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Four French unions last week, 18 February, approved average wage increases for 60,000 EDF (Electricit&eacute; de France) workers of 4.4% for 2010. CFDT, CGT, CFTC, and CFE-CGC won workers a progressive and far-sighted wage accord that has a base salary increase, plus increases based on seniority, training, incentives, and promotions. 
 
The 80% state-owned EDF will see half of its workforce retire over the next ten years, with 45% of the company&rsquo;s nuclear workers alone set to retire by 2015. An industry-wide increase of 1.2% that was negotiated last November and took effect on 1 January is also factored into the 4.4% average boost in salaries. The agreement also includes individual incentives of up to 1.8%. 

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Over two-thirds of the 60,000 workers, those employed in distribution and high-voltage electric utility positions, will realize average wage packages increases of 4.2%. The agreement also prioritises training and career advancement opportunities, and likely will prevent the labour unrest within EDF that was characterized by several industrial actions in 2009. 
 
The CFDT termed the agreement satisfactory, while the CGT, which for the first time in many years joined the other unions in approving the results of this bargain, said the new agreement makes up some of the lost purchasing power of the recent past. 
 
The company characterized the wage agreement as &ldquo;not exorbitant&rdquo; and said it reflects the will of management to heighten social dialogue with the unions, particularly on job formation and skill upgrades. The positive global financial results posted by EDF in 2009 also contributed to the amiable wage negotiations, with the company stating that the various wage packages granted French workers should contribute to optimal operational performance in 2010. 
 
EDF is the world&rsquo;s largest operator of nuclear power plants, with some 17 plants and 58 reactors in France alone.

French Unions, EDF Agree to Positive 2010 Wage Terms

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Last month, Bosnia-Herzegovina became the 24th country to ratify ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention. Passage by the Parliament and ratification by the President of the Balkan nation came along with adoption of nine other ILO Conventions, several of which relate to safety and health. 
 
An ILO official in Sarejevo, Lejla Tanovic, explained that the ratifications came after the ILO invited the government to submit all Conventions passed after 1993 to respective entities and social partners within the country for consultation in an effort to &ldquo;catch-up&rdquo; on approving social conventions following the war in the former Yugoslavia. 

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In 2008, the Council of Ministers at state levels inside Bosnia-Herzegovina did begin consultations on ten ILO Conventions and after their approval in 2009, the ten were passed on to the Parliament. Prior to Bosnia-Herzegovina, the last two countries to ratify Convention 176 were Peru and Luxembourg in 2008. 
 
First instituted in 1995, ratification of Convention 176 means that a national government will thoroughly and regularly inspect and investigate mining activity, and will assure that safe and reliable emergency procedures are put in place. It also allows that workers can freely and without prejudice notify authorities and management of unsafe conditions, and they have the right to leave a mining operation in the event of serious risk. 
 
Mining employers operating in a country that has ratified No. 176 must seek to eliminate all mining deaths and accidents by controlling and reducing inherent mining risks. They must provide the necessary equipment and communication systems to guarantee full security, and they must strive to preserve the land and the environment. As well, employers must assure the well-being of the communities and the people near their mining holdings. 

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The ten Conventions ratified in January 2010 by Bosnia-Herzegovina, besides Convention 176 are: Convention 94, the Labour Clauses (Public Contracts) Convention; Convention 174, the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents Convention; Convention 175, the Part-Time Work Convention; Convention 177, the Home Work Convention; Convention 181, the Private Employment Agencies Convention; Convention 184, the Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention; Convention 186, the Seafarers&rsquo; Identity Documents Convention; the Maritime Labour Convention of 2006; and Convention 188, the Work in Fishing Convention. 
 
Besides the three above-mentioned countries, the other 21 nations to ratify ILO Convention 176 include: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Botswana, Brazil, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Lebanon, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United States, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Bosnia-Herzegovina Ratifies Safety, Health in Mines Convention 176

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the results of the questionnaires on strength and weaknesses of the ICEM HIV/AIDS project; on treatment in earthquake devastated Haiti; and the call for union participation in the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria, in July 2010. 
 
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. 
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Annual Questionnaires Reveal Strength of ICEM HIV/AIDS Project 
 
Last year, the ICEM HIV/AIDS Project introduced year-end questionnaires in addition to the reporting of activities. The objective was to better assess the results compared to the objectives and to find out more about success stories and difficulties encountered in project implementation. 
 
The questionnaires show an increased focus not only on training of peer educators and counsellors but also their deployment in follow-up activities which reach more and more workers, their families, and the community. They also reveal more cooperation with employers, NGOs, and service providers. VCT campaigns in some countries were an overwhelming success, revealing how much can be done by unions when government agencies fail to respond. 
 
The introduction of a small budget allocation for material production was well accepted with the result that ICEM affiliates in the majority of project countries now have their own leaflets for use in awareness and prevention work. 
 
Difficulties encountered included the lack of time off granted by employers for peer educators to perform their duties and for meetings during working time; the lack of incentives for peer educators; the lack of resources to produce more campaign material and inadequate resources to cover more workplaces, especially in countries with a poor infrastructure and failing transport systems. 
 
What is still lacking, with a few exceptions, is the negotiation of HIV/AIDS workplace policies or collective bargaining agreements with HIV/AIDS clauses. In almost all countries, there is at least one employer with good practices on dealing with HIV/AIDS. Unions must become more active to build on good practices in their own country or in countries of a region to convince employers, who are lagging behind, to do more in the field of HIV/AIDS. 
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Global Union AIDS Programme Calls for Union Participation at the International AIDS Conference 
 
The Global Union AIDS Programme (GUAP) has called on Global Union Federations (GUFs) to sponsor unionists to participate in the International AIDS Conference (IAC), Vienna, Austria, 19 &ndash;23 July 2010. 
 
The last IAC took place in Mexico City in August 2008, and several GUF representatives attended the Conference, as well as the two-day Labour Forum. As a result of their participation and the efforts of ILO/AIDS, GUAP made significant progress in securing recognition of HIV/AIDS as a workplace issue and ensuring that the world of work was on the agenda. 
 
In Vienna, GUAP needs to do even better. The year 2010 is a significant year for the global HIV/AIDS response and for the world of work in particular. This year is the target year for the G8 commitment to achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, and care made in 2005, and for achieving the second target of Millennium Development Goal 6, universal access to treatment. What is more, the new ILO instrument on HIV/AIDS in the world of work will be discussed and hopefully adopted at the International Labour Conference in June. The IAC will be an important forum to disseminate the instrument, explain its significance, and promote its use 
 
GUAP calls on GUFs to earmark funds to enable representatives to participate in the IAC so that labour&rsquo;s voice will be heard. 
 
(Source: GUAP Circular, 2 February) 
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Combating AIDS through Workplace Action in Uganda 
 
TUC Aid &ndash; the development arm of the British trade union movement &ndash; is working in partnership with the National Organisation of Trade Unions (NOTU) in Uganda in a two-year workplace initiative to combat AIDS. The activities planned for the second half of 2009, under the Workers' AIDS Project (WAP) launched in July 2009, with a view to reducing stigma and discrimination associated with workers living with HIV/AIDS and negotiating for treatment, care, and support for such workers through collective bargaining arrangements with employers were successfully completed. 
 
The Project, funded by the Bill Morris Testimonial Fund for HIV/AIDS in Africa through TUC Aid, has contributed to greater awareness of risks of infection and of the potential for effective action through workplace. 
 
(Source: TUC website <a href="http://www.tuc.org.uk">www.tuc.org.uk</a>, with contribution from Robert E. Lovelace, GUAP HIV/AIDS Consultant, Washington, D.C.) 
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Global Fund Ensures AIDS Treatment in Haiti 
 
As Haiti begins the process to rebuild the country after the devastating earthquake that hit on 12 January, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is focusing its effort to ensure that the thousands of people living with AIDS will be able to access the drugs they need to stay alive. 
 
Haiti has the highest HIV infection rate outside southern Africa, and 36,000 people are currently receiving antiretroviral treatment to stay healthy, 13,000 of these depend on programmes financed by the Global Fund. With many health centres destroyed and health workers killed, people moving away from their home areas and with transport difficult, there is an acute danger that many people will run out of the drugs they need. This would not only lead to many deaths, but the disruption of treatment would also lead to a high chance of drug resistance among those who stop and start their treatment. 
 
The Global Fund is making an emergency provision of US$800,000 for a supply of six months of stocks of antiretroviral medicines. The Global Fund is working closely with the U.S. President&rsquo;s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and UNAIDS to ensure an uninterrupted flow of life-saving AIDS medicines to these patients. 
 
(Source: Global Fund website) 

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ILO Announces Strategy to Fight the Pandemic in Ghana 
 
Over a period of two years, the ILO/AIDS Workplace Programme will train about 195 senior officers from 20 trades associations on the removal of stigmatization and discrimination at the workplace, reaching out to more than 55,400 vulnerable people in the informal economy. In addition, 390 Peer Educators will be trained to assist some 100 companies with formulating and implementing HIV/AIDS workplace policies. The programme will also distribute two million condoms. 
 
Mrs. Akua Ofori-Asumadu, ILO/AIDS Workplace HIV National Programme Co-ordinator, announced this at the ILO/HIV and AIDS Programme Advisory Board meeting in Accra, which was attended by the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare, Ghana AIDS Commission, Ghana Employers Association, Ghana Business Coalition against AIDS, and Ghana Trades Union Congress. 
 
She also said that the programme would develop kits and user guides necessary for workplace representatives to build comprehensive HIV/AIDS workplace programmes. 
 
(Source: Ghana News Agency, posted on <a href="http://www.peacefmonline.com">www.peacefmonline.com</a> on 13 January) 

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Lack of Resources Could Undermine HIV Response in Pakistan 
 
Pakistan&rsquo;s capacity to effectively respond to the HIV epidemic could be hindered due to the lack of resources to implement its National Strategic Framework. A priority is to address the increasing levels of HIV infections among injecting drug users (IDUs). 
 
Despite having an HIV prevalence rate of less than 0.1% among its general population, Pakistan&rsquo;s HIV epidemic has transitioned from low to a concentrated one, as the prevalence among IDUs has steadily increased from 10.8% in 2005 to nearly 21% in 2008. 
 
Following the model seen in other countries in Asia, also known as the Asian Epidemic Model, the epidemic in Pakistan is characterised by high prevalence among IDUs and potential spill-over into other risk populations such as commercial sex workers and men who have sex with men. 
 
Lack of financial resources and constraints in the health infrastructure could jeopardise an effective and timely response. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS website <a href="http://www.unaids.org">www.unaids.org</a>, Feature Stories, posted 5 February) 

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Spotlight on the Middle East and North Africa 
 
The HIV epidemic in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, while seldom highlighted, is steadily growing. In 2008, there were an estimated 310,000 people living with HIV, up from 200,000 in 2001. Approximately 35,000 people became newly infected. 
 
Stigma and discrimination remain key barriers to an effective regional response. In many countries, the criminalisation of higher risk behaviours pushes affected communities, such as men who have sex with men, underground thereby limiting access to HIV prevention, treatment, and care and support services. 
 
UNAIDS works closely with government and civil society partners in the region to advocate the removal of punitive laws and policies that block an effective response. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS website <a href="http://www.unaids.org">www.unaids.org</a>, Feature Stories, posted 27 January) 

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Zimbabwe: HIV-positive People Want Constitutional Rights 
 
AIDS activists in Zimbabwe have launched a major drive to ensure that the rights of people living with HIV are enshrined in the new constitution. 
 
The Global Political Agreement, signed in September 2008 between Zimbabwe's political rivals, which gave rise to the coalition government in February 2009, includes writing the new constitution expected to be introduced in 2010. 
 
The Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS (ZNPP+) and the Southern Africa AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAFAIDS), a regional non-profit AIDS organisation, call for a meaningful involvement of HIV-positive people in the constitution-making process. They note that the current constitution did not have any explicit reference to the right to healthcare and was &quot;silent on HIV.&rdquo; 
 
SAFAIDS and ZNNP+ are calling for a bill of rights that would promote better access to health services. The estimated two million people who are living with HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe, one of the countries hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, have never before been actively involved in such legislation. 
 
(Source: PlusNews, 4 February) 

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A Beginner&rsquo;s Guide to the Global Fund 
 
AIDSPAN recently published a beginner&rsquo;s guide to the Global Fund. The purpose of this guide is to provide a broad introduction to the Global Fund for people who have little or no prior experience of the Fund &ndash; ranging from new CCM members, to NGOs, to trade unions, to government officials, to new sub-recipients, to journalists who have to write about the Fund. This guide comes in three versions: the full guide (about 60 pages), an eight-page summary, and a two-page summary. 
 
All three versions of this guide are available at <a href="http://www.aidspan.org/guides">www.aidspan.org/guides</a> in English, French, Spanish, and Russian. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 114 of 19 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="http://receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">http://receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>) 

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News from Global Unions 
 
The latest Newsletter of Public Sector Unions Fighting AIDS in Southern Africa (PSUFASA) gives a full summary of the many HIV/AIDS activities organised by the project. The project office is based in Johannesburg and the project is now coordinated by Tsitsi Mariwo. The project is sponsored by the Department for International Development (DfID, UK) and the British affiliate of Public Services International, UNISON. The website of PSUFASA is <a href="void(0);/*1265880702106*/">www.psufasa.org</a>. 
 
(Source: PSUFASA Newsletter January 2010) 
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This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe 
 
To subscribe to the e-bulletin, send an email to <a href="void(0);/*1265880720731*/">press@icem.org</a>. Please put &ldquo;subscribe ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin&rdquo; in the subject line.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 53, February 2010

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The 5th congress of the Slovak Chemical Workers was held in Svit, Eastern Slovakia, 25-26 November. It was followed by a merger congress with the energy workers which elected Juraj Blahak as President of the new union. Attempts to get the glass workers and construction workers also interested in the merger had failed before. 

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Juraj Blahak
Congress heard reports on economic development, very similar to those heard by the Hungarian Chemicals Workers, reported above (InBrief 146). Especially the automobile industry and with it the tyre industry is catching up, but there are still many uncertainties. Different speakers (also from the side of employers and employer associations who were invited) emphasized the relevance of social dialogue in addressing the effects of the global crisis. Employers criticized the government for prioritizing the attracting of investment from foreign companies, while neglecting to do enough for domestic companies.

5th Congress of Slovak Chemical Workers

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The joint publication of the Global Union Federations (GUFs) on climate change and other issues addressed at COP15, Copenhagen, is now available via the Council of Global Unions website <a href="http://www.global-unions.org/spip.php?article306">here</a>.&nbsp; Print copies are being distributed to the trade union delegation to the climate conference 

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The joint publication, entitled &ldquo;Getting the World to Work: Green Growth for Jobs and Social Justice,&rdquo; includes sectoral perspectives from each GUF, with a joint article published from ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda and International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) General Secretary Jyrki Raina. The publication also includes explanation of union consensus positions on climate debate issues from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). 
 
The publication follows the success of a similar Council of Global Unions&rsquo; publication called &ldquo;Getting the World to WORK: Global Union Strategies for Recovery,&rdquo; in which global trade union federations, together with the ITUC and TUAC of the OECD, came together to present strategies in response to the global economic crisis.

GUFs’ Magazine on Climate Change Available Through Council of Global Unions

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The ICEM has expressed condolences to the families of victims of a horrible methane gas explosion in Turkey. The blast killed 19 miners and occurred late in the evening, 10 December, at a privately owned mine near Mustafakemalpasa, Bursa province. 
 
The explosion happened some 200 metres underground and caused a cave-in to several narrow mine shafts. Seven miners were rescued and hospitalized with gas poisoning. All of the dead miners&rsquo; bodies have now been recovered. 

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The Turkish Trade Union of Miners issued a statement following the blast, stating that mines in the country are plagued by lack of proper safety regulations and inadequate inspections. Turkey&rsquo;s Minister of Labour and Social Security, Omer Dincer, was at the site of the tragedy and said the mine had undergone numerous inspections. 
 
The ICEM has targeted Turkey as a country that must ratify ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention. Stated ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, &ldquo;The ICEM calls upon the Turkish government and employers to support the ICEM campaign for ratification of ILO Convention 176.

Explosion Kills 19 Inside Coal Mine in Western Turkey

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With a negotiated settlement between ICEM-affiliated Ghana Mine Workers&rsquo; Union (GMWU) and AngloGold Ashanti occurring early this month, negotiations in the gold mining sector of Ghana came to a successful conclusion. 
 
Earlier, the country&rsquo;s labour commission issued a mediated settlement between GMWU and 2,100 miners of Goldfields, while Ghana&rsquo;s third major gold producer, US-based Newmont Mining, reached satisfactory terms with the union in October. 
 
Three-year collective agreements for some 10,000 miners, retroactive to 1 July 2009, are now in place in Ghana, ending the threat of more strikes and labour discord that marked labour relations in the country&rsquo;s gold sector in third quarter 2009. (See InBrief No. 140 <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3398-Ghana-Miners’-Escalate-Pay-Dispute-with-Gold-Producers">here</a>.) 
At AngloGold where 5,000 staff are employed at three mines, GMWU agreed to a 12% increase in 2009, and 10% salary adjustments in both 2010 and 2011. The union also won improvements in rent allowances pertaining to on-site housing, and won guarantees to review the union-management Provident Fund scheme and to align it more closely with the National Pension scheme. 

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The GMWU has worked to enhance efficiencies and lower operating costs at AngloGold&rsquo;s Obuasi and Iduapriem mines, and that work will continue under terms of the new agreement. The Johannesburg-based mining house, the world&rsquo;s third largest gold producer, said the cost of gold production at Obuasi has decreased by US$150 per once to US$671 per once in third quarter 2009, and that cost is expected to be go even lower in the next three years with cooperation from GMWU. 
 
GMWU General Secretary Prince William Ankrah called the new accord &ldquo;historic,&rdquo; stating it &ldquo;places the human equation at the centre of corporate thinking.&rdquo; 
 
Ankrah also said the issue of pay disparity between expatriate workers and Ghana miners will continue to be a point of discussion with AngloGold Ashanti. 
 
At Goldfields, a government arbitration panel determined that a 13.5% increase be granted to miners. The agreement with Newmont was reached with less discord, primarily because the company did not attempt to link the shrinking US dollar to salary adjustments. Pay talks for miners at Newmont will be again be addresses in the first half of 2010. 
 
With 2009 salary negotiations now complete with the major mining houses, GMWU will now turn attention to signing new accords with smaller companies and mining contractors.

2009 Gold Mining Talks Finally Conclude in Ghana

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A sequence of labour-management stand-offs at paper company Sappi&rsquo;s Nimjegen, Netherlands, mill on 2-3 December was what it took to bring labour peace, following three months of rancorous dispute. The defining stand-off that ended this dispute was a mill-wide, non-paid lockout by local managers, an anomaly to Holland&rsquo;s to social bargaining practices. 
 
That lockout, announced during the final hours of a legal 38-hour industrial action by four Dutch unions, including ICEM affiliates FNV Bondgenoten and CNV Bedrijvenbond at Nimjegen, set off high emotions inside the mill and forced fast intervention by Sappi&rsquo;s European management. 

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The result was a one-year rollover of the existing social agreement for 800 workers at the Nijmegen and Maastricht paper mills. The compromise, moreover, preserves &ldquo;seniorendaggen,&rdquo; or loyalty days away from the job for long-serving workers. This key issue was resolved with both labour and management agreeing that this social Dutch benefit would be retained until at least 1 July 2014. Accrual of senior days for new workers hired after 1 January 2010 will be eliminated. 
 
Following no response by Sappi to a workers&rsquo; proposal to end the dispute on 26 November, 24-hour industrial actions began at both Nijmegen and Maastricht. By 1 December, when Sappi still had failed to respond to a modest union proposal that could have ended the dispute, Nijmegen staff announced a 38-hour strike, while Maastricht workers would down tools for 24 hours starting early on 3 December. 

<img src="" width="161" height="88" alt="" />
The dispute&rsquo;s turning point then came late on Wednesday, 2 December, at the Nijmegen mill. With tempers short and rumours rife that the shutdown might last longer, mill managers escorted the few staff working off the job, and announced a non-paid lockout. 
 
Sappi also sent a letter to the unions requesting bargaining. Over the next 24 hours, through European corporate involvement, a compromise was hammered out. 
 
One fact that proved helpful for the Dutch unions is that on 15 October they staged a manifestation at Sappi European headquarters in Brussels, presenting senior executives with a petition signed by 800 angry workers. That manifestation was joined by written protests from global pulp and paper unions. 
 
Sappi did rearrange its contract terms in the days following the Brussels manifestation, but still wanted to be rid of having to grant senior days. The four unions decided to put Sappi&rsquo;s offer to joint vote, but Dutch paperworkers rejected it by 99%. 

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The industrial actions a fortnight ago, leading to the Nijmegen lockout, brought the dispute to a head. The compromise reached keeps the 2008 social agreement from Maastricht in place at both locations until 1 October 2010, and grants a one-year salary increase of 1.2%, backdated to 1 July 2009. 
 
The workers&rsquo; strikes at Nijmegen were the first such industrial stoppages in the history of the mill, while the walkouts in Maastricht were in first in over 30 years. 
 
&ldquo;We are grateful for the messages of support from trade unionists all over the world,&rdquo; said Ans van den Akker of FNV Bondgenoten. &ldquo;A special thanks goes to our Belgian colleagues who made sure that no struck work was brought to them at the Lanaken mill.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM commends the courage and collective power displayed by workers of all four unions at Nijmegen and Maastricht. It was through their common resolve that they retained the rights most important to them, while earning the respect of Sappi management in doing so.

Dutch Lockout by Sappi Spurs One-Year Labour Accord

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The Building and Wood Workers&rsquo; International (BWI) held its 2nd World Congress at the Grand Palais in Lille, France, last week, under the theme &ldquo;Global Solidarity for a Sustainable Future.&rdquo; The vision of the Congress read, &ldquo;A world with strong independent and democratic trade unions in the building and timber trades, where all workers have equitable access to stable jobs, fair wages and safe and healthy working and living conditions.&quot; 
 
Just fewer than 700 delegates, representing construction, and wood and forestry workers throughout the world, debated the most important issues in these sectors, as well as adopting the Global Union Federation&rsquo;s (GUF) strategy for the next four years. The plan sets out how to improve working and living conditions in the building and wood sectors and promote sustainable industrial development. 

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Outgoing BWI General Secretary Anita Normark
A host of meetings were held around the Congress, including the BWI International Women&rsquo;s Conference on 5 December, a Global Youth Conference and International Women&rsquo;s Committee on 6 December, regional committee meetings on 7 December, BWI&rsquo;s World Board and World Council on 8 December, with the main Congress taking place on 9-10 December. 
 
The Congress took up the General Secretary&rsquo;s report which prioritized the following areas of work: global migration, climate change, Chinese multinationals, the need for vocational training for affiliates worldwide, and the need to pursue the GUF&rsquo;s membership growth. 
 
The BWI said farewell to outgoing General Secretary Anita Normark. with BWI President Klaus Wieseh&uuml;gel, who was re-elected to another term, stating she would be badly missed by all. &quot;She has never forgotten the needs of trade union members and affiliates,&rdquo; said Wieseh&uuml;ge. 
<img alt="" src="" width="101" height="101" />
Newly elected General Secretary Ambet Yuson 
Newly elected General Secretary Ambet Yuson also paid tribute to Normark: &ldquo;Anita, you have been a great leader for this organization. To be your successor will not be easy.&rdquo; The new general secretary laid out his vision to create &quot;One International, One Movement and One Vision working together.&rdquo; 
 
Ambet, of the Philippines, worked for 20 years in his country&rsquo;s pro-democracy movement, which brought down the dictator Marcos. He has served as BWI&rsquo;s regional representative for the Asia-Pacific Region from mid -2007 to the present, and also worked for over 12 years with BWI affiliates as project coordinator and then globally as education secretary.

BWI Says Fond Farewell to Anita Normark; Elects Ambet Yuson New GS

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the new ICEM HIV/AIDS Project, on project work with other sponsors, and on forthcoming events in 2010. 
 
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" />
New SASK/FNV-sponsored HIV/AIDS Project 
 
Agreement was reached with the Solidarity Support Organisations SASK (the Trade Union Solidarity Centre of Finland) and FNV-Mondiaal of the Netherlands for a new HIV/AIDS project running for three years from 2010 to 2012. 
 
The project will allow the ICEM and its affiliates in sub-Saharan Africa to build on the experience of five years HIV/AIDS project work and intensify activities in a number of countries, as well as continue regional and sub-regional work in Africa. 
 
Special emphasis in the project will be on the training of peer educators/lay counsellors from affiliates to advocate voluntary counselling and testing and counsel on treatment and care, as well as on the conclusion of HIV/AIDS workplace policies and HIV/AIDS clauses in collective bargaining agreements. 
 
The project will be coordinated from the ICEM Johannesburg Project Office with a consultant based in Geneva. 

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Sponsors Continue ICEM HIV/AIDS Projects 
 
Several other HIV/AIDS projects will continue in 2010. The Women&rsquo;s Department of ICEM&rsquo;s German affiliate, IGBCE, is sponsoring the successful campaigning and advocacy project in Tanzania, in cooperation with ICEM affiliates TAMICO and TUICO. The Humanity Fund of ICEM Canadian affiliate, the Communications, Energy, and Paperworkers (CEP) Union, is supporting the second phase of the HIV/AIDS programme in Trinidad and Tobago in cooperation with ICEM-affiliated Oilfield Workers&rsquo; Trade Union (OWTU). Negotiations are underway to extend the very successful HIV/AIDS project in India, which was sponsored by the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, and to initiate a new project in Jordan with support from the Norwegian affiliate Industri-Energi (IE). 
 
The HIV/AIDS project sponsored by the Danish Solidarity Support Organisation, LO/FTF Council, in cooperation with the Ethiopian affiliate, the National Industrial Federation of Energy, Chemical, and Mine Trade Unions (NIFECM), will be running until the end of 2011. 
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A Successful Year in Nigeria 
 
The HIV/AIDS project in Nigeria, jointly sponsored by the Humanity Fund of the Canadian CEP Union, the ICEM HIV/AIDS project, and Nigerian affiliates NUPENG and PENGASSAN, has been particularly successful. 
 
Almost 8,000 workers and members of the community were mobilised for awareness meetings in a six-month period in 2009. Well over 2,000 agreed to be tested. This number would have been much higher if counsellors had not been limited in the number of people they can counsel in a day. The project also demonstrated how far good cooperation with the business sector can go, since the Nigeria Business Coalition against AIDS (NIBUCCA) provided mobile testing units. 
 
Training of project staff was facilitated by USAID and training of union officials and members was sponsored by SMARTWork, which also provided funding for a project office and for the salaries of three staff members. 

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HIV/AIDS Events in 2010 
 
Important HIV/AIDS events will take place in 2010. The 18th International AIDS Conference, a major biannual event, will take place in Vienna, Austria, from 18 to 23 July. The theme of the Conference is &ldquo;Right Here, Right Now,&rdquo; and the conference will emphasise the importance of protecting and promoting human rights as a prerequisite to a successful response to HIV and AIDS. 
 
The G8/G20 Meeting in Huntsville, Canada, just outside of Toronto will test the commitment of the world&rsquo;s leaders to universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support which, they had pledged to achieve by this year. 
 
At the 99th Session of the International Labour Conference in June in Geneva, the second reading and likely adoption of a new ILO instrument on HIV/AIDS and the world of work will take place. 
 
For the Global Fund, 2010 is a key year with the 3rd Replenishment Meeting taking place in the Netherlands in March. The meeting will determine the amount of funding governments will pledge for the years 2011 to 2013. 

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US Commits US$1.05 Billion to Global Fund 
 
US President Barack Obama signed a spending bill for the 2010 fiscal year that includes a US$1.05 billion appropriation for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This is the largest sum ever committed by one country to the Global Fund in a single year. 
 
With this amount, the Global Fund is closer to meeting the demand for financing Round 9 grants worth US$2.4 billion over two years. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Press Release of 18 December 2009) 

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Asia Close to Winning AIDS Treatment Battle 
 
The departing head of the UNAIDS Programme in the Asia-Pacific Region, Prasada Rao, said that the region is within three years of winning the battle against the AIDS pandemic. Increased treatment coverage and prevention programmes are turning the tide against AIDS. 
 
In Thailand and Cambodia, treatment coverage has reached almost 90%. In India, 50% get treatment, but in China and Burma the number stands at only 30 to 35%. This puts the region on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of halting and reversing the epidemic by 2015. 
 
However, access in remote areas in China and India, disrupted AIDS programmes in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and sharp rises in prevalence rates in Indonesia&rsquo;s Papua province and neighbouring Papua New Guinea leave millions at risk. 
 
(Source: World AIDS Campaign website, accessed on 7 January) 

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Zambia: HIV Testing Services Missing the Mark 
 
Voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) services form a critical opportunity to provide risk reduction counselling and HIV prevention information. According to a report by Private Sector Partnerships-One, VCT services in Zambia are squandering this opportunity to reach clients with information about how to reduce their HIV risk. 
 
The study found that although condom use was emphasised only one in three clients received counselling on reducing their number of sexual partners and even fewer were advised on how to disclose their HIV test results to partners. The research also found that VCT services were mainly accessed by the most educated segments of the population and were largely failing to reach those who have no or only primary school education. 
 
Zambia has a prevalence rate of 14.3% but the infection rate is as high as 20% in some urban areas. 
 
(Source: IRIN PlusNews, 5 January) 

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Travel Restrictions Based on HIV Status Lifted 
 
The UN, UNAIDS and HIV/AIDS organisations all over the world welcomed the elimination of travel restrictions based on the HIV status of a person by the US and the Republic of Korea. The US policy change was announced by President Barack Obama in October 2009 (see <a href="/en/72-HIV-AIDS/3492-ICEM-HIV-AIDS-e-bulletin-No.-50-November-2009">ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin No. 50</a> of November 2009). 
 
Some 57 countries still have some form of restrictions on entry, stay, and residence based on the HIV status of a person. UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidib&eacute; called for freedom of movement for people living with HIV in 2010, the year when global leaders have committed to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS Press Statement, 4 January) 

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Global Fund Board Addresses Risks of Treatment Disruptions 
 
The Global Fund is taking action to minimise the risk of treatment disruptions arising from interruptions in Global Fund financing and from weaknesses in country-level procurement and supply management systems. 
 
Inadequate stock management and poor state of medical warehouses, non-transparent procurement and late submission of disbursement requests are among the reasons which contribute to the danger of treatment disruptions. 
 
A report of the Portfolio and Implementation Committee to the Global Fund Board contains detailed measures to prevent treatment disruptions, which are a death sentence to people on anti-retroviral drugs. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 113 of 18 December. GFO is a free service of Aidspan (<a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>); to receive GFO send an email to 
<a href="mailto:receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>) 

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TAC Receives FES Human Rights Award 
 
On 10 December, Human Rights Day, Germany&rsquo;s Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) awarded its Human Rights Prize to the South African Treatment Action Campaign (TAC). TAC has been in the forefront to advocate better HIV/AIDS services and fight for treatment in South Africa. 
 
(Source: News from the FES, 14 December) 

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SWHAP Conference: Business Combating HIV/AIDS 
 
The Swedish Workplace HIV/AIDS Programme (SWHAP) organised a major conference in Stockholm on World AIDS Day, 1 December, on the role of the world of work in combating HIV/AIDS. Close to 100 representatives from business and trade unions in sub-Saharan Africa and from Swedish companies and unions took part in the event. It was co-organised with the ILO. 
 
In this occasion, Atlas Copco South Africa was awarded the SWHAP 2009 Achievement Award for its commitment and support of HIV/AIDS workplace programmes since 2003. 
 
(Source: SWHAP Newsletter December 2009) 

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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. 52, January 2010

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