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Energy trade unions from Canada, the US and Mexico met in Montreal, Canada, on 18 August 2007, to challenge efforts by leaders of the three countries, as well as by large multinational corporations, to secretly integrate national energy policies without public oversight or legislative accountability. 
 
North American ICEM affiliates Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) and United Steelworkers (USW) participated in a forum, organised by three networks of various social partners, along with other unions representing workers in the electrical, nuclear and oil sectors in Canada and Mexico. The ICEM also attended the meeting. 
<img height="301" alt="" src="" width="200" />
The ICEM affiliates condemned the legitimacy of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), a clandestine effort by the leaders of the three countries and their corporate partners to develop and implement a neoliberal energy policy, aimed at enhancing the interests of corporations and building a growing U.S security apparatus at the expense of workers and the public. 
The forum occurred just two days before the meeting by Presidents George Bush and Felipe Calderon and Prime Minister Stephen Harper with the CEOs of 30 multinational corporations from the three countries, aimed at moving the SPP process forward at a rapid pace. 
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St1-WTc1kow" target="_blank"><img height="165" alt="" src="" width="250" border="0" /></a>
Dave Coles, CEP President and ICEM Vice President, confronting and stopping provocateurs, which were later proven to be police infiltrators. On YouTube <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St1-WTc1kow">here</a>. 
A statement condemning the SPP was issued following the forum, citing the lack of democratic participation and oversight, as well as the participants rejection of the security agenda. Efforts by the SPP to integrate the electricity grids and natural gas systems of the three countries, exploitation of Canada&rsquo;s massive tar sands production to serve US corporate and security interests, continued repression of trade union rights in Mexico, and the privatisation of Mexico&rsquo;s electrical, gas and oil resources were also a particular focus of the forum and the resulting statement. 
 
&ldquo;These and other elements of the SPP-corporate energy agenda are unsustainable and sacrifice the needs of workers and communities in each country to the profits of energy corporations.&rdquo; This is an agenda &ldquo;that fails to address the need for each country to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including a new round of far reaching goals after 2012. Nor does this corporate-continental model of energy development respond to the needs of national economic development or recognize the primary role of energy industries for community economic development. &ldquo; 
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CEP President and ICEM Vice President Dave Coles, along with CEP Secretary-Treasurer Gaetan Menard and USW Vice President Gary Beevers presented the statement the next day at another forum, held on 19 August 2007, at the University of Ottawa. ICEM affiliates also joined a large demonstration the same day in Ottawa at the Canadian Parliament and a march to the Mexican and US embassies. 
 
Demonstrations were also taking place on 20 August in Montebello, Canada, where the leaders of the three countries are meeting with corporate CEOs. At the demonstrations, Dave Coles stood up to &lsquo;agents provocateurs&rsquo;, who later turned out to be police infiltrators: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St1-WTc1kow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St1-WTc1kow</a>. 
 
A copy of the full statement can be found at <a href="http://www.cep.ca">www.cep.ca</a>.

North American Trade Unions Condemn Secret and Undemocratic Efforts to Map New Energy Future

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Calling the work-lives of temporary and agency workers in the UK the &ldquo;dark underbelly&rdquo; of British society, Trades Union Congress (TUC) General Secretary Brendan Barber gave the issue of contract and agency labour prominence on the opening day of the TUC Congress, 9 September, in Brighton. 
 
Setting out specific instances of temporary or contract worker abuse in the UK, Barber called for new labour rights to be given to such workers in Britain. And in his keynote address to Congress, just prior to Prime Minister Gordon Brown speaking, Barber called on his government to quit the stalling, and endorse the EU Directive on Temporary and Agency Workers. 
<img height="114" alt="" src="" width="80" />
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber
&ldquo;Since we launched the commission on vulnerable employment,&rdquo; Barber said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve met so many victims of unfair, systematic exploitation. 
 
&ldquo;There are so many issues to tackle in this dark underbelly of British life,&rdquo; stated Barber. &ldquo;I urge the government to deliver the promised European directive to give agency workers justice and dignity,&rdquo; he said. 
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In 2004, the Warwick agreement was made in the UK, which was aimed at providing equal employment rights for temporary and agency workers, and to support the EU Directive. Even though the Blair government pledged to do so, it never did. The TUC has now called on the Brown government to not only support the directive, but also to pass UK laws giving temporary and agency workers full employment rights.

UK’s TUC Congress Calls on Government to Adopt EU Directive

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One year ago, New Zealand&rsquo;s labour unions, led by its national centre, the Council of Trade Union (NZCTU), successfully prevented a regressive bill from becoming law. The so-called Probationary Employment Amendment Bill would have made it easy for employers to hire and then sack temporary workers during their first 90 days of employment. 
 
The unions did it with mass demonstrations and outreach to many groupings that effectively generated mass support among New Zealanders. 
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Now labour unions and the CTU are pushing for passage of legislation that would aid contract workers. The Minimum Wage and Remuneration Amendment Bill is now before the Parliament, and the measure has a good change of passing. The proposed law would assure that people doing work under individual contracts are at least paid New Zealand&rsquo;s minimum wage. 
 
Currently, many of the people that are economically dependent on the sale of their labour are not defined by the law as employees, thus not afforded protections under the country&rsquo;s minimum wage law. 
<img height="115" src="" width="250" alt="" />
&ldquo;Most contractors in New Zealand are remunerated well above the minimum wage,&rdquo; stated CTU Secretary Carol Beaumont. &ldquo;But this bill would help certain groups of workers who are being unfairly disadvantaged by contracting relationships, and are being paid below the minimum wage.&rdquo; 
 
Added Beaumont, &ldquo;The minimum wage marks a minimum standard in New Zealand that is considered acceptable for anyone being paid for their efforts. That standard deserves to be extended to everyone.&rdquo; 
 
The bill was introduced in July and received its first reading late in August. It could pass NZ&rsquo;s Parliament next month.

New Zealand Labour Pushing Law to Protect Contract Workers

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A Youth Action Day by German affiliate IGBCE, on 19 September, produced a commitment by the federal state of North-Rhine Westphalia to create 205 training positions, funded at &euro;10,000 each, to offset lost employment opportunities from the recent agreement in the coal industry. 
 
The commitment came after youth leaders of the IGBCE met with North-Rhine/Westphalia Employment Minister Karl Josef Laumann. 
 
Some 2,000 students and young workers of IGBCE&rsquo;s Youth Network protested in D&uuml;sseldorf on that day. They came from youth committees from several German companies, including BASF and Evonik Industries. Evonik is the new publicly-traded company created from state coal company RAG. It comprises RAG&rsquo;s power stations, chemicals, and real estate businesses, and was formed in discussions on the future of Germany&rsquo;s coal industry. 
&nbsp;<img height="133" src="" width="100" alt="" />
IGBCE's Michael Vassiliadis
&ldquo;The actions of the young workers of our union have made this a success,&rdquo; said Michael Vassiliadis, head of IGBCE&rsquo;s Youth Activities. &ldquo;Now we will undertake all efforts so that the 205 young persons will be afforded the opportunity to start their work lives with the necessary training.&rdquo; 
 
The IGBCE stressed that the &euro;10,000-per-job commitment from the state will fund only part of the training. Funds have been set aside for this purpose from the hard-coal agreement, and the union said social partners from the employer side must step forward to provide additional training funds.

IGBCE Youth Action Network Wins Training Positions

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ICEM affiliate Chemical, Non-Metallic, and Rubber Workers&rsquo; Union (KNG) of Slovenia and the Sava management of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. at Kranj came to wage terms at a tyre factory this summer, but the new contract still needs attention. At issue is how management is &ndash; or rather, is not &ndash; implementing language recently inserted into the collective agreement. 
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In addition to winning a &euro;90-per-month increase, the 900 workers also agreed to a plan to reduce sick leave in exchange for a sizeable bonus scheme. Management has failed to adequately implement this plan, as well neglecting other aspects of the new agreement. Shop-floor leaders at the Kranj tyre and engineered products plants, Goodyear&rsquo;s prize operations in Eastern and Central Europe, together with and KNG&rsquo;s Andrej Zorko, are eager for managers to put the new collective agreement into effect. 
Goodyear produces auto, truck, and bus tyres in Kranj. It makes Sava tyre brands there, as well as its trademarked Avant A3 steer-axle tyre and the Orjak 03 drive-axle tyre. In 2006, Goodyear exceeded all business targets at the Kranj plants. It also made its one millionth tyre there. Goodyear is one of Slovenia&rsquo;s largest exporters. 
<img height="120" src="" width="118" alt="" />
The company entered into a majority-stake joint venture with the Sava Group in 1998, which gave it 60% of the tyre-making plant and 75% of the engineered products operation. Goodyear paid US$120 million for those stakes. Previously, Continental AG of Germany held a 28% share of Sava.In 2002, Goodyear bought another 20% stake in of operations for US$38.5 million, and, two years later, the company bought up the remaining shares to give it full ownership. 
 
Besides being affiliated to the ICEM, KNG Trade Union is a proud affiliate of the Association of Free Trade Unions (ZSSS) of Slovenia, which is currently leading an effort in the country to offset inflation with increases in salaries for all workers.

Contract Settled, But Problems Persist at Goodyear’s Slovenia Tyre Plant

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A Network of Brazilian trade unions that organises nine workplaces of the Belgian-based Solvay Group came together on 12-14 September in S&atilde;o Paolo to create enhanced communication and union solidarity. 
This initiative is a part of the Brazilian confederation CUT&rsquo;s multinational project, and has support and involvement from the ICEM and the National Confederation of Chemical Workers of Brazil, CNQ-CUT. 
 
The meeting&rsquo;s agenda contained reports on ILO global standards, an open exchange on experiences of building and construction trade unions regarding formation of national networks, and boundaries to social dialogue as a tool in negotiations. 
<img height="73" alt="" src="" width="73" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<img height="77" alt="" src="" width="54" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img height="79" alt="" src="" width="77" />
<img height="72" alt="" src="" width="101" align="absMiddle" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="43" alt="" src="" width="150" align="absMiddle" />
The eight plants of Group Solvay in Brazil are: Dacarto Benvic/Osasco, Dacarto Benvic/Bahia, Solvay Farma/S&atilde;o Paolo, Solvay Indupa, Solvay Solexis (Santo Andre), Energy Automotive Systems, Peroxides, and Chemicals Solvay/Paran&aacute;. 
 
The meetings reached consensus to call the organisation would be called the &ldquo;Network of Workers in Solvay Group in Brazil.&rdquo; The next meeting will occur in March 2008. The Network will publish a bulletin that will be distributed to workers in all plants. The Network also will adopt a document of principles, in which roles for the ICEM and CUT will be spelled out. 
<img height="233" alt="" src="" width="350" />
The initial meeting also explored problems in labour relations between the unions and Solvay. A company reorganization has seen the dismissal of workers, and acquisitions, mergers, and business moves that have created a rash of subcontracting. Shop-floor leaders at Solvay in Brazil also discussed environmental effects, safety and heath concerns, and they exchanged information on collective agreements and plant-by-plant negotiations. 
 
The initial meeting also resolved to send a letter to human resource managers at each plant, informing them of the Network, and offering meaningful social dialogue with the company. The Network also resolved to expand the March 2008 meeting to Solvay unions in the whole of Latin America.

Brazilian Workers of Belgian Chemicals Company Solvay Unite

The European Works Council (EWC) of Alcan Packaging, facing imminent spin-off by new owner Rio Tinto, won a&nbsp;commitment that an Extraordinary Meeting of the Works Council&nbsp;would be held within 14 days&nbsp;after&nbsp;any announced sale of the company is made. Following frank discussions during EWC meetings on 25 July, where Alcan President and CEO Richard Evans reiterated Rio&rsquo;s intent to sell Alcan&rsquo;s packaging businesses, the commitment to hold a further Works Council meeting immediately following an announced sale is&nbsp;welcome news to packaging industry workers&rsquo; and their trade unions. 
 
The ICEM, a global union federation of 389 trade unions in 119 countries, applauded the commitment, calling it &ldquo;an important check-and-balance on corporate governance.&rdquo; The ICEM also congratulates the EWC and the trade unionists on the EWC for gaining this commitment. 
 
Evans told the EWC that Rio Tinto was hopeful of selling the collection of packaging businesses of as block, that there are serious buyers, and that a sale agreement could be completed soon. Peter Ellis, National Officer of ICEM UK affiliate Unite, welcomed the company&rsquo;s commitment.
<img height="138" alt="" src="" width="110" />
Rio Tinto&rsquo;s newly acquired flexible and specialty packaging businesses throughout the world are vast. The Australian company could realise &euro;5 billion from a sale. In 2003, the Canadian-based company purchased Norsk Hydro&rsquo;s packaging units, and the following year Alcan took over French-based Pechiney in a US$3.9 billion stock and cash deal. Alcan&rsquo;s packaging businesses produce products for the food, personal care, and pharmaceutical sectors.

Alcan Workers Win Commitment from Company at EWC

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Former ICEM Gen. Sec. Fred Higgs was awarded the Transport &amp; General Workers&rsquo; Union&rsquo;s (TGWU) highest award on 4 July when the Unite Joint General Secretary, Tony Woodley, awarded him with the Gold Patch at the TGWU&rsquo;s last Policy Conference. 
 
Higgs served as ICEM general secretary from 1999 to his retirement in late 2006. He is a 40-year member of TGWU and began his long service career with the union in 1979. Prior to his election as ICEM general secretary, Higgs served as National Secretary of TGWU&rsquo;s chemicals, oil, and rubber sectors.
<img height="200" alt="" src="" width="300" />
&nbsp;Fred Higgs Speaking at TGWU's Policy Conference 
 

In a speech upon receiving the award, Higgs told delegates of his disgust after reaching Brussels with the UK Labour Party government&rsquo;s complicity in occupying Iraq. He also spoke on global labour solidarity, and gave the story of TGWU&rsquo;s Peter Booth intervening with a British-based company to reinstate two sacked trade union leaders in Thailand. They had been sacked in 2004 for trade union activities, and they turned to the ICEM for help. 
 
Booth not only won their reinstatement but together with Higgs and the ICEM, won a guarantee that trade union organisation would not be interfered with at their plant. In the year since the two leaders have been back at work, they, along with fellow workers grateful to Booth and the ICEM, have organised 11 of the 12 plants that this particular British company operates in Thailand.
<img height="300" alt="" src="" width="200" />
Peter Booth 
 

The TGWU Policy Conference is likely to be the last such biannual gathering since new forums and structures will result in TGWU&rsquo;s merger with Amicus to form Unite. The conference reviewed TGWU&rsquo;s aggressive organising project, demanded the withdrawal of British troops in Iraq, and took a tough stance on the abuse of labour agency workers in the UK. Delegates heard vivid stories of such abuses, including the real life situation of a Polish woman who was forced to live her car after her agency evicted her from living accommodations. 
 
The Policy Conference made history by electing the first and last woman to chair this year&rsquo;s proceedings. &ldquo;Same old story &hellip; as soon as a woman gets to the top, the job is abolished,&rdquo; joked Brenda Sanders. &ldquo;This union will be carrying forwards our finest traditions together with our colleagues in Amicus as we build Unite to a powerhouse in the world of work and the 21st century,&rdquo; she added.

Fred Higgs Receives Gold Patch Award from Transport &amp; General Workers in the UK

<img height="55" alt="" src="" width="138" />
A caustic strike by 800 miners of state-owned Solid Energy and its contractors was suspended by the union last week as &ldquo;good faith&rdquo; leading into government-mediated talks. The miners are represented by New Zealand ICEM affiliate Engineering, Paper, and Manufacturing Union (EPMU). 
 
But 200 miners took further strike action early on 13 July, just days after industrial actions were halted. Only this occurred not at Solid but at HWE Mining, an Australia contractor working Solid Energy&rsquo;s Rotowaro mine near Huntley. The miners&rsquo; issue there is over pay. HWE Mining has recently been bought by Leighton Contractors in Australia, and it also is a major contractor to the big mining houses.
<img height="191" alt="" src="" width="200" />
&nbsp; 
EPMU&rsquo;s HWE unit struck the Rotowaro mine for 20 hours on 29 June. Other rolling stoppages in this three-week-old dispute have happened at the Terrace Mine, the Stockton mine near Ngakawa, as well as at other Solid facilities. 
 
At the underground Spring Creek mine near Greymouth on 2 July, Australian workers doing development work at the site, refused to cross picket lines of EPMU members, thus ratcheting up pressure on the mining bosses. 
 
The industrial actions, which begun 26 June, are over a break-down in June of talks on renewal of the Mining Industry Multi-Employer Collective Agreement. The employer table consists of Solid Energy and some eight of its major contractors.
<img height="90" alt="" src="" width="180" />
 
EPMU Organising Director Ged O&rsquo;Connell said last week ago that miners would suspend their nationwide overtime ban and campaign of spontaneous rolling stoppages &ldquo;as a show of good faith, and miners at the Spring Creek and Terrace Mines agreed to suspend their eleven day strike&rdquo; in order for meaningful mediation to occur. 
 
The dispute became pitched in late June when management at the Spring Creek mine and the Terrace mine near Reefton refused to provide the customary transportation within the jobsites. The curtailment was retaliatory, since it was taken immediately after miners took their initial industrial actions. It also angered miners, due mainly to the fact that it stranded 42 workers in an unsafe environment. 
 
O&rsquo;Connell called it &ldquo;immature behaviour&rdquo; by Solid. A report quoted him as saying, &ldquo;Responsible employers do not put their workers&rsquo; safety at risk just so they can prove a point, whatever the circumstances might be.&rdquo; 
 
The 800 miners of Solid Coal and its contractors were also involved in a three-month standoff in 2005 with the employers. That ended with 5% pay raises won.

Union Halts Industrial Action to Talk in NZ’s Coal Fields, But EPMU Miners Walk Out on Contractor

Contents: 
 
1. Algeria - Drop-in Assistance Center for Sexual Harassment Victims 
2. Bayer Honored as Top Company for Working Mothers 
3. Women Expose Rapes by Military Regime 
4. Colombia - Message from Beatriz Chinchilla 
5. FNV Netherlands - Women and Development Project Evaluation Asia 
6. International Transport Federation ITF - Women's Conference 
7. Rwanda - Women's Leadership Spreads to Villages 
8. South Africa - New Equality Inspectors 
9. Spain - Workshop on Sharing Domestic Responsibilities 
10. United Nations Human Development Report 
11. UNIFEM - Progress of the World's Women 2005 
12. UN Division Dialogue on Violence Against Women 
13. United States - Women's Health Resources 
14. World Bank - Equity and Development 2006 
15. World March of Women 

1. Algeria - Drop-in Assistance Center for Sexual Harassment Victims 
 
The General Union of Algerian Workers, the country's largest labor body, has set up and funded a Drop-In Assistance Center for Female Sexual Harassment Victims. One of the goals of the institution is to break the silence around harassment, and another is to create a non-governmental organization which can tackle harassment more vigorously. However, relatively few of those who visit the center have taken the step of filing complaints against their aggressors. Women are afraid the crime is difficult to prove and they will end up losing their jobs and their livelihoods. In response to these difficulties the National Committee of Working Women and human rights groups have been conducting a campaign in recent months to convince women to take harassers to court.
 
2. Bayer Honored as Top Company for Working Mothers 
 
Bayer Corporation has been recognized by Working Mother magazine as one of 100 best companies in the United States for working mothers for the third time. Bayer was honored for its policies and programs in connection with childcare, culture, flexibility, parental leave, women's advancement, total compensation, work-life culture and family friendly programs. The complete list of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers is available on the magazine's site <a href="http://www.workingmother.com/mainstory.html">www.workingmother.com/mainstory.html</a> 
 
 
3. Burma - Women Expose Rapes by Military Regime 
 
Burmese female activists working to expose the military regime's systematic violence against women, including rape as a tool of counter-insurgency, won an international women's rights award from the Gruber Foundation. Women from the Shan Women's Action Network and the Women's League of Burma traveled to New York and Washington to raise awareness around the globe about human rights violations under the Burmese military dictatorship. In 2002 women in the activist network published the report License to Rape which detailed the incidents of rape since 1996 as part of the military's crackdown on ethnic dissidents. According to the report 83 percent of the rapes were committed by officers, and women who dared speak out were fined, detained, tortured or killed. Many women have fled the civil strife that embroils Burma and settled in neighboring countries. These groups have banded together in exile to help other survivors. Many initially joined student and ethnic organizations along Burma's borders in Thailand, India and Bangladesh. Later they started to focus on protecting female refugees and fighting to make women a respected part of the pro-democracy movement. Burma has kept Aung San Suu Kyi, a leading democratic opposition leader and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, under house arrest since she and her supporters were attacked by government-affiliated forces in 2003. She has been detained numerous times since 1990, when her party, the National League for Democracy, won 80 percent of parliamentary seats in the last elections held in Burma. 
 
 
4. Colombia - SINTRAELECOL Women's Committee - Message from Beatriz Chinchilla 
 
The national women's committee of SINTRAELECOL Colombia carried out the first regional meeting in the Atlantic coast region from 15 to 17 September, attended by 25 women from the electric power sector, mothers from the community, independent women and university workers, together with 5 men from other unions. The committee worked on free trade agreements, HIV/AIDS and work-related illnesses, gender and women's participation in politics, and social energy. 
 
 
5. FNV Netherlands - Women and Development Project Evaluation Asia 
 
FNV Netherlands has carried out extensive evaluation of its women and development projects with Asian trade unions. The report is available both in English and Spanish and can be requested from ICEM - ask <a href="mailto:carol.bruce@icem.org">carol.bruce@icem.org</a>. 
 
 
6. International Transport Federation ITF - Women's Conference. 
 
ICEM participated in the Women's Conference organized by the ITF on 22 and 23 September where the changing transport workforce in terms of gender and globalization was examined. The transport workforce is losing its character of male dominance in particular jobs, sometimes due to restructuring. In addition there are now less typical male operational transport jobs and more jobs that are in white-collar, technology-driven fields. In the ITF the fastest growing sector for women's jobs is road transport, although much of this employment is office-based. There are many overlaps between ICEM and ITF, including in the oil industry and more and more in logistics. ICEM and ITF have a strategic alliance in oil and gas. We will be working together on women in the oil industry and women offshore. 
 
 
7. Rwanda - Women's Leadership Spreads to Villages 
 
In Rwanda women hold nearly 49 percent of the seats in the lower house of parliament. Several women are cabinet members, including the minister of justice. A woman is deputy police chief and another heads the National Reconciliation Commission, which has been working to ease the country's deeply entrenched ethnic wariness lingering from genocide. Much of the women's rise in power is due to the absence of men. As a result of the conflict women outnumber men 7 to 1. Now as the country struggles to rebuild, political organizers are pushing for more women to take charge of local government in hopes of extending women's political gains into the future. Marte Sabre is head of the Rwandan Women's Caucus and runs country-wide workshops for women to teach lobbying and campaigning techniques as well as media relations. She says that while women are making strides in leadership, they still cope with maintaining family responsibilities and overcoming deeply ingrained gender stereotypes that keep men as head of the household. Domestic violence remains a real concern in Rwanda. Female politicians are aware of the importance of gender development for men. Before the genocide about 10 percent of women were literate. Now the figure is over 50 percent. The next step is to transform the numbers into real influence that will transform women's lives. Many women suffer the wounds of war, including rape and physical violence as well as the trauma of witnessing the deaths of family members. The spread of HIV/AIDS continues, with 13 percent of Rwandans infected, although many do not get tested. Life expectancy fell to 39 in 2003 from 45 in 1990. 
 
 
8. South Africa - New Equality Inspectors 
 
The South African Department of Labour is going to set up a roving team of inspectors to ensure compliance with the Employment Equity Act. The team should be in place by November. Inspectors are currently undergoing training and will undertake unannounced inspections on companies and government departments with an aim to ensuring compliance with legislation. The legislation requires employers with 50 or more employees to draw up equality plans, display them on notice boards, and discuss them with either workers or their representative trade unions. The team of inspectors will operate like a special task force. The Department has taken this step to improve enforcement of equity legislation. The Department has indicated that companies who fail to comply with the equity laws could be prevented from bidding for lucrative government contracts in the future. 
 
 
9. Spain - Workshop on Sharing Domestic Responsibilities 
 
The Pamplona local council will organize workshops for women and men geared to sharing domestic responsibilities. The point will be for women to learn to do the tasks generally done by men and vice versa. The women's workshop will include plumbing and heating, electricity, bricklaying and other domestic repairs. The men, on the other hand, will learn cooking and baking, cleaning and dishwashing, and mending clothes and ironing. The courses are free and open to 15 participants. 
 
 
10. United Nations Human Development Report 
 
The UN Development Programme UNDP released the 2005 Human Development Report on 6 September, a report well known for its human development index, a ranking of 177 countries on the basis of performance on health and education, in addition to per capita income. This year's report focuses on global aid, trade and security policies and their respective roles in lifting the world's poorest people out of poverty. It highlights the world's unfair trade practices which undermine the livelihoods of those who survive on less than 1 USD a day. Poverty is the obstacle to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The Human Development Report can be downloaded from http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2005 and is also available in other languages. 
 
 
11. UNIFEM - Progress of the World's Women 2005 
 
Progress of the World's Women 2005: Women, Work and Poverty makes the case for an increased focus on women's informal employment as a key pathway to reducing poverty and strengthening women's economic security. It provides the latest available data on the size and composition of the informal economy and compares national data on average earnings and poverty risk across different segments of the informal and formal workforces to show the links between employment, gender and poverty. It looks at the costs and benefits of informal work and their consequences for women's economic security. It also provides a strategic framework with good practice examples for how to promote decent work for women informal workers and shows why strong organizations of workers in the informal economy are vital to effective policy reforms. This should be a call to make poverty history. The report is available at www.unifem.org. 
 
 
12. UN Division Dialogue on Violence Against Women 
 
The United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women is hosting a three-week online dialogue to combat violence against women. It will go until 14 October 2005. The online discussion is intended to provide a forum for activists around the world to feed into and help inform the UN work to combat violence. Visit the website to see reports from expert groups on data and statistics, good practice, consultations on key issues and action, a guidance for NGO inputs and the UN Secretary General's report, including the outline of the study. <a href="http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/vaw/index.htm">www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/vaw/index.htm</a>. 
 
 
13. United States - Women's Health 
 
The US Department of Health and Human Services publishes a newsletter on women's health which can be accessed at www.womenshealth.gov. It is also available in Spanish at www.womenshealth.gov/Spanish/ 
 
 
14. World Bank - Equity and Development 2006 
 
Inequality of opportunity, both within and among nations, sustains extreme deprivation, results in wasted human potential and often weakens prospects for overall prosperity and economic growth, concludes the 2006 World Development Report, the World Bank's annual publication. To correct this situation and reduce poverty more effectively, Equity and Development recommends ensuring more equitable access by the poor to health care, education, jobs, capital, and secure land rights, among others. It also calls for greater equality of access to political freedoms and political power, breaking down stereotyping and discrimination, and improving access by the poor to justice systems and infrastructure. For more information about this report see www.econ.worldbank.org/wdr. 
 
 
15. World March of Women 
 
The World March of Women has published a document critical of the Millennium Development Goals, providing a feminist vision of the 8 goals. It makes suggestions to improve the indicators and to really eliminate poverty as well as violence against women. See www.marchemondiale.org/en/index.html - which is also available in French and Spanish. 
 

<hr />
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ICEM Women’s bulletin No. 5 – October 2005

Archive

North American Trade Unions Condemn Secret and Undemocratic Efforts to Map New Energy Future

UK’s TUC Congress Calls on Government to Adopt EU Directive

New Zealand Labour Pushing Law to Protect Contract Workers

IGBCE Youth Action Network Wins Training Positions

Contract Settled, But Problems Persist at Goodyear’s Slovenia Tyre Plant

Brazilian Workers of Belgian Chemicals Company Solvay Unite

Alcan Workers Win Commitment from Company at EWC

Fred Higgs Receives Gold Patch Award from Transport & General Workers in the UK

Union Halts Industrial Action to Talk in NZ’s Coal Fields, But EPMU Miners Walk Out on Contractor

ICEM Women’s bulletin No. 5 – October 2005

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