English

Español

Français

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action Plan 2025-2029

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Campaigns

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Women

Youth

LGBTQI+

Gender, equality, diversity and inclusion (GEDI)

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected Officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Press

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The ICEM and the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) jointly stated on 15 October that they reject the recommendation by the European Commission (EC) to establish a central set of pan-European safety standards for the offshore oil and gas industries. 
 
The two Global Union Federations (GUFs) were responding to EC Energy Commissioner G&uuml;nther Oettinger&rsquo;s rolled back recommendation for a &ldquo;centralised and prescriptive&rdquo; set of safety standards on 13 October. The recommendation follows the European Parliament&rsquo;s rejection of a moratorium on deepwater drilling on 7 October by a 323-285 vote. 
 
The moratorium proposal was in response to BP&rsquo;s Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico. Both the ICEM and ITF, as well as the industry group Oil and Gas UK, believe that a uniform safety regime imposed by the EC would infringe on union-management best practices already in place in the North Sea. 
<img alt="" src="" width="157" height="132" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="125" height="144" />
Lars Mhyre and Norrie McVicar
Responding to the recommendation that member states should consider suspending offshore licensing in advance of possible new EU-wide safety standards, Norrie McVicar, Chair of the ITF&rsquo;s Offshore Task Force Group (OTFG), said: &ldquo;This is the wrong position to take and the wrong time to take it. The EC should be protecting the safety gains made in the UK offshore sector, not eroding them by dumbing them down to a lowest common denominator.&rdquo; 
 
Said Lars Myhre, ICEM Energy Sector Chair, &ldquo;You can never be too safe and we would never condone complacency, but the British and Norwegian sectors are generally good examples of best practice. They should be studied, learned from and, where necessary, improved. They shouldn&rsquo;t be remodeled into a one size fits all &ndash; but not very well &ndash; Euro model.&rdquo; 
 
McVicar added: &ldquo;One very positive feature of the UK industry is OSPRA, the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group, which brings together regulators, industry bodies and trade unions such as Unite and the RMT in a joint effort to ensure that we get the oil and gas we need as safely and cleanly as possible. It&rsquo;s that kind of good practice that we&rsquo;d like to see adopted by the rest of the global oil and gas sector, not weakened here in Europe.&rdquo;

ICEM, ITF Reject EC’s Common Safety Prescription in Offshore Oil, Gas

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
IndustriEnergi (IE), ICEM&rsquo;s strong Norwegian energy and chemicals affiliate, awarded its first Arthur Svensson International Award for Trade Union Rights to Wellington Chibebe, the Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). The award came at the opening of IE&rsquo;s Congress in Oslo on 11 October. 
 
Chibebe won the award as one of the trade unionists leading the courageous struggle in Zimbabwe for workers&rsquo; rights. IE&rsquo;s Arthur Svensson Award is named after a longtime leader of Norsk Kjemisk Forbund, the Norwegian Chemical Workers&rsquo; Association, which merged in 2006 with NOPEF to form IE. 
<img src="" width="175" height="140" alt="" />
Wellington Chibebe, ZCTU General Secretary
Chibebe told African radio upon wining the award that Zimbabwe&rsquo;s unions must continue fighting for its rightful &ldquo;democratic space&rdquo; in Zimbabwe&rsquo;s economic society. The global significance to the award, said Chibebe, is that the world now knows that Zimbabwe has appeared before the ILO Standards Committee every year since 2002, &ldquo;culminating in the commission on enquiry which came to Zimbabwe last year and a report that moved the government to address the problems that have been facing unions.&rdquo; 
 
Chibebe and others in Zimbabwe have been effective global voices against the brutish trade union abuses that occur in the country. In May 2008, he and ZCTU President Lovemore Matombo were locked up and charged with an absurd &ldquo;communicating falsehoods&rdquo; complaint against the state. In September 2006, Chibebe was beaten in police custody after being one of some 200 trade unionists seeking satisfactory work rights. He began his trade union career in 1988 as an apprentice railway worker. He became president of the railway union and then joined ZCTU in 2001. 
 
In praise of Chibebe&rsquo;s award last week, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) said in a statement that he has &ldquo;courage, passion, and firmness of principle. We believe the African trade union movement in particular and the global trade union movement in general has an asset in him and we are yet to see more of his outstanding contributions as we intensify our struggle for justice.&rdquo; 
 
The Arthur Svensson International Award for Trade Union Rights comes with a cash prize of NOK 500,000 (&euro;60,000).

Zimbabwe’s Wellington Chibebe Receives First Norwegian Labour Prize

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
Proposed amendments to Zimbabwe&rsquo;s Labour Relations Act have rattled the country&rsquo;s employers&rsquo; grouping, but the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) is having none of it. Bosses&rsquo; hue and cry over fairness changes to the labour code doesn&rsquo;t add up, union leaders say. 
 
The controversy is over ILO draft recommendations regarding severance packages, contract workers&rsquo; rights, and other common social entitlements. The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CFI) met the press in the southern African nation on 11 October, and told them the changes would be burdensome and costly. 
 
ZCTU President Lovemore Matombo countered by saying enterprises covered by the CFI have been paying the lowest wages in southern Africa for a long time. &ldquo;Those who are against this idea are people who have gotten used to profiteering,&rdquo; Matombo told the Harare Herald. 
<img src="" width="150" height="136" alt="" />
ZCTU President Lovemore Matombo
The ILO&rsquo;s review of Zimbabwe&rsquo;s labour law recommends establishment of a minimum set of retrenchment criteria, including education and re-training, and includes severance benefits and other social rights for contract workers, as long as they were on the job for three years. The CFI said severance payments to contract workers would not be sustainable for businesses to survive. 
 
The recommendations include a number of fair-minded social improvements, including paid sick leave, and specifically, revising maximum vacation leave from 30 calendar days to 30 work days. An amendment also calls for daily breast-feeding by working women to be increases from one to two hours for up to18 months. 
 
At the 11 October press briefing, the CFI said the revisions would stifle enterprise and said Zimbabwe&rsquo;s workers must &ldquo;accept the concept of delayed gratification.&rdquo; The CFI argued that business is not just about paying workers, but also earning dividends. 
 
The ICEM supports the progressive social amendments being introduced in Zimbabwe, and stands with the ZCTU and its own affiliates.

Zimbabwe’s Unions, Employers Clash on Labour Code Revisions

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
On 29 September, ten million bitter people demonstrated across Europe. They protested government imposed austerity measures brought on by a financial crisis not their fault, or the fault of those now feeling the pain from crisis-caused social cuts. 
 
In the weeks since, that bitterness and anger has not gone away. In fact, it is manifesting itself day by day through differing circumstances in different countries. What the angst and anger have in common from one country to another is the feeling that those that caused the pain do not share in it now. 
 
Perhaps nowhere is the anger more pronounced than in France, where last week&rsquo;s strikes at refineries, pipelines, shipping, and transportation centres were compared to strikes in 2006. The country could be literally shut down this week if the strikes &ndash; focused on President Nicolas Sarkozy&rsquo;s pension reforms &ndash; continue. Prior 24-hour strikes were extended to continuous strikes last week, and another mass day of action is set for tomorrow, 19 September. 
<img src="" width="174" height="249" alt="" />
The CFDT said 3.5 million workers taken to the streets by mid-week last. Although Sarkozy has pushed through portions of pension reform, he still seeks legislation to increase the minimum pension age from 60 to 62 and increase the age for a full retirement package from 65 to 67. As the strikes grew throughout last week, a poll showed 69% of French citizens support the strikes. 
 
In Romania on 13 October, Finance Ministry workers stopped work in a spontaneous strike and occupied the Finance Ministry overnight. They were joined by public-sector workers from the Work, Heath, and Post Office, all protesting elimination of bonus payments from July, totaling between &euro;100-150 per month. That accounts for up to 60% of public-sector salaries. 
 
Continual protests in the Central European nation have now had an effect. Late in the week, the finance minister agreed to restore the bonuses for August and September. And a pension reform bill that would have lifted the retirement age for both men and women was sent back to Parliament for amendments because of &ldquo;people mobilisation&rdquo; and pressure from trade unions. The protests could become even bigger this week, since the menace behind Romania&rsquo;s austerity cuts &ndash; the International Monetary Fund &ndash; is scheduled for an evaluation visit on 22 October. 
 
In the Slovak Republic on 12 October, thousands of trade unions marched in Bratislava and assembled in the city&rsquo;s SNP Square, protesting the government&rsquo;s harsh reductions in the 2011 budget. The measures include cutting one-seventh of the entire state budget, including cutting the pay of all public-sector workers by 10%. The Confederation of Trade Unions (KOZ) said the average family of four throughout the country will see a reduction in income of &euro;400 a year, and instead calls for higher taxation on dividend earnings and granting relief measures to ordinary citizens. 
 
In the Czech Republic, trade unions are on strike alert today, anticipating the worst scenario on how a 10% pay cut in across the public sector will be implemented. A poll in the Czech Republic revealed that 58% of people polled believe the austerity measures will result in slower economic recovery. On 21 September, 40,000 Czech public-sector workers took to the streets because of the pay cuts. 
 
In Athens, Greece, protesters that are owed up to two year&rsquo;s back pay barricaded themselves inside the Acropolis and had to be removed by police force. Other tense confrontations appear to be hotting up for Slovenia, Portugal, and the UK. 
 
Instead of pension reform, wage cuts, and budget curtailments, trade unions see jobs and economic growth as the catapult to recovery. Unions bear witness that most victims of austerity cuts are workers and the working poor, victims of an economic crisis set off by bankers and traders and aided then by the same neo-liberal governmental policies that now call out for social cuts.

Deep Anger to Austerity Continues Across Europe

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
As the world rejoiced last week on the release of 33 trapped miners in Chile, questions arise over a chain of events at Campa&ntilde;ia Minera San Esteban Primera&rsquo;s San Jos&eacute; copper mine leading up to the massive 5 August roof collapse and rock slide that entombed miners for a record 69 days. 
 
While Chile President Sebasti&aacute;n Pi&ntilde;era basks in the global spotlight of a heroic rescue marshaled by the world&rsquo;s very best mine engineering and technical expertise, answers to those questions likely will remain hazy. Pi&ntilde;era has pledged there will be no impunity for mine owners and has commissioned an enquiry that will report findings by 22 November. 
 
But the very make-up of that commission explains just one of the structural deficiencies inherent in Chilean mine safety: no trade union representatives will be involved. Chile&rsquo;s mining unions say the government for decades has been unwilling to engage in tri-partite dialogue to improve mine safety, telling workers&rsquo; representatives their job is to negotiate over economic issues, not to participate on health and safety matters. 
<img alt="" src="" width="175" height="247" />
The unions say government officials and mine industrial representatives have consistently refused initiatives to discuss ratification of ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, because it would dislodge strict industry-government control. One trade union leader told the ICEM that with vast private-sector investment already in Chile&rsquo;s mining industry, he has witnessed a steady stream of World Trade Organisation (WTO) people, but never a representative from the ILO. 
 
The facts behind San Esteban&rsquo;s shoddy safety record must come to light to accurately illuminate the structural barriers blocking safe mine practices in Chile. As early as 2004, the single entity trade union at San Jos&eacute;, Union No. 2 of Compania Minera San Esteban, presented legal challenges in courtrooms to close the mine because of unsafe conditions. Those went unheeded. 
 
In January 2007, following a rock slide that killed a worker, the National Service of Geology and Mining (SERNAGEOMIN) did order closure of the mine, but a replacement supervisor for the agency ordered it re-opened several months later. Reportedly, the order to reopen came because of political pressure. 
 
The re-opening was conditional, with the two owners promising to construct a second escape route, improve ventilation, and make other capital improvements inside a mine prone to rock falls after blasting. None of the promises were carried out and no inspections were made. 
 
Six months before 5 August, San Esteban&rsquo;s safety consultant resigned when he couldn&rsquo;t deal with the multitude of safety infractions. He spoke of roof meshing not in place, roof bolts being shorter and interspaced further than standard requirements, and huge rocks not cleared following blasting. In short, all the prerequisites contained in ILO Convention 176 &ndash; a second exit route, regular inspections, trade union consultation, regulatory bodies with the authority to shut and keep shut unsafe mines, workers&rsquo; rights to refuse unsafe work &ndash; were missing in the San Jos&eacute; mine, and no doubt in countless other Chilean mines. 
 
(To view ICEM&rsquo;s global campaign for the ratification of ILO Convention 176, click <a href="/en/209-ILO ">here</a>.) 
 
What is for certain is Pi&ntilde;era, Mining Minister Laurence Golborne, and others, including leaders of state-run copper company Codelco, did assemble a world-class operation that successfully rescued the 33 San Jos&eacute; miners. Chile is a world-class minerals producer. But there is little question that procedural safety processes at the country&rsquo;s mine sites are far from world class. 
<img alt="" src="" width="80" height="82" />
In the aftermath of the recue, scores of ICEM affiliates issued public statements. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) congratulated the Chileans &ldquo;on the successful rescue operation&rdquo; and said that since expert technical aid came from South Africa, South African miners should expect more at home in terms of fewer mine deaths. 
 
&ldquo;Over 90 mine workers have died from January to date and the mining industry in South Africa continues to move snail-paced in safety terms and continues to fool itself and those who believe there is significant improvement&rdquo; inside the country&rsquo;s mines, read the statement. 
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="91" />
The Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) of Australia said that in August, it &ldquo;set about the task of raising funds to help (the 33 miners) and their families. These are people who have nothing and work under some of the most draconian conditions in the world. (CFMEU&rsquo;s) campaign raised 20 million pesos, about A$40,000, and is still growing. 
 
The Australian union created a video tribute that can be seen <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceX6ftvKgi4 ">here</a>. 
<img alt="" src="" width="140" height="45" />
The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) said, &ldquo;&hellip; while we celebrate, we must also look at this event as a learning opportunity for those who regulate mining at home and abroad. Every mine in the world, regardless of location and engineering challenges, must operate in an environment that puts the safety of miners above every other consideration. 
 
&ldquo;Even the most stringent mine safety laws are only effective when regulators have the will and the means to rigorously enforce them. As we rejoice in the rescue of our Chilean brothers, let us also learn from the mistakes that put their lives at enormous risk.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="66" height="83" />
In Germany, the IGBCE stated that this misfortunate must draw on lessons to support Chilean miners in their fight for safe work conditions. The ICEM rightfully uses this mine disaster to call on governments all over the world to ratify and adhere to the safety standards contained in the ILO Convention. 
<img alt="" src="" width="83" height="100" />
And Los Mineros, the Mexican National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (SNTMMSRM), contrasted the all-out effort to rescue the Chilean miners with its own government&rsquo;s refusal to search or to conduct any kind of inquiry into the February 2006 mine disaster that killed 65 miners. 
 
The 33 miners in Chile are now safe and together with their families. But exactly how they came to be at death&rsquo;s door, and whether or not the Chilean government will make corrective structural changes in mine safety, remains an open question.

Chile’s Rescue Illuminates Country’s Mine Safety Shortfalls

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Sintracarb&oacute;n, the ICEM trade union affiliate organising workers at Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n, the world&rsquo;s largest open-pit set of coal mines, is on the verge of a walkout following a 99.9% strike vote last week. The 4,000-member union and Cerrej&oacute;n, which is owned by multinationals BHP Billiton, Xstrata, and AngloAmerican, have come up against difficult bargaining since December as they seek to renew the two-year collective bargaining agreement. 
 
Following frustrating talks Cerrej&oacute;n management, the union conducted a vote of its members between strike and arbitration tribunal, in line with Colombian legislation. Members decisively backed strike action in ballots collected last Friday, 28 January. On Saturday, 29 January, an assembly of Sintracarb&oacute;n delegates, was held in the city of Riohacha, and ratified the decision to strike with unanimity. 
 
Significantly, management has indicated that it will present a new offer to workers today, 31 January. If the offer is satisfactory to Sintracarb&oacute;n, a new collective agreement might not be far off. If not, a strike likely will occur before 6 February. 
<img alt="" src="" width="180" height="83" />
Talks began between the union and management on 9 December, and expired with no agreement following the end of the 40 days of bargaining and an extension on 17 January. 
 
In a letter to the President of Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n, Le&oacute;n Teicher, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda criticised the company&rsquo;s tactic during negotiations, of contacting individual union members personally by phone. 
 
The main issues in talks are wage gains, status of subcontracted workers, pensions, and local community needs that have been displaced by the mine. 
 
The huge open-pit mining complex in the northern state of Guajira produces highly desirable low-sulphur thermal coal. The mine produces 32 million tonnes annually, with a majority of that shipped to Europe. But exports recently began also to China, a country sustaining industries that have a huge demand for coal. 
 
View the full ICEM letter to the company <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/ICEM%20Carta%20Cerrejon%2019%20enero%202011.pdf">here</a>.&nbsp; 
<img id="il_fi" alt="" src="" width="160" height="90" />
President of Sintrachaneme, Jairo Fernando Solano Cervantes
Also of concern to the ICEM at Cerrej&oacute;n, trade union organising of mechanics at the Chaneme company is still being scrutinized, with workers harassed and intimidated by management. Sintracarb&oacute;n changed its Statutes so that it could include outsourced workers at the mine complex, and played an important support role in the formation of the union Sintrachaneme a year ago. See previous ICEM report <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3573-Union-Contract-Workers-Continue-Fight-for-Work-Rights-at-Cerrejón-in-Colombia">here</a>. President of Sintrachaneme, Jairo Fernando Solano Cervantes, is being targeted by sustained intimidation and harassment, stepped up since 14 December. 
 
This harassment has included a suspicious vehicle being parked outside his house that is conducting surveillance on Solano and his family. On one occasion, Solano was chased by unrecognized cars. In Colombia, the world&rsquo;s most dangerous country for a trade unionist, Solano must be protected by his employers. The ICEM is angered by this illegal intimidation, which is an attempt to crush the organizing of contract employees at Cerrej&oacute;n.

Strike Set as Cerrejón Miners Face Off with Managers in Fierce Colombia Bargaining

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
A tentative labour agreement reached 26 January will likely be ratified late tonight, ending the 18-month strike between Brazilian multinational Vale and United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9508 in the Canadian province of Newfoundland/Labrador. The union is conducting the last of six explanation and ratification votes to members on the north coast of Labrador today, and by all indications the 124-member Local 9508 will approve a five-year labour agreement with Vale. 
 
The expected approval ends a bitter strike in which Vale &ndash; purchaser in 2006 of all mining assets of Canadian-based Inco &ndash; sought to roll back living conditions and work terms for 3,500 steelworkers in Voiseys Bay/Goose Bay, Labrador, and in Ontario. 
 
The Eastern Canadian tentative agreement last week came following intense pressure placed on Vale from a special provincial Industrial Inquiry Commission. That independent inquiry issued recommended solutions to end the strike early in January. (see recent ICEM report <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4188-Vale’s-Arrogance-to-Eastern-Canadian-Miners-Communities-Government-Continues">here</a>.) The settlement, if approved tonight, comes just weeks before that same panel is scheduled to issue a second report on the integrity of Vale&rsquo;s operations in Labrador. 
<img alt="" src="" width="200" height="200" />
The company has been operating nickel, copper, and cobalt mining and processing operations with scab replacement workers. On 22 January, a leak from a retention pond in Voiseys Bay went undetected for eight hours, causing a processing plant there to stop production for nearly five days. 
 
On the last day of that shut-down, Vale managers called Local 9508&rsquo;s bargaining committee into talks and the two sides and with the aid of mediator Bill Wells struck a compromise deal. 
 
The new contract would begin tomorrow, 1 February, and run until 1 February 2016. A back-to-work protocol was also adopted in which all striking workers will be recalled to their jobs within a maximum of seven weeks. Workers returning will receive an immediate C$2,000 retention bonus and another such C$2,000 bonus after completing seven days of work orientation and training. 
 
USW Local 9508 achieved adequate wage increases, retained cost-of-living increases, and won excellent language regarding contracting-out practices. A compromise was made on a production bonus, the so-called nickel bonus. Although still achievable, several Vale-demanded components were added such as cash flow return on site investment and overall operational efficiency that are generally out of workers&rsquo; hands. 
<img alt="" src="" width="134" height="130" />
USW Local 9508 President Darren Cove
A C$.20-per-hour wage increase is gained in each year of the agreement, and workers&rsquo; starting wages, following return to work, will be lifted with the first increase plus accrued cost-of-living adjustments from 2009 and 2010. Future cost-of-living increases will be accrued quarterly and paid out on a yearly basis. 
 
Local 9508 won a extra&rsquo;s holiday, bringing from 11 to 12 the number of statutory holidays; staff working night shifts will receive a first-ever C$.30-per-hour shift differential; and a 10% work-site premium for work performed in remote areas will be added to salaries. 
 
The union&rsquo;s contracting-out language was expanded positively to prevent Vale from using outside contractors for the purpose of reducing full-time staff. 
 
The expected end of the 18-month strike today will likely mean settlements in the next few weeks of strikes by USW Local 9508 members at three contract companies on Vale&rsquo;s Labrador/Newfoundland properties. Those contractors represent security, catering, and a First Nation skilled-mechanics company called Ushitou Maintenance. Nearly 300 union members of Local 9508 have been on strike at those firms since mid-2010. 
 
The ICEM and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), Geneva-based Global Union Federations that have supported Canadian steelworkers in the long-running Vale disputes in Newfoundland/Labrador and Ontario, congratulate the members of Local 9508 for their resilience, as well as USW District Six in Canada for exemplary worker representation in facing off with an extremely adversarial mining house.

Pressure Mounts, Vale Settles in Eastern Canada

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the ICEM&rsquo;s HIV/AIDS Project in 2010, on why the Global Fund is in the headlines for the wrong reasons, and on the five countries to watch in 2011 on the development of the pandemic. 
 
The ICEM Calls on its Affiliates to Contribute to this e-bulletin 
 
ICEM affiliates are 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. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
The ICEM HIV/AIDS Project in 2010: Another Successful Year 
 
The ICEM&rsquo;s HIV/AIDS Project implemented a full programme in 2010, the first year of a new cycle with sponsorship from solidarity support organisations SASK of Finland and FNV Mondiaal of the Netherlands. 
 
At sub-regional level, the feminisation of the HIV/AIDS pandemic has been addressed in a women&rsquo;s workshop that was an overwhelming success. In some countries, activities only for women were organised taking the experience of women who had attended the workshop to the national level. 
 
Two sub-regional workshops for English and French speaking West Africa and for Southern Africa focussed on HIV/AIDS workplace policies and programmes. They also made participants familiar with the new ILO Recommendation No. 200, concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work. The concept of a worker&rsquo;s passport, which gives basic information on HIV and AIDS, as well as information on sites and clinics where support and care are available, was discussed and endorsed by participants. 
 
At national level, programmes were implemented in 11 sub-Saharan African countries. The space in this newsletter is not sufficient to give a full account of activities in all 11 countries, which include C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire, the DR Congo, Ghana, Guinea, Mauritius, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. 
 
In Zimbabwe, training courses were again organised after an interruption of many years. Good examples in some countries, especially Nigeria and Tanzania, prompted the national coordinator in Ghana to organise the first VCT campaign under the auspices of the HIV/AIDS project in the country. In Mauritius, the national coordinator overcame the difficulty to access workers at their workplace by producing a DVD on HIV/AIDS and distributing it to shop stewards. Excellent results can also be reported from C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire where companies have been cooperating with trade unions on HIV/AIDS. Guinea is a relatively new target country. New foreign investment in the mining sector gives additional significance to the HIV/AIDS project in Guinea. 
 
Gratefully, additional funding from the Humanity Fund of the ICEM affiliate, the Communication, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada enabled us to run additional HIV/AIDS activities in Nigeria and Trinidad and Tobago. 
 
In the first six months of 2010, programmes also continued in India with the support from the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, which has agreed to continue its support in 2011. 
 
With a financial contribution from the ICEM affiliated Industri Energi (IE) of Norway, the ICEM broke ground with a first HIV/AIDS workshop in a Middle Eastern country, Jordan. 
 
The second phase of the VCT campaign, sponsored by the Women&rsquo;s Department of the German ICEM affiliate IG BCE, was successfully implemented in Mwasa, Tanzania. 
 
The Danish solidarity support organisation LO/FTF continued support for the HIV/AIDS project in Ethiopia in cooperation with ICEM affiliate, the National Industrial Federation of Energy, Chemical, and Mine Trade Unions (NIFECM). 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
HIV/AIDS &ndash; Five Countries to Watch in 2011 
 
Things are generally more positive on the global HIV front: the number of new infections is down, treatment figures are up, and headway is being made in the fight to end discrimination against people living with HIV. However, there is still work to be done and progress in the fight against the pandemic has been uneven. IRIN/PlusNews lists five countries that could determine the future of the pandemic this year: 
 
South Africa - The sheer size of the epidemic in South Africa means it cannot be ignored: more than one million people are on treatment &ndash; the biggest antiretroviral programme in the world - and more than five million people are living with HIV. 
 
The country also offers the best-case scenario in terms of HIV/AIDS funding since the government is largely responsible for financing the country's AIDS efforts. South Africa does not rely heavily on external resources as other countries do. After years of dragging its feet, the government has introduced policies and initiatives aimed at strengthening the HIV/AIDS response, including a national HIV counselling and testing campaign, and the decentralization of ARV treatment, from doctors prescribing at hospitals, to nurses providing the drugs at health facilities. This year will provide an idea of how these measures pan out. 
 
Russia - With 37% of the country's estimated 1.8 million intravenous drug users (IDUs) believed to be living with HIV, Russia is dealing with one of Eastern Europe's largest HIV epidemics. The country has been heavily criticized for its refusal to adopt evidence-based, harm-reduction techniques for treatment of drug users. Russia prefers instead to put IDUs in prison, where clean needles are harder to find, thereby raising the HIV threat. Experts say unless the drug policy changes, HIV prevalence is likely to continue increasing. 
 
Uganda - Once hailed as a beacon in the fight against HIV, Uganda&rsquo;s prevalence rate fell from 18% in 1992 to about 6.1% in 2004. The government's aggressive prevention campaigns focused on abstinence, sexual fidelity, and condom use, becoming the foundation of national HIV prevention programmes across sub-Saharan Africa. Today, however, UNAIDS reports that the country's HIV prevalence is between 6.5 to seven percent. 
 
There is also evidence of apparent reversals in preventive sexual behaviour in the general population, reports the Uganda AIDS Commission. The proportion of adults who say they had sex with a person who was not a permanent partner has grown since 1995, from 12% to 16% for women and from 29% to 36% for men. 
 
Haiti - The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit the country a year ago damaged its health infrastructure extensively. While most patients who were on life-prolonging anti-retroviral drugs before the quake were traced and put back on treatment, the country's HIV programmes remain unstable. 
 
Reports of sexual abuse and transactional sex in Port-au-Prince's tent cities raise the possibility of increased infections, while the threat of tuberculosis in the overcrowded camps is also high. As the country continues to rebuild basic services this year, it will be important for the government, faced with multiple competing interests, to ensure that HIV/AIDS receives the attention it needs. 
 
India - More than 80% of all donor-funded antiretroviral drugs used in developing countries are Indian-manufactured generics. However, an imminent Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union could potentially see the country lose its ability to produce the cheap generic medicines so vital to healthcare in poor nations. 
 
The EU is pushing for data exclusivity, which means Indian generic manufacturers would no longer be able to use existing drug trials to make identical generic drugs. Instead, they would be required to conduct their own clinical trials, delaying access to poor countries for these drugs for several years. EU officials say data exclusivity clauses in the FTA will take into consideration the role India plays in producing generic medicines for the developing world. 
 
With increasing pressure on India and other developing nations to adhere to tighter intellectual property laws, 2011 could be critical to the future of HIV treatment in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions. 
 
(Source: PlusNews, Nairobi, 28 January) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Global Fund in the Headlines 
 
On 23 January, the Associated Press (AP) ran a long story about the Global Fund entitled, &quot;Fraud Plagues Global Health Fund.&quot; The story was picked up by nearly 200 media outlets in the U.S. and 50 in other parts of the world. 
 
The story stated that in Mali, the Fund's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that US$4 million in funding was misappropriated. Half of Mali's TB and malaria grant money went to supposed &quot;training events,&quot; for which signatures were forged on receipts for per diem payments and travel expense claims. Mali has arrested 15 people suspected of committing fraud, and its health minister resigned without explanation two days before the audit was made public. 
<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="53" />
The AP story added that in Mauritania, the OIG found &quot;pervasive fraud,&quot; with US$4.1 million &ndash; 67% of an HIV grant &ndash; lost to faked documents and other fraud. And in Djibouti, the OIG found that about 30% of grant funding they examined was lost, unaccounted for, or misused. Much of this money went to buy motor vehicles. Almost US$750,000 was transferred out of one account with no explanation. 
 
In a commentary, GFO Editor Bernard Rivers wrote, &ldquo;When any entity gives multi-million dollar grants, there will always be corruption. The key issue is what is being done to unearth the corruption and minimise losses. The Global Fund is far better at investigating allegations of corruption and at recovering stolen monies than most or all other major aid donors.&rdquo; 
 
Another thing that distinguishes the Global Fund from other donors is its willingness to publish the details of the corruption that it has unearthed. In that sense, the Global Fund has become the victim of its own toughness and transparency. The Global Fund says that it has a &ldquo;zero tolerance&rdquo; policy with respect to corruption. That's the right approach! Every stolen Global Fund dollar is a dollar that can't be spent on saving lives. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 139 of 27 January. GFO is a free service of Aidspan <a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>; to receive GFO send an email to <a href="mailto:receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>)
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Ethiopia: Transport Sector Launches HIV Policy 
 
The Ethiopian government has unveiled an HIV policy for its transport sector, which has grown significantly in recent years alongside the rapidly expanding road network. Various national studies have shown that those working across the transport sector - especially drivers and their assistants - are vulnerable to HIV infection as they spend considerable time away from their families. 
<img alt="" src="" width="200" height="92" />
The country's Federal Transport Authority (FTA) and commercial transporters jointly issued the policy in December (Comment from the editor: no mention of the union having been consulted or involved). It sets up a national taskforce to raise funds from state and non-state actors to finance projects, including condom distribution, and helping transport staff and family members living with the virus. 
 
Transport workers often have sex with local sex workers when on the road for days at a time. According to the latest UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS country progress report on Ethiopia, a 2009 study found that truckers and intercity bus drivers formed 22% of the client base of sex workers. 
 
A 2009 government survey from mobile counselling and testing clinics in 40 towns located on the major transportation corridors that link Addis Ababa to Ethiopia's borders, found that 25.3% of the sex workers were HIV-positive. 
 
(Source: IRIN PlusNews, Addis Ababa, 17 January 2011) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
South Africa: Fighting Back 
 
With only 0.7% of the world&rsquo;s population, South Africa has 17% of its HIV/AIDS sufferers &ndash; some six million in a population of almost 50 million. After a decade of denial by the government, authorities are fighting back. 
 
South Africa has the world&rsquo;s biggest antiretroviral treatment programme, providing ARVs to around one million patients. This means that two-thirds of those in need of ARVs are now getting them. But the target of 80% by the end of 2011 is unlikely to be hit, mainly because of the lack of medical staff. 
 
South Africa has also launched the world&rsquo;s biggest testing campaign aimed at checking 15 million people within 15 months. But although new infections fell by a third between 2002 and 2008, they are still running at more than 400,000 a year. According to research in South Africa, barely four out of ten sexually active men use condoms. Another reason for the continued spread is the exceptionally high rape rate. 
 
(Source: The Economist, 4 December 2010) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
News from Global Unions 
<img alt="" src="" width="70" height="70" />
The International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF &ndash; <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>) in its latest HIV/AIDS update No. 98 of 15 December and 1 January, reports on a seminar organised by the Communication and Transport Workers Union of Tanzania (COTWU-T) on HIV/AIDS workplace policies and collective bargaining. COTWU-T believes that serious and continued HIV/AIDS workplace interventions can minimize or control the transmission of HIV to workers. It is therefore the union&rsquo;s strategy to ensure that there are guidelines for implementation so as to combat the epidemic from the grassroots. As long as the Collective Bargaining Agreement is a tool for improving working conditions, a clause specifically mentioning the fight against HIV/AIDS and its impacts should be openly elaborated. This is why COTWU-T looks for every opportunity to establish and conclude a CBA with a clause on HIV/AIDS. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Five Years Ago: From the February 2006 Issue 
 
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 February 2006 issue of the e-bulletin, we reported on the preparations for the 16th International AIDS Conference (IAC), which was to be organised in Toronto in August. In cooperation with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), a Global Labour Forum was planned to be organised during the IAC to underline the impact and effectiveness of HIV/AIDS policies and actions at the workplace to fight the pandemic. Labour has since made sure that its voice be heard at subsequent International AIDS Conferences. 
 
We also gave figures which had been jointly released by China&rsquo;s Ministry of Health, the WHO, and UNAIDS on 25 January 2006 and which estimated the number of people living with HIV at 630,000 in 2005, down from an estimate of 840,000 in 2003. This was not necessarily a success story in prevention but rather due to errors in estimates. 
 
The survey therefore cautioned against complacency, saying the figure was still rising and the virus was spreading from high-risk groups to the general population. Experts have warned that China&rsquo;s increasingly mobile population faces a broader risk as more infections occur through drug injection and sexual contact. 
 
It is interesting to note that now on the UNAIDS website, AIDSinfo, on which country fact sheets can be accessed, information is given in graphs with rather wide brackets. One has to look very closely to determine that about 750,000 people were living with HIV in China in 2009. The band width is an extraordinary 550,000 to one million. Only one fact can be determined with certainty: the number of infected people has gone up constantly. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe 
 
To subscribe to the e-bulletin, send an email to <a href="mailto:press@icem.org">press@icem.org</a>. Please put &ldquo;subscribe ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin&rdquo; in the subject line.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 65, February 2011

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="99" />
A strike by 400 miners of ICEM affiliate Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of Georgia ended peacefully yesterday when management of Saknakhshiri, or Geo-Coal, gave recognition to the union and agreed to good-faith negotiations. 
 
Those negotiations will begin Monday, 7 February, and will commence over safety issues and pay for surface transportation workers, the lowest paid workers at Tkibuli-Mindeli, a set of two underground mines in the Imereti region of western Georgia. Saknakhshiri is wholly-owned by the Georgian Investment Group (GIG), a diverse conglomerate controlled by the Georgian political figure, Davit Bezhuashvili. 
 
The agreement yesterday, brokered between the company and the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemicals union and the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation (GTUC), gives parity to the union regarding social issues and gives the union full status on a commission to revamp safety and health conditions, a major contributing factor to the strike action this week. 
 
Tkibuli-Mindeli employs some 1,050 Georgian workers, including 650 miners, 200 transportation workers, and 250 administrative personnel.
<img alt="" src="" width="220" height="101" />
&nbsp; 
Following a methane gas explosion on 21 January that killed one and seriously injured four others &ndash; the third deadly gas blast in less than a year at Tkibuli-Mindeli &ndash; workers and their new union demanded modern mine safety equipment than the Soviet-era devices in place, and demanded improved work and pay conditions. 
 
The situation was exasperated last week when police arrested two lower-tier managers for safety negligence in the 21 January explosion. In support of the two and as protest to the overall work and safety conditions, miners staged a two-hour warning strike on 31 January and then embarked on an open-ended strike on 1 February. 
 
That strike brought broad public support and generated regional media coverage. Meanwhile, the ICEM affiliate and GTUC were actively engaged with Saknakhshiri in addressing issues. Yesterday&rsquo;s agreement produced a 13-point commitment by the Georgian mining company to address all issues in respectful social dialogue, including new labour agreements that replace non-regular employment, pay and overtime concerns, and a joint safety structure to replace outdated equipment and correct deficiencies. 
 
For the union, it signed a four-point commitment to protect social guarantees of workers, take full part in development, training, and implementation of new safety features, and &ldquo;will popularize and foster social dialogue, between the administration and employees, as a means of civilized resolution&rdquo; of conflicts. 
 
GTUC Vice President Gocha Alexandria said the critical aspect to yesterday&rsquo;s agreement is time deadlines. The union and company have strict time frames to reach accord on different issues. For instance, a joint study and policy directive on mine safety will be completed by 20 February; a wage increase for transportation workers will be readied by 7 February, with implementation on 1 March; and pay and other conditions for miners must be introduced by 10 March and implemented soon afterward. 
 
Talks on Monday will also firmly resolve the issuance of protective wearing apparel for workers, another grievance that led to the dispute. Yesterday&rsquo;s accord also establishes a time frame in which a first collective agreement for Tkibuli-Mindeli miners of the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Trade Union will be achieved. That date is set at 20 March 2011. 
 
Workers began joining the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Trade Union of Georgia following a 27 August 2010 methane gas explosion that killed four and severely injured six other miners. On 3 March, another gas explosion killed four, this time severely burning one miner. 
 
The ICEM salutes the union, the capable leadership at GTUC, and the workers at Tkibuli-Mindeli for taking direct that led to this successful outcome. A report this week can be found here on <a href="/en/5-Mining-DGOJP/4228-ICEM-Supports-Safety-Strike-at-Georgian-Coal-Mine">ICEM support</a> for the Georgian miners.

Strike Ends, Georgian Miners Recognized at Tkibuli-Mindeli Colliery

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
The Goodyear Tyre Makers&rsquo; Union in Thailand, part of ICEM affiliate Petroleum and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Federation (PCFT), conducted a strike from 5pm on 18 November until 3pm on 23 November, demanding equal treatment of workers doing the same job, and changes to the collective agreement on shift length and social benefits. 
 
The previous collective agreement expired on 11 August 2010. There have been 12 rounds of negotiation meetings between the union reps and management since mid July 2010, as well as nine rounds of meetings with government mediators, the latest 10 November. 
 
The trade union reps conducting the negotiations were repeatedly frustrated that the company officials in bargaining had no decision-making authority, rendering the talks fruitless. Although the management representatives in the talks agreed with the union on many points where improvement was needed, they were powerless to act. It was agreed that several serious violations of the collective agreement and of Thai labour law had occurred. 
<img border="0" alt="" src="" width="370" height="82" />
Workers at the Goodyear-Thailand Ltd. plant in Bangkok complained of many unfair dismissal cases. 
 
Meetings are continuing between the bargaining committees, and have been joined by the company Human Resources Director for the Asia-Pacific region, and also a mediator from the Thai Labour Ministry. 
 
Management informed workers that if they did not end the strike and return to work they would lose their social benefits. Striking workers were locked-out during the strike. Management will now not end the lock-out unless the union agree to separate the Work Rules from the collective agreement. This would give management the flexibility to sack workers. 
 
Among other demands, the union wants including into the collective agreement a limit of 7.5 hours work per day, an overtime wage for work which continues during the worker's rest time of 30 minutes at a rate of 1.5, 40 hours paid activity of union officials per year, improvements to the retirement and medical coverage. 
 
620 union members have been locked out since Monday 22 November. 
 
Since the beginning of the strike management has pressure on office and contract workers to sign individual contracts, to waive the union proposal, as well as any entitlements and social benefits which may be resulted from the ongoing bargaining.

Thai Goodyear Workers Strike over Harassment, Bargaining Frustrations

Archive