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

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="45" />
The Irish union, Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU), is fighting attempts by the government of Ireland to dilute the provisions of the European Union Temporary Agency Workers&rsquo; Directive, which comes into force across Europe on 5 December. 
 
The Directive, which was passed in 2008, states that &ldquo;The basic working and employment conditions of temporary agency workers shall be, for the duration of their assignment at a user undertaking, at least those that would apply if they had been recruited directly by that undertaking to occupy the same job.&rdquo; 
 
The Directive applies from day one of an assignment, and further states that temporary agency workers have the right to be informed about permanent employment opportunities in the user enterprise and must have improved access to training and childcare facilities in periods between assignments, in order to enhance employability. 
 
Under the Directive derogation from the principle of equal treatment is permitted provided an agreement can be reached between a state&rsquo;s social partners. In an eleventh hour attempt, Irish Minister for Enterprise and Jobs Richard Bruton has called for a derogation which would mean that an agency worker would only be entitled to equal treatment after six months, rather than from the first day of employment. 
 
In a letter to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), Bruton said, &ldquo;Without the benefit of some leeway in transposing the directive in the shape of a framework agreement, Ireland will be in a position of significant competitive disadvantage, vis-a-vis our European trading partners,&rdquo; adding, &ldquo;In the current climate and with the significant challenges that face us on the road to economic recovery, we must avail of the flexibilities afforded by the directive.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="108" height="140" />
Patricia King
Patricia King, Vice President of SIPTU, has made clear that the union is opposed to any attempt by the government to seek a derogation. King said, &ldquo;We do not see any reason for a derogation to be applied. Why would we? If someone is entitled to equality of treatment, they are entitled to it and there is no reasonable argument being put forward, that I can see, for us to agree to the derogation.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;If somebody is employed to do a job, which commands a certain skill, background knowledge and experience, and they put themselves forward for that job and are capable of producing the goods, why would they not get the rate of pay on an equal basis as somebody who was doing the job already and who is going to work alongside them?&rdquo; 
 
Commenting on Bruton&rsquo;s claims that implementing the Directive would have a negative impact on jobs and economic growth, King said, &ldquo;All that is a code for not paying the rate and keeping people in low pay&rdquo;.

SIPTU Fights Attempts to Dilute EU Agency Workers Directive

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
A subsidiary of the Swiss-based trading house Glencore International is refusing to consider modest improvements for its employees in the municipality of La Jagua de Ibirico, Cesar Province in Northern Colombia. CI Prodeco is Colombia&rsquo;s third largest coal producer and disgracefully only 4.91% of the company&rsquo;s expenditures is used for labour costs. 
 
Workers at Prodeco, organised under the municipality branch of ICEM coal-mining affiliate Sintracarb&oacute;n, presented management with a list of just demands on 21 September. The company negotiators initiated the direct settlement stage of bargaining on 3 October in the city of Barranquilla. Under Colombian law, the direct settlement stage of bargaining lasts two weeks but despite this, management has refused to bargain in good faith and shows no willingness to reach a collective agreement with workers, thus provoking strike action. 
<img alt="" src="" width="232" height="174" />
Instead of seeking a collective agreement, management announced its intention to renew a unilateral work rules document for a five-year period. The proposed document includes worker conditions below the legal minimum standards. 
 
Prodeco has run a sophisticated propaganda campaign attempting to convince workers that a collective agreement as proposed by the union would not be legal, and that workers stand to lose all benefits previously achieved through bargaining. They then offered the unilateral work rules document. The company campaign is clearly aimed at turning workers against the union and the bargaining process, in blatant breach of international labour standards that have been ratified by Colombia. 
 
The union is standing firm on its demands regarding labour-management relations, safety, occupational health, and on wages, benefits, promotions, education, housing, health, job stability, and use of external contractors. 
 
As pressure from supervisors increases, the ICEM stands in full support of Sintracarb&oacute;n members at Prodeco as they seek settlement for a collective agreement, or if they are forced to strike in the coming days. 
 
ICEM affiliates and supporters are urged to write to the <a href="mailto:Gary.nagle@prodeco.com.co; miguel.montoya@prodeco.com.co; emerito.benjumea@prodeco.com.co; carlos.martelo@prodeco.com.co; olga.charris@prodeco.com.co">company management</a>: Gary Nagle, Prodeco President; Miguel Montoya, human resources manager; and negotiators Charles Emeritus and Olga Lucia.&nbsp;

Sintracarbón Fights Glencore Subsidiary in Colombia

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Today in Geneva, representatives from trade unions, governments, and businesses start deliberating on employment restructuring and social dialogue in the chemicals and pharmaceutical industries as part of an ILO sectoral meeting. &ldquo;Promoting Social Dialogue on Restructuring and its Effects on Employment in the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries&rdquo; is the name of the four-day meeting (24-27 October) in which 90 representatives from 40 countries will participate. 
 
The meeting&rsquo;s aim is to unleash sustainable ways through positive industrial relations to meet restructuring processes. Social partners will explore the best practices of social dialogue in seeking constructive and conducive climates during corporate structural change, including mergers and acquisitions. The ICEM and affiliated trade unions will fully participate in the conference. 
 
The centerpiece of the meeting will be an <a href="http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_dialogue/@sector/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_164943.pdf ">ILO report</a> entitled &ldquo;Restructuring Employment and Social Dialogue in the Chemicals and Pharmaceutical Industries&rdquo; that details, among other things, the effects of the global economic crisis on these sectors. The ILO says, for example, that the 27 European Union Member States saw employment drop from three million workers in 2005 to 2.8 million in 2008, but that the job level has increased since to 3.1 million in the first quarter 2010. 
 
In the US, ILO places the 2008-2009 drop in chemicals and pharmaceutical employment at 70,000 jobs, or 5.1% of the total workforce for these sectors. ILO estimates that 20 million workers are now employed in the sectors worldwide, with the 27 EU states, Brazil, China, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, and the US accounting for 60% of that figure. 
 
The report also takes note of longer working hours in certain countries, and identifies a shortage of skilled workers such as scientists and others that present poignant challenges to the sectors. It also notes the relative low number of women working across the sector, particularly at the executive level where the percentage is far less than the average of Fortune 500 companies. The report also covers the effects of outsourcing and contract labour in the sectors.

ILO Tripartite Chemicals, Pharmaceutical Meeting Opens in Geneva

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The ICEM has come to the aid and support of DERİ-İş, the trade union of Leather Workers of Turkey, and an affiliate of the International Textile, Leather, Garment Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF), both of which have been waging a courageous struggle for trade union rights at two factories of Kampana-Savranoğlu, a maker of leather for the shoe industry. 
 
Workers at factories in İzmir and Istanbul met fierce opposition from the family-owned company when they tried to organize with DERİ-İş. They faced extremely low pay, forced overtime that was off the books, and harmful air quality that left many workers sick. Last March, when workers refused to give up their right to unionisation after coercion by management, the company sacked 16 trade union leaders. 
<img alt="" src="" width="261" height="160" />
ICEM at 15 October Protest Action Against Kampana-Savranoğlu
This occurred at the 103-worker İzmir factory and immediately all other workers went on a work slowdown. This continued for several months until managers responded in early October by closing the factory and transferring the work &ndash; and workers &ndash; to the Istanbul factory called Kampana. Management&rsquo;s had predicted that none of the workers would transfer, thus the company would not have to pay the lawful severance payments and it would be rid of DERİ-İş. 
 
But the ploy backfired when 38 of the strongest union sympathizers took the transfer and joined the workforce at the 49-worker Kampana factory, making the Istanbul factory overcrowded. 
 
The company made no provisions for housing, so after moving to Turkey&rsquo;s largest city and starting work on 1 October, the 38 İzmir workers began sleeping inside the factory. Management summoned police but after the occupation continued, they sacked the workers on 13 October. 
 
Two days later, DERİ-İş, local NGOs and supporters &ndash; including a representative from the ICEM &ndash; held a protest action at the house of the Kampana-Savranoğlu owner near Taksim Square. 
 
DERİ-İş is supporting 14 workers and their families and continues a campaign that now numbers 224 consecutive days. The union is waging another long-running fight against DESA, which produces leather for luxury goods with the most prestigious being Prada, the handbag retailer. That campaign has been running for four years. 
<img alt="" src="" width="287" height="160" />
Through intervention by ITGLWF, DERİ-İş and DESA signed a good-faith protocol agreement in August 2009, but management immediately broke it by targeting and then sacking union members. This included 12 workers from a workplace in Sefakoy, Istanbul, and another two employees last January in D&uuml;zce. 
 
A third dispute the Turkish Leather Workers&rsquo; Union is fighting is against the company Trexta, which has factories in Cerkezk&ouml;y, Istanbul, and Sivas, totaling 1,000 mostly women workers. The company produces leather cases and accessories for the mobile phone industry, and supplies to Nokia, Vertu, and Blackberry. 
 
Since July 2011, the company has dismissed 11 members of a union committee. DERİ-İş sought help from ICEM, ITGLWF, and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) to intervene on Trexta&rsquo;s customers, particularly Nokia over the Finnish company&rsquo;s rigid supply-line requirements. IMF wrote and urged Nokia to take the necessary steps to ensure reinstatement and to secure workers&rsquo; freedom of association. 
 
The ICEM did likewise, demanding that Nokia take action to protect workers&rsquo; rights. 
 
&ldquo;These three cases in the Turkish leather industry shows that a new Global Union Federation must be an activist organization to protect the rights of workers when they are routinely abused,&rdquo; stated ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We must be vigilant that violations in any one part of the supply chain will be felt along the entire chain of production.&rdquo;

ICEM Lends Support to Persecuted Leather Workers in Turkey

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The strike by 32,000 Finnish metalworkers that began on 21 October could end tomorrow following a new proposal presented by National Conciliator Esa Lonka last night, 23 October. ICEM affiliate Ammattiliitto Pro, the trade union of salaried workers in Finland, and Metalliliitto, the country&rsquo;s Metalworkers&rsquo; Union, will consider the proposal later today in separate meetings. 
 
The two unions began a first wave of strike actions last Friday against 45 metal and engineering companies that was to run until 7 November, with a second wave of strikes against another 35 firms to begin on that day. 
 
Lonka&rsquo;s new proposal addresses the unions concerns on a wage package over the next two years, while Finland&rsquo;s government is expected to legislate the other key issue in the dispute &ndash; a three-day annual training and education leave in which employers sought to use its own discretionary control. 
<img alt="" src="" width="130" height="93" />
Metalliliitto&rsquo;s 38-member Union Council will consider the proposal at 16h today in Helsinki, while Ammattiliitto Pro&rsquo;s Executive Committee will meet at 17h to take up the government conciliator&rsquo;s proposal. If both bodies accept, the 32,000 workers &ndash; 25,000 metalworkers and 7,000 represented by Ammattiliitto Pro &ndash; will be back to work tomorrow, 25 October. 
 
The major discord was over a 4.3% wage increase for two years, an amount Finnish social partners agreed to on 13 October. Metal and technical employers, under the auspices of the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries, or Teknologiateollisuus, sought to structure that pay rise whereby many metalworkers and white-collar workers would not get the full amount. The new proposal given by Lonka last night, 23 October, proposes that it be granted across the board to all 200,000 workers in the country&rsquo;s metal and engineering sector. 
 
Last week&rsquo;s industrial actions also included an overtime ban across all employers in those industrial sectors. An <a href="/en/23-Nordic-Countries/4723-Strikes-Begin-in-Finnish-Metal-Technology-Sector">ICEM report</a> on the start of the strike from last week can be found here.

Conciliator’s New Proposal Expected to End Short Finnish Metalworkers Strike

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Union members of CGT-Filpac and CFE-CGC boarded five buses early today and headed to Paris from Alizay in northern France to continue their struggle to keep an M-real paper mill operating. In Paris, paperworkers from Alizay in the Haute-Normandie region will protest at the Ministry of Agriculture where final mediation begins between French authorities, the Finnish papermaker, and two potential buyers. 
 
Some 330 workers began a strike and blockade of the Alizay paper mill on 19 October, the day M-real announced closure of the uncoated printing papers mill. M-real, 40% controlled by the Finnish forestry company Mets&auml;liitto, terminated discussions with Thailand-based Advance Agro Ltd., known as Double A Paper, and the Paris-based investment capital company Fin&rsquo;active SAS due to buy the 48-year-old paper mill. 
<img alt="" src="" width="242" height="161" />
Thierry Philippot
On 20 October, many paperworkers left the front gate of the mill and took to the A13 motorway between Normandie and Paris and gave passing motorists a &ldquo;toll-free&rdquo; handbill describing their plight. 
 
M-real announced on 4 May 2011 that it intended to sell printing paper mills in Alizay and Gohrsm&uuml;hle, Germany, as part of a major restructuring plan to exit the fine paper industry and focus on paperboard used for packaging. 
 
&ldquo;We have prepared for the possibility of closure, but we are not yet ready to accept it,&rdquo; said CGT-Filpac plant representative Thierry Philippot. 
<img alt="" src="" width="297" height="159" />
Paperworkers Block M-Real&rsquo;s Alizay Mill
Philippot, along with fellow CGT representative Jean-Yves Lemahieu and CFE-CGC representative Eric Hogger, traveled to Helsinki on 30 September to meet with M-real CEO Mikko Helander in hopes that a deal could be consummated. 
 
M-real had put two conditions on a sale: maintain the current employment for 24 months, and pour all sales from the 310,000-tonne-per-year mill back into the operation. Although both Advance Agro and Fin&rsquo;active appeared to accept those terms, the deal with favoured Advance Agro broke down when the Thai company demanded other conditions. 
 
The mediation today is with Advance Agro, a company that operates two pulp mills and three paper factories in its home country. Mediation with Fin&rsquo;active, an investment firm specializing in distressed assets, will be held later this week. The talks will be headed by French Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire, a UPM party member and member of France&lsquo;s Parliament from the Eure department, where the Alizay mill is located.

French Paperworkers Continue Protest Today to Keep M-real Mill Operating

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Efforts to resolve the six-week Indonesian mine strike by FSP-KEP (SPSI), the Chemical, Energy and Mine Workers&rsquo; Union (CEMWU) against Freeport-McMoRan continue today on the local level, but agreement is not likely. Meanwhile, 10,000 strikers continue to block the lone access road to the world&rsquo;s largest gold mine and third largest copper mine &ndash; Grasberg, operated by PT Freeport Indonesia. 
 
The company suspended all production one week ago due to the supply road being blocked and a ruptured pipeline that carries copper concentrate from the mine, 4,000 metres high in the Sudirman Range, to the port city of Timika. Production resumed on 19 October, but union sources say it has not exceeded 30%. 
 
On 21 October, dialogue did occur between the SPSI/PT Freeport union, 5 company officials, and the Tinal family, which administers the local Mimika regency, but Grasberg miners of Papua province, New Guinea Island, are no closer to a 2011-12 wage agreement than they were three weeks ago. 
<img alt="" src="" width="289" height="160" />
Family of Petrus Ayamiseba after 10 October Killing
Talks, however, took place today at the Rimba Hotel in Timika, some 200 kilometres from the rich Grasberg gold and copper deposits. 
 
Next week the ICEM will dispatch a team to Indonesia to meet with striking SPSI members of the CEMWU and officials involved in the strike. That team will consist of mineworkers&rsquo; leaders from Australia, Africa, and Europe. 
 
Two weeks ago, on 10 October, one union member was shot and killed and another died five days later after a group of miners tried to enter a transit terminal in Gorong-Gorong at Milepost 28 to board a bus to assist the blockade. Local police shot indiscriminately into their backs as they entered the bus depot. 
 
Killed instantly was Petrus Ayamiseba, while Leo Wandagau died in his home in Timika on 15 October from a wound to his back caused by a rubber bullet. Eight other strikers were wounded. A three-member committee from Indonesia&rsquo;s Human Rights Committee was sent to the area last week to investigate. 
 
There have been two other instances in which gunfire killed at least six people, but the ICEM has been unable to discern if these shootings are related to the strike. A 13-member delegation of Indonesian parliamentarians also visited Timika on 20 October in search of answers to resolve the strike. 
<img alt="" src="" width="213" height="160" />
Leo Wandagau on 10 October; he died 15 October
The ICEM is convinced that a resolve will not happen until US-based Freeport-McMoRan instructs its Grasberg managers to lift its pay proposal for 2011 and 2012. Management&rsquo;s most recent offer &ndash; three weeks ago &ndash; would grant a 15% pay hike in 2011 and 10% in 2012. The company also wants the union to acknowledge that the strike is illegal and issue a formal apology to the company. 
 
FSP-KEP (SPSI) of CEMWU has lowered its demands to an average of US$7.50-an-hour. PT Freeport Indonesia has split unionised miners into non-staff and staff, with non-staff numbering 8,512 and staff 2,574. Non-staff now average earnings of US$2.13-an-hour and US$368 monthly, while staff has average wages of US$3.54-per-hour and US$613 monthly. 
 
The union is also seeking a better savings plan programme than what PT Freeport Indonesia has on the table. In addition, workers are seeking payment of their wages during the strike, which started on 15 September, payment which management made during an eight-day warning strike in July. They also seek the return of all workers to their jobs. Hundreds of miners have been either terminated or &ldquo;relieved from duty&rdquo; since the mid-September strike started. 
 
The ICEM will continue to support FSP-KEP (SPSI) at PT Freeport in its quest for wage justice, dignity, and a proud return to their jobs in the remote highlands of Papua province.

Indonesian Freeport-McMoRan Mine Strike Continues, Two Unionists Shot Dead

<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="59" />
ICEM affiliate Ammattiliitto Pro, the trade union of salaried workers in Finland, and Metalliliitto, the country&rsquo;s Metalworkers&rsquo; Union, began a first wave of strike action this morning across Finland. Some 32,000 workers &ndash; 25,000 metalworkers and 7,000 represented by Ammattiliitto Pro &ndash; are on full work stoppages at 45 targeted companies. 
 
If national conciliation again fails next week and the days that follow, metalworkers and salaried staff at another 35 companies will join the strike on 7 November. Overtime bans are now in effect across Finland&rsquo;s metal and technology sector covering 200,000 workers, including 10,000 members of the Federation of Professional and Managerial Staff (YTN). That union of top-level supervisors is expected to join the strike on 1 November if no deal is accomplished. 
 
&ldquo;The strike is running well so far,&rdquo; said Pro Vice President for the Industrial Sector Markku Polokangas, the salaried staff&rsquo;s lead negotiator. &ldquo;The amount of pressure on employers will increase in the coming days, we are certain.&rdquo; Polokangas also said the union is organising support strikes among Pro&rsquo;s membership in other sectors, such as telecommunications and chemicals. 
 
The two unions and the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries, or Teknologiateollisuus, the employers&rsquo; federation, were in marathon mediation sessions with National Conciliation Esa Lonka throughout the week. The latest session broke off last night and Metalliliitto's 38-member Council gave a near-unanimous mandate to begin the strike.
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="102" />
Ammattiliitto Pro&rsquo;s membership had earlier given leadership of the union a mandate for strike action. 
 
Although the two sides are in general agreement with the 4.3% wage increase over two years that Finnish social partners agreed to on 13 October, major discord in metal and tech negotiations center on how that amount will be split. Finnish employers want discretion on paying some workers far less than the 4.3%, while the unions want the increase given to everyone across the board. 
 
Another difference is over a three-day yearly training and education period. Employers seek the discretionary right to award it, while the unions want it across the board. Tied to that is the manner in which workers age 55 and above will receive the three-day training allocation. 
 
Among just some of the 45 corporations that saw strike action taken against them this morning at 06h00 were ABB, Boliden, Kone elevators and Kone cranes, the mining concern Talvivaara, the Metsa set of engineering companies, iron and steel maker Rautaruukki, Sandvik Mining and Construction, Valmet Automotive, Outotec, Patria aerospace and land companies, and Ruukki Metals and Engineering. 
 
On 7 November, among 35 other companies expected to join the strike will be a large number of workers employed by the Nokia-Siemens joint venture called NS Network.

Strikes Begin in Finnish Metal, Technology Sector

<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="59" />
Broad strike activity accelerated a positive wage agreement in the Austrian metal sector. In the early morning hours today, 18 October, Austrian trade unions PRO-GE and GPA djp, the Salaried Employees, Print, Journalism, Paper Union, emerged from bargaining on behalf on 170,000 metal and industrial workers with positive results. 
The 2011 pay awards will range from 4.2% to 4.4%, with the minimum wage in the sector increasing by &euro;80-per-month, or a sizeable 5.3%. The ICEM commends these wage gains as a sterling European example in creating consumer power to offset the dire financial climate of the Eurozone. PRO-GE and GPA djp are to be congratulated for negotiating &euro;300 million into the Austrian economy in this single set of talks. 
<img src="" width="180" height="120" alt="" />
This was made possible by strategic and early strikes last week that moved third-round bargaining up to yesterday, and forced the employers&rsquo; hand in raising their wage offers to above 4%. (See <a href="/en/5-Mining-DGOJP/4719-Wage-Shame-Drives-Austrian-Metalworkers-into-Warning-Strikes">ICEM report</a> on Austrian coordinated strikes last week here.) 
&ldquo;We have met our main demands of sustainable wage and salary increases, particularly for the lowest paid workers,&rdquo; said Rainer Wimmer, PRO-GE&rsquo;s chief negotiator. &ldquo;I thank the stewards, members, and supporters who made this deal possible. Without the 800 workplace actions and the pressure generated by the strikes, this would not have been possible.&rdquo; 
Those strikes happened last Thursday and Friday, and were about to carry into Monday, 17 October, except that employers recognised the growing momentum among workers for fair wage gains and they reached settlement on union terms. That recognition came in hastily called exploratory talks held on Sunday, 16 October, that included &Ouml;GB national labour centre President Erich Foglar and the leader of the chief employers&rsquo; association, the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WK&Ouml;). 
<img alt="" src="" width="105" height="160" />
Rainer Wimmer
Third-round bargaining was moved up from 20 October to yesterday to avoid further work stoppages, and the two sides reached accord early today after a 14-hour bargaining session. 
The agreement grants a 1 November pay rise of 4.4% to bottom rung workers, 4.3 to mid-level, 4.2% to senior staff, and 4% to top level people. In addition, pay for apprentices increases by 4.3% and all benefit indemnifications increase by the same amount. 
Perhaps the crowning achievement was hiking the minimum wage by 5.3%, or up to &euro;1,584-per-month. The wage agreement positively affects the buying power for 25,000 autoworkers, 16,000 who work in basic steel and iron, 5,000 in non-ferrous metals, 5,000 in utility work, and tens of thousands more in machinery, metal goods, and other industrial production. 
Austria&rsquo;s metal sector agreement now sets a template for 450,000 retail sector workers. Unions representing those workers and retail employers begin talks on 19 October.

Austria Metalworkers Negotiate Exemplary 2011 Wage Terms

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the ICEM Women&rsquo;s Workshop in West Africa, the selection of the abstract written for ICASA, and the report of the High Level Panel on Global Fund reforms. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Women and HIV and AIDS, Sub-regional Workshop in Accra 
 
The West African Sub-regional Women&rsquo;s Workshop, which was held in Accra, Ghana, brought together 17 women from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cote d&rsquo;Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, and Guinea. 
 
The workshop identified specific challenges facing women at the workplace and in communities with respect to HIV and AIDS. It addressed violence arising from HIV status and women&rsquo;s health and HIV and AIDS and dealt with the issue of the use of female condoms. 
 
The workshop started with a presentation by Akua Asumadu, the ILO HIV/AIDS Focal Point in Accra on &ldquo;Gender in the World of Work and mainstreaming gender in workplace response to HIV and AIDS.&rdquo; 
 
The workshop dealt with the issue of the importance of women structures especially in a male dominated industry such as the mining sector. Participants felt strongly that despite existing challenges, women structures play an important role in uplifting women and suggested that women structures should begin to be relevant to women by addressing specific women health and societal issues in order to improve active participation of women. 
 
Dr. Fred Nana Poku from the Ghana AIDS Commission made a presentation on &ldquo;The existing progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS, gender related issues that hinder access to care and the strategies in place to encourage the use of the female condoms.&rdquo; 
 
His presentation was followed by a presentation on the female condoms as a well as a demonstration on its proper use by Paule France Ndessomin, the ICEM HIV and AIDS coordinator. It became clear that the majority of women had never come across a female condom and were ignorant of its existence. The efforts through the ICEM HIV/AIDS project not only familiarise women with female condoms but also demonstrate the potential of their empowerment. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
International AIDS Conference in Addis Ababa 
 
The 16th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA 2011) will be held in Addis Ababa 4-8 December. The theme of the Conference is &ldquo;Own, Scale-up and Sustain.&rdquo; 
 
In the context of the project, sponsored by the Danish LO/FTF and in cooperation with the ICEM affiliate NIFECM, an abstract was written for the Conference proceedings. <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/ICEM%20Abstract-ICASA2011-a.pdf">The abstract</a>, entitled &ldquo;HIV and the Workplace, Awareness and Prevention in the Mining Sector in Ethiopia, Trade Unions Take their Responsibility,&rdquo; was selected for presentation at an oral abstract session at the Conference. 
 
High Level Panel Recommends Major Changes to the Global Fund 
 
A High Level Panel led by former President Mogae of Botswana and former US Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt has recommended in its report, released on 19 September, that the Global Fund make some major changes in its structure and working methods. The Panel was established six months ago by the Board of the Global Fund after widespread media publicity about corruption among some grant implementers. 
 
The Panel was given a broad remit to look into the Global Fund's problems and what should be done about them. Much is riding on the report; several donors have delayed making, or implementing, their funding commitments for 2011 and later until they see how the Panel reports and how the Fund responds. 
 
It would go beyond the scope of this e-bulletin to summarise the 149-page report (which is done in the GFO Issue 158 quoted below). However, some of the major recommendations stand out. 
 
Firstly, the GF Board should specify the maximum available funding for each type of country. It is further recommended that the GF introduces a two-stage grant application process with a relatively brief concept paper first and a full proposal after &ldquo;approval in principle.&rdquo; With respect to staffing, it is recommended that the overall ratio of Country Program Staff (mainly Fund Portfolio Managers) within the Secretariat should increase. 
 
The report was subsequently adopted by the Global Fund Board. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 158 of 20 September. 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" />
HIV and the Neglect of Older African Adults 
 
While the focus of HIV and AIDS interventions has always been on the 20-40-year-olds most likely to be infected, African democracy institute Idasa warns that health workers and social planners have neglected to take into account the elderly who have contracted the virus &ndash; and their numbers are growing. 
 
Successful ARV treatment is just one factor that has created a new group of HIV and AIDS patients &ndash; the over 50s who face their own distinctive needs and challenges. A IDASA study, HIV and AIDS and the Older Adult, points out that old age could disguise the symptoms of HIV and AIDS, leaving it undetected and untreated as health workers and social services focus their attention on the younger population. This could have serious consequences as older adults may fall through the treatment net. 
 
Greater awareness of the prevalence of HIV and AIDS in the older cohort is urgent. The study suggests that older people may be more sensitive to antiretroviral drug toxicity and therefore the body&rsquo;s reaction to antiretroviral agents may be different in the older person. The authors also warn that older people may be suffering from age-related conditions and using other non-HIV medications, which could introduce complications in the use of antiretrovirals. 
 
The stigma and discrimination experienced by older people suffering from HIV and AIDS is also greater. Furthermore, many of South Africa&rsquo;s older generation have been left to care for AIDS orphans. They have become the sole breadwinners and sources of income in many households. but a growing numbers of these senior citizens are HIV-positive or suffering from AIDS themselves. 
 
(Source: IDASA press release, 25 August) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Swaziland: HIV Prevalence among Factory Workers 50% 
 
A new study has found that more than half of workers in Swaziland&rsquo;s garment industry are living with HIV, and officials are realizing that the once-hailed promise of manufacturing employment has become a financial and medical nightmare for tens of thousands of Swazi women. 
 
About 30,000 Swazis, mostly women, are employed in garment factories financed by Taiwanese investors and operated by managers from mainland China. The survey also found that most factory workers were well informed about HIV/AIDS, and 90 percent of workers interviewed were aware of the female condom and other methods of preventing HIV. 
 
The prevalence rate for textile industry employees is significantly higher than the 26% rate among sexually active adult Swazis, which is already the highest in the world. Although most of the workers knew how to prevent HIV, their circumstances did not allow them to practice this. Wages for part-time workers can be as low as US$56 a month, and rarely top US$223 a month for factory-floor workers. This forces a lot of factory workers into prostitution where unprotected sex is often demanded. 
 
(Source: IRIN/PlusNews, Matsapha, 11 August) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Nigeria: Changing Attitudes to Contraception 
 
Traditional leaders&rsquo; support has been vital to reproductive health education efforts. Health workers say an apparent rise in contraceptive use in Nigeria stems largely from a willingness by traditional and religious leaders in some regions to use their influence in promoting reproductive health. 
 
In the predominantly Muslim north, where contraceptive use has historically been far lower than the national average, the support of traditional leaders has helped change attitudes in communities where contraception was long regarded as taboo. 
 
Even in rural areas condoms are being used. People now know the negative consequences of not using condoms - HIV and pregnancy. Culturally relevant performances in villages are used to promote messages about family planning, reproductive health and safe sex. 
 
(Source: IRIN News, 27 July) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
News from Global Unions 
 
The International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF &ndash; <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>) in its latest HIV/AIDS update 113 of 1 October, reports on its participation in the Inter-Agency Task Team to scale up HIV workplace policies and programmes and to mobilise the private sector. 
 
The September Newsletter of PSUFASA (Public Sector Unions Fighting AIDS in Southern Africa &ndash; <a href="http://www.psufasa.org">www.psufasa.org</a>) gives guidelines for trade union participation in the proposal process for the Global Fund and reports on meetings of PSI affiliates in Zimbabwe to explore the possibilities to include a workplace component in the country proposal. The newsletter also describes the anti-stigma and discrimination programmes which were launched in several southern African countries. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Five Years Ago: From the October 2006 (Issue No. 13) 
 
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 HIV/AIDS e-bulletin of October 2006, we reported on the 3rd Regional Workshop for national coordinators. It will be recalled that the first cycle of the ICEM HIV/AIDS project, which ran from 2005 to 2006, included a series of regional training workshops for national coordinators. This third workshop focussed on peer education and laid the foundation for successful national activities in the coming years. The fourth and final workshop in that cycle dealt with accessing resources at national level and the writing of project proposals. Without knowledge of funds which may be available at national level and skills to access them, long-term sustainability cannot be achieved. Only a limited number of affiliates, however, succeeded in mobilising additional resources. 
 
In that issue, we also reported on the difficulties the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria had in financing grants for approved Round 6 proposals. Although only 43% of eligible proposals were approved, a funding gap of US$300 million emerged and project funding had to be postponed until additional pledges were received. 
<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. 73, October 2011

Archive