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Today is Day 12 in Harare Central Remand Prison for the two top leaders of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). The two, President Lovemore Matombo and Secretary-General Secretary Wellington Chibebe, were denied bail on 12 May, and they await a further hearing on 23 May. 
 
And at that bail hearing last week, a leader of one of the two teachers&rsquo; unions in Zimbabwe was detained. Raymond Majongwe, Secretary-General of the Progressive Teachers&rsquo; Union, was seized at the Harare High Court. 
Education International (EI) is calling for protest action. For more, <a href="http://www.ei-ie.org/en/urgentactionappeal/show.php?id=11&amp;country=zimbabwe">click here</a>. 
 
It is believed&nbsp;that Majongwe is being held for chronicling the number of teachers in his union who have been victims of political violence for failing to contribute to the ruling ZANU-PF&rsquo;s party vote total in March&rsquo;s parliamentary and presidential elections.
<img height="160" alt="" src="" width="200" />
ZCTU's Wellington Chibebe&nbsp;
Comrades Matombo and Chibebe were arrested on 8 May and charged with &ldquo;communicating falsehoods prejudicial to the state and inciting public violence.&rdquo; Those allegations came from speeches they made on International Workers&rsquo; Day, 1 May, before 1,500 Zimbabweans inside Harare&rsquo;s Dzivaresekwa Stadium. 
 
The two presented themselves to police on Thursday, 8 May, after armed police turned up at their homes searching for them. Both had been severely beaten when they were last in police custody, in September 2006. 
 
The arrests of the trade union leaders are part of a wider crackdown on civil society defenders inside Zimbabwe in the wake of the 29 March elections. The ruling ZANU party of Robert Mugabe lost those elections, but results showed that Movement for Democratic Change candidate Morgan Tsvangirai did not win the necessary 50% plus one for the presidency, so a run-off election is now required. The Mugabe government has not yet set the date for that election.

Zimbabwe’s Repression, Jailing of Trade Union Leaders Continues

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The ICEM is backing seven Turkish road transport workers who have been imprisoned since November 2007, and who will have their first court hearing on 6 June. The seven, as well as eight others &ndash; all connected with the Labour Union of Turkish Motor Vehicles&rsquo; Workers (T&Uuml;MTIS) &ndash; will be in an Ankara courtroom, charged with &ldquo;setting up a criminal organization.&rdquo; 
 
In fact, the road transport workers were organizing other transport workers in two separate recruitment drives for T&Uuml;MTIS around Ankara. The ICEM has joined the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), as well as affiliate Petrol-Is, in seeking justice for the trade unionists. 
<img height="115" alt="" src="" width="250" />
The ITF has established an online campaign (which can be found&nbsp;<a href="http://www.itfglobal.org/solidarity/TUMTIS.cfm">here</a>). It has also filed protest letters with Turkish Prime Minister Re&ccedil;ep Tayyip Erdoğan, and taken the matter before the European Parliament&rsquo;s Human Rights Department. 
 
&ldquo;These kinds of attacks on trade union organizations directly violate the internationally established conventions protecting trade union rights, which Turkey has ratified,&rdquo; said the ITF. If found guilty, the workers face further prison terms, as well as a court order shutting down their union. 
 
On 20 November 2007, 17 transport workers were detained for exercising their legitimate trade union rights. Three days later, seven trade unionists were formally arrested &ndash; along with eight others &ndash; and the seven have been held in Sincon prison near Ankara since. 
 
The ICEM encourages affiliates to visit the ITF site, and to lodge protests with Turkey&rsquo;s government. Protest letters can be sent to <a href="mailto:bilgi@basbakanlik.gov.tr">bilgi@basbakanlik.gov.tr</a>, or faxed to&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;+90&nbsp;312&nbsp;417&nbsp;0476&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;,&nbsp;or&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;+90&nbsp;312&nbsp;418&nbsp;0476&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Case of Turkish Transport Workers Organising Union Goes to Ankara Court on 6 June

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Two ICEM affiliates in Turkey, Kristal-İş and Lastik-İş, are bracing for industry-wide strikes in the coming weeks due to break-downs in negotiations. The unions have been negotiating with employers&rsquo; associations since autumn 2007, but without achieving final resolves. 
 
Salary issues are the main stumbling blocks in both sets of talks.
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Kristal-İş, representing glass workers, is now in its twenty-first term of industry negotiations with the Turkish Glass, Cement, and Soil Industry Employers&rsquo; Association. The bargaining covers 6,000 workers at 11 plant sites operated by glassware companies Paşabah&ccedil;e, Trakya Cam, Anadolu Cam, and Cam Elyaf. 
 
All are entities of the Siscam Group, the fast-growing glasswares multinational that has factories in Turkey, Bulgaria, Russia, and Georgia. 
 
After months of stalled negotiations, on 5 May, the last session, the glass association made a miniscule offer covering social bonuses, while failing to put any offer forward regarding salary increases. With no further progress in talks since that date, the Kristal- İş Executive Committee decided on 9 May to pursue strike action. 
 
In the tyre industry, Lastik-İş has been negotiating with three rubber multinationals &ndash; Bridgestone Brisa Sabanci, Pirelli Lastikleri, and Goodyear Lastikleri. The talks cover 4,000 workers at four factories in the cities of Izmit and Adapazari.
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Some 29 agenda items out of 59 have been concluded in the industry-wide collective talks, but the remainder are at impasse. A recent mediation session did not produce results. The main disagreements cover salaries for new hires, annual paid holidays, the use of temporary workers, and work hours. 
 
Lastik İş is demanding a wage increase of 12% for the first six-month period of a two-year contract, and the Turkish rate of inflation for each six-month period over the remaining 18 months. 
 
The union is also adamant in retaining rights gained in the past 50-year history of collective negotiations, and seeks to exclude industry-proposed rules regarding work flexibility. 
 
The rubber employers&rsquo; association has not put forward proposals concerning salaries or social bonuses. The Executive Committee of Lastik-İş, on 8 May, decided to endorse strike action.
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While Kristal- İş has not announced a date for it strike to begin, Lastik İş President Abdullah Karacan told the Anatolia News Service that a rubber strike has been set for 31 May. Under Turkey&rsquo;s Collective Agreements, Strikes, and Lock-outs Law, work stoppages must now occur within a two-month period from the time a petition was submitted. In the past, however, strikes called by both unions were banned by the government because of so-called &ldquo;national security&rdquo; issues. 
 
In tyre talks in 2004, a government decree prohibiting an industry-wide strike was overturned by Turkey&rsquo;s Supreme Court. That fact brought the rubber association to agreeable terms with Lastik- İş. 
 
The ICEM will continue to follow developments and lend unequivocal support to its two affiliates in their respective industry-wide collective talks. 
 
Meanwhile, Petrol- İş, another Turkish affiliate of the ICEM, has taken strike action at Nese Plastics, a company operating in the city of Gebze. Some 141 union members are striking. Negotiations began on 5 December 2007, but management of Nese Plastics has not made a wage offer, insisting on paying current salaries despite high inflation rates in Turkey.

ICEM’s Turkish Glass, Tyre Unions Readied for Strike Action

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The ICEM affiliate Mineworkers&rsquo; Union of Namibia (MUN) and management of Skorpion Zinc, owned by AngloAmerican, are expected to conclude negotiations today, ending a paralyzing 11-day strike that has affected global zinc markets. 
 
According to MUN President Andries Eiseb, the two sides exchanged proposals over the weekend, and spent the entire day on Sunday, 18 May, analysing the proposals. Further review is expected today, and the agreement is expected to be submitted to striking miners either late today or tomorrow.
<img height="66" alt="" src="" width="100" />
&ldquo;There is the intent by both parties now to amicably settle the dispute and we expect conclusion today,&rdquo; said Eiseb, who helped present the union&rsquo;s proposal to management at the mine and smelting operation near Rosh Pinah in southwestern Namibia. 
 
Salary agreement came late last week, when the union and management agreed on a 12% wage increase for all 680 miners. The major stumbling block in weekend negotiations was related to the company&rsquo;s desire for continuous operations, and the needed Labour Ministry exemption for that to occur. The issue of continuous operations also included the matter of adequate compensation. 
 
MUN agreed to support application for the exemption, and Skorpion must now compensate workers at time-and-a-half for all overtime, pending outcome of a court case. In a 2004 labour agreement, MUN won double-time for Sunday and public holiday work and that will remain intact. The overtime issue became complicated in negotiations due to the pending court case. 
 
Other issues that were resolved to the benefit of workers include housing allowances and company transport. The housing allowance was increased to N$1,700 per month, while MUN won a guarantee that the company will provide transport to the capital city of Windhoek, some 650 kilometres from the mine. Previously, transport was only granted to Keetmanshoop, a distance of 200 kilometres. 
 
Miners at Skorpion work seven-day on, seven-day off rotations.
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The ICEM affiliate Mineworkers&rsquo; Union of Namibia (MUN) and management of Skorpion Zinc, owned by AngloAmerican, are expected to conclude negotiations today, ending a paralyzing 11-day strike that has affected global zinc markets. 
 
According to MUN President Andries Eiseb, the two sides exchanged proposals over the weekend, and spent the entire day on Sunday, 18 May, analysing the proposals. Further review is expected today, and the agreement is expected to be submitted to striking miners either late today or tomorrow. 
 
&ldquo;There is the intent by both parties now to amicably settle the dispute and we expect conclusion today,&rdquo; said Eiseb, who helped present the union&rsquo;s proposal to management at the mine and smelting operation near Rosh Pinah in southwestern Namibia. 
 
Salary agreement came late last week, when the union and management agreed on a 12% wage increase for all 680 miners. The major stumbling block in weekend negotiations was related to the company&rsquo;s desire for continuous operations, and the needed Labour Ministry exemption for that to occur. The issue of continuous operations also included the matter of adequate compensation. 
 
MUN agreed to support application for the exemption, and Skorpion must now compensate workers at time-and-a-half for all overtime, pending outcome of a court case. In a 2004 labour agreement, MUN won double-time for Sunday and public holiday work and that will remain intact. The overtime issue became complicated in negotiations due to the pending court case. 
 
Other issues that were resolved to the benefit of workers include housing allowances and company transport. The housing allowance was increased to N$1,700 per month, while MUN won a guarantee that the company will provide transport to the capital city of Windhoek, some 650 kilometres from the mine. Previously, transport was only granted to Keetmanshoop, a distance of 200 kilometres. 
 
Miners at Skorpion work seven-day on, seven-day off rotations. 
 
The strike started on 9 May, and immediately drove zinc prices up on the London Metals Exchange. Skorpion, one of the world&rsquo;s leading zinc mining and processing firms, produces 150,000 tonnes of special high-grade zinc annually. Management attempted to leverage its bargaining position last week by bringing in contract workers in efforts to continue production. 
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The Skorpion mining and smelting operation, wholly owned by Irish-based Anglo Base Metals, a subsidiary of AngloAmerican, began operations in Namibia in 2003. It became fully operational in mid-2005, and it produced 56,300 tonnes for the first six months of that year when the price of zinc was at US$660-per-tonne. The MUN strike pushed zinc prices up a full 5%, with it trading at US$2,285-per-tonne late last week. 
The strike started on 9 May, and immediately drove zinc prices up on the London Metals Exchange. Skorpion, one of the world&rsquo;s leading zinc mining and processing firms, produces 150,000 tonnes of special high-grade zinc annually. Management attempted to leverage its bargaining position last week by bringing in contract workers in efforts to continue production. 
 
The Skorpion mining and smelting operation, wholly owned by Irish-based Anglo Base Metals, a subsidiary of AngloAmerican, began operations in Namibia in 2003. It became fully operational in mid-2005, and it produced 56,300 tonnes for the first six months of that year when the price of zinc was at US$660-per-tonne. The MUN strike pushed zinc prices up a full 5%, with it trading at US$2,285-per-tonne late last week.

Skorpion Zinc Strike in Namibia Expected to Conclude Today

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A critical multi-union trade union conference was held in Basra, Iraq, last week, 14 May, under the scope of the Executive Committee of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW). Chaired in part by Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein, president of the ICEM affiliate, General Union of Iraq Electricity Workers and Technicians (GUEWT), the conference produced a unified response to the Iraqi government&rsquo;s call for union elections between June and August of this year.
<img height="225" src="" width="300" alt="" />
&nbsp; 
At left, ICEM&nbsp;Executive Committee Member Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein&nbsp; 

The demand called on the government to abolish 1987&rsquo;s Public Law No. 150, a Saddam-era decree forbidding workers employed in the public sector from forming or joining a union. A statement issued to the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that followed the meeting also called on it to abolish Decree No. 8750, the draconian instrument put in place in 2005 by the occupational forces. That measure effectively confiscated all trade union funds, and prohibited unions from collecting dues or maintaining assets. 
 
In addition, the 15 trade unions present issued a demand for revival of Article 22, Paragraph 3 of the Iraqi Constitution, which would guarantee Iraqi unions the right to form or join free and democratic trade unions. 
 
Early this year, the al-Maliki government decreed that trade unions inside Iraq must conduct several rounds of elections in order to choose leaders. But under Public Law 150 &ndash; and of equal significance, the occupation&rsquo;s Decree No. 8750, which al-Maliki continues to uphold &ndash; most of the unions at last week&rsquo;s GFIW Basra event could not participate in such elections. 
 
The GUEWT, for example, as well as workers in the oil, railway, transport, ports, and health care sectors, are excluded because these sectors all are part of Iraq&rsquo;s public sector. &ldquo;We agree with the format for union elections, but with reservations,&rdquo; said Abdullah Muhsin, GFIW International Representative. &ldquo;Full freedom of association and common recognition of free and democratic trade unions inside Iraq must come first.&rdquo; 
 
In the letter to Prime Minister al-Maliki, that went as well as to Iraq&rsquo;s President and the President of Parliament, the GFIW states: &ldquo;Five years have passed since the fall of the hated regime. Iraqi workers, instead of receiving the support they deserve, must realize their potential and thus employ this potential to help reconstruction of Iraq&rsquo;s devastated economy.
<img height="101" src="" width="220" alt="" />
&ldquo;In the name of Basra workers, our federation, the GFIW in Basra, appeals to your Excellencies to recognize the sacrifices endured by Iraqi workers in their defiance of extremist onslaughts, and allow workers the right to conduct free and open elections across Iraq&rsquo;s public, private, and cooperative industries.&rdquo; 
 
Besides the GUEWT, the letter was signed by the GFIW Basra Head, Hussein Fadel Hassan; the Mechanic Workers&rsquo; Union of Basra; the Transport Workers&rsquo; Union of Basra; the Service Workers&rsquo; Union of Basra; the Construction and Wood Workers&rsquo; Union; the Municipality Workers&rsquo; Union of Basra; the Iraqi All Ports Workers&rsquo; Union, based in Basra; the Railway Workers&rsquo; Union; the Health Workers&rsquo; Union of Basra; the Engineering and Professional Workers&rsquo; Union of Basra; the Agricultural Workers&rsquo; Union; and the Society for Development and Reconstruction.

Iraqi Trade Union Conference Demands Repeal of Draconian Labour Decrees

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HIV/AIDS Project in India Launched 
 
The ICEM HIV/AIDS Project, in cooperation with affiliates in India and sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, a German world leader in pharmaceuticals, was launched with a planning workshop in Delhi on 3-4 July. 
 
The workshop was attended by 16 participants from ICEM affiliates in the cement, diamond, chemicals, and coal mining sectors. The workshop benefited from the participation of SM Afsar, Technical Specialist, HIV/AIDS South Asia, and National Programme Coordinator, HIV/AIDS and the World of Work, and his assistant, Joshila. Coal India Limited was represented by the Deputy Chief Medical Officer of a regional coal mine, Dr Anurag Verma. The talk by Ms. Bhagwati, an HIV+ person invited by the ILO, was exceptional. She radiated will-power and confidence. 
 
At the beginning of the implementation phase of the project, the ILO will do the initial training of a select group of master trainers from coal mining, chemicals, diamonds, and the cement sectors as technical support. This will be based on their trainers&rsquo; manual for HIV/AIDS peer educators. These master trainers will, in turn, train the peer educators. 
 
The course for master trainers will be held in Kolkata, 18-20 August. In September 2008, the training of peer educators/lay counsellors by the master trainers will commence. It is envisaged that 500 peer educators will be trained (400 mining, 50 cement, and 25 each for chemicals and diamonds). 
 
With the conclusion of the training of the peer educators, they will carry it to workers, family members, and members of the community. In the period to December 2009, each peer educator should reach 1,000 people. This is ambitious, but participants were enthusiastic and confident that this goal can be achieved. 
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CEP Humanity Fund Supports HIV/AIDS Project in Nigeria 
 
The Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada agreed to support a joint project in cooperation with the ICEM HIV/AIDS Project and affiliates in Nigeria. Through the union&rsquo;s Humanity Fund, CEP is contributing to train HIV/AIDS counsellors within ICEM&rsquo;s two oil and gas union affiliates, NUPENG and PENGASSAN. 
 
The project will extend ICEM&rsquo;s work in Nigeria in training peer counsellors to provide HIV and AIDS awareness, education, and testing for workers and their families. 
 
CEP&rsquo;s Humanity Fund is unique in that funding comes through negotiated agreements with Canadian employers. To date, some 100 CEP locals, numbering 30,000 workers, have successfully negotiated payments into the Humanity Fund with employers. In 2007, contributions to the Humanity Fund increased by 30%. The CEP currently is also funding a project in partnership with the F&eacute;d&eacute;ration des Travailleurs de Qu&eacute;bec on HIV/AIDS awareness with an oil workers&rsquo; union in Chad. 
 
CEP heralds the fund as not charity, but rather solidarity in &ldquo;building partnerships with workers&rsquo;, community, and women&rsquo;s organisations in developing countries.&rdquo; 
&nbsp;<img height="35" src="" width="25" alt="" />
News from Affiliates 
 
ICEM affiliates in Nepal have mainstreamed HIV/AIDS in Occupational Safety and Health training. In a workshop, attended by 31 participants and resource persons, information on transmission and prevention was given. Participants resolved to intensify awareness campaigns at the grass-root level. 
 
NUPENG and PENGASSAN, ICEM affiliates in Nigeria, continued their successful HIV/AIDS activities with a training workshop for peer educators/lay counsellors in Ibadan on 4-6 June 2008. The workshop was organised by national HIV/AIDS coordinator Olawale Afolabi. Twelve unionists received intensive training on peer education and counselling skills. Resource persons from SMARTWork facilitated technical sessions of the workshop. 
 
The United Mineworkers&rsquo; Union (UMU) of Sierra Leone organised two workshops at the end of May. The workshops were aimed at building capacity for shop stewards, grassroots diggers, and community members, and to promote behaviour change and advocacy of VCT. 
 
In Zambia, ICEM affiliates Mineworkers&rsquo; Union of Zambia (MUZ) and the National Union of Commercial and Industry Workers (NUCIW) have started on a series of follow-up workshops for peer educators to ascertain the achievements and difficulties faced by peer educators trained in previous years. Long working hours and the unwillingness of management to allow time for talks on HIV/AIDS were cited as the main difficulties. 
 
In C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire, national coordinator Charlotte Nguessan organised a training course for VCT counsellors from the unions. The course was spread over five weekends and included pre- and post-test counselling and practical cases at CIRBA, a medical centre which also facilitated the training. 
&nbsp;<img height="35" src="" width="25" alt="" />
ICEM Sub-Saharan Women Draft Women&rsquo;s Charter; Global Women&rsquo;s Committee Adopts Action Plan on Zimbabwe 
 
The Women&rsquo;s Committee of ICEM&rsquo;s Sub-Saharan Africa Region met in Accra, Ghana, on 5-7June to draft a women&rsquo;s charter for Africa. After a brainstorming session, three major issues were identified: decent work, gender justice, and HIV/AIDS. 
 
In relation to HIV/AIDS, the women unionists from ten Sub-Saharan African countries discussed cultural features, such as polygamy and female genital mutilation, which present particular challenges to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. 
 
The ICEM Women&rsquo;s Committee, meeting in Geneva on 19 June, adopted an Action Plan on Zimbabwe. The violence by the bankrupt ZANU-PF government has hit women particularly hard. Those affected by HIV/AIDS are most vulnerable. Proper treatment to prevent spread from mother to child is not available. In their desperation, women have become commercial sex workers and hence, add to the spread of the virus. 
 
Operations of all NGOs, which have been a major conduit for HIV/AIDS services, have been suspended. Although it was reported that more than 400 organisations working in the HIV/AIDS sector would be allowed to operate again, war veterans and ZANU-PF militants have prevented them doing their valuable work in areas of dire need. 
&nbsp;<img height="35" src="" width="25" alt="" />
UN High-level Meeting on HIV/AIDS &ndash; Union Leader Speaks up on Workplace Interventions 
 
The UN General Assembly organised a high-level meeting on 10-11 June to review progress on the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the 2006 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS. 
 
While progress has been made on reducing infections, bringing down the death rate, and increasing the number of people on anti-retroviral treatment (ART), the number of people newly infected still outnumber the number of people who have been treated in 2007 by five-to-two, i.e. 2.5 million newly infected as compared to one million on ART (see article below). 
 
During the civil society hearing, workplace responses were addressed by Romano Ojiambo Ochieng, General Secretary of the Ugandan Amalgamated Transport and General Workers&rsquo; Union. He emphasised that HIV/AIDS is a workplace issue, linked to the broader issues of economic growth and sustainable development. 
 
The potential of the workplace as a vital entry point for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programmes continues to be overlooked. Many national plans to fight the pandemic still lack a strategy for the world of work. 
 
Many companies began to act when they realised that HIV/AIDS programmes were not only good for corporate social responsibility, but also essential for corporate self-interest, evening some cases, the company&rsquo;s survival. The position of labour unions in the workplace makes them ideally placed to help workers who are reluctant to submit to testing for fear of discrimination. 
 
Ochieng came out with a number of recommendations, including companies seeking new co-investment opportunities must collaborate with unions to strengthen the impact of interventions; to increase investment in training for union activists; to introduce policies keeping with the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work; and representation of unions and employers on national HIV/AIDS consultative and policy-making bodies. 
 
(Sources: UN Press Releases and ITF HIV/AIDS Update 46 of 1 July) 
&nbsp;<img height="35" src="" width="25" alt="" />
Three Million Now Receiving Life-saving Drugs 
 
The close of 2007 marks an important step in the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Nearly three million people are now receiving anti-retroviral treatment (ART) in low- and middle-income countries, according to a new report jointly launched on 2 June by WHO, UNAIDS, and UNICEF. 
 
The report, Towards Universal Access: Scaling Up Priority Interventions in the Health Sector, also points to other gains. These include improved access to interventions aimed at preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT), and expanding testing and counselling. 
 
According to the authors of the report, the close of 2007 saw nearly one million more people receiving ART, bringing the total to almost three million. This figure was the target of the 3x5 initiative that sought to have three million HIV-positive people on treatment by the end of 2005. Although that target was not achieved until two years later, it is widely credited with jump-starting the push towards ART scale-up. 
 
(Source: WHO press release, 2 June) 
&nbsp;<img height="35" src="" width="25" alt="" />
Risk Factors for Spread of HIV in Afghanistan High 
 
Although the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is relatively low in Afghanistan, the country&rsquo;s Ministry of Public Health recently said that the potential risk factors for the spread of the virus are high. These include war, poverty, illiteracy, massive internal and external displacement, the existence of commercial and unsafe sex, and unsafe injection practices and blood transfusions. 
 
There is widespread stigma and a lack of awareness about the disease in Afghanistan. The World Bank has granted US$10 million to the country&rsquo;s Health Ministry for identifying and creating public awareness among groups most at risk of HIV/AIDS. 
 
(Source: <a href="http://www.news–medical.net">www.news&ndash;medical.net</a>, published 28 May and based on a report by Reuters) 
&nbsp;<img height="35" src="" width="25" alt="" />
News from the Global Union Programme and Global Unions 
 
In its most recent HIV/AIDS Updates, the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) (<a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>) reports, among other things, on the publication of the ILO report entitled &ldquo;Saving Lives, Protecting Jobs&rdquo; on the SHARE project. According to the report, workplace attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS and acceptance of condom use and other preventive measures have increased in the countries covered by the SHARE project. 
 
It further reports on inroads made against the epidemic in Cambodia and the dangers of a potential increase of infections in Sri Lanka because of the large number of commercial sex workers, internally displaced people and migrant workers. In Kiev, the ITF organised an Eastern European sub-regional HIV/AIDS workshop.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin

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Salaried Workers&rsquo; Union of Finland Wins Bonuses for Stora Enso in Court Decision 
 
Toimihenkil&ouml;unioni TU, the ICEM Salaried Workers&rsquo; Union in Finland, won a key court case on 19 June in a district court in Oulu. A judge has ordered pulp and paper company Stora Enso to pay &euro;100,000 to 90 workers who were denied bonuses because of a non-transparent clause in their work agreements. 
 
The clause cited &ldquo;certain conditions&rdquo; as a precursor in denying workers profit-related bonuses. The company enacted the language when workers participated in a strike last year. The company was ordered to pay the sum, plus interest, to the 90 salaried workers.
<img height="68" alt="" src="" width="120" border="1" />
&nbsp; 
&ldquo;The decision to hide this condition reflects the recklessness of Stora Enso&rsquo;s personnel policy,&rdquo; stated TU President Antti Rinne. &ldquo;The company was not acting in a way that is likely to instill commitment from its employees.&rdquo; 
 
Added TU Legal Unit Director Else-Mai Kirvesniemi, &ldquo;To punish (these workers) because of their trade union activity does not correspond to the Finnish idea and practice of justice.&rdquo; 
 
TU is now pursuing legal remedies in court for 1,000 other Stora Enso salaried workers at 12 locations. The union claims the company owes those workers &euro;1 million.

Salaried Workers’ Union of Finland Wins Bonuses for Stora Enso Workers in Court Decision

<img height="39" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Australia will be left with only one tyre manufacturing plant at the close of 2008, following Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.&rsquo;s decision to close its wholly-owned subsidiary, South Pacific Tyres. The company announced on 26 June that 600 rubber workers will lose their jobs when its Somerton car and light truck tyre operation shuts in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. 
 
The decision is blamed on imports, the high value of the Australian dollar, and supplier contracts that allow manufacturers the option to demand lower prices during the life of a supply contract. Australia&rsquo;s National Union of Workers (NUW), the union representing the majority of Somerton&rsquo;s workers, said the closure could cause a ripple effect costing 2,000 other jobs in some 130 other supplying companies. 
 
The NUW blamed South Pacific for closing a heavy truck tyre plant in Australia in the year 2000. The union said the company missed out on the opportunity to capitalise on the current mining boom, with manufacture of heavy tyres for trucks and equipment servicing that sector.
<img height="49" src="" width="220" alt="" />
&ldquo;They showed a lack of foresight then, and are lacking foresight now by acting ahead of a refocusing of Australian automotive that should deliver a sustainable future for local industry based on production of more efficient and greener vehicles,&rdquo; said Antony Thow, NUW&rsquo;s Victoria Secretary. 

Australia is currently undergoing a review of the automotive sector by former Victoria Premier Steve Bracks. His commission is aimed at revamping the country&rsquo;s Automotive Competitiveness and Investment Scheme, as well as a green car fund proposed by the Kevin Rudd government. The Bracks Commission is examining whether to retain the 10% tariff on imports beyond 2010, or half it to 5%, as recommended by the Productivity Commission. 

The Somerton plant produces Dunlop, Goodyear, and Olympic tyres, and supplies 100% of Ford&rsquo;s new car tyres, as well as a product to Toyota. It also sells to major retail outlets in the after-market. The plant opened in 1961 and currently produces 10,000 units per day. 

Goodyear took a 50% stake in South Pacific with Pacific Dunlop in 1987. The American company retained that stake when Ansell Ltd. bought Pacific Dunlop&rsquo;s assets. And then in January 2006, Goodyear bought Ansell&rsquo;s 50% stake for US$90.3 million.
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In first quarter 2007, Goodyear shuttered a South Pacific tyre plant near Wellington, New Zealand, costing 430 unionised workers their jobs. The Somerton closing, in which workers are expected to receive up to 18 months in severance payments through their enterprise labour agreement, is part of a Goodyear restructuring to achieve US$150 million in costs savings by reducing tyre production by 25 million units per day. Somerton accounts for three million annual units, and Goodyear will realise a US$35 million in costs savings. 

Following 31 December 2008, Australia&rsquo;s lone remaining tyre production facility will be the Bridgestone Salisbury plant near Adelaide, South Australia.

Goodyear to Close South Pacific Tyre Plant in Australia at End of 2008

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ICEM affiliate Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) of Australia is demanding that the federal government stick to pledges made by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on renewable energy targets last year during his Labour Party campaign. 
 
The demand comes as Federal Treasury and Productivity Commission officials move to sideline the government&rsquo;s promise to supply 20% of the country&rsquo;s energy from renewable sources by the year 2020 in favour of emissions trading schemes. 
 
In a letter to Sen. Penny Wong, the Labour Government&rsquo;s Minister for Climate Change and Water, CFMEU Mining and Energy President Tony Maher urged the government to implement policies that will stimulate low-emission energy technologies. And to do that, the CFMEU believes, is not to abandon the Minimum Renewable Energy Target.
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CFMEU's Tony Maher
&ldquo;What the Australian government does with its renewable energy target policy will affect the future resilience of the Australian economy in a low carbon future,&rdquo; wrote Maher. &ldquo;If we remove the renewable target, it will result in a substitution of gas for wind power and other forms of renewable energy. While that will result in a lowering of our average emissions, it does not help to prepare the economy and the energy supply industry for the medium to long term. 
 
&ldquo;The current 20% by 2020 policy needs to be further defined to ensure that the emerging technologies of geo-thermal and solar thermal are strategically cultivated, rather than placing all eggs in the basket of wind power.&rdquo; 
 
The CFMEU is seeking a government commitment to get at least three power plants that operate with carbon capture and storage methods by 2020. The costs of such start-ups might be high, but in the long term, as more such plants come on line and other renewable sources take hold, costs will decrease.
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The CFMEU is in alliance with the Australian Coal Association, the WWF, and the Climate Institute in urging the government to stimulate investment for operable carbon capture and storage plants. CFMEU is certain that charges related to emissions trading schemes will not come close to equalling the investment needed for the new technologies related to carbon capture. It is that fear, and others, which threaten the reaching of Minimum Renewable Energy Targets. 
 
CFMEU also believes reliance on emissions trading schemes, followed by an inevitable &ldquo;dash for gas,&rdquo; will mean gas-fired generation will eventually have to be fitted with carbon capture and storage technologies. 
 
As Maher concluded in his letter to Climate Change Minister Wong, &ldquo;We would be off to a bad start if the economic rationalists that have so long delayed action on climate change had their way and swept aside a good Labour Government policy on renewable energy.&rdquo;

CFMEU Presses Australian Government to Stick to Renewable Energy Targets

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A first-ever national collective agreement covering 260,000 temporary workers was agreed to by ICEM Swiss affiliate Unia and swissstaffing, an umbrella organisation for labour agencies. The announcement came at a press conference in Zurich on 25 June. 
 
If approved by Switzerland&rsquo;s federal government, the blanket three-year agreement will take effect 1 January 2009 and cover labour agencies that comprise 70% of all agency work in Switzerland. Previously, labour agreements did exist between Unia and individual branch offices of labour agencies. The proposed agreement will not supplant those accords, but will lend a uniform set of rights for temporary workers, as well check the rampant expansion of temp work in Switzerland.
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The national agreement will give first-time collective work rights to some 180,000 temporary employees in over 100 job professions. It will also lift their minimum rates of pay. Although those who work in industrial settings will not see pay increases, they &ndash; and the 180,000 others &ndash; will realize new rights, such as medical insurance allowances, paid medical leave, better health and safety standards on the job, and continuous training opportunities. 
 
Part-time workers will gain increased levels of these benefits with longer and repeated periods of temporary work. 
 
Unia Co-President Renzo Ambrosetti called it a major step to overcoming the precarious work relationship between employee and employer due to short-term work. &ldquo;This collective agreement for temporary workers will stem wage dumping, and we now have a means to severely punish the black sheep among labour agencies&rdquo; who exploit workers, he said. 
 
Charles B&eacute;laz, president of swissstaffing and general manager of Swiss Manpower, called the agreement &ldquo;historical and innovative.&rdquo; He added that the accord gives the labour agencies&rsquo; association political gain and &ldquo;enables us to finally be a true social partner.&rdquo; 
 
Unia and swissstaffing, along with smaller Swiss unions, came to the novel agreement in late May, after a full year of negotiations.

Swiss Unia and Temp Work Association Agree to National Collective Agreement

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