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The first meeting of the Latin American Regional Trade Union Network for workers of Dutch multinational Akzo Nobel was organised between 11-13 March in S&atilde;o Paulo, Brazil. The newly formed network had the participation of Brazilian, Argentine, and Mexican trade union representatives. ICEM, the Brazilian trade union confederation CUT, and Instituto Observat&oacute;rio Social (ISO) were also present in the meeting. 
 
After the meeting&rsquo;s opening, ICEM Chemicals and Rubber Industries Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan made a presentation on the global situation in the chemicals industry, and the impacts of the current financial crisis throughout the world. Dutch trade union representatives from Akzo Nobel contributed to the discussions by sending a report about the general situation and organizational structure of the company following Akzo Nobel&rsquo;s merger with British ICI. 

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During the meeting, a video conference with employees in Mexico was conducted that allowed&nbsp;for sharing of&nbsp;information and experiences. The video conferencing also served to link Mexican workers into discussion on the construction of the network. 
 
To better understand the reality facing workers, the participants visited the Akzo Nobel plant in Santo Andr&eacute;, S&atilde;o Paulo state, a paint and varnish factory of ICI Parkingon on 12 March. 
 
A Social Dialogue conference, organized on 13 March, had the participation of the human resources manager for South America, Adenilson Ara&uacute;jo, together with members of the new network. The main points discussed were the recognition of the Latin American Network of Workers&rsquo; for Akzo Nobel, and a search for information regarding a survey on health and safety in the various workplaces, as well as along the supply chain. 
 
According to Ara&uacute;jo, Akzo Nobel recognizes the consistency of the movement and will discuss all points brought forward by the network. A record with such issues will be produced and signed by the parties. 
 
&quot;The network of workers in Latin America for Akzo Nobel workers is now a reality and our goal must be to strengthen the network, and build agreements and benefits that better the lives of workers,&quot; said Sergio Carasso, the coordinator of the network.

Akzo Nobel South American Workers Form Regional Trade Union Network

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In meetings in Hanover, Germany, on 2-3 April, workers&rsquo; representatives of Continental AG met and adopted a common declaration opposing nearly 2,000 job cuts in Hanover and Clairoix, France. Calling the cuts &ldquo;morally despicable,&rdquo; the statement says that both factories posted outstanding financial results in 2008. 
 
Using the premise of the economic crisis to shutter the two plants, the statement calls the decision by Continental to close the two plants as lacking an economic basis. It also calls Continental&rsquo;s decision &ldquo;an enormous breach of trust&rdquo; against dedicated workers and calls on the German tyre and auto-parts supplier to rescind the decision. 
<img height="136" alt="" src="" width="140" />
The joint declaration also pledged to bring the issues front and centre at Continental&rsquo;s annual general meeting on 23 April in Hanover. 
 
In March, Hanover-based Continental said it would close an auto tyre plant in Clairoix, making redundant 1,120 French workers, as well as close the commercial tyre plant of Hanover-St&ouml;cken, costing another 780 workers. The announcement raised an outcry from top-level officials in both German and French governments, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and Raymond Soubie, Social Affairs adviser to President Nicolas Sarkozy. 
 
Workers at both factories have conducted several vehement protests at the two factories in recent weeks, as well as French rubber workers taking to the streets in Paris. Continental&rsquo;s decision in March also calls for reductions at a plant in Puchov, Slovakia. 
 
The statement issued by workers&rsquo; representatives late last week was made by all French unions, German unions IGBCE and IG Metall, Works Council Chairman J&ouml;rge Schustereit, and by IGBCE&rsquo;s Werner Bischoff, a member of the Continental supervisory board.

German, French Unions, Continental Works Council, Condemn Tyre Company’s European Job Cuts

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Oil-rig workers at Terra Nova off the Canadian province of Newfoundland ratified their first non-mediated collective agreement in March. And with it, the Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada is on track to link collective agreement expiration dates between onshore oil, gas, and chemical plants with its two North Atlantic offshore agreements. 
 
Workers at Terra Nova, a consortium of seven oil companies led by Petro-Canada, ratified a two-year agreement by a 60% vote. The 180 workers will receive a 6.5% wage increase retroactive to 1 October 2008, and they will receive a 4.5% increase in October 2009. 
 
Joe Gargiso, an Administrative Vice President for CEP who heads the union&rsquo;s Oil and Chemicals bargaining, said the main significance of the agreement is that it expires in 2010 when the CEP&rsquo;s National Energy Bargaining contracts come due. &ldquo;Our goal is to line up the offshore agreements with the refineries and other energy installations across Canada,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And we&rsquo;re now moving in that direction.&rdquo; 
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The CEP&rsquo;s other offshore contract, covering 450 union members, is at Hibernia, a North Atlantic platform owned by another consortium of oil companies including Petro-Canada, only led and operated by US based ExxonMobil. The collective agreement there expires on 1 July 2009. 
 
Gargiso said the labour-management relationship there has improved markedly since workers made Hibernia the first North American offshore oil platform to unionise back in 2001. 
 
Workers at Terra Nova, who organised in 2003, saw a first collective agreement take effect through a provincial mediator&rsquo;s interest arbitration award in 2006. The same holds true at Hibernia, where a Canadian provincial government mediator determined a 38-month initial agreement in May 2006. 
 
At Terra Nova, Gargiso singled out participation in a CEP Health, Safety, and Industrial Relations Fund, as well as wage adjustments ranging from one percent to 6.5% for 117 of the rig&rsquo;s workers as highlights of the new, bi-laterally negotiated agreement. The CEP&rsquo;s Fund requires employers to pay C$.03 per hour worked for this purpose. Workers won improvements in shift differential for night-time work, and improvements in training, travel expenses, and vacations. 
 
At both Terra Nova and Hibernia, the CEP collective agreements cover workers employed by all service and supply operators on the two oil platforms.

Terra Nova Offshore Oil Pact Major Step for Canadian CEP

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Son on yılda, &ccedil;okuluslu lastik şirketleri Orta Avrupa'yı yatırım cenneti olarak g&ouml;rd&uuml;ler, &uuml;retimi hızla oraya kaydırdılar ve tesisleri genişlettiler. Son olarak, ABD k&ouml;kenli Goodyear Polonya'nın Debica kentindeki tesislerine 100 milyon dolar yatırdı, Japonya'daki Bridgestone ise yine Polonya'da ikinci bir tesis kurmak &uuml;zere oraya gitti. 
 
G&uuml;ney Kore'den Hankook Macaristan'da bir &uuml;retim birimi kurdu, Bridgestone'un yeni tesisi ise faaliyete ge&ccedil;mek &uuml;zere. Hindistan'dan Apollo Tyre'ın Macaristan'da bir tesisi var. Keza, Romanya'da, Slatina'da, Pirelli &ccedil;elik kord &uuml;retmek &uuml;zere Continental AG ile birlikte kurduğu bir tesisi faaliyete ge&ccedil;irdi. 

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Ne var ki, Orta Avrupa'daki bu b&uuml;y&uuml;me, iş koşulları ve sendikal temsil konusunda bazı sonu&ccedil;lar doğuruyor. Bu b&ouml;lgedeki &uuml;cretler, &ccedil;alışma koşulları, iş sağlığı ve g&uuml;venliği kuralları Batı Avrupa &uuml;lkelerindeki d&uuml;zeyin hayli gerisinde kalıyor. Yeni tesislerin bazılarında sendikal haklar g&ouml;rmezden geliniyor ya da şirketler işyeri ve şirket sendikalarını tercih ediyorlar. 
 
Bu gelişmeler karşısında ICEM, ulusal sendikaların bu koşulların &uuml;stesin gelmesini sağlamak &uuml;zere lastik sendikalarının bir b&ouml;lge ağı kurmasını &ouml;nerdi. Macaristan, Slovakya, Romanya ve Slovenya'dan sendika y&ouml;neticileri ekonomik krizin etkilerinin yanı sıra bu sorunları g&ouml;r&uuml;şmek &uuml;zere 8-9 Nisan'da Budapeşte'de bir araya geldiler. 
ICEM'in Macaristan'dan &uuml;yesi VDSz'nin evsahipliğini yaptığı ve Friedrich Ebert Vakfı'nın desteklediği toplantıya Fransa ve İspanya'dan sendika temsilcileri ve EMCEF katıldı. 
<img height="123" alt="" src="" width="170" />
VDSz Başkanı Gy&ouml;rgy Paszternak 

Sekt&ouml;rdeki k&uuml;resel durum &uuml;zerine ICEM'in yaptığı sunumdan sonra, katılımcılar, &uuml;lkelerindeki durum hakkında raporlar sundular. Macaristan b&ouml;lgedeki lastik end&uuml;strisinin her zaman merkezi olmuştur, ama sendikal &ouml;rg&uuml;tl&uuml;l&uuml;k d&uuml;zeyi son yıllarda d&uuml;şt&uuml;. Hankook ve Bridgestone gibi bazı şirketlerde sendikaların serbest&ccedil;e kurulması ve faaliyet g&ouml;stermesi engelleniyor. 
 
ICEM'den, her iki şirketteki sendikal tanınma m&uuml;cadelesini desteklemeye devam etmesi isteniyor. Slovakya'da, mali kriz &uuml;retimin &ouml;nemli &ouml;l&ccedil;&uuml;de d&uuml;şmesine yol a&ccedil;tı, iş saatleri d&uuml;ş&uuml;r&uuml;ld&uuml; ve genelde iş&ccedil;ilere normal &uuml;cretlerinin y&uuml;zde 60'ı &ouml;deniyor. Slovenya'da iş haftasının kısaltılmasını &ouml;ng&ouml;ren bir yasa &ccedil;ıkarıldı ve sendikalar bu yasayı destekledi. 
 
Slovenya'da kriz otomotiv end&uuml;strisini ve tedarik&ccedil;i firmalardan oluşan sekt&ouml;r&uuml; ağır bir şekilde etkiledi. Başlangı&ccedil;ta, &uuml;cretler kısılmadı, ama iş&ccedil;iler yıllık izinlerini kullanmaya zorlandı. Kriz derinleştik&ccedil;e, &uuml;cretler ve iş saatleri d&uuml;ş&uuml;r&uuml;ld&uuml;. Keza Romanya'da, otomotiv end&uuml;strisinde yaşanan ağır kriz araba lastiği sekt&ouml;r&uuml;n&uuml; ciddi bi&ccedil;imde etkiliyor. Tek olumlu gelişme, sendikanın Slatina'da yeni faaliyete ge&ccedil;en Pirelli fabrikasındaki 1.500 iş&ccedil;iyi &ouml;rg&uuml;tleyerek &uuml;cretlerde y&uuml;zde 10 artış sağlaması. Toplantıda, ayrıca, EMCEF kriz &uuml;zerine bir tebliğ sundu. 
 
&ldquo;Krizin &ouml;nceki kazanımlarımızı yok etmesine izin vermemeliyiz&rdquo; diyen VDSz Başkanı Gy&ouml;rgy Paszternak s&ouml;zlerini ş&ouml;yle s&uuml;rd&uuml;rd&uuml;: &ldquo;İşverenlerin mevcut koşulları k&ouml;t&uuml;ye kullanmasına izin vermemeliyiz. Toplumsal geleceğimiz sendikaların tanınmasına, sendikal temsile, &uuml;cretlerin ve &ccedil;alışma standartlarının y&uuml;kseltilmesine bağlıdır.&rdquo;

Orta Avrupa&#039;daki lastik sendikaları mali kriz konusunda ortak stratejiler oluşturuyorlar

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report, among other items, on the new HIV/AIDS project in Ethiopia in cooperation with the LO/FTF and on the HIV/AIDS project in India, sponsored by the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim.
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The ICEM Calls on its Affiliates to Contribute to this e-bulletin 
 
ICEM affiliates are already engaged in a wide range of HIV/AIDS activities. To spread the information on new agreements, awareness, and prevention campaigns, and educational activities, affiliates and project coordinators are invited to send news and information to <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a>. Any feedback on the format and contents of the e-bulletin is also welcome. 
 
Editor: Hans J Schwass, ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant 
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HIV/AIDS Workplace Project in India on Track 
 
During his recent visit to India, which was organised by Project Coordinator BK Das who is also the General Secretary of the Indian National Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation, the ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant could confirm that the HIV/AIDS project in India, sponsored by the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, has made excellent progress. 
 
&ldquo;So far we have trained 330 peer educators from ICEM affiliates in the coal mining, chemical, cement and diamond sectors in India&rdquo;, said BK Das. &ldquo;The project is on track&rdquo;, he added. The Consultant participated in a training course for peer educators and attended HIV/AIDS awareness meetings conducted by peer educators in remote mining villages in the region where Eastern Coal Ltd (ECL), around Asansol, some 250 km northwest of Kolkata, operates. 
 
He also had the opportunity to meet with peer educators of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) in Dhanbad. Both companies are subsidiaries of Coal India Ltd. (CIL). The Deputy Chief Medical Officer of BCCL, Dr Anurag Verma, said that there has been a significant increase in the uptake of VCT as reported back by the two Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres in the region. Peer educators have also taken the initiative to campaign among commercial sex workers and they cooperate with organisations of people living with HIV and AIDS. 
 
In Kolkata, the Consultant participated in a master trainers&rsquo; course, which was facilitated by HIV/AIDS specialists SM Afsar and Divya Verma from the ILO Delhi Office. The cooperation with the ILO Delhi Office has been outstanding: two master trainer courses were facilitated; material was made available and contacts with organisations of HIV+ people and state AIDS control societies were made. The ILO has also lobbied CIL, and in a meeting with Board member R Mohan Das, further HIV/AIDS activities to be undertaken by the company at its eight subsidiaries were discussed. 
 
For a continuation of the project when funding from Boehringer Ingelheim ends in December 2009, CIL and its subsidiaries as well as state AIDS control societies have to be targeted. With companies taking the threat of the pandemic more seriously, and with state AIDS control societies recognising the workplace as a major place of HIV/AIDS intervention, the prospects for sustainable HIV/AIDS work among ICEM affiliates in India are good. 
<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="40" />
New HIV/AIDS Project in Ethiopia 
 
As reported in the March issue of the e-bulletin, the LO/FTF Council, the Danish Solidarity Support Organisation, has obtained funding for a three-year HIV/AIDS project in Ethiopia in cooperation with the ICEM-affiliated National Industrial Federation of Energy, Chemical and Mine Trade Unions (NIFECM). 
 
The main objectives of the project are to reduce HIV/AIDS stigmatisation and discrimination in the high-risk mining sector and to increase the capacity of the Federation and its affiliated unions to deal with HIV/AIDS at the workplace, negotiate agreements with employers, and thus protect workers, their families, and the wider community in remote mining areas. 
 
After a fact finding mission in December 2008, the first project activities took place in March. Two workshops were organised for the leadership and union activists of NIFECM; the first on basic facts about HIV/AIDS and awareness and prevention and the second with the objective to develop an HIV/AIDS policy for the Federation. Both workshops were facilitated by the ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant and could count on the cooperation of the ILO office in Addis Ababa. The draft HIV/AIDS policy is expected to be adopted by the NEFECM Congress in July. 
 
Further activities in 2009 include a study tour to South Africa, the preparation of materials and the development of a negotiation guide and an HIV/AIDS toolbox, which should be validated in a workshop in October. At that time, a meeting of the Project Advisory Committee is also envisaged. 
 
The training of master trainers will lead to workshops for a total of 220 local union leaders and activists who will then be capable of promoting HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention campaigns at the workplace and in mining communities. Parallel to this, the competence of union leaders in negotiations and bargaining for HIV/AIDS issues such as non-discrimination and anti-victimisation as well as reducing stigmatisation will be developed. 
<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="40" />
UNITAID to Raise Funds through Travel Web Sites 
 
Philippe Douste-Blazy, former French foreign minister and head of UNITAID, announced recently that he is in talks with the online travel industry to allow air travellers booking online to make a $2 per-flight donation to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria efforts worldwide. The global financial crisis has placed some governments' foreign aid budgets &quot;under pressure,&quot; and the United Nations is &quot;turning to private industry and individuals to finance the battle against&quot; the three diseases. Several companies are working with UNITAID to develop system for micro-contributions that could also be adopted by other industries. 
 
UNITAID aims to raise more than US$1 billion annually for HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria efforts. It has raised US$600 million during the past two years through a tax on airline tickets implemented by 12 participating countries. One flight with 300 passengers could raise enough funds to provide 60 HIV-positive children with treatment for one year. 
 
(Source: Financial Times, 11 March) 
<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="40" />
Haiti Making Progress against HIV/AIDS 
 
Some good news is coming from Haiti, one of the countries hardest hit by the epidemic. Data show that about 2.2% of Haiti's population -- or 120,000 people -- are living with HIV/AIDS and that AIDS-related deaths in the country have decreased in recent years. This compares with an HIV/AIDS prevalence of 6.1% in 2001. The percentage of HIV-positive test results among pregnant women has decreased by 50% over the past 10 years. 
 
Haiti's progress has been particularly significant for a country where 60% of the population lives below the poverty line of US$2 per day. Only four of every 10 Haitians have access to potable water and there is only one doctor for every 10,000 inhabitants. 
 
The progress in fighting HIV/AIDS in Haiti is due in large part to the efforts of dedicated people who work in NGOs founded to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS. More than 400 workers have been trained to administer no-cost antiretroviral drugs within communities. But many challenges remain as the majority of Haitians still lack sufficient sex education. Only 15% of women and 28% of men between ages 15 and 24 know HIV prevention methods, and both boys and girls are becoming sexually active at earlier ages. 
 
(Source: Cesar Chalala in Miami Herald, 12 March) 
<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="40" />
News from the Global Union Federations 
 
The Education International reports in its EI Newsletter &ndash; <a href="http://www.ei-ie.org/efaids">www.ei-ie.org/efaids</a> - of 9 April on HIV/AIDS initiatives by its affiliates in Namibia and Swaziland and reviews the recent UNESCO publication &ldquo;Heroes and Villains,&rdquo; which assesses the interaction between the education sector and the AIDS crisis and highlights the important contribution of teacher unions in the fight against the pandemic. 
 
The fortnightly HIV/AIDS update of the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) of 15 March reports on the launch of an HIV/AIDS workplace policy at Mombasa port and on a UNDP report that female migrant workers from Asia have become highly vulnerable to HIV (<a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>). 
 
 
This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe or Translate? 
 
To subscribe to the e-bulletin, send an email to <a href="mailto:press@icem.org">press@icem.org</a>. Please put &ldquo;subscribe ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin&rdquo; in the subject line. 
Unfortunately, the e-bulletin can only be published in English. 
For a free automated (non-ICEM) translation of this HIV-AIDS bulletin into other languages, you may want to try <a href="http://www.google.com/language_tools">http://www.google.com/language_tools</a> and insert the following URL into the window &quot;Translate a Web page&quot;: <a href="/index.php?id=72&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3179">/index.php?id=72&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3179</a>
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ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin No. 43 April 2009

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The Global Unions&rsquo; message was made with great effect, 30 March, When the Council of Global Unions (CGU) released an attractive publication, giving a unified response to the global economic crisis. This is the first time Global Union Federations (GUFs), who together with the ITUC and TUAC of the OECD comprise the CGU, have come together in a unified voice, from different perspectives, to produce concrete statements on the crisis. 
 
The magazine, edited by International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) General Secretary Aidan White, also supplies sector specific views on the crisis, with several GUF General Secretaries calling for enhanced roles for government in the management of the economy. 
<img height="108" alt="" src="" width="92" />
Aidan White 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda focused a chapter in the publication, entitled &ldquo;Getting the World to WORK &ndash; Global Union Strategies for Recovery,&rdquo; on issues of &ldquo;Future Fuel,&rdquo; discussing the worrying effects of the economic crisis on global fuel supplies and the necessity for sustainable development in meeting those supplies. 
 
The full publication, in pdf format, can be found at the Global Unions&rsquo; website <a href="http://www.global-unions.org/spip.php?article253">here</a>. 
 
John Evans, General Secretary of TUAC, discusses the Global Unions&rsquo; London Declaration and its proposals for economic recovery. Guy Ryder, General Secretary of the ITUC also joins the GUFs in calling for fresh approaches to governing the global economy, only in a far fairer and more sustainable fashion than in the period before last year&rsquo;s downturn. 
 
Each of the chapters can be individually downloaded off the Global Unions&rsquo; website. The publication is an important tool for trade unionists, a vital and refreshing road map for the way forward, and a valuable source of information on each of the 13 GUFs, in which the publication cements further cooperation efforts.

Global Labour Responds to the Economic Crisis with Insightful, New Publication

The ICEM is using the occasion of April 28, the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers, to announce the renewal of its campaign for the formal ratification of International Labor Organization ILO Convention 176 on Health and Safety in Mines. 
 
The ICEM has been lobbying the ILO to dramatically increase its efforts to promote ratification of the convention to improve health and safety laws in many countries. A recent seminar in Mongolia, the first in a series of proposed seminars, showed a new committment by the ILO to become more actively engaged in a campaign for ratification. (See story on Mongolia seminar in InBrief No. 129 <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3162-ILO-Mongolia-Seminar-Launches-Asia-Campaign-for-Ratification-of-Mine-Safety-Convention-176">here</a>)

ICEM Campaigns for ILO Convention 176

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In 11 days, trade unions in the free world will celebrate May Day &ndash; the globally-recognised tribute to work and labour. But in Turkey, May Day last year was met with government repression and police thuggery. 
 
Turkish unions now demand that their government declare May Day as an official holiday, as it was prior to the military coup d&rsquo;&eacute;tat in 1980. May Day celebrations were banned between then and the early 1990s, but were allowed only on limited basis after that. 
 
For trade unions in Turkey to hold any kind of celebration on May Day, they invite trouble. At last year&rsquo;s celebrations, security forces used excessive means to disperse unionists before they reached Taksim Square in Istanbul, site of a planned celebration. They used gas, water cannons, and batons in doing so. 

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Turkish police gassing the headquarters of DİSK in the early morning hours of 1 May last year
Recently, a bill was submitted by the government to the Turkish Parliament to make May Day public holiday. Parliament&rsquo;s Interior Commission raised no objections to the bill and it will be brought before Parliament on April 22. 
 
The Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (T&uuml;rk-İş), the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions (DİSK), and the Confederation of Public Sector Unions (KESK) have announced their intention and decisiveness to celebrate 1 May 2009 in historic Taksim Square, which has great significance to Turkey&rsquo;s unions because it was there that 36 unionists were killed celebrating May Day on 1 May 1977. 
 
The Turkish government uses this excuse to ban May Day celebrations in Taksim Square. 
 
In 2007, on the 30th anniversary of the so-called &ldquo;Bloody May 1&rdquo; of 1977, Turkish unions re-launched an initiative to overturn the ban on the 30th anniversary of the so-called &quot;Bloody May 1&quot; in 2007. But in both 2007 and 2008, thousands of demonstrators were taken into custody for attempting to assemble there on May Day 
 
Turkish unions consider Taksim Square as a symbol for the struggle for the eight-hour workday, for improvements in work conditions, and for the promise of living wages. But the Istanbul governorship has announced that any other square will be open for celebrations, but not Taksim Square. 

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ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda
In a statement on Turkey for May Day, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, said, &ldquo;We consider the government proposal to the Parliament to make May Day an official holiday a step forward. I am convinced this would be important to Turkish democracy and as meaningful signal to the adherence of trade union rights. 
&ldquo;I should, however, say that this only holds true if Taksim Square is opened to peaceful demonstrations on May Day. It is a symbol for the struggle of democracy and union rights. ICEM will be present in Turkey this year to follow May Day celebrations. We know that the upcoming ILO Labour Conference in June will scrutinize the Turkish government because they must modify their labour laws. ICEM believes that any changes should be significant, not just minor modifications. Turkey must put forward adequate changes regarding freedom of association, collective bargaining, and the right to strike, changes that are in line with major ILO Conventions and, in fact, standards that have already been ratified by Turkey. We will follow the developments and continue our solidarity with our Turkish affiliates in this struggle.&rdquo;

ICEM, Turkish Unions Demand May Day Holiday; Want Celebrations at Historical Taksim Square

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The Consultation Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility (CCSR) for the EDF Group of France met on 24-25 March in Paris to discuss and determine policy on the worrying situation facing employees of the mostly public electric utility and its subsidiaries throughout the world. The group determined that EDF is bound by its prior corporate social responsibility agreements to, at the very least, maintain the standard of living of its employers. 
 
In this regard, due to the effects of the global financial meltdown, specifically on purchasing power of EDF employees, adjustments must be made to salaries merely that living standards remain consistent. The committee&rsquo;s statement from Paris meeting was addressed to EDF Group Chairman Pierre Gadonneix, and other management officials, Mr. Lagarde and Mr. Caron. 

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The ICEM supports the statement of the group, and its demands, which were circulated by Marc Ferron, secretary of the CCSR and member of French union FCE-CFDT. 
 
The statement calls for more attention on the workers at EDF subsidiaries in the developing world. Workers there have been hit hardest by the crisis. The CCSR requests EDF management to redistribute profits towards the increase of salaries to, at the very least, the level of inflation and the cost of living in the country concerned. 
 
The EDF Corporate Responsibility Agreement was originally signed on 24 January 2005 by Pierre Gadonneix, EDF's President and by the assembled employee representatives from each country where the Group is present. Commitments in the Agreement included provisions for industrial restructuring within the group. Current restructuring within the group is taking place in Clover in Poland, and in UK&rsquo;s energy industry. The enterprise Leibin in China will soon be restructured and job preservation throughout all restructuring projects is called for.

EDF called on to respect CSR agreement, block job losses

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The Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), consisting of 140 countries, took a landmark decision at its deliberations in Nairobi in February 2009. The council moved to start negotiations toward an international treaty on mercury that either bans or places very strict restrictions on the dangerous chemical. 
 
UNEP&rsquo;s unanimous decision may mean the beginning of the end for mercury, although the transition to either a no-mercury or low-mercury world will still take time. 

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UNEP has, for seven years, coordinated the intense scientific and policy debate on how best to deal with mercury, said the agency&rsquo;s executive director and UN Under-Secretary, Achim Steiner. Now &ldquo;the world&rsquo;s environmental ministers, armed with the full facts and full choices, decided the time for talking was over &ndash; the time for action on this pollution is now.&rdquo; 
 
The Governing Council also was unanimous on the risk to human health. Mercury and its compounds are highly toxic to humans, especially to the nervous system at even relatively low levels of exposure. It is particularly harmful to the development of unborn children. It accumulates in humans and animals and can be concentrated throughout the food chain, notably in certain types of fish. 
 
The EU has called for a ban to begin on mercury by 2011. UNEP&rsquo;s main function is to promote international policy cooperation in the environmental field.

Say Farewell to Mercury? UNEP’s 2009 Nairobi Action Sets the Stage

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ICEM, Turkish Unions Demand May Day Holiday; Want Celebrations at Historical Taksim Square

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Say Farewell to Mercury? UNEP’s 2009 Nairobi Action Sets the Stage

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