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<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBriefAlert.jpg" width="120" height="59" alt=""/>
By a 61% vote on 15 October, members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1005 in Hamilton, Ontario, ended U.S. Steel’s total chokehold on the livelihoods of 900 Canadian workers. Union members accepted a three-year labour agreement that ends a 49-week lockout at the steel mill. 
 
The agreement means workers will begin returning to jobs tomorrow, 18 October, for week-long health and safety training. The new pact is not altogether satisfactory because it creates a two-tier pension scheme with new hires placed in an inferior plan, and it ends cost-of-living indexing for 9,000 retirees, a key issue in the 14-month dispute.
<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1101.us steel. bill mahoney.jpg" width="218" height="163" alt=""/>
U.S. Steel pressured steelworkers into submission by first imposing the lockout on 7 November 2010, and then supplying its Canadian customers from the former Stelco mill in Hamilton with finished steel from American mills. In the end and after nearly one year, most of Local 1005’s members were on the verge of losing unemployment insurance funds, which coupled with the USW’s C$200-a-week strike benefit gave workers about two-thirds of their normal income. 
 
The agreement contains a C$3,000 ratification bonus, to be paid within 60 days of Saturday’s vote, and it also includes a lump sum pay-out of C$1,000 to retirees taking in less than C$1,500-per-month in lieu of annual pension indexing. Active workers will also see reduced cost-of-living annual increases. 
 
A profit-sharing plan for active employees will be implemented in the fourth quarter 2011. It will come from a pool of money totalling 6.5% above C$25 million in earnings from the Hamilton Works and could mean an added C$3,500 in income per worker. Union members will receive credited service for the 11 months of the lockout, meaning some workers will be closer to taking retirement. 
 
All workers will be recalled and they will be guaranteed 26 weeks of employment at 40 hours per week. That countered a U.S. Steel proposal from mid-September in which the company sought call-back language that would have left many workers without jobs long after ratification and the end of the lockout. 
 
In the new agreement, which takes effect today, new hires will not be included in the existing defined benefit pension scheme and placed in a union-administered plan that will see U.S. Steel contribute C$2.50-per-hour worked. 
 
On USW Local 1005’s website, union leaders said, “We have made a huge effort so that the members can make an informed vote on whether to accept or reject this contract. We wanted to ensure that they are fully aware of the situation they face and of the responsibilities towards not just themselves and their families, but also towards the retirees, the future generation of workers, their union and their community. This whole process has shown that there are serious challenges facing us going forward.”

Canadian Steelworkers Ratify U.S. Steel Pact, Lockout Ends

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ICEM affiliate Ammattiliitto Pro, the trade union of salaried workers in Finland, and Metalliliitto, the country’s Metalworkers’ Union, began a first wave of strike action this morning across Finland. Some 32,000 workers – 25,000 metalworkers and 7,000 represented by Ammattiliitto Pro – are on full work stoppages at 45 targeted companies. 
 
If national conciliation again fails next week and the days that follow, metalworkers and salaried staff at another 35 companies will join the strike on 7 November. Overtime bans are now in effect across Finland’s metal and technology sector covering 200,000 workers, including 10,000 members of the Federation of Professional and Managerial Staff (YTN). That union of top-level supervisors is expected to join the strike on 1 November if no deal is accomplished. 
 
“The strike is running well so far,” said Pro Vice President for the Industrial Sector Markku Polokangas, the salaried staff’s lead negotiator. “The amount of pressure on employers will increase in the coming days, we are certain.” Polokangas also said the union is organising support strikes among Pro’s membership in other sectors, such as telecommunications and chemicals. 
 
The two unions and the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries, or Teknologiateollisuus, the employers’ federation, were in marathon mediation sessions with National Conciliation Esa Lonka throughout the week. The latest session broke off last night and Metalliliitto's 38-member Council gave a near-unanimous mandate to begin the strike.
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/FINLAND Metalli.jpg" width="100" height="102"/>
Ammattiliitto Pro’s membership had earlier given leadership of the union a mandate for strike action. 
 
Although the two sides are in general agreement with the 4.3% wage increase over two years that Finnish social partners agreed to on 13 October, major discord in metal and tech negotiations center on how that amount will be split. Finnish employers want discretion on paying some workers far less than the 4.3%, while the unions want the increase given to everyone across the board. 
 
Another difference is over a three-day yearly training and education period. Employers seek the discretionary right to award it, while the unions want it across the board. Tied to that is the manner in which workers age 55 and above will receive the three-day training allocation. 
 
Among just some of the 45 corporations that saw strike action taken against them this morning at 06h00 were ABB, Boliden, Kone elevators and Kone cranes, the mining concern Talvivaara, the Metsa set of engineering companies, iron and steel maker Rautaruukki, Sandvik Mining and Construction, Valmet Automotive, Outotec, Patria aerospace and land companies, and Ruukki Metals and Engineering. 
 
On 7 November, among 35 other companies expected to join the strike will be a large number of workers employed by the Nokia-Siemens joint venture called NS Network.

Strikes Begin in Finnish Metal, Technology Sector

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Unions organising employees of the world’s largest coal producer, Coal India Ltd., achieved a significant hike in profit-linked annual bonuses for 300,000 members on 17 October. The annual bonus for permanent employees will now be INR21,000 (US$438), up from 17,000. 
 
Negotiators also achieved a bonus for contract and agency workers, who have never before received bonuses at Coal India. Unions compromised on their original 23,500 INR demand. 
 
The settlement, which also includes an INR1,000 INR Diwali gift to all workers, avoided a proposed three-day strike last week. 
 
When negotiations broke down at earlier stages, all five trade union confederations in India, INTUC, BMS, HMS, AITUC and CITU, jointly organised large actions, and jointly backed strike actions. Strong unity throughout the campaign is a positive development for all Indian workers. 
<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/B. K. Das.jpg" width="108" height="178" alt=""/>
INMF General Secretary B. K. Das
Talks were brokered by the Indian Coal Minister, between Coal India, and the ICEM affiliate Indian National Mineworkers’ Federation (INMF) and other unions, following a concerted campaign which included a one-day strike by 300,000 miners on 10 October at eight coal producing subsidiaries of Coal India. In reaching settlement, all parties agreed to seek to finalise negotiations for the next national annual wage agreement by 31 December 2011. 
 
Coal India’s decision to reward shareholders with a 39% dividend pay-out on profits strengthened the workers’ resolve with all 400,000 employees standing to share only 13% of all profits. 
 
Coal India is India’s largest employer. Last financial year, it posted a 12.9% (US$2.4 billion) jump in net profit. 
 
There was more positive labour news in India on 17 October, as the government’s Minister of Labour and Employment, Mallikarjun Kharge, told the Standing Labour Committee in New Delhi that the Labour Ministry is making efforts to extend all benefits now available to permanent workers to contract workers. Specifically, unions campaigned for amending the Contract Labour Act of 1970 so that contract workers would be automatically absorbed into permanent employment, especially when contract labour is blocked. 
 
The Minister also gave positive indications on the need for a National Labour Code for minimum wages, maximum hours of work, and minimum standards of safety and health at the workplace.

Strike Averted as Indian Coal Miners Win Improved Bonuses

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Four French unions, led by the CGT and the CFDT, carried out four-hour strikes at Lafarge cement plants today, 6 June, in protest to the company’s intended plans to shut its Frangey cement facility near Lézinnes, L’Yonne province, some 170 kilometres southeast of Paris. Workers began blocking trucks this morning at the Frangey plant and work stoppages were occurring at other French Lafarge sites in support of the 74 workers who could lose their jobs. 
 
Besides CGT and CFDT, FO and CFTC endorsed the industrial actions at some 11 Lafarge plants in France. The CGT and CFDT are the unions with membership at the Frangey plant. 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/FranceFCE-CFDT-NEW100.jpg" width="100" height="93"/>
Lafarge announced on 25 May at an extraordinary Works Council meeting that it would close the plant in three stages between now and the end of 2012. However, the initial redundancies – expected in August – will likely reduce employment to only 20. The company used over capacity and the small market that the plant serves as reasons for closure. 
 
Lafarge also said environmental factors were part of the decision, although the facility has received environmental certification. The Frangey plant produces 300,000 tons of cement annually and a system of cogeneration covers 50% of the plant’s energy needs. 
 
The company said workers would be offered a chance to transfer to other Lafarge facilities. CGT delegate Jean-Claude Rives said the decision is unjustified because the plant provides a major benefit both in wages and in cement production to the L’Yonne department. 
 
Twenty contractors also work at Frangey and they likely will lose their jobs. The French unions left open the possibility that further job actions would occur to protest the announced closure.

French Unions Conduct 4-Hour Strike at Lafarge Today

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The newly-elected President of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union (BNP), Nikolai Zimin, sent his proposals on cooperation and social dialogue to the directors of enterprises in which BNP unions have membership and to leaders of local administrations recently. Most enterprises responded. 
 
Zimin, elected to head BNP in April, told of his first steps to establish contact with both employers and government officials: 
 
“We are willing to work within the frameworks of a social partnership. The first thing that has been done after our Congress was to send letters to the employers and to local authorities in the regions. We offered our cooperation as a partner.” 
<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Belarus BNP President Nikoy Zimin.jpg" width="181" height="141" alt=""/>
Nikolai Zimin
As reported by Zimin, positive responses came from the companies Belshina and Naftan. He said the BNP has already met the president of the Soligorsk Regional executive committee, Alexander Rimashevsky, and the acting director general of Belaruskali, Valery Kiriyenko. On 25 May, the BNP met with the deputy chairman of Belneftekhim, Anton Komyakov, on the implementation of a collective agreement by employers and trade unions. 
 
“We plan to discuss the positions in the agreement, which, in our opinion, contain several shortcomings,” said Zimin. 
 
“During the meetings, we exchanged views on a wide range of issues of mutual interest. We discussed the prospects of possible cooperation,” Zimin added. “During the meeting with the Soligorsk Regional executive committee led by Rimashevsky, we did not discuss the issue of registration of the primary company, created in a sewing factory, but we will deal this issue in due course. We discussed with him the issue of supplementary medical insurance for employees. Rimashevsky has assured us that the unions will not be deprived of attention, dialogue will continue, and all issues will be resolved at the negotiating table.” 
 
BNP hopes to get answers on proposals on cooperation from the companies Grodno Azot and Mozyr refineries.

Belarus Unions Submit Social Agenda to Employers

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The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) called on the Gulf state of Qatar to do more to uphold workers’ rights as it begins a building boom for the 2022 World Cup. In a report issued on the last day of May entitled “Hidden Faces of the Gulf Miracle,” the ITUC, along with the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), say hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, mostly from Asia, work in construction across the Gulf states. 
 
But, the report states, they are burdened by huge debts to employment agencies in their home countries and prohibitions on trade unions in Gulf states such as Qatar. The report questions the safety practices in constructing the stadiums and infrastructure for the games, as well as inhumane living conditions. 

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/0912.bwi.ambet.yuson.png" width="101" height="101"/>
BWI General Secretary Ambet Yuson
“Just 6% of the working population of Qatar is Qatari,” said BWI General Secretary Ambet Yuson. “Their economy and their ability to deliver the World Cup are totally dependent on severe exploitation of migrant labour, which we believe to be barely above forced labour conditions.” 
 
Officials connected to the ruling family in Qatar have taken note of the report and have promised to investigate the labour concerns. The <a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org/hidden-faces-of-the-gulf-miracle,9144.html ">full report</a> can be found here.

ITUC, BWI Question Qatar on Workers’ Rights

ICEM Women’s Bulletin: Will and Conquests 

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The ICEM condemns the cowardly assassination of Colombian mineworkers’ leader Rafael Tobón Zea on 26 July. Tobón was shot three times and killed by paramilitaries near his home in the city of Segovia, Antioquía department, about 220 kilometres north of Medellín. 
 
Rafael Tobón, 40, was a leader of the metal and mineworkers’ union Sintramienegética, where he was a founding member of that union at Frontino Gold Mines Ltd. He worked there for 15 years and was still assisting discharged miners of Frontino after the Medellín-based company liquidated and its underground mines were bought last year by Modoro Resources Ltd. of Canada and Gran Colombia Gold S.A. 
<img src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1107.sintramienergetica inside story.jpg" width="358" height="75" alt=""/>
He was working in a smaller gold mine in Antioquía department and organising workers there when he was killed last week. Sintramienegética had reported threats to its leaders that were believed to be tied to the contested takeover of Frontino by Modora and Gran Colombia, and the sacking of all miners. 
 
The ICEM calls on the government of Colombia and the authorities in Segovia and Antioquía state to spare no resource in apprehending and bringing to justice the perpetrators of this heinous crime. Let there be no impunity for the miscreants of Colombia who take the lives of trade unionists in cold blood.

Mineworkers’ Leader, Rafael Tobón, Gunned Down in Antioquía, Colombia

<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/image_aids_ribbon.gif" width="40" height="40"/>
In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on a survey on HIV/AIDS workplace policies and on the call for proposals for Round 11 by the Global Fund. 
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Workplace Policies: Survey Reveals Progress by ICEM Affiliates 
 
Since 2005, the ICEM has implemented a comprehensive HIV and AIDS programme. National coordinators acquired knowledge and skills; hundreds of peer educators were trained; tens of thousands of workers and members of the communities attended awareness meetings and VCT campaigns and queued up for being tested and counselled. At a time when still more than two new infections occur for every additional person receiving antiretroviral treatment, prevention is a priority. 
 
Although no baseline information exists, it can be assumed from anecdotal evidence that, with the exception of South Africa, in 2005 only some HIV/AIDS policies unilaterally drafted by companies existed. While more workplace policies and HIV and AIDS clauses in collective agreements have now been concluded, progress in this respect is still unsatisfactory. The ICEM has made a model workplace policy available for its affiliates. This aspect of the HIV and AIDS work of the ICEM and its affiliates has to be intensified. 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/ICEMlogos/ICEM_AIDSlogopale100.jpg" width="100" height="132"/>
No doubt, non-discrimination is the key to any strategy to fight HIV and AIDS at the workplace. Workplace policies negotiated and agreed by unions and employers are a first step. The effectiveness of such policies depends on employer commitment and the ability of a union to monitor implementation of the policy. While such policies commit the parties morally, their implementation can still be weak and workplace policies, as a rule, cannot be legally enforced. Therefore, the establishment of clauses in collective agreements provides one of the strongest measures to deal with HIV and AIDS at the workplace. 
 
A preliminary survey conducted during the recent African regional workshop for nine sub-Saharan African countries revealed that affiliates have started to engage employers or sectoral employers’ bodies, such as Chambers of Mines, in discussions and negotiations to conclude bilaterally acceptable policies and draw up programmes. 
 
To give but a few examples: in Ghana, major mining houses have HIV/AIDS workplace policies. Although some were initially drawn up unilaterally, the Ghana Mine Workers’ Union (GMWU) is now involved in the implementation. In Mauritius, collective bargaining agreements with ten companies, out of 36 which are bargaining partners of the ICEM affiliate Chemical, Manufacturing, and Connected Trades Employees’ Union (CMCTEU), contain non-discriminatory clauses. Affiliates Associated Mine Workers’ of Zimbabwe (AMWZ) and the Zimbabwe Energy Workers’ Union (ZEWU) have negotiated and concluded industry-wide HIV/AIDS workplace policies for the mining and energy sectors. 
 
It has to be seen how further commitments to include specific HIV and AIDS clauses in collective bargaining agreements will bear results. Employers’ awareness of the threat of a spread of HIV infections to their operations helps. The existence of a national legislative framework is conducive. And union strength, leadership commitment, and membership support are absolute prerequisites. 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/image_aids_ribbon.gif" width="40" height="40"/>
Global Fund: Call for Proposals for Round 11, Change in Grant Architecture 
 
The call for proposals for grants from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will open on 15 August. Deadline for submitting proposals is 15 December. This is later than expected and poses some problems. As decisions concerning Round 11 funding will only be made by the meeting of the Global Fund Board in 2012, countries which have grants expiring would need special extension funding to avoid interruptions, especially of treatment. 
 
Furthermore, new eligibility criteria apply for Round 11. Under the “history of funding” criterion, 78 countries, which have a history of recent funding for one or more of the diseases, are ineligible to apply in Round 11 for those components. 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/Global%20Fund%20logo.gif" width="250" height="53"/>
The Global Fund is also going to implement new grant architecture. It is designed to streamline and improve both the applications process and programme implementation. One of the ways it does so is by consolidating programmes and grants so that there is only one agreement per principal recipient (PR) per disease or health systems strengthening (HSS) programme. 
 
Grant consolidation involves merging two or more existing grants for the same PR and disease into one. Anytime two or more existing grants have been consolidated into one, a single-stream-of-funding (SSF) agreement is signed with the PR. SSF agreements are very similar to the grant agreements that have been used up to now. The most significant differences are (a) the provisions for periodic reviews (replacing Phase 2 reviews); and (b) the fact that the SSF grant agreements will be revised after each periodic review and whenever additional funding for the PR is approved in a future round. Under the new grant architecture, the periodic reviews will be carried out at the same time for all SSF agreements for a given disease/HSS programme, regardless of how many different PRs are involved. 
 
By the time proposals for Round 11 are approved, the Global Fund will be well on its way to implementing the new grant architecture. Grants will be replaced by single-stream-of-funding. All proposals submitted for Round 11 have to be consolidated proposals. For all of the proposals approved in Round 11, single-stream-of-funding agreements will be signed with PRs. In most cases, a single-stream-of-funding agreement will cover not only new initiatives included in the proposal, but also all of the PR’s active “grants” for that disease. By the time the Round 12 single-stream-of-funding agreements have all been signed, the old grant agreements will be an endangered species. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 152 of 5 July. GFO is a free service of Aidspan <a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>; to receive GFO send an email to <a href="mailto:receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>) 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/image_aids_ribbon.gif" width="40" height="40"/>
Nepal: Migration Main Factor for HIV Prevalence 
 
HIV prevalence in Achham is estimated at 1.7%, but many residents, who have never left the remote western district, know HIV only as “Bombay [Mumbai] disease.” Naming HIV after India’s bustling commercial city is considered the most logical explanation for what happened to men who were healthy when they migrated for work and returned home years later sick. The district has supplied cheap migrant labour to cities such as Mumbai for years. 
 
Although HIV prevalence in Nepal’s general population is a low, 0.5%, the country has been experiencing a concentrated epidemic among high-risk groups such as seasonal migrant workers. The government found that in 2008, 41% of all HIV cases in the country were among labour migrants. 
 
Testing and public awareness for HIV are said to be increasing in Achham, where nearly 70% of households migrate at some stage, according to the ILO. An inclusive maternal care programme at district hospitals, which provide women with US$20 if they give birth on-site, has helped control mother-to-child transmission of HIV; the Achham District Hospital reports only 42 cases of transmission since 2005. 
 
(Source: PlusNews, 27 July) 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/image_aids_ribbon.gif" width="40" height="40"/>
Swaziland Crisis Affects Treatment 
 
Unease is mounting in Swaziland after reports that supplies of antiretrovirals are dangerously low. Resources have never been adequate to tackle the world’s highest HIV infection rate in the tiny kingdom, but in recent months, the cash-poor government and dwindling donor funding have led to increasing panic among people living with HIV. One in four Swazis between the ages of 15 and 49 is living with HIV – at 26.1%, the world's highest prevalence – in a population of about one million. 
 
More than 64,000 Swazis were receiving ARVs by the end of June, a number expected to climb to about 69,000 by the end of July, according to the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit at the Ministry of Health. However, 200,000 Swazi adults are believed to be HIV-positive. 
 
Swaziland is in the grips of an acute financial crisis. Social services have been cut and public servants are facing looming retrenchments. The government is the country's biggest employer. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture last month reported a 29,000-million-tonne shortfall in the annual maize requirement – the country’s staple food – of a total of about 114,000 million tonnes. 
 
The Southern African Customs Union (SACU), comprising Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland, applies a common set of tariffs and disproportionately distributes the revenue to member states. It has provided an economic lifeline to Lesotho and Swaziland, in particular, which have small impoverished populations, large numbers of HIV-infected people, and few or no natural resources. SACU revenue accounted for about 66% of the Swazi government’s income two years ago. Following a reorganization of customs union receipts, it will only make up 32% of this year’s budget. 
 
Government has requested financial assistance from South Africa, which is obliged to consider the loan to avoid a humanitarian crisis on its doorstep and a flood of economic refugees. But Swazi NGOs, led by the Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations, and organizations in South Africa, such as the national trade union centre, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), are calling for political reforms to be linked to any financial aid. Swaziland is also the last absolute monarchy in the world. 
 
(Source: PlusNews, Mbabane 18 July) 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/image_aids_ribbon.gif" width="40" height="40"/>
Debt Swap Agreement Benefits Global Fund 
 
The Global Fund has brokered debt swap agreements before, but not like the latest one between Germany and Egypt. 
 
Under the Global Fund’s Debt2Health mechanism, creditors (i.e., countries that are owed money) may agree to write off a portion of the debt owed to them, on the condition that the debtor countries (i.e., the countries that owe money) invest an agreed-upon amount in local programmes approved by the Global Fund. Until recently, four Debt2Health agreements had been concluded – three involving Germany and, respectively, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Cote d’Ivoire; and one between Australia and Indonesia. 
 
In June 2011, Germany agreed to write off €6.6 million of Egyptian debt. What makes this agreement unique is that Egypt has agreed to contribute half of the €6.6 million to Global Fund programmes to fight malaria in Ethiopia. This is the first time that a debt swap arrangement under the Debt2Health mechanism has involved reinvestment in programmes in a country other than the original debtor. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 154 of 25 July. GFO is a free service of Aidspan <a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>; to receive GFO send an email to <a href="mailto:receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>) 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/image_aids_ribbon.gif" width="40" height="40"/>
New Hope in Fight Against AIDS 
 
Aids drugs designed to treat HIV can also be used to reduce dramatically the risk of infection among heterosexual couples; two studies conducted in Africa have shown for the first time. The findings add to growing evidence that the type of medicines prescribed since the mid-1990s to treat people who are already sick may also hold the key to slowing or even halting the spread of the disease. 
 
The research involved 4,758 “discordant” couples, i.e. in which one partner was HIV positive and the other negative, in Kenya and Uganda and more than 1,200 sexually active men and women in Botswana. The studies found that daily Aids drugs reduced infection rates by an average of at least 62% when compared with a placebo. 
 
The idea of such "pre-exposure prophylaxis," known as PrEP, has gained traction in the past year, following results of other research showing a fall in infection rates among gay men taking Aids drugs. 
 
(Source: aljazeera.net, 14 July and Health Day News, 13 July) 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/image_aids_ribbon.gif" width="40" height="40"/>
News from Global Unions 
 
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF – <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>) in its latest HIV/AIDS Update 110 of 1 and 15 July, reports on a long-term HIV/AIDS workplace education project in cooperation with the National Union of Seafarers of Sri Lanka, which will cover all sectors represented by the union in Colombo Port, as well as four seafarers’ and maritime schools in Sri Lanka. The programme is funded by UNAIDS and the ILO and the UNFPA will provide technical guidance. 
 
In anticipation of the next call for proposals for funding for Round 11 by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) issued a circular to all its affiliates and to the Global Union Federations. The circular gives details for a step-by-step approach to include workplace-related components in proposals submitted by Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM). As cited above, Round 11 will open on 15 August; the deadline for submitting national proposals is 15 December. 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/image_aids_ribbon.gif" width="40" height="40"/>
Five Years Ago: From the August/September 2006 Issue (No. 11/12) 
 
The first issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin was published in October 2005. In current issues, we refer to an article from the same month five years ago and reflect on developments. 
 
In the August/September 2006, we reported on the 16th International AIDS Conference which was held in Toronto from 14-18 August 2006. Over 20,000 scientists, politicians and activists participated in the event. The labour movement was well represented, highlighting the impact of HIV and AIDS on the workplace and outlining the role of workers in fighting the pandemic. 
 
Prior to the Conference, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) organised a two-day labour forum with the support of the ILO. The forum convened union representatives from all over the world who expressed their support for intensifying the involvement of trade unionists and unions and to build strong coalitions with civil society organisations. On the occasion of the labour forum the CLC released a new report, “Labour Fights AIDS,” which demonstrates that unions are at the fore in the global fight against AIDS 
 
The ICEM abstract written for the Conference was accepted for a poster exhibition. The ICEM was also invited to speak on “The importance of social dialogue and workers’ participation in public/private partnerships” at a Satellite Meeting Session with the theme “From the workplace to the community – Co-investment to access prevention, treatment and care in public/private partnerships.” 
 
Several broader trends emerged from the Conference. Although still inadequate, treatment is becoming more available. However, those on antiretrovirals (ARVs) remain infected and require treatment indefinitely. This requires a re-emphasis on prevention. Despite many years of research at huge cost, a vaccine has not yet been found. 
 
Also noted was that prevention techniques away from consent-requiring condom use focus on female protection to empower women to take control. 
 
In that issue, we also reported on the 2nd Global Fund Partnership Forum in Durban in July 2006 and on the renewed commitment made by the G8 meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, to tackle HIV/AIDS and to create a regular monitoring of its work. 
<img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/image_aids_ribbon.gif" width="40" height="40"/>
This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter – How to Subscribe 
 
To subscribe to the e-bulletin, send an email to <a href="mailto:press@icem.org">press@icem.org</a>. Please put “subscribe ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin” in the subject line.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 71/72, August/September 2011

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An unbroken chain of solidarity and staunch resolve by all 157 members of Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Local 2228 staved off contract concessions in Canada recently. On 8 August, union members ratified a three-year agreement with Sandvik Materials Technology Canada, a subsidiary of Swedish industrial giant Sandvik AB, with an 80.6% vote, ending a successful strike that began on 13 July. 
 
On 9 and 10 August, CAW members returned to their Arnprior, Ontario, factory knowing they bested the company’s mid-July “last, best offer” of pension reductions, cost-of-living (COLA) rollbacks, and contract language deletions. After Sandvik made some modifications in its original proposals in talks on 29 July, changes that CAW members saw as insufficient and which they rejected. The company returned to bargaining in early August with more revisions that essentially left a prior labour agreement intact. 
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<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1108.caw sandvik.jpg" width="295" height="159"/> 
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<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; COLOR: rgb(255,0,0)">26 July Protest in Mississauga (CAW President Ken Lewenza, kneeling, center, giving an early prompt how strike would end)</div>
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There will be no changes to the roll-in effect of the COLA, no changes to job security, and pension benefits will remain the same. In addition, there were some benefit improvements and strengthened contract language regarding layoffs. A 1% wage increase is also due at the beginning of the third year. 
 
“I’m humbled by the level of support the membership ha shown in their first-even strike, in the facility’s more than 30-year existence,” said CAW Eastern Ontario Area Director Harry Ghadban. Local 2228 Unit Chairman Derek Mosley said: “We could not have done it without the unwavering support from the membership and the support from the national union. 
 
“We are proud of the solidarity of our membership in fighting back concessions and holding tough until a negotiated settlement was reached.” 
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<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/1108.caw sandvik 2.jpg" width="215" height="161"/> 
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On 26 July, hundreds of CAW members turned out to manifest at Sandvik’s Canadian headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario. 
 
And on Local 2228’s blog after the 8 August ratification vote, one union member stated: “We can all hold our heads high as we return to work knowing we sent a message to management saying we will not accept your final offer, we go back on our terms. I cannot express how proud I am.” 
 
Sandvik Materials Technology in Arnprior manufactures stainless steel and nickel alloy speciality tubing used in the nuclear, aerospace, automotive, and oil and gas industries.

Canadian Auto Workers Win 27-Day Strike at Sandvik Metals

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