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A 1 March deadline looms for applicants seeking admission to ILO&rsquo;s coming Global Labour University (GLU) Masters Degree programmes in Germany and India. The year-long course work is through the University of Kassel and Berlin School of Economics and Law in Germany, and Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, India. 
 
In India, course work will be categorized under &ldquo;Globalisation and Labour&rdquo; and will critically evaluate the social, economic, and political processes that influence labour under globalisation. In Germany, where the first semester is at Kassel and the second at Berlin, the programme is called &ldquo;Labour Policies &amp; Globalisation&rdquo; and focuses on global challenges to labour, international labour rights, economics, and processes of globalisation. 

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The application (in six languages) can be found at the bottom of this page <a href="http://www.global-labour-university.org/ on the left hand side">http://www.global-labour-university.org/ on the left hand side</a>. 
 
Courses are offered in English, women are strongly encouraged to participate, applicants should, as a rule, not be over age 40, and the endorsement of a trade union is a requirement for a scholarship. The scholarship is combined with a &euro;1,500 contribution made by a trade union or other donor. 
 
The nearly six-year-old GLU has trained trade unionists in economics and in social sciences from 49 countries in its short existence. The GLU has also developed and is initiating this year a shorter, six-month programme intended for trade union workers and others around a targeted and specific curriculum. 
 
More on that programme, with the next application deadline coming 1 November 2010, can be found <a href="http://www.global-labour-university.org/216.html">here</a>.&nbsp;

1 March Deadline for Global Labour University Courses in Germany, India

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The Guyana Bauxite &amp; General Workers&rsquo; Union (GB&amp;GWU) ramped up protests on the deaf ear its government is giving a pitched labour dispute it has with Russian metals company RusAL by picketing last week the offices of the Minister of Labour, Human Services, and Social Security, as well as the company&rsquo;s offices in Georgetown. 
 
Some 60 union members and supporters staged the manifestations on 4-5 February, and picketing is expected to continue this week. The GB&amp;GWU has broad support across the northern South American country for reinstatement of 57 union activists that were sacked following a spontaneous strike action in late November. The strike was conducted by some 200 of 500 miners employed at the Aroraima bauxite operations in the central portion of the country. 

<img alt="" src="" width="256" height="192" />
GB&amp;GWU picketed the offices of Labour Minister Mansoor Nadir on 4 and 5 February
The strike occurred following an exchange of contract proposals in efforts to reach a renewal collective agreement. 
 
Immediately after the strike and sackings, the Bauxite Co. of Guyana Inc. (BCGI), 90% owned by RusAl, made the unilateral announcement that it no longer recognised the GB&amp;GWU, a violation &ndash; the ICEM believes &ndash; this runs against international labour standards, as well as Guyana&rsquo;s Trade Union Recognition Act. 
 
Despite numerous attempts by the union to involve Guyana Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and Labour, Human Services, and Social Security Minister Mansoor Nadir in efforts to resolve or mediate the dispute, those initiatives have gone unheard. 

<img alt="" src="" width="320" height="159" />
On 5 February, union pickets the Georgetown offices of RusAl
Thus lacking a formal avenue to remedy the dispute, the GB&amp;GWU took the matter to the Ethnic Relations Commission, since all 57 discharged miners were of African descent. In an early January hearing, the GB&amp;GWU asked the commission to convene a full public inquiry into the sackings but instead, the commission&rsquo;s chairman went to the worksite to interview bosses and workers without the union present. 
 
The ICEM is concerned that for the past two months BCGI management is coercing and intimidating miners to sign statements abandoning the union, a contradiction to Guyanese law and global freedom of association standards. The ICEM has written to the Russian mining and metals multinational in hopes that it will correct the unfair decisions of its BCGI managers regarding the terminations and abrogation of the collective bargaining relationship and that letter can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/5.rusal.letter.29jan.pdf">here</a>.

Guyana Bauxite Workers’ Union Pickets Government, RusAl Offices in Georgetown

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Miners of Mexico&rsquo;s National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (SNTMMSRM), or Los Mineros, have rejected a severance package put forward by Grupo M&eacute;xico at the strike-hit Cananea copper mine. Some 1,200 workers at Cananea in northern Sonora state have been on strike since July 2007, a strike the company and the Mexican government have tried unsuccessfully to end through administrative edict and by formally dissolving the union&rsquo;s collective agreement. 
 
Since last year, Mexico&rsquo;s Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Board has declared the strike illegal three times, but each time a court has reversed the rulings. Last month, Grupo M&eacute;xico tried to break miners&rsquo; resolve by offering a US$13,000 payment per worker to sever with the company. Reports indicated that only 20 miners accepted the buy-out. 

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&ldquo;The company is offering workers leftovers and calling it liquidation,&rdquo; stated SNTMMSRM Section 65 leader Mario Garc&iacute;a. Grupo M&eacute;xico is attempting to break the union, and then restructure and re-start Cananea, a mining complex capable of producing 48% of Mexico&rsquo;s copper output. 
 
The company has also lodged lawsuits against striking workers and strike leaders for alleged damage at the mine. The union has asked Grupo M&eacute;xico to withdraw those actions, and instead negotiate a revised collective agreement with Los Mineros that will raise salaries and benefits, and improve safety and hygiene, chief among reasons why miners struck in the first place. 
 
Grupo M&eacute;xico has stated that is has lost US$1.5 billion in sales due to the mine being shut. Cananea has capacity to produce 190,000 tonnes per year of copper, with 70% of that in copper concentrates and the remainder in copper cathode. 
 
The ICEM continue to support and campaign on behalf of Los Mineros in its fight for justice against the Mexican government and the ruthless affront posed by Grupo M&eacute;xico throughout the country.

Cananea Miners Reject Grupo México Severance; Strike Continues

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The lockout by Rio Tinto Minerals on 560 union members of International Longshore &amp; Warehouse Union (ILWU) in Boron, California, is now eight days old, and there is no sign that management intends to engage in talks anytime soon. 
 
Instead, Rio Tinto has engaged the services of US security firm J.R. Gettier of Wilmington, Delaware, to bus replacement workers across picket lines and to give menacing, paramilitary looks to ILWU members and their families in the Mojave Desert town of Boron, 122 kilometres east of Los Angeles. 
 
Gettier advertises itself as a full-service company with strike security teams that &ldquo;comes to your site to manage a labor-management dispute.&rdquo; JRG Services, a division of J.R. Gettier, provides clients with temporary or replacement workers that &ldquo;assist in meeting your company&rsquo;s &hellip; needs.&rdquo; 

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The lockout will be the central focus when the International Mining and Maritime Unions meet in Palmdale, California, on 15 February, which includes the ICEM and the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF). The multi-union organisation, which includes the predominately maritime and dockworkers&rsquo; ILWU, based in San Francisco, has already issued a statement in support of the locked-out workers: 
 
&ldquo;Our solidarity goes to ILWU Boron miners and their families in particular who have suffered these attacks on the morning of January 31 for defending workers&rsquo; rights and refusing to capitulate to the bullying tactics of Rio whose agenda is to break the union in order to slash wages and benefits.&rdquo; 
The ICEM issued a statement on 1 February, stating that it will use its role as the leading Global Union Federation in the mining industry &ldquo;to alert trade unions around the globe, particularly those representing Rio Tinto workers, of the lockout and urge them to take action on behalf of ILWU Local 30.&rdquo; That full statement can be found <a href="/en/77-All-ICEM-News-Releases/3599-ICEM-Pledges-Support-to-Locked-Out-Rio-Tinto-Workers-in-US-State-of-California">here</a>. 
 
And the ITF, on 5 February, in a message to the ILWU, said the &ldquo;lockout can be seen as the lowest reaction of the employer to a workforce that strives for dialogue &hellip; we acknowledge you and your families&rsquo; fight, your strength and courage to stand up together against a corporation that is doing all in its power to confront the workforce and weaken the union.&rdquo; 

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ILWU President Bob McEllrath said, &ldquo;We are going into a big battle, and it is going to be a long and hard fought one,&rdquo; in thanking unions which have already expressed support. 
Please visit Local 30's website <a href="http://boraxminers.com/index.html">here</a>.
A previous contract for ILWU Local 30 expired on 4 November 2009. On 29 January, management presented workers with a concessionary proposal with the orders to either accept it or face a lockout. On 30 January, all 500 union members who attended a union meeting to discuss the proposal rejected it. The company seeks unprecedented changes to workers&rsquo; seniority, shift and overtime assignments, and the manner in which promotions are made, as well as seeking unilaterally changes on flexibility that will allow it greater latitude to sub-contract jobs. 
 
The global mining house Rio Tinto posted pre-tax profits on US$16 billion in 2008. Rio Tinto Minerals, which also operates globally, is based in the US state of Colorado and the borax, or sodium borate mine in California is the world&rsquo;s second largest borates mine in the world, producing 42% of the world&rsquo;s refined borates compounds. 
 
The ICEM urges all affiliates and supporters to send protest letters to Rio Tinto, condemning the lockout. Click <a href="/index.php?id=5&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3600">here</a> for a model, paste the text onto your letterhead, and send to Rio Tinto CEO Albanese at <a href="mailto:tom.albanese@riotinto.com">tom.albanese@riotinto.com</a>, copied to <a href="mailto:joe.drexler@icem.org">joe.drexler@icem.org</a> and <a href="mailto:info@ilwu.org">info@ilwu.org</a>.

Rio Tinto Engaged in Savage Union Busting at California Borates Mine

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On 21 January, ICEM Colombian affiliate Union Sindical Obrera de la Industria del Petrolero (USO) presented demands to management of Schlumberger Surenco, the world's largest oilfield services corporation with operations in approximately 80 countries. The multinational has been operating in Colombia since 2001 with the state-run petroleum company, Ecopetrol, at the Casabe site, near Barrancabermeja, the country&rsquo;s most important refinery. 
 
Schlumberger has contracts with Ecopetrol at a majority of production sites in Colombia. 

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The company entered into bargaining with the USO negotiating committee on 3 February. USO will be aiming to improve conditions and salaries for workers at a global oil services company that posted operating revenues in 2008 totaled US$27.16 billion. 
 
The ICEM will continue to monitor these talks, and pledges full support to USO in achieving the best terms and conditions possible. 
 
Elsewhere regarding USO, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda last week sent a letter to Colombian President &Aacute;lvaro Uribe, calling on his government to improve security for trade unionists in Colombia. The letter follows yet another serious attack on USO President Germ&aacute;n Osman. Warda called on both the government and Ecopetrol to do more to guarantee the safety and rights of trade unionists and their families, in light of the continuing attacks by Colombian mafia groups such as the &ldquo;&Aacute;guilas Negras,&rdquo; or Black Eagles. 
 
Colombia has the reputation for being the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists, with 49 trade union leaders murdered in 2009 and 2,712 since 1986. The ICEM and Warda&rsquo;s letter in Spanish can be viewed <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/1.ICEM.Col.Pres.Uribe..pdf">here</a>. 
 
The ICEM has a website dedicated to its work in Colombia, run by Colombia Coordinator Carlos Bustos. View that website here <a href="http://www.icemcolombia.com">www.icemcolombia.com</a>. Write to Carlos <a href="mailto:icemcol@hotmail.com">here</a>.

Colombia Oil Union USO Presents Demands to Service Provider Schlumberger

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The second ICEM, International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) survey on Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) shows a continuing increase in the number of workers employed precarious contracts, despite an economic crisis that gripped many countries during 2009 and led to massive lay-offs of short-term contract workers. 
 
The result is surprising since it is generally the practice that CAL workers are the first to be made redundant when companies restructure, and could perhaps indicate that many companies who have begun hiring again are doing so with fixed-term or temporary workers. 
 
A total of 66% of ICEM and IMF affiliates that responded indicated that there has been an increase in temporary or part-time work in their sectors and in their countries in 2009. Only 22% of affiliates reported that they had seen a decrease, with a further 12% stating that there had been no change. This builds on information collected in 2008, when 88% of all ICEM affiliates stated that short-term and temporary employment increased over the past five years. Noteworthy is also the fact that quite a few unions signaled a sharp increase in precarious labour, with one in three ICEM affiliates indicating an increase of over 10% over the past year. 
<img alt="" src="" width="110" height="95" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="100" height="97" /> 

Two-thirds of the ICEM and IMF affiliates who replied indicated that the wage and benefit gap between direct, permanently employed workers and CAL workers had increased over the last year as a result of the global economic crisis. This growing wage gap between permanently employed workers and contract workers seems to be more pronounced outside of countries in the OECD area. 
 
Another important factor is that unions are taking action against the proliferation of precarious jobs, with 40% of ICEM and IMF affiliates saying that they are already taking measures to avoid an increase in precarious work once the economy begins to improve. Another 39% are currently reflecting on how to take action on this issue. Only 14% indicated that they had not yet taken any action, and a mere 7% of affiliates stated that this is not a problem for them. 
 
Recruiting short-term or temp agency workers into unions remains a challenge, with only 28% of affiliates reporting that their union has more contract and agency worker members than it did last year. A full 37% of ICEM and IMF affiliates indicated that the amount of members employed as contract and agency workers had remained the same, and 35% said that there had been a decrease in membership of workers employed on a contract or agency basis. 
 
A total of 252 ICEM and IMF affiliates responded to the multilingual survey. Responses were received from all regions, with Africa, Asia, and Europe/Eurasia each being responsible for about one third of all responses. A further 8% of replies came from the Americas and 2% from the Asia-Pacific region. A more detailed visual representation of all the results is available <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/ICEM-IMF%20survey%20results%20in%20graphics.pdf">here</a>.

Despite Recession, ICEM/IMF CAL Survey Shows Precarious Work Growing

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In Thailand, a 28 February deadline awaits for some two million migrant workers from Burma, Cambodia, and Laos to either register through a complex &ldquo;Nationality Verification&rdquo; process, or leave the country. The Royal Thai Government&rsquo;s Cabinet of Ministers issued this binding and unjust ultimatum on 19 January. 
 
But a groundswell of momentum, both inside and outside of Thailand, is taking shape to convince the government that this is a bad idea, considering alone that 80% of these workers are Burmese who face persecution and imprisonment on ethnic and political grounds if they return to Burma. For migrant workers who have valid 2009 Thai work permits, they will have to submit biographical information to their home governments by 28 February. For those who do not enter the &ldquo;Nationality Verification&rdquo; process, they will be deported. 
 
Since the early 1990s, Thai authorities have conducted a somewhat cumbersome, yearly, 30-day registration period in which illegal migrant workers register for a work permit, receive a one-year amnesty to work in Thailand, and then fill many jobs in a bustling economy that most Thai workers do not want. But now with last month&rsquo;s change, and in just five weeks time, migrant workers have been thrown into unsecure futures where exploitation and possible malicious job treatment await. 

<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="115" />
The ICEM has joined Thai affiliated unions and NGOs in seeking to relax this ruling. Other Global Union Federations also are expected to take up the call. The ICEM stands behind the 170,000-member State Enterprise Workers&rsquo; Relations Confederation (SERC), the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee, and other unions and NGOs who are working to repeal this rule. 
 
An ICEM letter to the Thai Prime Minister can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/10.prime.minister.thailand.pdf">here</a>, and ICEM also has written to ILO Director-General Juan Somavia and to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, under the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, calling the 28 February deadline impractical. 
 
From ICEM&rsquo;s Thai affiliates, and from the Migrant Justice Programme of the Human Rights and Development Foundation, the ICEM has learned that of tens of thousands of migrant workers in Thailand right now are living in fear, confused by the &ldquo;Nationality Verification&rdquo; process and concerned whether or not they will have to live and work underground. 
 
The ICEM is deeply concerned that unregulated labour brokers are already duping migrant workers in charging excessive fees to handle the filing process. Reports indicate that fees in the range of 6,000 to 7,000 Thai baht (&euro;130-150) are being charged, despite the official Thai processing fees for &ldquo;Nationality Verification&rdquo; being only a fraction of that. 
 
The ICEM is also disturbed that the Thai government has done little in public awareness to make the directive and the deadline known. This has only propagated the confusion and fear of migrant workers. 
 
And one fact underlines the entire Thai migrant policy resolution of 19 January: the overwhelming numbers of migrant workers employed in Thailand are Burmese and ethnic minorities from inside Burma. In many cases, registry with the military junta there, or expulsion from Thailand for failing to register altogether, is a sure ticket to persecution of Burmese workers if they are returned, or of family members if they are not.

Resistance Builds Against Thai Migrant Worker Expulsion

Tom Albanese 
 
CEO 
 
Rio Tinto plc 
2 Eastbourne Terrace 
London 
W2 6LG 
United Kingdom 
 
Fax: +44 (0)20 7781 1800 
 
<a href="mailto:tom.albanese@riotinto.com">tom.albanese@riotinto.com</a> 
 

Dear Mr. Albanese: 
 
We are writing to condemn Rio Tinto for the vicious attack on members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) at your mine in Boron, California in the United States. The lockout by Rio Tinto is clearly aimed at destroying the union and the community that has sustained the mine for over 90 years. 
 
Our union still remembers the successful ICEM campaign against Rio Tinto in 2000 that stopped your company&rsquo;s effort to destroy trade unions in Australia, U.S. and elsewhere. The damage to Rio Tinto&rsquo;s reputation still lingers, and it hard for any trade union to believe your claims about practicing sustainable development when you continue to attack trade unions and communities. 
 
Rio Tinto&rsquo;s insistence on having the right to dismiss some workers for any reason; award jobs at will to outside contractors; dismiss miners in dangerous occupations for refusing to work overtime; and discriminate against union supporters and older workers are in violation of the fundamental principles of the International Labor Organization. 
Norway's Government Pension Fund divested $850 million (USD) of Rio Tinto shares in 2008 due to your company&rsquo;s unethical practices which further damaged your company&rsquo;s reputation. It is apparent that Rio Tinto cares little for its standing among the investment community or the public. 
 
We fully support the ILWU and the campaign being launched by the ICEM against your company. We demand that you end this unjust lockout immediately and return to the bargaining table. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
 
Name of Union Officer ____________ 
 
Name of Union __________________

Letter of Condemnation of Rio Tinto Lock Out

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the new ICEM HIV/AIDS Project, on project work with other sponsors, and on forthcoming events in 2010. 
 
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" />
New SASK/FNV-sponsored HIV/AIDS Project 
 
Agreement was reached with the Solidarity Support Organisations SASK (the Trade Union Solidarity Centre of Finland) and FNV-Mondiaal of the Netherlands for a new HIV/AIDS project running for three years from 2010 to 2012. 
 
The project will allow the ICEM and its affiliates in sub-Saharan Africa to build on the experience of five years HIV/AIDS project work and intensify activities in a number of countries, as well as continue regional and sub-regional work in Africa. 
 
Special emphasis in the project will be on the training of peer educators/lay counsellors from affiliates to advocate voluntary counselling and testing and counsel on treatment and care, as well as on the conclusion of HIV/AIDS workplace policies and HIV/AIDS clauses in collective bargaining agreements. 
 
The project will be coordinated from the ICEM Johannesburg Project Office with a consultant based in Geneva. 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Sponsors Continue ICEM HIV/AIDS Projects 
 
Several other HIV/AIDS projects will continue in 2010. The Women&rsquo;s Department of ICEM&rsquo;s German affiliate, IGBCE, is sponsoring the successful campaigning and advocacy project in Tanzania, in cooperation with ICEM affiliates TAMICO and TUICO. The Humanity Fund of ICEM Canadian affiliate, the Communications, Energy, and Paperworkers (CEP) Union, is supporting the second phase of the HIV/AIDS programme in Trinidad and Tobago in cooperation with ICEM-affiliated Oilfield Workers&rsquo; Trade Union (OWTU). Negotiations are underway to extend the very successful HIV/AIDS project in India, which was sponsored by the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, and to initiate a new project in Jordan with support from the Norwegian affiliate Industri-Energi (IE). 
 
The HIV/AIDS project sponsored by the Danish Solidarity Support Organisation, LO/FTF Council, in cooperation with the Ethiopian affiliate, the National Industrial Federation of Energy, Chemical, and Mine Trade Unions (NIFECM), will be running until the end of 2011. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
A Successful Year in Nigeria 
 
The HIV/AIDS project in Nigeria, jointly sponsored by the Humanity Fund of the Canadian CEP Union, the ICEM HIV/AIDS project, and Nigerian affiliates NUPENG and PENGASSAN, has been particularly successful. 
 
Almost 8,000 workers and members of the community were mobilised for awareness meetings in a six-month period in 2009. Well over 2,000 agreed to be tested. This number would have been much higher if counsellors had not been limited in the number of people they can counsel in a day. The project also demonstrated how far good cooperation with the business sector can go, since the Nigeria Business Coalition against AIDS (NIBUCCA) provided mobile testing units. 
 
Training of project staff was facilitated by USAID and training of union officials and members was sponsored by SMARTWork, which also provided funding for a project office and for the salaries of three staff members. 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
HIV/AIDS Events in 2010 
 
Important HIV/AIDS events will take place in 2010. The 18th International AIDS Conference, a major biannual event, will take place in Vienna, Austria, from 18 to 23 July. The theme of the Conference is &ldquo;Right Here, Right Now,&rdquo; and the conference will emphasise the importance of protecting and promoting human rights as a prerequisite to a successful response to HIV and AIDS. 
 
The G8/G20 Meeting in Huntsville, Canada, just outside of Toronto will test the commitment of the world&rsquo;s leaders to universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support which, they had pledged to achieve by this year. 
 
At the 99th Session of the International Labour Conference in June in Geneva, the second reading and likely adoption of a new ILO instrument on HIV/AIDS and the world of work will take place. 
 
For the Global Fund, 2010 is a key year with the 3rd Replenishment Meeting taking place in the Netherlands in March. The meeting will determine the amount of funding governments will pledge for the years 2011 to 2013. 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
US Commits US$1.05 Billion to Global Fund 
 
US President Barack Obama signed a spending bill for the 2010 fiscal year that includes a US$1.05 billion appropriation for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This is the largest sum ever committed by one country to the Global Fund in a single year. 
 
With this amount, the Global Fund is closer to meeting the demand for financing Round 9 grants worth US$2.4 billion over two years. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Press Release of 18 December 2009) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Asia Close to Winning AIDS Treatment Battle 
 
The departing head of the UNAIDS Programme in the Asia-Pacific Region, Prasada Rao, said that the region is within three years of winning the battle against the AIDS pandemic. Increased treatment coverage and prevention programmes are turning the tide against AIDS. 
 
In Thailand and Cambodia, treatment coverage has reached almost 90%. In India, 50% get treatment, but in China and Burma the number stands at only 30 to 35%. This puts the region on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of halting and reversing the epidemic by 2015. 
 
However, access in remote areas in China and India, disrupted AIDS programmes in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and sharp rises in prevalence rates in Indonesia&rsquo;s Papua province and neighbouring Papua New Guinea leave millions at risk. 
 
(Source: World AIDS Campaign website, accessed on 7 January) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Zambia: HIV Testing Services Missing the Mark 
 
Voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) services form a critical opportunity to provide risk reduction counselling and HIV prevention information. According to a report by Private Sector Partnerships-One, VCT services in Zambia are squandering this opportunity to reach clients with information about how to reduce their HIV risk. 
 
The study found that although condom use was emphasised only one in three clients received counselling on reducing their number of sexual partners and even fewer were advised on how to disclose their HIV test results to partners. The research also found that VCT services were mainly accessed by the most educated segments of the population and were largely failing to reach those who have no or only primary school education. 
 
Zambia has a prevalence rate of 14.3% but the infection rate is as high as 20% in some urban areas. 
 
(Source: IRIN PlusNews, 5 January) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Travel Restrictions Based on HIV Status Lifted 
 
The UN, UNAIDS and HIV/AIDS organisations all over the world welcomed the elimination of travel restrictions based on the HIV status of a person by the US and the Republic of Korea. The US policy change was announced by President Barack Obama in October 2009 (see <a href="/en/72-HIV-AIDS/3492-ICEM-HIV-AIDS-e-bulletin-No.-50-November-2009">ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin No. 50</a> of November 2009). 
 
Some 57 countries still have some form of restrictions on entry, stay, and residence based on the HIV status of a person. UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidib&eacute; called for freedom of movement for people living with HIV in 2010, the year when global leaders have committed to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS Press Statement, 4 January) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Global Fund Board Addresses Risks of Treatment Disruptions 
 
The Global Fund is taking action to minimise the risk of treatment disruptions arising from interruptions in Global Fund financing and from weaknesses in country-level procurement and supply management systems. 
 
Inadequate stock management and poor state of medical warehouses, non-transparent procurement and late submission of disbursement requests are among the reasons which contribute to the danger of treatment disruptions. 
 
A report of the Portfolio and Implementation Committee to the Global Fund Board contains detailed measures to prevent treatment disruptions, which are a death sentence to people on anti-retroviral drugs. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 113 of 18 December. 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" />
TAC Receives FES Human Rights Award 
 
On 10 December, Human Rights Day, Germany&rsquo;s Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) awarded its Human Rights Prize to the South African Treatment Action Campaign (TAC). TAC has been in the forefront to advocate better HIV/AIDS services and fight for treatment in South Africa. 
 
(Source: News from the FES, 14 December) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
SWHAP Conference: Business Combating HIV/AIDS 
 
The Swedish Workplace HIV/AIDS Programme (SWHAP) organised a major conference in Stockholm on World AIDS Day, 1 December, on the role of the world of work in combating HIV/AIDS. Close to 100 representatives from business and trade unions in sub-Saharan Africa and from Swedish companies and unions took part in the event. It was co-organised with the ILO. 
 
In this occasion, Atlas Copco South Africa was awarded the SWHAP 2009 Achievement Award for its commitment and support of HIV/AIDS workplace programmes since 2003. 
 
(Source: SWHAP Newsletter December 2009) 

<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. 52, January 2010

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The ICEM&rsquo;s new global Contract and Agency Labour (CAL) Coordinator/Consultant began work in her new duties last week. Ashling Seely comes from the International Textiles, Garment, and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF) and will continue working for the ITGLWF part-time as coordinator for the Global Union Federation&rsquo;s Sportswear Project and as Policy Assistant to the General Secretary. 
 
Through her work as the new global Coordinator/Consultant on CAL, it is anticipated that more will be done, including support work to affiliates of ICEM, ITGLWF, and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) in their daily struggles and solidarity actions on CAL and precarious work. 

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New ICEM Global CAL Coordinator, Ashling Seely
Other work at this level will include preparing interviews and newsletters for the ICEM&rsquo;s special CAL website, preparing country reports, assisting other ICEM staff on the issue of short-term and irregular work, and assistance in work related to the Council of Global Unions. 
 
All affiliates are encouraged to directly contact Ashling Seely with any issues they have over CAL. She can be reached <a href="mailto:aseely@itglwf.org">here</a>. View the ICEM CAL website <a href="http://cal.icem.org/">here</a>.

ICEM Welcomes New Global CAL Coordinator, Ashling Seely

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