global Fund&rsquo;s first &ldquo;Corporate Champion,&rdquo; donating US$30 million over three years to support programmes financed by the Fund in parts of Asia and Africa. 
 
With the announcement of this donation on 21 January 2008, the Global Fund officially launched its Corporate Champions Program, which the Fund describes as &ldquo;an innovative way for multinational corporations to significantly invest in the fight against the three diseases.&rdquo; The plan is that each Corporate Champion will contribute to Global Fund-supported programs in the countries where the company operates. 
 
The launch of the Corporate Champions program and the announcement of the Chevron donation are important developments for the Global Fund, which has had a long-standing goal of increasing investments from the private sector. 
 
A copy of the press release announcing these developments can be downloaded from the Global Fund&rsquo;s home page at <a href="http://www.theglobalfund.org">www.theglobalfund.org</a>. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer Issue 84, 29 January 2008. GFO is a free service of Aidspan <a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>.&nbsp;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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PEPFAR Renewal 
The US President&rsquo;s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, expires this year. The five-year, USD 15 billion effort to combat AIDS in 15 mostly sub-Saharan African countries is arguably the most important and popular international programme of the Bush Presidency. 
 
The President wants to double global AIDS money to USD 30 billion over the next five years; Congress wants to increase it to USD 50 billion. Yet its renewal has gotten hung up over ideology and political debate about disease prevention. 
 
Democrats want to remove a provision in the bill that requires one-third of all prevention spending go to abstinence programmes. Another controversial provision forbids grants to groups that provide care to commercial sex workers. 
 
(Source: USA Today, 18 February and AP, 2 February) 
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Global Fund Guidelines on Representation on CCMs 
The revised Global Fund Guidelines for the Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs) contain an annex entitled &quot;Guidelines on Types of Civil Society and Private Sector Representation Most Relevant to the Work of CCMs&rdquo;. The Global Fund says that the Representation Guidelines &quot;are intended to provide guidance for CCMs wishing to strengthen and/or improve&quot; representation from these sectors, particularly in light of the CCMs' roles in proposal development and grant oversight. 
 
The Representation Guidelines contain lists of the types of representation from civil society and the private sector that the Global Fund suggests to be included on CCMs. 
 
The list for civil society representatives includes, among others, vulnerable groups/key populations, women's organisations and religious and faith-based groups. Under private sector representatives large for-profit companies, business associations to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria representatives from exposed industries and charitable foundations established by corporations are mentioned. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer Issue 85, 25 February 2008. GFO is a free service of Aidspan <a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>.&nbsp;To receive GFO, send an email to <a href="mailto:receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>. 
 
Comment by the Editor of the ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin: 
The Global Fund has again failed to recognize the role of organized labour. Nowhere in the detailed annex to the Guidelines are trade unions or workers&rsquo; organizations mentioned; neither under civil society nor under the private sector. 
 
Large for-profit companies are credited for having pioneered responses to fight HIV/AIDS totally ignoring the contribution of organised labour. One can only wonder what the South African National Union of Mineworkers would say to a statement that large mining houses in South Africa have &ldquo;pioneered&rdquo; the response to HIV/AIDS when they have often only reacted to union pressure. 
 
Out of four sectors specifically mentioned, two &ndash; oil/gas and mining &ndash; are represented by the ICEM and its affiliates. Again, all that the Global Fund can say about it is that &ldquo;for-profit companies, business coalitions and/or employers&rsquo; associations who represent the exposed industries can offer insight and support&hellip;.&rdquo; Not one word about workers&rsquo; organisations. 
 
It is time that the Global Fund changes its ways. Global Unions and their national affiliates should pull their weight to question procedures and operations of the Global Fund. It cannot be that business and companies get such exclusive recognition and that workers&rsquo; organizations are completely ignored. Global Unions and national trade union centres have lobbied hard that donor countries increase their contribution and make long-term financial commitments to the Global Fund. 
 
(For the full text of the Guidelines go to the website of the Global Fund <a href="http://www.theglobalfund.org">www.theglobalfund.org</a>) 
&nbsp;<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
News from the ILO 
To expand and strengthen AIDS responses in the world of work, the ILO Governing Body decided in March 2007 to develop a new labour standard on HIV/AIDS. In preparation, the Office assembled information for an overview 'law and practice' report, including the most comprehensive compilation to date of national laws and policies on HIV/AIDS, covering 170 countries. 
 
The report and its accompanying questionnaire have been sent to the ILO's member states for consultation with its constituents on the form and content of the proposed standard. Governments are to reply to the questionnaire in consultation with employers and workers. The draft standard - an &quot;autonomous Recommendation&quot; - will be discussed at the International Labour Conference in June 2009. 
 
The report is available on the website of ILOAIDS &ndash; <a href="http://www.ilo.org/aids">www.ilo.org/aids</a>. 
HIV/AIDS guidelines for the construction sector were published recently. They are also available on the ILOAIDS website. 
 
On 29 January 2008, trade union representatives in Sri Lanka signed the Trade Union Joint Policy on HIV/AIDS. This policy aims to strengthen trade union interventions in HIV prevention and impact management. It was developed in the framework of the draft National Policy on HIV/AIDS and is based on he ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. 
&nbsp;<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
News from the Global Union Programme and Global Unions 
In its most recent HIV/AIDS updates (nos. 36 and 37 of 1 and 15 February) the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a> reports, among others, on awareness programmes and care work of its affiliates in Thailand where an explosion of the infection rate among injecting drug users and commercial sex workers was successfully contained. 
The nautical school in Argentina will include HIV/AIDS in its curriculum to ensure that seafarers have an understanding of HIV/AIDS and will be able to provide education to their peers on ships. It also informs about the alarming situation in Papua New Guinea which by UNAIDS is described as the new frontline of the epidemic in the Asia-Pacific region. 
 
Public-sector union UNISON of Great Britain is expanding its work in southern Africa with a massive new programme covering unions in teaching, nursing and local government.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin

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Among the scores of new affiliates to join the ICEM at the turn of the year, one from Cyprus is particularly grateful due to the fact that the ICEM website now includes Turkish-language features. It is the Union of Turkish Electricity Institution Employees (EL-SEN).
The union, founded in 1957, represents workers of the Turkish Electricity Institution, and it is headed by President Caglayan Cesurer and General Secretary Ercan K&ouml;seoglu. It has several hundred members and it also affiliated to the Cypress-Turkish Trade Union Federation (T&Uuml;RK-SEN). 
<img height="92" alt="" src="" width="200" />
The ICEM welcomes EL-SEN to its family of affiliates, and wishes the union and its members many years of Turkish-language reading, courtesy of the ICEM website.

Cypriot Electrical Union Takes to Turkish-language ICEM Website

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Earlier in February, workplace sit-ins by the Federation of Workers&rsquo; Councils and Union in Iraq (FWCUI) occurred in Basra, Hilla, Musayab, and Kut, following the failure of the Electricity Minister to accede to demands by workers. 
 
After a few hours of sit-ins by thousands of workers on 4 February, Minister Karim Wahid Hasan called FWCUI leaders with a readiness to hear those demands. FWCUI called the sit-ins successful for that result, saying in a statement that it was &ldquo;a courageous step for all workers of Iraq.&rdquo;
<img height="165" alt="" src="" width="220" />
The sit-ins had been called by the Union of Engineering Technicians of FWCUI, as well as other workers&rsquo; groups. 
 
Workers&rsquo; demands include a halt to the corruption inside the Ministry of Electricity, creation of new electric stations to serve Iraqi provinces, housing for workers in the sector, repayment of danger entitlements to workers, giving day labourers work contracts, and lifting the status of temporary workers to permanent staff. 
 
At a news conference last week, Electricity Minister Wahid called on the government to increase the ministry&rsquo;s 2008 budget nearly three-fold to US$4 billion in order to re-build the occupied country&rsquo;s power network. Current electric generation is less than half the 9,500 megawatts needed in Iraq, with power outages resulting mainly from sabotage, according to the UN&rsquo;s Humanitarian Office.
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United Press International reports that in a period from March to November 2007, 1,211 workers in the electric sector had been targeted for attacks. A study done for the news agency found that the sector in that period had undergone 651 attacks on distribution and transmission lines, 66 attacks on thermal power stations, and 18 attacks on other power operations. 
 
The ICEM supports FWCUI in their efforts to achieve security and just economic entitlements for workers in Iraq.

Iraqi Union Federation, FWCUI, Stages Electrical Sector Sit-In

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This Friday, 29 February, is a Day of Action for ICEM North American affiliate Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) against Petro-Canada. CEP members will protest and handbill at many of the company&rsquo;s petrol stations country-wide to draw attention to an unfair, 15-week lockout imposed by Petro-Canada on 267 workers at an oil refinery in Montreal, Quebec. 
 
Teams of locked-out workers are also travelling Canada, speaking at union meetings and other forums. They are also warning the public at home, in Montr&eacute;al, of the safety risks that the Calgary, Alberta-based company is taking by operating the refinery with managers and scabs. The union has called on Quebec&rsquo;s Environmental Office, as well as on city of Montr&eacute;al regulators, to inspect reports of leaks and malfunctions.
<img height="266" alt="" src="" width="200" />
&nbsp;CEP Local 175 members at a January rally
A provincial Ministry of Labour team, which visited the refinery late in January, found that at least 26 replacement workers are grouped with bosses in working long hours to maintain throughput. Employing replacements during a labour dispute in Quebec is a labour law violation. But worse, the company is jeopardizing the safety and welfare of the community, since bosses and scabs &ndash; some 120 in total, compared to 267 skilled and trained CEP members &ndash; have each been working in excess of 70 hours per week. 
 
The refinery, which saw a production increase from 105,000 barrels-per-day to 130,000 in 2006, is located in a residential area called Point-aux-Trembles, in the east end of Montreal. 
 
Among the contract concessions the company is seeking from CEP Local 175 is elimination of a health and safety prevention officer. Petro-Canada is seeking to break the CEP&rsquo;s National Energy and Chemical Bargaining Programme for 2007-2008, a pattern that was set in May 2007 in a three-year agreement between the CEP and Petro-Canada at a refinery in Edmonton, Alberta. 
 
Management in Montr&eacute;al is seeking a six-year term, and also is demanding unwanted changes to scheduling, job assignments, and an accelerated training programme that will further jeopardize health and safety. 
 
Petro-Canada bought the refinery from Fina in 1981. The lockout began on 17 November 2007. 

Petro-Canada is seeking to break the CEP&rsquo;s National Energy and Chemical Bargaining Programme for 2007-2008, a pattern that was set in May 2007 in a three-year agreement between the CEP and Petro-Canada at a refinery in Edmonton, Alberta. Management in Montr&eacute;al is seeking a six-year term, and also is demanding unwanted changes to scheduling, job assignments, and an accelerated training programme that will further jeopardize health and safety.

CEP Brings Ills of Petro-Canada’s Montréal Lockout Across the Country

<img height="71" alt="" src="" width="50" />
<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0801KEMAL-OZKAN-SUNUM.ppt ">Altişveren ve D&uuml;zensiz Istihdam</a> 
Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM
&nbsp;<img height="43" alt="" src="" width="30" />
<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0801CAN-SAFAK-KRISTAL-IS-SUNUM.ppt ">T&uuml;rkiye'de Cam Fabrikalarinda Altişveren Uygulamalari 
</a>Can Şafak, Kristal-Iş Sendikasi, Turkiye
<img height="43" alt="" src="" width="30" />
<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0801FIKRET-SAZAK-TURKIYE-MADEN-IS-SUNUM.ppt ">Madencilik Sekt&ouml;r&uuml;nde &Ouml;zelleştirmenin Etkileri ve Altişveren Uygulamaları</a> 
Fikret Sazak, Maden-Iş, Turkiye
<img height="43" alt="" src="" width="30" />
&nbsp;<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0801CELIL-COBAN-FNV-BONDGENOTEN-SUNUM.ppt">Altişveren ve D&uuml;zensiz Istihdam</a> 
Celil &Ccedil;OBAN, FNV Bondgenoten, Netherlands
<img height="43" alt="" src="" width="30" />&nbsp;
<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0801OSMAN-ELMACI-FNV-BONDGENOTEN.ppt ">Altişveren ve D&uuml;zensiz Istihdam 
</a>Osman Elmaci, FNV Bondgenoten, Netherlands 
<img height="43" alt="" src="" width="30" />
<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0801EMCEF-TR.ppt ">D&uuml;zensiz İstihdam</a> 
&nbsp;Reinhard Reibsch, EMCEF 
(Turkish version)
<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0801EMCEF-EN.ppt ">Contract and Agency Work</a> 
Reinhard Reibsch, EMCEF 
(English version)
<img height="43" alt="" src="" width="30" />
<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0801HANS-PALMQVIST-IFMETALL-TR.ppt ">D&uuml;zensiz İstihdam &ndash; İsve&ccedil; Modeli </a> 
Hans Palmqvist, IFMetall, İsve&ccedil; 
(Turkish version)
<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0801HANS-PALMQVIST-IFMETALL-EN.ppt ">Contract and Agency Labour &ndash; The Swedish Model 
</a>Hans Palmqvist, IFMetall, Sweden 
(English version)
<img height="43" alt="" src="" width="30" />
<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0801ILO-TR.ppt ">D&uuml;zensiz Istihdam: ILO&rsquo;nun Faaliyetleri</a> 
Vladislav Egorov, ILO 
(Turkish version) 

<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0801ILO-EN.ppt">Contract and Agency Labour - ILO Action</a> 
Vladislav Egorov, ILO 
(English version)
<img height="43" alt="" src="" width="30" />
<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0801MICHAEL-WOLTERS-IGBCE-TR.ppt ">ICEM D&uuml;zensiz İstihdam Konferansı</a> 
Michael Wolters, IG BCE, Almanya 
(Turkish version)
<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0801MICHAEL-WOLTERS-IGBCE-EN.ppt ">ICEM Workshop on Contract &amp; Agency Labour</a> 
Michael Wolters, IG BCE, Germany 
(English version)

Contract and agency labour presentations, Turkey, February 2008

<img height="39" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) are calling for another &ldquo;Day of Action&rdquo; on 6 March 2008, demanding the release of two trade unionists locked inside Iran&rsquo;s prisons. The two global federations are calling on trade unions worldwide to lobby their relevant governments, as well as public officials, regarding visits to Iran in order to win the release of the two trade unionists. 
 
The ICEM joins the ITUC and ITF in demanding the release of Mansour Osanloo, the leader of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Workers&rsquo; Union, and the release of Mahmoud Salehi, the founding member of the Saqez Bakery Workers&rsquo; Association. 
<img height="212" src="" width="188" alt="" />
ITUC and ITF chose the date of 6 March because it is just prior to Iran parliamentary elections, as well as the Iranian New Year. 
Osanloo was arrested for the third time on 10 July 2007, following a tour of European labour institutions and labour unions, in which he spoke of the labour abuses and restrictions on freedom of association by Iran&rsquo;s Islamic regime. He was taken from Evin Prison on 24 January to a hospital where he underwent a second surgery for an eye disorder, an injury caused by beatings from government agents. 
Despite doctors recommending that he remain in the hospital for a month, he was returned to the harsh conditions of Evin Prison on 2 February. The ITF&rsquo;s website page on Osanloo can be found here <a href="http://www.freeosanloo.org">www.freeosanloo.org</a>. 
<img height="102" alt="" src="" width="102" />
Mahmoud Salehi, an Iranian Kurd, is also in ill-health, suffering from kidney disease. He also had to be hospitalized in December 2007. He was arrested for union activities in April 2007. 
 
Already last week, the Indonesian Seafarers Union, an ITF affiliate, has written to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, urging him to cancel a planned trip to Iran in protest to the incarcerations, or face harsh political reprisals both at home and abroad. 
 
The ICEM strongly encourages affiliated trade unions to take meaningful action on 6 March.

Action Day in Support of Iranian Trade Unionists Set for 6 March

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