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<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
This is the 25th Issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin. 
 
There is no Time to Celebrate! 
For more than two years we have tried to give practical, timely and accurate information from a number of relevant sources. Too little feedback has reached us from our affiliates. Many of them are engaged in the fight against HIV/AIDS. If we do not know about their activities, we cannot report on them and others cannot benefit from new initiatives and ideas. 
 
Again, we make an appeal to send information on new agreements, campaigns and educational activities 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. 
 
There is certainly no time to celebrate: according to UNAIDS, each day still more than 8,000 people die of AIDS; almost 12,000 get newly infected with the deadly virus, many of them young people, in some regions more than half of them girls and women. Each day, 1,800 children become infected &ndash; the vast majority of them as newborns through mother-to-child transmission. 
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
World AIDS Day, 1 December 
 
Leadership is the theme for World AIDS Day 2007. The ongoing campaign slogan of the World AIDS Campaign is &ldquo;Stop AIDS &ndash; Keep the Promise&rdquo;. 
 
Unions can demonstrate leadership at every level &ndash; in the workplace, in their own governing bodies, in women&rsquo;s committees, in health and safety committees, in negotiations with companies, in the community and at the national policy level. 
 
Any union member, shop steward, union official, committee member, gender representative who takes action on HIV/AIDS is a leader in the fight against the deadly disease. 
ICEM calls on its affiliates to take the lead in campaigning on World AIDS Day, 1 December. 
Before the end of October, affiliates will receive campaign material. 
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
ICEM Affiliates in C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire and Namibia 
 
The HIV/AIDS Coordinator for the three affiliates in C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire, Charlotte Nguessan, is particularly active. In addition to training workplace representatives, she has coordinated the writing of a proposal on HIV/AIDS workplace interventions, which was submitted to Partners against AIDS in August. 
 
Charlotte was also appointed to the working group for the Round 7 proposal to the Global Fund. 
 
In Namibia, the first two courses (out of three) for the training of VCT counsellors were completed in the Oranjemund region and at Okorusu Flourspar mining. The Mine Workers&rsquo; Union of Namibia makes sure the funds go a long way: instead of the usual 5 to 8 unionists, as in most&nbsp;other countries, it aims to train more than 20. 
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Global Fund: Record Amount in New Grants Recommended for Round 7 
 
Round 7 applicants to the Global Fund submitted fewer, but bigger and better, proposals than applicants in all previous rounds. 
 
The Global Fund's Technical Review Panel (TRP) has reviewed the 150 eligible Round 7 proposals that were submitted to the Fund, and has recommended that the board approve 73 of them. The grants recommended for approval will cost a total of $1,112 million over two years. 
This is a record amount: in the six previous rounds, the two-year value of approved grants ranged from $571 million to $968 million. (The full duration of a grant is five years. After the first two years, a review takes place to decide about the continuation of a grant). 
 
The percentage of proposals recommended for approval was also a record &ndash; 49%, up from an average of 38% over the previous rounds. On the other hand, the number of eligible proposals submitted in R7, at 150, was the lowest ever. 
 
The TRP's recommendations regarding Round 7 will be reviewed and voted on by the Board of the Global Fund at its next meeting on November 12-13. (In previous rounds, the board has always followed the TRP's advice regarding which proposals to approve.) 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer Issue 77, 30 September 2007. 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 height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Global Fund: Donor Governments Pledge Record Amounts 
 
Donors are expected to give the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria at least $9.7 billion over the next three years, 57% more than they gave over the past three years. The pledges made at the Global Fund Replenishment Meeting in Berlin constituted the largest single financing exercise for a&nbsp;health issue that has ever taken place. 
 
Some highlights of the pledges: 
 
&bull; The three countries that pledged the most for 2008-10 were USA (USD 2,172 million), France (USD 1,274 million) and the UK (USD 729 million). 
&bull; The three countries that pledged the largest percentage of their Gross National Income (GNI) were Norway (0.087%), Ireland (0.076%) and Sweden (0.075%). 
&bull; The country that pledged the largest amount per capita was the Netherlands. 
&bull; The three developed countries that pledged the smallest percentage of their GNI were Japan, Finland and Switzerland (0.004% each). 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer Issue 77, 30 September 2007. 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 height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
ICAAP Held in Colombo 
 
&ldquo;Waves of Change - Waves of Hope&rdquo; was the theme of the International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 19 to 23 August, 2007. The conference brought together 2,500 delegates from 70 countries including politicians, officials, community workers, medical professionals, academics, journalists, trade union leaders and people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) to share knowledge and devise new strategies to deal with the disease. 
 
The HIV epidemic in Asia and the Pacific remains diverse. A number of countries have taken decisive action to deliver effective and comprehensive AIDS programmes. However, the overall response in the region is still not keeping up with the pace and expanding reach of the epidemic. Leadership at various levels is still not adequately aware of the consequences of an escalating pandemic and its impact, not only on public health, but also on the socio-economic wellbeing of the people of the region. 
 
(Source: adapted from the ITF HIV/AIDS Update 28, 1 September) 
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Cambodia: Prevalence Rate Down 
 
Three international donors have decided to reduce aid for AIDS prevention to Cambodia as the country has reportedly achieved satisfactory progress. 
 
The Global Fund, DFID and USAID will cut funds targeted at reducing the transmission of HIV/AIDS in the country as nationwide infection rates have declined from 3.3% in the 1990s to 0.9% in 2006. 
 
The reduction of aid does not mean the end of prevention activities. It is a recognition of the fact that the Government of Cambodia has enough capacity to carry on the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS. For example, the number of voluntary confidential counselling and testing centres increased from 150 in 2005 to 190 this year. 
 
(Source: xinhuanet, 20 September) 
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
India: Case Studies on Corporate Response to HIV/AIDS 
 
A recent World Bank paper discusses the role of business in the fight against HIV/AIDS in India, with particular focus on the private sector. The report highlights interventions by five Indian companies (Reliance Industries Ltd, Transport Corporation of India Ltd, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd, DCM Shiram Consolidated Ltd and Hindustan Lever Ltd) ranging from advocacy and education to prevention and treatment. 
 
The report argues that because a large share of the country&rsquo;s HIV-positive population are employed by Indian industry, businesses can gain from early and decisive action to prevent HIV and AIDS. The paper also shows the advantages businesses bring to the fight against the pandemic and how the Indian government supports companies involved in HIV/AIDS interventions. 
 
(Source: Eldis Corporate Responsibility Reporter, 6 September <a href="http://www.eldis.org/csr">www.eldis.org/csr</a>. Eldis is a service of the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex)
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
South Africa: Setback for New AIDS Policy 
 
The new AIDS policy in South Africa suffered a severe setback when the Deputy Minister of Health, Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge was forced to resign in August. 
During the long sick leave of Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, the Deputy Minister had worked for a turn-around in the government&rsquo;s AIDS policy, advocating a massive increase in antiretroviral treatment. This had been delayed for years by the Health Minister who encouraged people living with HIV/AIDS to treat it with garlic, beetroot and olive oil. 
 
(Source: various newspaper reports) 
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
News from the Global Union Programme and Global Union Federations 
 
The ICEM is represented on the Steering Committee of the Global Union AIDS Programme. The last meeting took place in Geneva on 3 October. Among other, the meeting discussed a closer engagement of Global Unions with the Global Fund and an initiative to cooperate with the World Bank. A meeting will take place in Washington in December involving the mining, transport, health and education sectors. 
 
In its most recent HIV/AIDS updates (nos. 26, 27, 28 and 29 of 1 and 15 August and 1 and 15 September) the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a> reports, among other, on an agreement between the union and the employers on an HIV/AIDS policy for the railway industry in Zimbabwe; how low levels of awareness and prevalent social stigma contribute to the spread of the disease in Pakistan. 
The Nigerian Government has approved a policy providing guidelines that aim to assist in the establishment of workplace HIV/AIDS policies in the formal sectors, as well as in the informal economy.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin

<img height="113" alt="" src="" width="100" />
Dear Colleagues, 
 
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the 4th World Congress of the ICEM. It is with a great deal of pride that we hold this Congress in Thailand, a country in which the ICEM has played a role in a number of labour and social causes. 
 
There has been discussion on why the ICEM would hold a Congress in a country that only a year ago experienced a military coup. We consulted with our Thai affiliates on this matter, and they assured us that our presence would be a symbol of hope and expectation that free and democratic elections will occur soon in Thailand. We take this as proof of both the quality of work that ICEM has done in Thailand, and the work that still must be done in this great nation. 
<img height="125" alt="" src="" width="101" />
Senzeni Zokwana, ICEM President
This Congress marks a historic moment for the ICEM. With forces of globalisation rapidly impacting the lives of workers in today's world, the global trade union movement has come together and made the commitment that it will unite to protect workers' interests. 
The ICEM's 4th World Congress will engage several major issues, including enhancing cooperation with the family of Global Union Federations and other world trade union organisations. 
<img height="125" alt="" src="" width="91" />
Manfred Warda, ICEM General Secretary 

We will begin a process to establish a strong sustainable development policy across all ICEM sectors, and we will reaffirm our commitment to challenge the growing threat of Contract and Agency Labour and the scourge of HIV/AIDS in our workplaces and in workers' lives. 
 
This Congress also marks the full integration into the ICEM of trade unions from the World Federation of Industry Workers. We welcome those unions and we know that your participation and involvement in our structures will make us stronger. 
 
Let us have great success at this Congress, and let us come away fully invigorated with the energy of Unity and Solidarity in order to fulfill the necessary work that we face! 
 
Fraternally,&nbsp;
Senzeni Zokwana and Manfred Warda

Fraternal Greetings to the ICEM&#039;s 4th Statutory Congress!

A 24-hour strike 20 September by FNV Bondgenoten largely shut down the city of Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The following day saw thousands of workers protesting in The Hague, Utrecht, Arnhem and Eindhoven. FNV and other Dutch unions are protesting government proposals to slash social protections and healthcare. A mass strike over the issue will occur this Saturday, 2 October, beginning at 12:00 noon in Amsterdam.

Bondegenoten Shuts Rotterdam in Protest to Proposed Social Cuts

Canadian affiliate CEP at the same 13 September labour rally and march over health care issued a call to adopt a national pharmacare programme aimed at providing low-cost and accessible drugs to Canadian citizens. The rising cost of drugs, the CEP asserts, has produced a number of examples of bargaining table discord between the union and employers.

CEP Proposes &#039;Pharmacare&#039; Programme for Canada

ICEM affiliate CFMEU was forefront during mid-September international actions protesting building materials firm James Hardie&rsquo;s dodge of asbestos liabilities in Australia. The company in 2001 shifted its headquarters from Sydney to The Netherlands in a move seen as cutting its liability for over 60 years of asbestos exposure to workers in Australia. On 15 September, 20,000 workers rallied across Australia&mdash;still home to the vast number of Hardie shareholders&mdash;while a contingent of mesothelioma victims with trade union leaders including the CFMEU&rsquo;s Lindsay Fraser went to Amsterdam for James Hardie&rsquo;s AGM on 17 September. A damning report on the company was issued September 21 by an Australian state government inquiry, which found that the chief executive had misled investors and the company developed a &ldquo;culture of denial.&rdquo;

Australian Unions Angry Over James Hardie’s Asbestos Cover-ups

The ICEM launched an aggressive global campaign to stem the use of contract and agency labour at a conference in Brussels 16-17 September. Trade union leaders of ICEM affiliates were uniform in their consensus that long-term and wide-ranging strategies are needed to protect the community-enriching benefits that permanent employment offers. Central among all strategies developed will be a programme aimed at primary employers in all ICEM sectors.

ICEM Launches Bold Campaign on Contract and Agency Labour

The hostile Trade Union Act in Nigeria may have begun to fall apart in the country&rsquo;s Senate. Amendments to President Olusegun Obasanjo&rsquo;s union-busting measure passed last week included removal of a &ldquo;no strike&rdquo; clause to the bill, as well as language making all union membership voluntary. The General Assembly&rsquo;s lower chamber began debate late last week with the leader of the All Nigerian People&rsquo;s Party, Salik Ahmed, calling for outright dismissal of the bill.

Nigerian Unions Paring Worst Aspects from Labour Reform Bill

In South Africa at an ethylene plant run by Sasol, seven workers were killed following a gas blast on 1 September. The section of the plant in Secunda, Mpumalanga, where the explosion occurred was down for maintenance while some 450 contract workers and 100 permanent employees worked in the area. Reportedly, a valve was mistakenly opened. It was the third accident at the Sasol complex over the past three months in which deaths occurred. ICEM affiliate CEPPWAWU, one of three unions representing workers at Sasol, is attempting to be part of the investigation team, but the South African firm is trying to limit the probe.

Recent Blast at Sasol in South Africa Kills Seven

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Two life-taking industrial accidents over the past two weeks can be blamed on unsafe work practices of contract labour. On 9 September inside a copper mine near Kure, northern Turkey, a gas leak was ignited by a welding torch that killed 19 workers and injured scores of others. 
The mine had been privatized in February 2004 by Turkish state mining enterprise Etibank, which then shifted all work to Turkish construction firm STFA. Family members of those killed and injured by the torrid fire said many miners lacked oxygen masks and other safety equipment. (The other fatalities occurred at a Sasol chemical plant in South Africa: See Recent Blast at Sasol in South Africa Kills Seven.)

Recent Turkish Safety Fatalities Fault of Contract Labour

The ICEM&rsquo;s first thematic conference will be held this week, 16-17 September in Brussels. In-depth discussion will originate around a thorough working paper that will be presented on contract and agency labour across the world. The conference will develop future campaign activities for the ICEM on the subject of contract and agency labour. Some 140 trade unionists of ICEM affiliates are registered to attend.

Contract and Agency Labour Workshops to he held in Brussels

Archive

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin

Fraternal Greetings to the ICEM's 4th Statutory Congress!

Bondegenoten Shuts Rotterdam in Protest to Proposed Social Cuts

CEP Proposes 'Pharmacare' Programme for Canada

Australian Unions Angry Over James Hardie’s Asbestos Cover-ups

ICEM Launches Bold Campaign on Contract and Agency Labour

Nigerian Unions Paring Worst Aspects from Labour Reform Bill

Recent Blast at Sasol in South Africa Kills Seven

Recent Turkish Safety Fatalities Fault of Contract Labour

Contract and Agency Labour Workshops to he held in Brussels

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