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An 11 January methane coal blast 500 metres inside ArcelorMittal Steel&rsquo;s Abaiskaya coal mine in central Kazakhstan has killed at least 23 miners. Seven of the miners died instantly in a blaze of fire, the company reported. 
 
Rescue attempts were halted over the weekend because of high temperatures and carbon monoxide concentration caused by the early morning, 11 January explosion.
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&ldquo;We cannot risk the lives of rescuers,&rdquo; stated Kazakh Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Bozhko. &ldquo;The situation is similar with the one in Ukraine&rsquo;s Zasyadko coal mine where rescuers died,&rdquo; a reference to the deaths of five rescuers on 2 December 2007, 13 days after 111 miners perished at Zasyadko in the Donbass region of the Ukraine. 
 
Last Friday&rsquo;s blast in Kazakhstan occurred in the same area where 41 miners of ArcelorMittal Temirtau died on 20 September 2006. A methane explosion happened then at the company&rsquo;s Lenin mine. That disaster, the worst mining mishap in Kazakh history, prompted a mass strike by upwards of 24,000 workers in September and early October 2006. It was resolved with pay increases of 30% over two years, and, more importantly, promises of improved mining equipment and safety technology.
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Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal, the world&rsquo;s largest steelmaking concern, controlled by Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, operates eight coal mines around its massive steel-producing operations in the Karaganda region, including Tentekskaya, Shakhtinskaya, Kazakhstanskaya, Kuzembayev, Kostenko, Saranskaya, as well as the Lenin and Abaiskaya mines. 
 
In December 2004, 23 miners died in a gas blast inside the Shakhtinskaya mine. The government of Kazakhstan has ordered a special commission to investigate the cause of the latest explosion. Mittal began mining and steel-making operations in Kazakhstan in 1995.

Methane Blast Kills at Least 23 at ArcelorMittal Coal Mine in Kazakhstan

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The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) of the US is seeking a rare 10(j) court injunction, under the country&rsquo;s labour code, to compel Massey Energy Co. to re-hire 85 members of ICEM affiliate United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) at a mine in the state of West Virginia. The 85 were fired for their union affiliation in 2004 when Massey purchased the Cannelton Mine from Horizon Natural Resources after Horizon went into bankruptcy. 
 
The NLRB filed for the injunction on 31 January in a federal district court in Charleston, West Virginia. If the injunction is granted, not only must anti-union Massey rehire the 85, but it would require the Richmond, Virginia-based company to recognise the UMWA as lawful representative for all miners at its Spartan Mining subsidiary. It would also have to adhere to terms of the 2002 national bituminous coal agreement, and begin renewal negotiations with the UMWA.
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&nbsp;UMWA President Cecil Roberts welcomed the labour board&rsquo;s effort to take immediate remedial action. &ldquo;As workers know too well, the appeals process in labour cases can take years, while workers who have been harmed by a company&rsquo;s action get no relief,&rdquo; he said. 
 
&ldquo;But this time, things are different. We belief the NLRB&rsquo;s case for injunctive relief is a strong one, and we believe a judge will quickly see that and grant the injunction,&rdquo; said Roberts. 
 
In late November 2007, an administrative law judge of the NLRB ruled that Massey must re-hire the miners, pay backpay, and recognise the UMWA. Massey immediately said it would appeal that decision to the top five-member panel of the NLRB in Washington, DC, which could take years, and even further to the US Circuit Court of Appeals if the labour board panel rules against the company.
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In September 2004 when Massey took over Horizon&rsquo;s mine, it fired all 160 miners at the unionised operation, stating that it would seek better qualified workers. A bankruptcy judge also nullified the collective agreement, but the UMWA filed unfair labour practice charges before the NLRB. 
 
On two occasions, Massey was hit with unfair labour practice citations by the labour board, and the 21 November 2007 decision of Administrative Law Judge Paul Bogas verified the company&rsquo;s intent to discriminate against UMWA members &ldquo;on the basis of their membership in the predecessor&rsquo;s bargaining unit and their pro-union sentiments. 
 
Massey is the US&rsquo;s fourth biggest coal producer who&rsquo;s Chairman, CEO, and President, Donald Blankenship, is the most anti-union coal executive in America. Massey has renamed the Cannelton Mine and now calls it Mammoth Mine.

US Labour Board Wants Court Order to Force Massey to Re-hire Unionised Mineworkers

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A planned protest inside Finland&rsquo;s Stora Enso pulp and paper mills for 6 February was cancelled, following a Labour Court ruling that saw the demonstration as a collective bargaining act. The case was brought to the court by the Finnish Forest Industries Federation, on behalf of Stora Enso. 
 
The work-time protest, decided a week earlier by Stora Enso workers, was aimed at the Finnish government, which holds 16% of Stora Enso&rsquo;s shares, and controls 34% of the company. On 29 January, at a public meeting in Helsinki attended by 500 people and sponsored by Finnish unions Paperiliitto and Toimihenkil&ouml;unioni, three government ministers declined to intervene to halt Stora&rsquo;s mill and paper machine shutdowns.
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Two days later, workers themselves decided to do on-the-job protests against the Finnish government. This was quickly met by employers rushing to Finland&rsquo;s Labour Court and getting an expedited ruling forbidding the protests. The unions and Finnish employers officially opened industry-wide talks on 5 February for 25,000 workers employed by multiple pulp and paper companies. 
 
&ldquo;We are disappointed that the government did not take action to stop the closures, at least until further study and other remedies could be found,&rdquo; stated ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We also find it unusual that in a country such as Finland, a Labour Court would be used to block a legitimate workers&rsquo; protest.&rdquo; 
If the 7,000 Stora Enso workers had defied the ruling, Finnish trade unions would have been subjected to a compensatory fine, payable to the employer. There is no procedure for appeal of the Labour Court ruling.
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At the 29 January public meeting, Finnish Defence Minister Jyri H&auml;k&auml;mies, who heads the government&rsquo;s enterprise ownership oversight, as well as Labour Minister Tarja Cromberg and Economic Affairs Minister Mauri Pekkarinen, gave no pledge that the government could or would intervene on Stora Enso&rsquo;s latest restructuring plan. 
 
The following day, 30 January, Stora Enso permanently idled one paper machine at its Summa, Finland, newsprint and book papers mill in Kymenlaakso, while it shut the mill&rsquo;s second paper machine on 31 January. A total of 450 jobs were lost. An equal number also will be eliminated when the Kemij&auml;rvi pulp mill shuts in April 2008, and a paper machine at the Anjala mill ceases production in November. 
 
The 20-million-member International Federation of Chemical, Energy, and Mine Workers&rsquo; Union (ICEM) is also critical of Stora Enso&rsquo;s unwillingness to grow jobs rather than destroy them at the company&rsquo;s Norrsundet, Sweden, mill. There, 350 jobs are expected to be made redundant when Stora closes the bleached softwood kraft pulp mill late this year rather than sell it to a perspective buyer. 
 
In Finland, industry-wide social talks did begin on 5 February with the unions and Finnish Forest Industries Federation exchanging initial proposals. The existing three-year contract for Finland&rsquo;s number one industrial sector expires on 31 May 2008.

Finnish Paper Industry Uses Court Order to Block Government Protest

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Global Unions Meet Global Fund
In conjunction with the meeting of the Advisory Committee of the Global Unions AIDS Programme in Geneva, consultations were held with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM). Ezekiel Dyke, General Secretary of the United Mineworkers&rsquo; Union of Sierra Leone, participated on behalf of the ICEM, together with the Global Coordinator who gave a presentation on the ICEM&rsquo;s engagement with the Global Fund. 
 
While a few Global Union Federations had interactions with the GFATM &ndash; the ICEM even had a joint mission to Ghana in May 2006 &ndash; this was the first comprehensive meeting to boost trade union involvement in the structures and programmes of the GFATM. 
 
The Global Fund is an independent public-private partnership to raise and disburse new funds to combat the three diseases. As it operates as a financial instrument and not an implementing agency, it does not have regional or country representation. Since its formation almost six years ago, it has an ever-growing secretariat in Geneva. 
 
At national level, Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM) submit proposals which, if a proposal is approved, are implemented through Principal Recipients. 
 
By the end of 2007, grants in 136 countries with a total of US$14.5 billion had been approved, with grant agreements signed for US$8 billion and more than the US$5 billion disbursed. About 50% of funding goes towards HIV/AIDS services. 
 
The international labour movement seeks representation on the global structures of the GFATM, and for its affiliates at national level involvement in the CCMs. Workplace programmes to fight the diseases &ndash; especially HIV/AIDS &ndash; need advocates so that such programmes are included in proposals. The ILO, which signed a letter of agreement with the GFATM in 2003, has been working on the inclusion of world of work components in country proposals. 
 
In its publication &ldquo;An Evolving Partnership: The Global Fund and Civil Society,&rdquo; the GFATM clearly considers unions as vital members of civil society. There are, however, a lot of characteristics which distinguish unions from civil society organisations. 
In his opening remarks, Michel Kazatchkine, the GFATM Executive Director, acknowledged that the private sector, for which the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is the focal point, is mainly represented by management and not by representatives of the workforce. In its dealings with the GFATM, the ICEM has said that the private sector is business and unions. 
 
Working groups identified shared goals between the Global Unions and the Global Fund and they made suggestions on how to overcome obstacles and barriers, such as building capacity in the unions. One condition to make progress in future is the recognition of labour as a separate entity in the global and national structures of the GFATM. 
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World AIDS Day 2007
On the occasion of World AIDS Day on 1 December, the Bangladesh Chemical Workers&rsquo; Federation organised a seminar to increase awareness among its members. The union&rsquo;s women&rsquo;s committee published a poster based on the campaign posters of the World AIDS Campaign, which were sent out by the ICEM. 
 
In Namibia, officials, and members of the Mine Workers&rsquo; Union of Namibia attended the national event in Keetmanshoop. and activities organised by the Namibia Business Coalition on AIDS in Windhoek. 
 
During the 4th ICEM World Congress in Bangkok, hundreds of union leaders reconfirmed their commitment by signing the pledge &ldquo;Stop AIDS &ndash; Keep the Promise&rdquo;. See that story <a href="/en/72-HIV-AIDS/2487-ICEM-Reconfirms-Commitment-to-Fight-HIV-AIDS-Pandemic">here</a>. 
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Global Fund Round 8 Proposals
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is scheduled to issue its call for proposals for Round 8 on 1 March 2008. From that date, applicants will have 120 days to prepare and submit their proposals. 
 
Although this seems a fair amount of time, the demanding proposal form and complicated procedures may require more time. There is no reason not to start the process now. For unions, that means getting membership on CCM in order to ensure that workplace projects are included in proposals to the Global Fund. At the consultations between Global Unions and the Global Fund (see &quot;Global Unions Meet&quot;, above), an adaptation of the proposal form and of the GFATM Guidelines for Round 8 to include workers organisations as eligible organisations was discussed. 
 
Aidspan, the publisher of the Global Fund Observer, has released, Volume 1: &ldquo;Getting a Head Start.&rdquo; its guide for Round 8 applications to the Global Fund. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer Issue 84, 29 January 2008. 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>) 
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Business Coalitions Tackling AIDS
On the occasion of the annual meeting in January of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the Forum&rsquo;s Global Health Initiative published an in-depth study of the activities of business coalitions on AIDS, entitled, &ldquo;Business Coalitions Tackle AIDS: A Worldwide Review.&rdquo; 
 
By the end of 2007, four regional and 47 national business coalitions were in existence with a further ten to be established in 2008. They have emerged as an effective platform for the private sector response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. 
 
Business Coalitions provide private sector companies with the tools and training to address HIV and AIDS at the workplace. Too often, however, they do not include unions in the design and implementation of workplace programmes which address the workforce of a company. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS and WEF website) 
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Haiti: Poverty and Injustice the Biggest Hurdle 
Years of political turmoil and deep poverty have allowed HIV and AIDS to flourish in Haiti, which has the highest prevalence rate in the world outside sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS is the leading cause of death in Haitian women aged between 15 and 49. 
 
Progressio&rsquo;s latest report argues that HIV and AIDS cannot be tackled without addressing the endemic poverty and injustice that exists in Haiti. The government is failing to take the situation seriously, but must tackle the increase in sexual assaults and rape which put women at risk of infection. 
 
(Souce: <a href="http://www.ciir.org">Progressio</a>&nbsp;-&nbsp;Progressio is an international organisation working for the eradication of poverty) 
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Peru: Companies are Fined 
New Peruvian labour inspection regulations provide fines on companies which dismiss workers solely for their HIV/AIDS status. Workers can submit complaints to Peru&rsquo;s Ministry of Labour and appeal to the courts for reinstatement. 
 
Peru has a relatively low infection rate; in the last 20 years, about 20,000 people have died of AIDS and some 30,000 are presently infected. 
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Soccer and Condoms 
The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has launched a condom-distribution programme for the African Cup of Nations, currently taking place in Ghana. 
 
With the support from the UN Fund for Population Activities, the commission distributes condoms at no cost to hotels in Ghana to help reduce the spread of HIV during the tournament. More than one million people are expected to visit the country. 
 
GAC Director General, Prof S.A. Amoa, said that more than 300,000 cases of HIV/AIDS are recorded in the country. While more than 30,000 people need treatment, only some 12,000 presently receive it. 
 
(Source: Vanguard, 10 January) 
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News from the Global Union Programme and Global Unions
In its most recent newsletter of 21 January on Education For All and HIV/AIDS Prevention at Schools, the Education International (EI) reported on the launch of its new initiative, called &ldquo;One Hour on AIDS.&rdquo; Learners around the world benefited from lessons on HIV and AIDS on the same day, 30 November. EI has put together a kit specially designed for teachers - <a href="http://www.ei-ie.org/efaids">www.ei-ie.org/efaids</a>.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin

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The ICEM encourages trade unionists to apply early for the Winter 2008-2009 Global Labour University&rsquo;s masters degree programmes, to be held in Brazil, Germany, India, and South Africa. The degree and curriculum is called Labour and Globalisation. Deadline for application is 1 April 2008 for the classes in Germany and India, 15 September 2008 for South Africa, and 1 October for the programme in Brazil. 
 
Courses are offered in English. Prospective students can choose one or two locations. 
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The programme offered at University of Kassel and the Berlin School of Economics in Germany concentrates on global governance and macroeconomics; the programme at the University of Witwaterstrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, centers on the politics of development; the programme at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), S&atilde;o Paulo State, centers on analyzing transnational companies; and the programme at the Tata Institute, Mumbai, India, deals with the informal economy.
ACTRAV, the ILO Bureau for Workers' Activities, offers study-related internships which help to bridge the gap between the academic world and trade union reality. Guest instructors from partner universities and international organisations complement the course offerings at the individual school. 
 
Further information and details about the application process, as well as possible scholarships, can be obtaining by clicking <a href="http://www.global-labour-university.org">here</a>.&nbsp;

Applications Open for Global Labour University’s 2008 Programmes in Brazil, Germany, India, South Af

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The three-day Coal Conference for global trade unions, held in Calcutta, India, 14-16 December 2007, produced a report presenting an overview of the current, unprecedented growth rates in coal consumption and production, and how that relates to safety and health and trade unionism. That report can be found <a href="/index.php?id=5&amp;doc=2552&amp;la=EN">here</a>. 
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The ICEM is grateful to its affiliated trade union, the Indian National Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation (INMF), as well as to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), for hosting the conference, and to the ILO for its generous support.

Report Available from December’s Coal Conference in India

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A fresh report entitled &ldquo;Can Transnational Corporations Legally Apply Conditions to Companies That Supply Contract and Agency Labour?&rdquo; is now available on the ICEM web-site. The report, written as part of ICEM&rsquo;s ongoing campaign on Contract and Agency Labour, is a research effort that originated from the question whether or not a multinational company can impose social standards on its suppliers. 
 
The first of the three sections of the document deals with the international legal framework, examining existing language in labour law, commercial, trade and contract law. Issues dealt with include ILO Convention 181 on Private Employment Agencies and the ILO Recommendation 198, on the Employment Relationship. Other topics include the link between labour standards and global and regional trade agreements, and between contract law and labour standards. 
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The second section deals with corporate codes of conduct. The third section looks at national legal frameworks, both in labour and commercial law. Prominently focused in this last section is the question: what criteria determine the real employment relationship between a company and a worker, regardless of the contractual terms between them? 
 
Different countries are looked at in this respect, with examples, citing case law, from Canada, South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, the Philippines, UK, France, and US. The full report can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0801BMCALreport.pdf">here</a>.

Transnationals and Agency Labour: ICEM Research Report Available

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Civil unrest has gripped Panama now for two weeks, following the cold-blooded murder on 12 February of a leader of a construction workers&rsquo; union. Members of the National Union of Workers in the Construction and Similar Industries (SUNTRACS) were protesting in the Caribbean port city of Col&oacute;n over inadequate health, safety, and hygiene on the job, when student-leader Al Iromi Smith was shot in the back by a police officer. 
 
The killing, the third by police or agents of a yellow construction union of SUNTRACS members since last August, brought tens of thousands of protesters to the streets in several Panamanian cities between 13-16 February. Those protests continued last week, as SUNTRACS members and their allies passed circulars, with their demands printed, on major avenues in Panama City, Col&oacute;n, and other cities.
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On 16 February, Panama&rsquo;s President, Mart&iacute;n Torrijos, issued a decree calling for more enforcement and safeguards inside the country&rsquo;s booming construction market. But that decree did not go far enough in meeting building workers&rsquo; demands. In a one-year period to January 2008, 29 construction workers have died on the job, mostly from falls off high-rise buildings that are under construction. 
 
The Global Union Federation, Building and Wood Workers&rsquo; International (BWI), immediately lodged a stern protest over the assassination of Smith, which reportedly occurred as he was entering a medical centre for treatment following street clashes with police. BWI also launched a letter-writing drive to Torrijos and National Police Commander, Rolando Mirones. 
 
Some 30 or more protesters were severely injured in the clashes, with reports of 700 construction workers being detained. SUNTRACS said national police raided construction sites in the days following the 12 February death of Smith, arresting building worker activists and holding them in isolation. The government did arrest the police officer charged in the shooting, as well as another officer who witnessed the killing. 
 
At Smith&rsquo;s funeral, on 19 February, SUNTRACS leaders said the government and employers&rsquo; association still must meet wage demands and impose price freezes on living essentials, such as food, fuel, and housing. A Panamanian growth rate surpassing 10% has caused a 2007 inflation rate of 6.4%, with wages left far behind. 
 

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The union is also demanding the dismissal of Interior Minister Daniel Delgado Diamante, a former Noriega aide who is accused of suppressing protests, using strong-armed tactics, means since his appointment last year. They also seek the removal of Police Commander Mirones. SUNTRACS will meet again tomorrow, 26 February, with government leaders and the building employers&rsquo; association in attempts to resolve differences. 
 
Meanwhile, following a mass meeting of SUNTRACS members on 23 February in Panama City, the union will partner with a coalition grouping, the National Front for the Defence of Economic and Social Rights (FRENADESO), in calling two warning marches &ndash; Thursday, 28 February, and again on 13 March &ndash; which would serve as a precursor for a national strike if workers&rsquo; demands are not met by the government and employers.

Strife, Trade Union Deaths Caused by Unsafe Work Conditions in Panama

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With majority support, Eastern Canadian pulp and paper union officers voted to enter talks a full year early in efforts to preserve job security and find solutions to the forestry crisis in Canada. Meeting in Montr&eacute;al, Quebec, last week, 250 local union leaders of ICEM affiliate Communications, Energy, and Paperworkers (CEP) Union, from both the East and the West of Canada, drew up common strategies on bargaining agendas. 
 
CEP and the lead company chosen in the East, Canadian-based AbitibiBowater, will begin talks on 2 March, 13 months before the expiry of labour agreements in the East. CEP will be seeking a contract extension in these talks.
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CEP represents 5,500 AbitibiBowater workers in about 15 eastern Canadian pulp and paper mills. The bargaining pattern set there will then be used for contract extensions at other pulp and paper companies in the East, which employ another 20,000 paperworkers. 
 
In the West, contracts at CEP-represented mills expire on 1 April 2008. CEP President Dave Coles said key issues in both East and West negotiations will be job security, probing operational processes in order to achieve productivity gains, and contract term lengths.
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Coles said the challenges in these talks will be to find modern ways to enhance productivity, without wage and benefit cuts. &ldquo;This will not be done by making economic cuts in our collective agreements,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We think it is better to optimize productivity than to cut wages.&rdquo; 
 
Pulp and paper local unions in both parts of Canada are currently under five-year labour accords, with the ones in the East due to expire on 1 April 2009.

Canadian Paperworkers Vote to Enter Eastern Talks Early

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American trade union leaders have vowed to continue blocking the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement in the US Congress, following a two-hour meeting on 13 February in Bogot&aacute; with President &Aacute;lvaro Uribe and Attorney General Mario Iguar&aacute;n Arana. That is because the Colombian government gave them no guarantee that justice would be served over trade union murders and human rights abuses. 
 
The US union leaders, representing national labour centre AFL-CIO, United Steelworkers (USW), and Communications Workers&rsquo; of America (CWA), met on 12 February with a panel from Colombian national centres CUT, CTC, and CGT. The Colombian unionists urged the American labour leaders to oppose the free-trade agreement until Colombia takes uncompromising action to halt trade union violence, and bring those responsible to justice. 
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The American delegation was composed of AFL-CIO Vice President Emerita Linda Chavez-Thompson, CWA President Larry Cohen, and USW Legal Counsel Dan Kovalik. The trade unionists told Uribe that his 2005 reconciliation act, the Justice and Peace Law, has failed. They urged him to take sharper measures to halt the judicial impunity that Colombia is granting the murderers of trade unionists.
The USW said 443 trade unionists have been assassinated since Uribe took office in 2002. Although the number of killings in 2007 was down to 38, five murders have already occurred in 2008. The USW&rsquo;s Kovalik said only 3% of these murders have been successfully prosecuted to conviction. 
 
Over a 21-period in the South American country, from 1986 to the close of 2007, 2,557 trade unionists have been assassinated. Representatives from the union Unite in the UK also participated in the Colombia trip earlier this month.

Unions Will Continue to Block US-Colombia Trade Pact Due to Trade Union Murders, Impunity

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