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UNI-Europa, the European section of the Global Union Federation UNI, signed an agreement in May 2008 with Euriciett, Europe&rsquo;s only association of temporary work agencies. UNI-Europa and Eurociett agreed on a joint declaration related to the draft EU Directive on Agency Work, while UNI also made improvements in a renewed Global Framework Agreement with ISS, a Danish-based company that provides property services worldwide. 
 
UNI-Europa&rsquo;s accord with the umbrella association of temp work agencies &ldquo;recognises the principle of equal treatment from day 1 for temporary agency workers,&rdquo; the same language as contained in the draft EU Directive.
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The text of the document improves on the draft Directive by providing two definitions for the comparability of workers, &ldquo;extending the comparison of the working and employment conditions to those workers doing the same or similar job in the user company.&rdquo; 
 
The agreement also enjoins both parties to a commitment that temporary agency workers should not replace workers who are on strike. 
 
These issues are viewed as sensitive within the industry, as they are important for its public image. Larger agencies like Adecco, Manpower, Randstad, and Vedior are concerned that smaller and mid-size agencies will not follow the rules. 
 
Most agency workers do not work for companies with which UNI is dealing. UNI therefore hopes to first reach an agreement with employers on workers&rsquo; whose interests are directly represented by UNI. After this is signed, possibly in September 2008, it is hoped to extend this to all temporary agency workers, perhaps early next year.
<img height="99" src="" width="70" alt="" />
&nbsp;UNI-Europa Gen. Sec. Bernadette S&eacute;gol 
 

UNI-Europa General Secretary Bernadette S&eacute;gol said, &ldquo;It is now urgent that the EU institutions finally agree on a Directive on (temporary agency work) to protect the interest of workers.&rdquo; UNI-Europa has lobbied the European Commission for the past ten years for a Directive on agency work. 
 
The renewal agreement between UNI and ISS, which employs 440,000 workers 
worldwide, was signed in June and gives staff the right to join unions and to bargain collectively.

UNI-Europa Signs Accord with Temp Work Association; UNI Renews Global Agreement with Danish Firm

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In early 2008, with support from the ICEM CAL Project, workers at German-owned Thai Industrial Gases (TIG), a subsidiary of Linde, and their union TIGLU, signed a milestone agreement with the company. The accord secured their rights to organise TIG workers across Thailand. 
 
TIG/Linde is Thailand&rsquo;s biggest provider of industrial gases. The agreement came only after a struggle, including a month-long protest at all of the company&rsquo;s 13 work sites. It also saw support and pressure by the ICEM and its global affiliates, including ones in Germany, Netherlands, and Belgium.
<img height="181" src="" width="240" alt="" />
This was a remarkable achievement for the TIGLU, which was established only three years ago. 
 
In one situation, jobs had been contracted out first to Adecco. That temporary agency firm was then replaced by an unknown agency, whose address turned out to be a building under construction. This made the agency seem a sham, making it appear that this was an attempt by TIG/Linde to circumvent the union. 
 
Most workers signed the new work agreements, but nine refused and were fired. Reportedly, some who did sign were threatened with dismissal if they got involved in union activities. 
 
In the end, TIG/Linde agreed to reinstate the nine dismissed workers, who were all truck drivers. The company also agreed not to victimise workers by transferring them, a common tactic used by the company. TIG/Linde also agreed to give the 19 agency workers the same conditions as TIG&rsquo;s regular employees.
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TIGLU has also used the Thai labour inspection service to counter bad employment practices at TIG&rsquo;s branch in Saraburi province, a worksite where agency workers had received lower overtime pay, no sick leave payments, and were issued inadequate safety equipment. After the inspection, the employment agency paid the workers in full, but then retaliated by giving them contracts which had to be renewed every three months. 
 
A national campaign in Thailand calling for recognition of workers&rsquo; rights for temporary or agency workers, and their right to unionise and join the same union as permanent workers, has now been started through support of the ICEM campaign. Union networks have been formed to organise and protect agency and contract workers throughout Thailand.

Positive Developments for Agency Workers in Thailand

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Manpower, the second largest employment agency in the world, has announced the creation of a &ldquo;Manpower Equaltreatment&rdquo; subsidiary in Germany. 
 
Thomas Reitz, the head of Manpower-Germany explains: &ldquo;We have recently set up this new subsidiary, Manpower Equaltreatment Gmbh, in which temporary workers will be paid at the same level as the permanent workers of the companies where they work. Other conditions and benefits will also be similar.&rdquo;
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&nbsp; 
 
In doing this, Manpower has given a powerful signal to employers everywhere that the climate regarding temporary work is changing. 
 
&ldquo;We want to remain attractive as an agency, and there is a demand for these kinds of solutions,&rdquo; continued Reitz. 
 
Some collective work agreements within Germany&rsquo;s major industrial enterprises like Audi, BMW, and Airbus already call for temporary and permanent staff to have similar pay and conditions. 
 
Calls for the &ldquo;equal pay for equal work&rdquo; motto in all German enterprises are reinforced by a recent campaign by ICEM affiliate IGBCE and other major trade unions in Germany, which is putting pressure on companies to grant equal pay to temporary workers.
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Manpower estimates that its new Manpower Equaltreatment subsidiary will employ several thousands of temp agency workers in the next few years. It will provide both high-skilled specialty staff and also less-skilled workers. &ldquo;Companies prefer good agency workers,&rdquo; concluded Thomas Reitz, (because) they hope they later become permanent staff, so they need a good pool of workers to choose from.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Equal Pay for All Workers Gains Ground in Germany

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General President Jack O&rsquo;Connor of Ireland&rsquo;s Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU) welcomed the new EU Directive on Agency Work. 
 
In a statement, he said, &ldquo;It will improve people&rsquo;s rights at work in Ireland. Indeed, in the absence of the EU, working conditions in Ireland would still be very primitive. This decision will begin the process of alleviating the plight of tens of thousands of our most vulnerable workers.&rdquo;
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Legislation in Ireland to regulate the use of temporary agency workers has been opposed for years by employers. Although not yet fully adopted, once ratified by the European Parliament, the Directive must be implemented through national legislation within three years. It has thus given a considerable push to people&rsquo;s rights at work in Ireland. 
 
The recent Irish referendum rejecting the Lisbon Treaty would appear to have no effect on the Directive, since existing treaties already cover the details of implementation.

Irish Labour Movement Welcomes EU Directive on Agency Work

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Despite earlier opposition by Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Poland, and the UK, which have stubbornly opposed any compromise agreement for the past five years, the EU&rsquo;s Employment and Social Affairs Council agreed on 10 June 2008 to a draft Directive on Temporary Agency Workers. 
 
Temporary agency work has continued to swell, there can be no denying that. In Denmark, Italy, Spain, and Sweden, for example, it has increased five fold over the past 20 years. In most other EU nations, it has at least doubled in recent years. Each year, some six million workers in the EU are newly registered with agencies. 
 
And in the new member states, it is crucial that minimum employment regulations are established to avoid undercutting already set standards in pay and working conditions.
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More and more, companies are utilising temporary agency workers to cut costs and to increase flexibility, such as allowing them to adjust staffing needs at short notice. 

Employers can find workers with specific skills, when and as needed, without recruitment expenses, or when restructurings or downsizing occurs. 
 
In general, agency workers tend to be less satisfied with their jobs and work conditions than permanent staff. They also tend to have less control over their work, receive less training, have higher accident rates, and perform more shift work than permanent workers. Mostly, they get lower wages for similar work, and are excluded from bonuses and benefits. They also have less job security. 
 
The EU Directive would set minimum European-wide standards that create a level playing field for all companies in all member-states. The Directive is also aimed at stimulating the EU as a knowledge-based economy. 
 
The draft Directive currently states that temporary agency workers must not be treated less favourably regarding basic work conditions (pay, working time, rest periods, holidays, etc.) than permanent workers doing &ldquo;comparable&rdquo; work, a principle that would apply as of day 1. 
 
Exceptions would be permitted to this principle where the social partners come to an agreement at the national level, as recently happened in the UK, for example, where agency workes are to get equal treatment after 12 weeks, six more than what is proposed in the EU Directive.

European Directive on Agency Work Gets Closer to Passage

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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; 
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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. 
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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. 
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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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The ICEM condemns the recent death sentence by Iran&rsquo;s Revolutionary Court on Farzad Kamanger, a teacher, human rights activist, and trade union leader in the Kurdish Teachers&rsquo; Trade Association. 
 
In a letter to the Iranian government, the ICEM demands the sentence be commuted, and that Iran stop all repressive measures against the 33-year-old&rsquo;s family and a Committee to Stop Farzad Kamanger&rsquo;s Death Sentence that is attempting to assist him. 
 
In the statement, the ICEM also called for release of other teachers unfairly held, and an end to the brutal tyranny imposed on education and teaching.
<img height="115" alt="" src="" width="250" />
Kaminger was incarcerated as a national security risk in August 2005. Exact charges have never been forthcoming. In prison, he has been subjected to torture while speaking out against abhorrent health care conditions in Iran&rsquo;s prisons. 
 
The ICEM believes the imprisonment and death sentence are acts against his ethnicity and his trade union involvement. 
 
&ldquo;We are deeply concerned about this execution, following an unfair trial that denied him the right to defense,&rdquo; said the ICEM, adding the Iranian government has denied him &ldquo;unimpeded contact with his family and his lawyer&rdquo; throughout the long incarceration.

ICEM Protests Death Sentence to Iranian Teacher, Trade Unionist

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Workers and their trade union leaders from Brazilian national mining giant Vale met in the Canadian province of Manitoba on 12-13 August to renew solidarity relationships. In 2006, Vale bought key Canadian nickel mining interests, and the United Steelworkers (USW) in North America and Brazilian trade unions forged immediate ties. 
 
Two weeks ago, USW hosted five Brazilian unions in Thompson, Manitoba, just as USW Local 6166 there begins its first bargain with Vale Inco in renewal talks for 1,200 steelworkers. Their contract expires on 15 September.
<img height="99" src="" width="140" alt="" />
&nbsp; 
 
USW local branch delegations in Canada also attended from Voisey Bay, Labrador, and Sudbury and Port Colburne, both in Ontario. 
 
The Canadian and Brazilian trade unionists were renewing the &ldquo;Sudbury Accord,&rdquo; a document signed to build global bargaining power around Vale&rsquo;s operations following CVRD&rsquo;s 2006 acquisition of Inco.
<img height="70" src="" width="140" border="1" alt="" />
 
&ldquo;It is important for us to be here to personally offer our support to the bargaining committee and members of Local 6166,&rdquo; stated Eduardo Pinto from Sindicato dos Ferroviarios do Maranhoa-MA (CNTT) of Brazil. 
 
He said the meetings identified ways that Brazilian unions can place pressure on Vale management to in support of Local 6166&rsquo;s bargaining platform. 
 
Added Jorge Campos, of Brazilian Sindimina-RJ (CNTSM), &ldquo;We understand the value of global union solidarity.&rdquo; When we signed the &ldquo;Sudbury Accord,&rdquo; he said, the partners knew the value of supporting &ldquo;each other in the collective bargaining process.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;It has been especially interesting and valuable to learn about the strategies of Brazilian trade union leaders in dealing with Vale management,&rdquo; said USW Local 6166 President Les Ellsworth. He said workers in Thompson have learned of Brazilian union efforts to build community support around environmental and balanced economic development issues. 
 
USW District Three Director Steve Hunt called the Thompson meetings &ldquo;another milestone&rdquo; in finding further commonalities with Brazilian unions. He cited profit-sharing programmes, health and safety, and relationships with respective communities. 
 
The Brazilian company&rsquo;s assets in Manitoba consist of two nickel mines, a smelter, mill, and refining unit.

Canadian, Brazilian Unions Renew ‘Sudbury Accord’ in the Province of Manitoba

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IGBCE scored a victory for all German workers recently when it steadfastly demanded, and won, assurances that bearings company Schaeffler KG abide by current work cultures, and work rules, in its 49.99% buy-up of Continental AG. 
 
The &euro;75-a-share deal, which forbids privately-held Schaeffer of southern Germany from increasing that stake for the next four years, was finalized early on 21 August. Schaeffler&rsquo;s earlier and hostile bid for Conti, Germany&rsquo;s major tyre, brakes, and auto-components firm with operations in 36 countries, was &euro;70.12-a-share. 
 
The take-over battle surfaced late in July, and the unsolicited offer was met by resistance from German unions IGBCE and IG Metall, as well as by Conti&rsquo;s Works Council. That stern resistance moved workers&rsquo; interests front and center inside boardroom negotiations.
<img height="166" alt="" src="" width="125" />
&nbsp;IGBCE's Werner Bischoff, Deputy Chairman of Continetial's Supervisory Board 

IGBCE President Hubertus Schmoldt said early in mid-August that if the hostile takeover were to occur, &ldquo;no company would be safe.&rdquo; The union, together with IG Metall, then worked for transparency and job security. 
 
Workers and their unions won by using IGBCE leadership on Continental&rsquo;s supervisory board, as well as from the Works Council and other stakeholders. The result was a firm commitment that no asset sales, job losses, structural changes to Conti&rsquo;s work organization will occur, or will Schaeffler involvement alter collective agreements, Works Council structures, supervisory board oversight, or other existing regulatory duties inside the new &euro;35 billion company. 
 
&ldquo;We achieved an important step into a new era for Continental,&rdquo; stated IGBCE Head of Collective Bargaining Werner Bischoff, also the deputy chairman of Conti&rsquo;s supervisory board. &ldquo;There will be no breaking of company structures, and jobs and worksites will be secure,&rdquo; he said, adding that all worker participation in the affairs of the merged company will remain intact.
<img height="195" alt="" src="" width="260" />
IGBCE President Hubertus Schmoldt (left), with former&nbsp;Chancellor&nbsp;Gerhard Schr&ouml;eder 

The IGBCE also used political influence to cement those protections: trade union ally and IGBCE friend Gerhard Schr&ouml;eder will serve as a guarantor for workers&rsquo; interests, as well as for Conti shareholders. 
 
Language exists stating that &ldquo;former German Chancellor Dr Gerhard Schr&ouml;eder is authorized and empowered to enforce all obligations of Schaeffler at any time by legal action or out of court. In this regard, he is entitled to request information from Schaeffler about their level of compliance with their obligations under the Investment Agreement.&rdquo;

Union Presence at Conti Takeover Table Preserves Work Pacts, Worker Guarantees in Germany, Elsewhere

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ICEM South African affiliate National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) was joyous with the news that the country&rsquo;s Parliament elected Kgalema Motlanthe as President of the country two weeks ago. Motlanthe, a former NUM staffer and General Secretary, was sworn in on 25 September, replacing Thabo Mbeki who resigned. 
 
He will serve as South Africa&rsquo;s third president in post-apartheid era until at least next year&rsquo;s elections.
<img height="94" alt="" src="" width="140" />
South African President Kgalema Motlanthe 
Considered a master educational strategist and a voice of reason within the now tumultuous landscape of the African National Congress (ANC), Motlanthe stepped into a prominent NUM role in 1987 immediately after serving a 10-year prison sentence for activities within the then-outlawed ANC. He became the union&rsquo;s Education Secretary then, and was the prime architect in shaping the union&rsquo;s strong shop steward system. 
 
In January 1992, he was elected by the NUM&rsquo;s Central Committee to succeed General Secretary Cyril Ramaphosa when Ramaphosa was elected Secretary-General of the ANC. In 1997, he again succeeded the great Ramaphosa at the helm of the ANC, a position held now by former ICEM&nbsp;Executive Committee member&nbsp;and NUM General Secretary Gwede Mantashe. Motlanthe, now 59, was elected Deputy President of the ANC late last year after Jacob Zuma defeated Mbeki as leader of the ANC. 
 
Motlanthe&rsquo;s tenure at the NUM &ndash; besides building lasting rank-and-file political education programmes &ndash; included negotiating two-year bargaining periods opposite the Chamber of Mines, negotiation terms still intact today. He also pioneered trade union investment mechanisms and was a leading and early proponent on laws vesting mineral rights with the state.
<img height="78" alt="" src="" width="170" />
At age 23 in 1972, Motlanthe when to Mozambique where he joined the banned ANC. He was arrested for 11 months in 1976 for his efforts to organise students, and then a year later began his 10-year prison term at Robben Island, where he was imprisoned with anti-apartheid stalwarts Nelson Mandela, Harry Gwala, Mac Muharaj, and Walter Sisulu, who became his mentor inside the famed lock-up. 
 
At the NUM&rsquo;s Congress in 2004, speaking during his second term as ANC Secretary-General, Motlanthe urged delegates to &ldquo;use the union&rsquo;s structure to enhance the struggles&rdquo; to deal with poverty and to transform a society that defends the rights of workers in order to overcome an economic divide.

NUM Welcomes ‘One of Its Own’ as Acting President of South Africa

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