English

Español

Français

Aerospace

Automotive

Base metals

Chemical, pharmaceutical and bio-science

Energy

Glass, cement, ceramic and associated industries

ICT, electrical and electronics

Mechanical Engineering

Mining and DGOJP

Pulp and paper

Rubber

Shipbuilding and shipbreaking

Textile, garment, shoes, leather and textile services

Sectors

Action Plan 2025-2029

Action on textile and garment industry

Clean up shipbreaking

Ratify ILO C176

United for a just future - time to pay up!

Disinvest from Myanmar

Campaigns

Global Framework Agreements

Union building

White-collar workers

Health & safety

Industry 4.0

Women

Youth

LGBTQI+

Gender, equality, diversity and inclusion (GEDI)

Just Transition

Organizing with industriALL

What we do

Affiliates

Statutes

Elected Officials

Executive Committee

Geneva head office

South East Asia

Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Regional offices

About us

Global worker No1 2022

Global worker No2 2022

Publications

Resources

Press

<div> 
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" /></div>
Further industrial actions in Queenland&rsquo;s rich coal fields happened over the weekend and early last week as three Australian unions &ndash; joined together as the Single Bargaining Unit (SBU) &ndash; continue months-long efforts to gain a fair collective agreement with the world&rsquo;s number one exporter of metallurgical coal, the BHP Billiton-Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA).
Mineworkers led by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), and the Australia Manufacturing Workers&rsquo; Union (AMWU) and Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU), this weekend took 12-hour work stoppages at BMA&rsquo;s Gregory Crinum and Blackwater mines in the Bowen Basin, while similar rolling 12-hour strikes occurred from 7-9 August at the Goonyella Riverside, Saraji, Peak Downs, and Norwich Park mine sites.
The protected actions are in preparation for SBU-BMA talks this week, 18-19 August. Some 4,000 miners have been stymied by the coal-producing enterprise belonging to the two multinationals since December 2010 over a fair collective agreement. (See prior <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4506-Stop-Work-Meetings-Raise-Stakes-in-Queensland-Coal-Talks">ICEM report</a> from June.)
<img alt="" src="" width="260" height="131" />&nbsp;
SBU Picket at Goonyella Riverside Mine, July 
Despite BMA publicly boasting of high miners&rsquo; salaries and its own pay offer in these drawn-out talks, the dispute has little to do with money but rather work conditions and quality-of-life issues. The SBU is resisting unwanted extensions on work rosters, which will negatively affect family life, and they oppose BMA&rsquo;s desire to gain flexibility over contracting out, an obvious job security threat. BMA wants to move from a five-day weekly roster to a seven-day one, and seeks greater rule over operators&rsquo; jobs.
Since industrial action began following a 2 June ballot that saw a 92% support, the strength of miners of the three unions has only grown. That was visible at a mass picket at the Saraji mine that was set up on 6 August.
BMA is a ten-year joint venture that extracts 58 million tonnes annually of coking coal from the Bowen Basin and exports it from its wholly-owned Hay Point terminal on Australia&rsquo;s east coast.

CFMEU Still Seeking Australian Coal Agreement with BHP Billiton/Mitsubishi

<div> 
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" /></div>
Union members of US affiliated Teamsters Union (IBT) used a broadening corporate campaign to win reprieve over job losses at a BMW auto-parts warehouse in California. IBT Local 495 and North American bosses of German auto-maker BMW agreed on 9 August to a six-month extension of a collective agreement that was to expire 31 August.
BMW North America had given notice in June that it would terminate the agreement at a parts distribution warehouse in Ontario, California, then and outsource the 68 Teamster jobs to a third party logistics company. The IBT nationally then ramped up a pressure campaign on both sides of the Atlantic (see prior <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4570-US-Teamsters-Ardently-Resist-BMW-s-Auto-Parts-Outsourcing">ICEM news article</a> here) and there is little question that adverse publicity on the luxury auto producer caused management to re-consider.
<div>Last week, just as dockworkers belonging to unions affiliated with the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) organised informational pickets at nine ports in 10 countries on behalf of the California warehouse workers, BMW North America sat down with Local 495 in Southern California and agreed to extend the contract for six months to allow the two sides to work out a mutually acceptable solution that addresses long-term employment for Teamster members.</div>
<img alt="" src="" width="223" height="160" />
<div align="center">Dockworkers picket in Bremerhaven, Germany, on behalf of US Teamsters</div>
<div align="center"> 
&ldquo;We sent a clear message to BMW with our campaign actions that outsourcing these jobs is unacceptable,&rdquo; said Teamsters Joint Council 42 Public Affairs Director Ed Rendon. &ldquo;We won&rsquo;t be happy until we get a full agreement, but we&rsquo;re highly optimistic this will happen and BMW will better run their business with our members&rdquo; maintaining direct employment.</div>
Added IBT Local 495 Secretary-Treasurer Bob Lennox, &ldquo;I am confident that BMW will honor its promises to find a solution to keep their long-time, dedicated workforce and ensure that these jobs remain good, middle-class jobs.&quot;
Teamster members and supporters protested at a 6-7 August weekend event called &ldquo;Bimmerfest&rdquo; in the state of Maryland where BMW enthusiasts annually turn out to celebrate ownership of the German car. Thousands of handbills were distributed and a Teamster-hired airplane flew overhead with a banner emblazoned &ldquo;BMW: the Ultimate Misery,&rdquo; the campaign&rsquo;s slogan.
And on 8 August, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa sent a letter to BMW North America CEO Jim O&rsquo;Donnell telling him that members of the International Longshore &amp; Warehouse Union (ILWU) were about to picket the Port of Los Angeles, and reminded him that the company received monetary assistance during the 2008-09 financial crisis from the US federal government.
The 68 Ontario warehouse workers themselves had spent their weekends handbilling BMW dealerships in California, Oregon, and Washington state, telling consumers about on BMW&rsquo;s intended social dumping.
The Ontario, California, warehouse is one of six parts depots in the US, supplying and distributing BMW parts to auto dealerships and auto-supply outlets in the western region of the US.

Campaign Action Wins US Teamsters BMW Contract Extension

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
A three-day strike last week by a branch of Indonesia trade union Federasi Serikat Pekerja Pulp Dan Kertas (FSP2KI), ICEM&rsquo;s pulp, paper, and packaging affiliate, was suspended today in hopes that talks at the regional Parliament can bring a 2011 wage accord. Those talks should have happened late last week when union leaders and government officials entered the struck PT Tanjung Enim Lestari pulp mill to negotiate, but mill managers disappeared and made themselves unavailable. 
 
Today&rsquo;s talks will be mediated by the provincial Manpower Ministry and came about through global pressure on Marubeni Corp. and the fact that FSB2KI&rsquo;s branch union at the mill, SPPTTEL, had conducted such a thorough strike last week. If talks fail, SPPTTEL has promised another three days of strike action next week, 10-12 August. 
 
All 1,000 workers at the pulp mill, located near Muaraenim in southern Sumatra Island, began strike action on 27 July in response to repressive and rude bargaining table behaviour by managers of PT Tanjung Enim Lestari, a subsidiary of the Japanese holding company Marubeni. When local government officials attempted to mediate the dispute with local managers on 29 July, they found they had left the mill and could not be contacted. 
<img alt="" src="" width="286" height="160" />
SPPTTEL Strike, 27 July
Last week the ICEM put out a solidarity appeal for support to the FSP2KI branch union, SPPTTEL, as well as information on registering protests with local managers. The ICEM continues to seek support and further pressure on local managers. Readers are encouraged to visit this <a href="/en/19-Pulp-Paper/4567-Indonesian-Paperworkers-On-Strike-at-Japanese-Marubeni-Pulp-Mill">ICEM Pulp and Paper</a> link to participate.&nbsp; 
 
During wage talks in late June and again in mid-July &ndash; with government officials participating &ndash; PT Tanjung Enim Lestari managers offered only token salary increases for 2011, citing profit losses. In the July talks, the union pointed to increased production, rising market pulp prices, consistent profits from 2007 to 2010, and asked to see the employer&rsquo;s most recent balance sheet. 
 
With that, managers became indignant and threatened worker layoffs and terminating bargaining committee members if the team persisted with their demands. They also promised any strike would be met by police force. Although a police presence was nearby last week, the strike was peaceful and void of conflict. Strikers wore red and white ribbons, while a number of South Sumatra supporters and KSP2KI members from other pulp and paper mills have joined the strike wearing black ribbons. 
 
SPPTTEL is insisting on a total halt to the bargaining table threats and intimidation, and an across-the-board monthly increase of IDR 632,000, or US$74. PT Tanjung Enim Lestari has offered IDR 210,000, or US$24. The average median salary in the pulp mill is IDR 2 million, or US$235-per-month. 
 
The ICEM will monitor today&rsquo;s dialogue at the provincial seat in Muaraenim and, if necessary, continue to press Maurabeni for accountability. The mill has capacity to produce 450,000 metric tonnes of market pulp annually and is Indonesia&rsquo;s third largest pulp mill.

Paperworkers Strike Indonesian Pulp Mill; Pressure Brings Marubeni to Table

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The ten-day strike by union members of Sindicato No. 1 Escondida of Chile&rsquo;s Federation of Miners (FMC) at the world&rsquo;s largest copper mine has galvanized mining unions in the South American country. In unprecedented solidarity, mineworkers&rsquo; unions of the private-sector FMC and at state-run Codelco, the Federation of Workers of Cobre (FTC), are uniting to proclaim a larger portion of the world&rsquo;s copper profits must remain in national hands. 
 
That message was made clear last Thursday, 28 July, when leaders of both federations met in Antofagasta in northern Region II to discuss how companies circumvent labour laws and collective agreement conventions at the expense of mineworkers, and how natural resources are exploited to the detriment of Chile&rsquo;s national character. Outside the trade union meeting, rank-and-file workers marched and demanded re-nationalisation of copper mining. 
<img alt="" src="" width="237" height="164" />
28 July manifestation in Antofagasta
That may seem improbable, but one thing is not: soaring pricing on copper concentrates and copper cathodes and the ever-growing profit margins of multinationals that mine and trade the red metal worldwide has created a &ldquo;Together We Can&rdquo; mentality. Chile&rsquo;s mineworkers are now saying that unified industrial action can affect the country&rsquo;s future for the better. 
 
Consider that on a single day &ndash; 30 July &ndash; 10% of the world&rsquo;s copper production stopped when 1,500 FMC miners at Do&ntilde;a In&eacute;s Collahuasi (AngloAmerican and Xstrata) joined 2,400 miners of FMC Sindicato No. 1 at Minera Escondida Ltd. (BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto). Although grievances reflected separate sets of negligent circumstances at the two mining complexes, the unity of purpose was evident. 
 
The bosses have declared both strikes illegal because the walkouts occurred during running collective agreements. But when companies abrogate terms of those contracts &ndash; or refuse dialogue on health and safety or other concerns &ndash; what choice is there? Sindicato No. 1 has taken Escondida Ltd&rsquo;s breaches to labour court to disprove the illegality of its strike. 
<img alt="" src="" width="128" height="159" />
Cristi&aacute;n Arancibia
FMC President Cristi&aacute;n Arancibia said that workers are hearing a national calling, that unions of his federation feel a responsibility to the people and communities of mining regions. He said agreement has been reached with the FTC that mineworkers will not be &ldquo;accomplices to Chile&rsquo;s resources sold away for foreign investment.&rdquo; That includes FMC recognition that Codelco is chipping away at FTC&rsquo;s membership in order to partially privatise the world&rsquo;s largest copper company. 
 
The FTC&rsquo;s Cristian Cuevas, in turn, demanded that Escondida Ltd. stop persecuting workers by failing to fulfil the terms of the 2009-2013 collective agreement and disrespecting international labour conventions. He also warned that if BHP Billiton sacked striking Sindicato No. 1 members and replaces them with scabs, the wrath of all Chilean mineworkers will be heard. 
 
The ten-day strike by FMC Sindicato No. 1 at Escondida is portrayed as a difference in a one-off production bonus between the union and management. In fact, it is over dramatic reductions in agreed-upon production bonuses that were reduced three-fold this past spring while multinationals, BHP Billiton (57.5%) and Rio Tinto (30%), were reaping huge profits from a mining enterprise that accounts for 7% of the world&rsquo;s copper supply. 
 
At Collahuasi, the 24-hour walkout on 30 July &ndash; only eight months after a bitter 33-day strike &ndash; was over the company negotiating individually with workers outside the collective agreement. It was also brought about by an unresolved health issue from that November-December 2010 strike. The mine is located 4,000 metres high in the Atacama Desert of the Andes where oxygen levels are low and worker body stress is high. Anglo American and Xstrata have a US$750 million expansion underway that will nearly double production. The new open-cast mining area is at even higher altitudes, up to 5,000 metres. The FMC affiliate, Sindicato de los Trabajadores de Collahuasi, seeks dialogue to address the obvious and adverse health affects.

‘Together We Can’ …. Chile’s Copper Miners Unite for National Gain

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
In a landmark ruling issued 25 July by the full bench of Australia&rsquo;s Federal Court, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) successfully short-circuited Rio Tinto&rsquo;s 2008 decision to unilaterally put into effect a non-union collective agreement. The ruling voids Rio Tinto&rsquo;s sham five-year agreement with ten new hires in July 2008 that was intended to cover thousands of iron ore miners in West Australia, both signed under bygone individual work agreements under the John Howard government and future employees. 
 
The practice was done to avoid law changes then coming under Fair Work Australia. 
 
The 20-page ruling likely will serve as a precedent and a key portal for CFMEU to recruit miners in the mostly non-union Pilbara mining areas and then enter into legitimately negotiated enterprise labour agreements. Besides Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton also implemented long-term phoney collective agreements as a means to escape the CFMEU once the Fair Work Act took effect. 
<img alt="" src="" width="169" height="160" />
CFMEU's Gary Wood
&ldquo;Rio and other employers that went down that path were, obviously, looking to shield themselves from the new legislation which brought fairness into the workplace, particularly around bargaining,&rdquo; said CFMEU West Australia Mining and Energy Secretary Gary Wood. 
 
The CFMEU challenged the validity of Rio Tinto&rsquo;s 2008 non-union contract last year, but Justice Robert Buchanan ruled in August 2010 that it was valid. On CFMEU appeal, however, the full bench of Justices Peter Gray, Bruce Lander, and Anna Katzmann overturned Buchanan&rsquo;s decision, determining that the contract was not an &ldquo;employee collective agreement&rdquo; as defined by the new legislation. 
 
The case centered on Rio&rsquo;s subsidiary Pilbara Iron Company Pty. Ltd. and a so-called Pilbara Iron Employee Agreement that was intended to last until 2013. The CFMEU argued that the company could not properly describe employees scheduled to work under the agreement when it was signed on 28 July 2008.

Australia’s CFMEU Wins Major Bargaining Ruling Against Rio Tinto

<img src="" width="120" height="59" alt="" />
The ICEM was angered and shocked by the madness in Norway late last week, expressing disbelief to its Norwegian affiliated unions that such xenophobic lunacy could occur in such a model democratic social nation. General Secretary Manfred Warda, who was in the US at the time attending another affiliate&rsquo;s convention, said in a message to Norwegian trade unionists that it was with &ldquo;deep shock and sadness that I received the horrible news of the shootings and murders of so many young people and the losses from the terrible blast in Oslo. 
 
&ldquo;I am sure all over the world ICEM-affiliated trade unions feel the sadness and extend sympathies to the families who lost loved ones. We all feel deep solidarity with the people of Norway, we offer our condolences, and these tragic events show how much we need to be on alert to right-wing extremism and intolerable fundamentalism.&rdquo; 
 
Norwegian Fellesforbundet President Arve Bakke, in a letter to global trade unions on the massacre of young Labour Party activists at Ut&oslash;ya and the Oslo bombing on 22 July, said: &ldquo;We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for your solidarity and support following the shocking, violent and cowardly attacks that took place at Ut&oslash;ya and in Oslo.
<img src="" width="150" height="116" alt="" />
&nbsp;Fellesforbundet President Arve Bakke 

&ldquo;Our thoughts are now with the families, relatives and friends of the victims and everyone affected by this tragedy. 
 
&ldquo;It is with great shock and grief we were witness to the blackest day in Norwegian labour movement history. In just a few hours many union and political activists from the Norwegian labour movement were brutally deprived of their lives. Also democracy was hit at its core. The centre of national government was bombed beyond recognition and an important part of our future was massacred.
<img src="" width="80" height="105" alt="" />
&ldquo;This is a time to stand firm to our ideals and we condemn the forces that want to destroy everything we believe in. I will make Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg&rsquo;s words mine: &lsquo;We must never give up ourvalues. We must show that our open society can pass this test too. That the answer to violence is even more democracy. Even more humanity. But never naivety. This we owe the victims and their families.&rsquo; 
 
&ldquo;Again, thank you for your concern and solidarity.&rdquo;

ICEM Expresses Anger, Disbelief at Norwegian Carnage

Trade unionists of SPPTTEL, part of ICEM affiliate FSP2KI in Indonesia, began a strike today and they need your support. The strike is over bullying and bargaining table intimidation by management of PT Tanjung Enim Lestari, almost totally owned by the Marubeni Corp. of Japan. 
 
The ICEM today sent a <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/87.ICEM.PTTanjungEnimLestari.Indonesia.pdf">protest letter</a> to mill managers. Please copy all of the letter or better yet, put your own few words into effect and send to the <a href="mailto:ykanbe@telpp.com; eko.ganefianto@telpp.com; amrodji@telpp.com">mill management team</a>. Tell them how you feel about threats and intimidation of legitimate shop-floor union representatives. 
 
The situation is this: collective negotiations began in late June and continued on 12 July and 15 July. They were done in tripartite fashion with involvement from the local government of South Sumatra. But the company managers named above completely stonewalled any movement toward agreement, instead threatening the union committee with termination if they continued their persistence for a collective contract. These managers also threatened layoffs and stated that if paperworkers went on strike, police force would be used. 
 
Today, 26 July, began the first day of the strike. SPPTTEL is expected to continue the strike through to 30 July. 
 
As well, please cut and paste the following support message and send to the unions involved and SPPTTEL union leader below: 
 
We have heard of your strike at PT Tanjung Enim Lestari and we offer you our full support and solidarity. Please let all the workers know they have the support of out union. (signed) 
 
The solidarity messages should go to <a href="mailto:sppttel@telpp.com; mediacentre.fsp2ki@gmail.com; irzanz@yahoo.co.id">SPPTTEL and FSP2KI</a>. 
 
PT Tanjung Enim Lestari is a market pulp mill that employs about 1,000 workers and produces 450,000 metric tonnes per year of market pulp.

Indonesian Paperworkers On Strike at Japanese Marubeni Pulp Mill

<img height="39" width="100" src="" alt="" />
Actions around the world have begun, marking the Global Days of Action for trade union rights in Mexico, 14-19 February. Support the campaign now by writing to the Mexican government through the <a href="http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=863">LabourStart campaign</a> here.&nbsp; 
 
Today, an international trade union delegation met with the Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Mr. Gomez Camacho, to deliver the demands of the global campaign. Some 60 labour activists turned out. 
<img height="182" width="201" src="" alt="" />
Adriana Rosenzvaig, Manfred Warda, Fernando Lopes
Manfred Warda, ICEM General Secretary, Fernando Lopes, Assistant General Secretary of the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), and Adriana Rosenzvaig, SCORE Director at UNI, met inside with the Ambassador while a demonstration continued outside the Mission. 
Warda said the one-hour-and-twenty-minute meeting proved that Camacho had been briefed on the manifestation's purpose. &quot;The only issue he was not familiar with is protection contracts in Mexico,&quot; said Warda. &quot;We had to explain how these contracts infringe on genuine trade union&nbsp;rights.&quot;
A 50,000 strong march in Mexico City on 31 January saw trade unionists protest shoulder to shoulder against the repressive policies of the Calder&oacute;n regime. The National Union of Miners marched with the Electricians Union, Pilots&rsquo;, Teachers&rsquo;, and farmers&rsquo; organisations, calling for social, political, and economic change. 
<img height="190" width="189" src="" alt="" />
Geneva police question ICEM's Tom Grinter and UNIA's Luis Blanco over rally permit
The Calder&oacute;n government must heed the warnings of this global movement, and end abuses of trade union rights in Mexico. 
 
Rallies and meetings with Mexican Ambassadors will be conducted simultaneously in over 30 countries this week, in a coordinated effort by unions affiliated to the ICEM, IMF, UNI, the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation, and the ITUC. 
Where demonstrations are not possible, unions are sending written protests and demands to the Mexican government from around the world. 
<img height="163" width="368" src="" alt="" />
Mexico City
Australia: The global campaign will hold a launch event with the support of Australian trade unions on 15 February. Co-ordinated by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), with support from the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU), the Australian Manufacturing Workers&rsquo; Union (AMWU), the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), the Australian Workers&rsquo; Union (AWU), and others, a rally and meeting with the Mexican ambassador is planned for 18 February. At the biennial delegates&rsquo; conference of the AWU tomorrow, IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina will address the global campaign on Mexico. 
 
Canada: With coordinating support from the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), the Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada, the Canadian Auto Workers Union (CAW), Transport Workers&rsquo; Union (TWU), and the United Steelworkers (USW), leading actions will occur in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. These will include a meeting with the Mexican ambassador in Canada, and demonstrations, depending on the local circumstances. 
<img height="150" width="200" src="" alt="" />
Toronto, Canada
France: Unions in France are organizing for a delegation to visit the Mexican Embassy in Paris. In addition, through their existing relationship with managers, French unions are also contacting French transnationals on situations of companies&rsquo; production plants in Mexico regarding unions, collective bargaining, and wage and working conditions. 
 
Mexico: Unions in Mexico are planning to take action over the entire week, including a press conference in the capital, rallies at embassies of countries where others are taking action, and a march and seminar on 19 February. The Mexican Miners&rsquo; Union is also planning a series of events in Pasta de Conchos, Puebla, and elsewhere where the union has strong presences. 
<img height="210" width="279" src="" alt="" />
Jakarta, Indonesia
The Netherlands: FNV Bondgenoten will continue its trade union freedom campaign during the global week of action, including media work and asking five Dutch multinationals with protection contracts in Mexico to start dialogue with the trade union. Those companies are AkzoNobel, Heineken, ING, Philips, and Unilever. For more go to: <a href="http://tradeunionfreedom.fnvcompanymonitor.nl/">http://tradeunionfreedom.fnvcompanymonitor.nl/</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;
<img height="203" width="242" src="" alt="" />
Brussels, Belgium
Russia: Unions in Russia were awarded the right to protest at the Mexican Embassy and are preparing a letter to give to the Mexican ambassador and articles and press coverage on the issue. 
<img height="192" width="252" src="" alt="" />
Moscow, Russia, -25&deg;C
Turkey: Unions in Turkey will mobilize members to visit the Mexican embassy, present a protest letter, and take picket action in front of the embassy. 
<img height="185" width="336" src="" alt="" />
Geneva, Switzerland
US: AFL-CIO and affiliates, including USW are holding events in 14 cities. The ICEM-affiliated United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE) is organising actions also in many cities. The priority is to meet with Mexican embassy/consulate officials, supplemented by demonstrations and press work where appropriate. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usyexGRbDgI&amp;feature=autoplay&amp;list=ULOqVyVe-7Clo&amp;index=2&amp;playnext=2">Washington D.C. picket</a>. 
 
Download the <a href="/en/5-Mining-DGOJP">campaign materials</a> here.

Mexico Days of Action Begin

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

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

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The ICEM&rsquo;s affiliate in Pakistan, the Pakistan Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers (PCEM), is fighting against severe breaches of workers&rsquo; rights to organise and bargain collectively at the Swiss-based agri-chemicals multinational, Syngenta. 
 
On 23 December, members of the Syngenta Employees Union Pakistan, belonging to PCEM, arrived at work to find announcement in the company newspaper that their union&rsquo;s General Secretary had his employment terminated as of 22 December, with no justified reason given. Brother Imran Ali, who is also the President of the national union PCEM, had no warning prior to learning the news in the &ldquo;Daily Jang&rdquo; newspaper. 
 
In a letter to the Chairman and CEO of the global pesticide producer Syngenta, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda condemned the flagrant breach of conduct of local management as a clear attempt to dismantle the union. Warda highlighted the commitments of Sygenta in the company&rsquo;s Code of Conduct, and also in their signatory status to the Global Compact. See the full letter <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/158%20Letter%20to%20Syngenta%20management.pdf">here</a>. 
<img alt="" src="" width="190" height="188" />
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda
Prior to Mr. Imran&rsquo;s sacking, he was summoned to the human resources department, where he was told by Mushir Ahmed Jaffery, personnel manager, Syed Saad Khalil, manager for Information Services, Col. Jalal, head of Security, and Rizwana Mujeeb, head of human resources, to sign a blank paper. When İmran refused, he was threatened with bad consequences if he refused to withdraw from his trade union activities. 
 
Imran, as labor union president, was about to submit a draft collective agreement which would have been effective as of 1 January 2011. 
 
Later in the same day that he was sacked, 23 December, the head of Syngenta&rsquo;s security in Pakistan, Jalal, a retired military officer in Pakistan, met with 50 union members who had worked at the company on temporary contracts and filed cases at the Labour Court for permanent employee status. Jalal threatened and intimidated the workers to withdraw their legal petitions and resign from Syngenta. One of those workers, Muhammad Nadeem, a diabetic and heart patient, suddenly died of a heart attack on 24 December, as a direct result of this pressure from management. 
 
Those workers had received the support of the Labour Court on 18 December, which declared in favour of their grievance petitions, entitling them to permanent employment immediately. Syngenta Pakistan management refused to acknowledge the judgement of the Labour Court. 
<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="54" />
The company management&rsquo;s refusal to consider the collective bargaining agreement, continued on 28 December as Jalal called in paramilitary forces to the Syngenta plant and threatened workers not to support the agreement or the union. Instead, he told them to join a yellow union, otherwise management would outsource the production unit and sack all current employees. The workers refused. 
 
The company responded to ICEM allegations saying that they had acted within the law and without regret. Brother Imran Ali is still awaiting reinstatement in his job, but with no indication from management that this will happen. 
 
The ICEM demands the full reinstatement of Imran, with full back pay and benefits, as well as the lawful recognition of the 50 workers who won their case in the Labour Court for rights to permanent employment at Syngenta.

ICEM Fights for Reinstatement of Union Leader in Pakistan

Archive