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The ICEM&rsquo;s Sub-Sahara Africa Regional Organisation (SSARO), at its Executive Committee Meeting in Mauritius, 27-28 September, adopted a resolution affirming continued commitment to challenge mining multinational Vale in Africa. &ldquo;SSARO affiliates will oppose all Vale investments in Africa and those of its surrogates until Vale demonstrates a willingness to drop its anti-union behaviour,&rdquo; states the resolution. 
 
The resolution was adopted unanimously by the ICEM African affiliates, building on their commitment of 6 April during the &lsquo;Week of Action on Vale&rsquo; when SSARO&rsquo;s Executive Committee denounced Vale&rsquo;s attacks on workers in Canada and throughout the world, and resolved to oppose the investment of Vale in Africa. 
 
Vale continues hostile demands on workers at Voisey&rsquo;s Bay, Newfoundland, Canada, to accept large concessions and worse terms than those agreed in settling the bitter disputes at Sudbury and Port Colborne. The corporate management of Vale maintains the unacceptable position that they cannot intervene in the dispute, instead settlement must be reached by local management and workers. 
 
The ICEM and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) have been fighting a global campaign against Vale&rsquo;s anti-union practices and efforts to spread their intolerable treatment of workers to Africa and throughout the world. 
 
&ldquo;The ICEM affiliates of Africa have shown their strength in unity by confronting the second largest mining company in the world, and refusing their anti-worker practices. We salute them for this and pledge our full continued support to the campaign,&rdquo; stated ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. 
 
The opposition to Vale in Africa includes the 50/50 joint venture between Vale and African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), a South African mining company that acts as a gateway for Vale to Africa&rsquo;s mineral resources. 
 
Vale has begun construction of the Konkola North Project in Zambia, where the Brazilian multinational plans to invest US$400 in the copper mine. This is strongly opposed by the Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ), who have questioned the legality of the mine&rsquo;s lease. 
 
ICEM affiliates in South Africa, Zambia, Liberia, and Guinea have been at the forefront of opposing Vale expansion. Unions have been informing government officials on Vale&rsquo;s global misconduct, and of their demand that Vale move to settle the dispute at Voisey&rsquo;s Bay before entry of the company is considered. 
 
&ldquo;The global campaign will benefit all mining unions. We cannot allow Vale&rsquo;s practices to be imported into Africa or any other continent for that matter,&rdquo; stated ICEM Director of Industry &amp; Corporate Affairs Joe Drexler. 
 
View the Resolution in its entirety <a href="/index.php?id=25&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=4022">here</a>. 
 
Participants at the meeting approved the joint proposal of the United Steelworkers (USW) to hold a regional meeting on Vale in Africa. In these decisions, SSARO emphasised the importance of closer contact with trade unions in Brazil and Mozambique.

ICEM SSARO Endorses Continued Campaign on Vale

In April 2010, ICEM SSARO unanimously adopted a resolution to oppose the investment in Africa by Vale, the multinational mining giant of Brazil. The purpose was to prevent a global decline in mining labour standards due to the anti-union practices of Vale, throughout the world and particularly in Canada where the company forced over 3,500 miners on strike. 
 
ICEM SSARO also took note that Vale had established a partnership with African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) of South Africa to assist Vale in developing new mines and smelters on the African continent. 
 
Despite representations to the contrary made by Vale and ARM, there is little evidence that Vale has changed its attitudes and behaviour. Even after settling two year-long strikes in Canada, when the United Steelworkers agreed to accept some significant concessions, Vale boasted that it had won a power struggle, instead of trying to rebuild the strained relationship with its employees. Vale refused to settle a third strike in Voisey&rsquo;s Bay, Canada, and is demanding that the largely aboriginal workers accept lower standards than what was agreed at the other sites. 
 
Recently, the ICEM and International Metal Workers (IMF) met with Vale officials in Geneva at the request of the company. Vale called for continued social dialogue with the two global trade union federations. The ICEM and IMF stated that social dialogue can only proceed if Vale demonstrates a willingness to change its policies and practices toward trade unions. 
 
So far, there is no evidence that Vale has changed its policies and practices. 
 
SSARO trade unions in South Africa, Zambia, Liberia and Guinea have been in the forefront of opposing Vale&rsquo;s expansion in Africa and that of its surrogate, ARM. These trade unions have stated clearly that complete respect for trade union, community and environmental rights is a fundamental condition that multinational mining companies must meet to gain access to Africa&rsquo;s riches. Vale has not met this condition. 
 
SSARO hereby reaffirms its opposition to Vale investment in Africa. SSARO affiliates will continue to educate its governments and it citizens of the dangers of allowing Vale to operate in their respective countries and will oppose all Vale investments in Africa and those of its surrogates until Vale demonstrates a willingness to drop its anti-union behaviour. 
 
ICEM SSARO also stressed the critical importance of involving and working more closely with Brazilian trade unions in the effort to stop Vale&rsquo;s export of anti-union practices and to strengthen the position of trade unions wherever Vale operates.

Vale Resolution -- SSARO

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the great success of a project by the German IGBCE women in Tanzania, on the South African government&rsquo;s failure to provide promised female condoms at the World Cup games, and on the mining house AngloAmerican&rsquo;s ongoing campaign to stem the spread of the HIV virus in South Africa. 
 
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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IGBCE Women Sponsor Successful VCT campaign in Tanzania 
 
The second leg of the campaign for voluntary counselling and testing took place in Mwasa, the second largest town in Tanzania, in August. The campaign was sponsored with donations from the women unionists of the German ICEM affiliate, IGBCE. The African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF) gave technical assistance. 
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A total of 875 people were tested, among them 800 workers, members of the ICEM affiliates TUICO and TAMICO in Tanzania. Four percent tested positive, with a marked difference between men (3.1 percent) and women (6.9 percent). All who tested positive were referred to the government hospital in Mwasa. 
 
A dancing troupe of people living with HIV and AIDS provided entertainment, and members of the group also gave testimonies to encourage workers and members of the public to get tested. 
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Female Condoms Missing During World Cup 
 
Female condoms have been widely celebrated as an answer to putting reproductive health and HIV protection in the hands of women. Yet, the South African government fell far short of its promise of distributing 7.5 million female condoms during the World Cup games in June, with only one million finding their way into the hands of consumers. On the other hand, male condoms were available in high numbers - 565 million - though even these were 20% fewer than expected. 
 
Many women&rsquo;s organisations, who had pressed for the condoms, expressed disappointment that the female versions were largely missing in action, thus offering women less choice of how to protect themselves. Tian Johnson of Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Trust is frustrated at the situation, referring to messages communicated by the organisation to 2010 visitors, &ldquo;Coming to South Africa soon? Bring your own condoms; we certainly don&rsquo;t have enough to share!&rdquo; 
 
(Source: <a href="http://www.genderlinks.org.za">www.genderlinks.org.za</a>, as reported in Pambazuka, 23 July) 
 
Note by the Editor: The Coordinator of the ICEM HIV/AIDS Project is campaigning for wider access to female condoms. During the Sub-regional HIV/AIDS Women&rsquo;s Workshop in May, she found that female condoms were not commonly available. 
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World AIDS Day 2010: Universal Access and Human RIghts 
 
First observed in 1988, World AIDS Day (WAD) on 1 December has served to raise awareness about the epidemic, focus attention on issues that are key to a successful response, and to inspire positive action. The WAD theme for 2009-2010 is &ldquo;Universal Access and Human Rights.&rdquo; 
 
In cooperation with the World AIDS Campaign and other organisations, this year UNAIDS is organising a global &ldquo;Lights for Rights Commemoration&rdquo; in 100 cities. This campaign aims to highlight the linkages between HIV vulnerability and Human Rights around the world, especially of people living with HIV, women and girls, men who have sex with men, sex workers, people who inject drugs, and transgender people. 
 
The &ldquo;Lights for Rights&rdquo; campaign began on 1 December 2009 in the US, when the lights were turned off and later turned back on, illuminating New York City landmarks. The darkness represents how stigma, discrimination, and criminalization forces people to die alone in fear and shame, while switching the lights on symbolizes the human rights of all people, which allows one to walk in the light of information, treatment, care, and health. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS website <a href="http://www.uniaidstoday.org">www.uniaidstoday.org</a>. UNAIDS has produced a toolkit which can be accessed on this site 
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Zimbabwe: Patients Forced to Pay for ARVs 
 
Rampant corruption in the provision of life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and other HIV services is threatening Zimbabwe's national AIDS response, according to a recently released report by a local human rights group. 
 
Commissioned by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) in March 2010, the report - Corruption Burns Universal Access to Treatment - found that 73% of HIV-positive respondents had been asked to pay bribes by health workers. Most of those unwilling or unable to pay were turned away or given inadequate services. 
 
The findings were based on interviews with 1,024 people living with HIV in the provinces of Masvingo, Harare, Bulawayo, and Manicaland. Most of the respondents lived in urban areas and 89% had a family income of less than US$100 a month. 
 
HIV patients were often asked to pay for services that were supposed to be free. About a third of the respondents who were asked for bribes refused to pay them, mainly because of poverty; as a consequence, 63% were denied the service and had to pay for drugs or diagnostic tests in the private sector, or on the black market, or go without. 
 
(Sources: Plus News, Harare, 5 October) 
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Kenya: Minister Condemned for Promoting Gay Inclusion 
 
A Kenyan minister who expressed her opinion in support for HIV and Aids mitigation programmes for gays and lesbians has come under sharp criticism from church and Muslim leaders who said her remarks were &ldquo;satanic&rdquo; and contrary to &ldquo;African culture.&rdquo; 
 
Esther Murugi, the special programmes minister in the Kenyan government, while addressing a Gays and Commercial Sex Workers HIV and Aids Symposium held at the Kenya Coastal City of Mombasa, challenged the government, in which she serves to help the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and inter-sex (LGBTI) community efforts in war against the scourge. 
 
The seminar, titled &ldquo;Most &ndash; At-Risk Populations (MARPs),&rdquo; was targeted at Men having Sex with Men (MSM), sex workers, and Injecting Drug Users (IDUs), believed to be at the greatest risk of HIV infection. 
 
Politicians attacked the minister over her remarks and called on Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki to dismiss her for advocating for the recognition of gays and lesbians. The symposium was partly sponsored by the National Aids Control Council (NACC) which is the government national agency that designs and implements policies on the fight against HIV and AIDS. 
 
(Source: BTM correspondent, 6 October) 
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Global Fund: Donor Governments Pledge Record Amounts 
 
Donors are expected to give the Global Fund about US$11.7 billion over the three-year period, 2011-2013. This is 20% more than was pledged three years ago for the 2008-2010 period; but it is still less than the Global Fund says that it needs. 
 
More than 40 countries, together with the European Commission, faith-based organizations, private foundations and corporations attended a pledging session in New York on 5 October chaired by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. 
 
The Fund says that its total needs over the three years 2011-13 will be between US$13 billion and US$20 billion. Over the past few months, donor government studied the Fund's needs and effectiveness and deliberated over how much each would commit to for the three years in question. They then came to New York to announce their decisions. 
 
The four countries that pledged the most for 2011-13 are the US, US$4 billion, 40% more than its pledge for the previous three years; France, US$1.48 billion, a 20% increase over the previous three years; Germany, US$822 million, no change; and Japan, US$800 million, a 28% increase. The three countries that pledged the largest percentage of their Gross National Income (GNI) are Norway and France (0.018% each) and Canada (0.013%). 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 131 of 8 October. 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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AngloAmerican&rsquo;s Campaign against HIV/AIDS 
 
AngloAmerican is the largest private sector employer in South Africa and the effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic have ravaged its business. However, over the years the situation has become more manageable. By its own estimates, approximately 12,000 of its 71,000-workforce in South Africa are HIV-positive. 
 
The group&rsquo;s medical consultant, Dr Brian Brink, who is also the Global Fund Board member for the private sector, says that the big turning point came when treatment became available and effective. In negotiations with the union, the company agreed to pay for antiretroviral treatment (ART), but the real obstacle to getting things done was the stigma, fear, and distrust surrounding the disease. Agreement with the union also included guarantees that the jobs of HIV-positive workers were safe. 
 
From the economic point of view, giving out ART free of charge also makes sense. The fully-accounted cost for treatment is US$126 per HIV-positive worker per month. Against this, the total savings from reduced absenteeism and declining health care costs, as well as reduced staff turnover and benefits payments are US$219. 
 
(Sources: Daily Telegraph London, 2 August, with additions from the editor) 
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News from the Swedish Workplace HIV/AIDS Programme 
 
The Swedish Workplace HIV/AIDS Programme (SWHAP) is a joint initiative by the International Council of Swedish Industry (NIR) and the Swedish Industrial and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (IF Metall), an affiliate of the ICEM. 
 
In the latest newsletter of SWHAP, there is a report on the Swedish programme&rsquo;s Sub-regional Conference in Zimbabwe related to the development of its South Africa Peer Educators Network and new HIV/AIDS workplace programmes in cooperation with unions and Swedish companies in Southern and East Africa. The SWHAP programme in Namibia has commenced with the adoption of workplace policies by Auto Sueco, Atlas Copco, and ABB, and the training of peer educators. 
 
(Source: SWHAP Newsletter August 2010) 
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News from Global Unions 
 
The International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>, reports in its latest HIV/AIDS update No. 93 of 1 October on its HIV/AIDS capacity-building workshop for the Asian region and the publication of a new seafarers directory that includes information on practising safer sex and advocacy of condom use. 
 
The August Newsletter of PSUFASA (Public Sector Unions Fighting AIDS in Southern Africa) reports on the projects activities in Zimbabwe. The project, which is supported by the UK Department for International Development, is in its last year of the three-year project cycle. The project is coordinated by Tsitsi Mariwo from the PSI Southern Africa office in Johannesburg. 
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Five Years Ago: ICEM&rsquo;s HIV/AIDS e-Bulletin was Born 
 
The first issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin was published in October 2005. In future issues, we will refer to an article from the same month five years ago and reflect on developments. 
 
In October 2005, we reported on the Global Fund replenishment meeting in London in September 2005. Governments then pledged US$3.7 billion, which was short of expectations as the total needs of the Fund had been estimated at US$7 billion. As the article on the replenishment meeting in New York above shows, the amounts pledged have trebled but so have the needs to cover all approved grants and sustain service delivery. 
 
In the October 2005 issue we wrote: &ldquo;The relatively low level of support raises questions about the G8 commitment (at the Gleneagles Summit in July 2005) to place on antiretroviral treatment by 2010 all HIV patients who need it.&rdquo; 
 
That sadly has become true. As the year 2010 comes close to ending, various estimates say that only half of the HIV positive population who needs treatment still has not access to it. 
 
(The source of the article in October 2005: Global Fund Observer, Issue 50 of 7 September 2005) 
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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. 61, October 2010

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ICEM&rsquo;s ongoing Turkey Organising and Social Dialogue Project, through the support of the Dutch national labour centre FNV, organised its seventh regional workshop in Bursa on 15-16 September 2010. 
 
Located in northwestern Turkey, Bursa is the country&rsquo;s fourth largest city with a population of 1.86 million. The city is an industrial and culturally charged one, once serving as one of the ex-capitals of the Ottoman Empire. Bursa is also referred to as Turkey&rsquo;s &ldquo;Detroit&rdquo; because it is the centre of Turkish auto and auto-component industries. 
 
Auto factories such as FIAT and Renault are located near Bursa, as are auto-supply factories operated by Bosch, Mako, and Contitech. In addition, textile and food industries are equally strong in the city. Traditionally, Bursa used to be famous for being the largest center of silk trade in the Byzantine and later the Ottoman empires, during the period of the lucrative Silk Road. The city is still a major center for Turkish textiles. 
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A number of national and multinational companies within ICEM&rsquo;s sectors have operations in Bursa. Recently, a labour conflict at French-based auto-plastics supplier Faurecia was provoked when the company sacked shop-floor leaders belonging to ICEM affiliate Petrol-İş. ICEM intervention and vigorous Petrol-İş manifestations won the jobs back. 
 
Trade unions are seeking to organise factories using new and modern tools, and the ICEM&rsquo;s Dutch project aims to provide those tools. 
 
The Bursa seminar was attended by around 70 trade union leaders, shop stewards, and militants from ICEM-affiliated unions, as well as leaders of other unions in the metals and textiles sectors. The meeting also welcomed national level union officials, namely Mustafa &Ouml;ztaşkın, President of Petrol- İş, and Alaaddin Sari, Vice-President of Lastik-İş. 
 
The Bursa seminar also hosted several international trade union leaders, including ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, FNV Bondgenoten Trade Union Officer Celil &Ccedil;oban, Spanish FITEQA-CC.OO International Secretary Isidor Boix, and Phee Jungsun and Kemal &Ouml;zkan from the ICEM staff. All guests exchanged their knowledge and experiences with participants. 
<img src="" width="257" height="154" alt="" />
Warda gave a detailed presentation about ICEM&rsquo;s structure, policies, and agenda on the first day, and also explained the global union movement&rsquo;s position and activities on job losses brought on by the global economic crisis. He also spoke on ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, and the necessity for Turkey to ratify this Convention. He discussed ICEM strategies regarding social dialogue, Global Framework Agreements, workers&rsquo; networks, sustainable employment, and the cooperation and integration process with other GUFs. 
 
In addition, Warda briefed the participants on labour relations, trade union structures, and social dialogue in his home country of Germany during the second day of the workshop. 
 
ICEM&rsquo;s &Ouml;zkan gave a perspective on the various parameters of globalisation, the changing structure of industrial production, global union structures and challenges, Contract and Agency Labour, and various international institutions such as ILO, OECD, Global Compact, and EU instruments. ICEM&rsquo;s Phee Jungsun shared his experiences in ICEM&rsquo;s Asia-Pacific Region on organising within multinational companies, social dialogue, and labour practices in Asian countries. 
 
Participants heard a presentation by Turkish trade union expert &Uuml;zeyir Ataman, Director of Education and Collective Bargaining of Lastik-İş, on union history and the current labour relations situation in Turkey. Later, the seminar focused on Power and Weak Points, Challenges and Opportunities, and Concrete Organising Targets inside Turkey, with contributions and inputs by participants from the different towns around Bursa. 
 
&ldquo;The Bursa seminar was very well attended,&rdquo; said &Ouml;zkan. &ldquo;Participants expressed hunger for these workshops, allowing them to better know international trade union instruments at hand. 
 
&ldquo;I once again realise how important this project is in Turkey,&rdquo; added &Ouml;zkan, the coordinator of the two-year project. 
 
The project will continue with an upcoming special youth organising seminar, scheduled for 21-22 October 2010 in Kusadasi in the Eagean region. The project&rsquo;s two-year run will end with a final conference at the end of November in Ankara.

ICEM’s Dutch FNV Project Conducts Workshop in Turkey

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ICEM&rsquo;s Danish affiliated union 3F conducted its second Congress, 11-17 September, in the Aalborg Culture and Congress Centre. There were 855 delegates to the Congress, including ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, who attended as an international guest. 
 
3F is the largest trade union in Denmark, with 352,588 members from the following sectors: Transport, Building &amp; Construction, Manufacturing industries, Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture/Market Gardens, Cleaning, Hotel &amp; Restaurants, Delivery and distribution of newspapers and magazines. 
<img src="" width="133" height="112" alt="" />
3F President Poul Erik Christensen
The 3F Congress sets policy and elects the union&rsquo;s leadership and Executive Committee members. The six sections of 3F held separate conferences to discuss internal affairs of the section and to elect representatives to be put forward for election to the Federation&rsquo;s Executive Committee. Also elected in the section conferences are the section leaders, and negotiation secretaries. Those six sections are: Industry, Public-Sector, Transport, Construction, Private-Sector Services, and Green. 
 
Among those re-elected at the Congress were President Christensen, and Per Soerensen 3F&rsquo;s delegate to the ICEM Executive Committee. 
 
3F President Poul Erik Christensen proposed the at the union makes large financial backing to enact a change in government of Denmark, his proposal was accepted by Congress. Christensen will spend US$1million, &ldquo;The question is not whether we can afford to support this, but whether we can afford not to,&rdquo; stated President Christensen. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda addressed an event at the Congress for international guests. Warda praised 3F for its international solidarity work.

Denmark’s 3F Conduct 2nd Congress

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The ICEM offers continued solidarity to glass workers of Tyneside Safety Glass, members of UK affiliate Unite the Union, as they begin today, 4 October, a second week-long industrial action against an intransigent employer. Some 72 Unite members at two glass factories of the privately-held, family-owned Tyneside Glass/Suntex Glass Industries company in North-East England have been without pay increases for two years, and are now being asked to work longer hours. 
 
The company has refused to negotiate, with the last bargaining occurring in June. Workers subsequently voted for industrial action in a strike ballot and went on the first seven-day work stoppage on 20 September. On 25 September, they met to consider further action, and buoyed by a number of union support letters, voted to issue the mandatory seven-day notice for ongoing action. 
 
That leaves the possibility for further action throughout the autumn. The ICEM rallied to the support of Tyneside glass workers during the first walk-out, and that letter can be found here. As well, other support to glass workers in Gateshead, near Newcastle, came including hearty support from the Glass Section of the United Steelworkers (USW) union in the US through its Chairman, Tim Tuttle. 
<img alt="" src="" width="130" height="150" />
Unite North East Regional Officer, Bill Green
Unite and the USW originated Workers Uniting, a trans-Atlantic workers&rsquo; cooperative that is a registered trade union in four countries. 
 
Tyneside Safety Glass pays just barely over the British minimum wage and used the financial crisis to deny wage increases over the past two years. Now, with salaries even closer to the minimum, the company seeks to preserve a freeze, yet also wants to change shift patterns that would see staff working another ten hours per week. 
 
As stated in the ICEM letter, this would compromise safety on the job, particularly because the company has already made workers redundant and closed a third factory at Gateshead. &ldquo;The ICEM is deeply concerned that longer work hours will result in unsafe work conditions at the glass factories of Tyneside in the North-East,&rdquo; said General Secretary Manfred Warda, adding that management of late has noted a pick up in orders so restoration of lost wages could be made. 
 
&ldquo;We have experienced bullying and harassment by management, but no willingness to continue bargaining,&rdquo; stated Unite Region Officer Bill Green, adding that Unite members gathering at the 25 September meeting were fortified by global trade union support for a relatively small labour dispute. 
 
Tyneside Safety Glass and Suntex Glass Industries is a specialty glass producer that toughens and laminates glass windshields. It buys sheet glass from nearly Pilkington factories, owned by the Japanese company Asashi, and treats the glass for use in earth-moving and heavy equipment. Caterpillar, JCB, and other heavy-industry equipment makers comprise the company&rsquo;s customer list.

UK Glass Workers Begin Second Week of Industrial Actions

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In an attempt to oust a legitimate trade union at tyre multinational Continental, the Mexican government of Felipe Calder&oacute;n again sided with a corporate employer to support a company-supported union that does not have workers&rsquo; support. Workers at the Llantera Potosinafactory of Continental, in San Luis Potos&iacute;, Central Mexico, are members of the National Union of Tyre Workers of Mexico (SNTGTM). 
 
The ICEM is proud that SNTGTM has applied for ICEM affiliation and a positive recommendation will likely come at the Presidium meeting in Istanbul, 26 October. 
 
The SNTGTM refused to accept the yellow union, forcing an arbitration meeting with the Labour Ministry in August. The Labour authority, in an attempt to destabilise the SNTGTM effort, called the meeting with only one day&rsquo;s notice. Employees of the Continental plant voted at the meeting 640 to 1 in favour of the SNTGTM. 
 
We salute this victory of democratic trade unionism in Mexico, against a fierce anti-union effort by federal and state governments. 
<img alt="" src="" width="199" height="182" />
Alberto Espinosa Rocha, Secretary-General SNTGTM
Collective agreements with yellow unions, known as Protection Contracts, are prevalent in San Luis Potos&iacute; and throughout Mexico. 
 
This victory enabled the San Luis Potos&iacute; plant workers to use their legitimate bargaining power with management to bring back 200 workers who were made redundant due to the global recession. As production at the plant has seen significant growth in recent months, local Continental managers sought to make workers fulfil six days&rsquo; work in five days, and to fill new posts with outsourced contract workers. 
 
The SNTGTM resisted these efforts, forcing management to follow stipulations in the collective agreement. Job positions were offered to those ex-employees who held them previously. Many of the returning workers were, and still are, SNTGTM members. The financial crisis was used by management as an opportunity to sack trade union activists. 
 
The struggle to reinstate those workers has seen 135 returned to their jobs last month, and a further 87 will return early next year. The San Luis Potos&iacute; local of SNTGTM, led by General Secretary Jos&eacute; Alberto Espinosa Rocha, has received solidarity and support from a number of national unions across several sectors.

Mexico’s National Tyre Workers Rebuff Government’s Yellow Union

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A 30-day strike by 6,000 rubber workers of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) at six tyre plants ended on 29 September when the union accepted the three-year wage and other terms put forward on behalf of three of four global rubber companies by the New Tyre Manufacturing Employers&rsquo; Industry Association (NTMEIA). 
 
But NUMSA and one of the tyre manufacturers operating in South Africa, Bridgestone/Firestone, remain at odds over a current agreement. The union suspended the strike last week at two Firestone plants that employ 2,500 of those 6,000 rubber workers, and an internal meeting among NUMSA national, regional, and shop-floor leaders at the two Firestone plants &ndash; Brits near Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth &ndash; will be held in mid-October to shape a strategy over this unresolved bargain. 
 
Bridgestone/Firestone, through the NTMEIA, is offering two percent less each year in wages than the other three companies, Continental, Goodyear, and Apollo-Dunlop. 
<img alt="" src="" width="130" height="78" />
With those companies, NUMSA secured fair wage gains over the three years, as well as higher gains for workers who had been stuck in low-end pay grades of many job classifications. NUMSA also won important new language on the use of labour brokers. 
 
A first-year increase, backdated to 1 July, was set at 9%. The second- and third-year increases will each be 7.5% or South Africa&rsquo;s consumer price index in 2011 and 2012, whichever is higher. In comparison, Bridgestone has on the table increases of 7%, 5%, and 5%. 
 
Commencing in July 2011, for those workers with three or more years of service, the difference between the minimum and maximum pay grades in several job categories, about 10% now, will be bridged over a three-year time frame beginning. Thus, roughly half of all rubber workers in South Africa&rsquo;s six factories will see well over the 7.5% increases both in 2011 and 2012. 
 
Regarding labour brokers, NUMSA and the NTMEIA agreed to continue a policy of non-usage of brokers and adopted a policy to begin phasing out all labour brokers. The two parties agreed to a joint monitoring committee on the issue, and that work will begin early in 2011. Goodyear and Continental factories do not rely on labour brokers, but the Firestone and Apollo-Dunlop plants do. 
 
NUMSA has hardened its policy against labour brokers and has won company-paid social benefits and medical aid for contract workers. Along with many South African unions, NUMSA was seeking a total ban on labour-hire firms, with an alternative plan to give contract workers full-time and permanent jobs.

South African Tyre Strike Ends; NUMSA Still in Conflict with Bridgestone

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Hundreds of thousands of trade unionists voiced their anger across Europe last week and the week before against the growing number of austerity measures being proposed by governments. Demonstrations occurred in 11 European cities on 29 September. 
 
A general strike by 70% of all workers occurred across Spain also on that day that saw 10 million people participate, and 80,000 protesting trade unionists from 24 countries converged in Brussels on 29 September. The actions were advanced by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), which fears workers will for years pay the price of reckless speculators who caused the financial morass. 
 
Instead of budget cuts affecting social and employment programmes at a time of already high joblessness, the ETUC is calling for jobs and economic growth as the catapult to recovery. Participating trade unions fear that workers will be the biggest victims of austerity measures, brought about by an economic crisis that was set off by bankers and traders, many of whom received big government bailouts. 
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Part of the German IGBCE Delegation
&ldquo;This is a crucial day for Europe because our governments, virtually all of them, are about to embark on solid cuts in public expenditures,&rdquo; said ETUC Secretary-General John Monks in Brussels last Wednesday. 
 
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re doing this at a time where the economy is very close to recession, and almost certainly you&rsquo;ll see the economy go back into recession as the effects of these cuts take place.&rdquo; 
 
The Brussels protest, coincidentally, came on the day the EU Commission proposed levying large fines on governments that fail to reduce public spending. That proposal comes when several Member-States began flinching at making social cuts in the face of mass street protests. The commission wants to fine countries that surpass the EU&rsquo;s debt ceiling of 60% of GDP. 
 
Brussels police barricaded banks and the headquarters of the EU as streams of unionists marched by, mostly without incident. Among those marching were 400 Romanian police officers, marching under the banner of their union. Five days earlier, they had surprised many by joining a mass civil society march in Bucharest, where demonstrators protested 25% wage cuts on all public-sector workers. 
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Romanian Police Union in Brussels
The 6,000 participating police turned the Bucharest manifestation on the Interior Ministry, causing Interior Minister Vasile Blaga to resign. 
 
Also protesting in Brussels were scores of German and Polish coalminers, who specifically called on the EU to delay its plan to make coal-producing Member-States cut their coal subsidies to power plants. Across Europe over the past two weeks, workers have taken to the streets to protest wage cuts, budget slashing, unjust tax increases, and pension-cutting austerity measures by governments seeking to control debt. 
 
Manifestations were held in Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Serbia, and Greece, where doctors in hospitals staged a 24-hour strike. In Slovenia, 29 September was the third day of a general strike by roughly half of the country&rsquo;s public-sector workers. In the Czech Republic on 21 September, 40,000 trade unionists protested a proposed 10% wage cut for all public workers, as well as planned sackings of workers, abolishment of wage guarantees for longtime workers, and introduction of performance-based pay. 
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Perhaps the biggest European protests last week occurred in Spain with the general strike. With unemployment at a European high mark of 20%, the Spanish government of Socialist Prime Minister J&oacute;se Zapatero last May introduced a &euro;15 billion austerity package that includes a 5% reduction in civil service pay, cuts in pensions, increase to the retirement age, and cuts to government funding. 
 
Led by the national labour centres CC.OO and UGT, Spanish trade unionists answered by staging the country&rsquo;s first general strike since 2002, causing a halt to transportation, daily newspapers not to publish, and television to go off the air. The 29 September strike came one day before Zapatero presented his 2011 budget to parliament. 
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From European Metalworkers' Federation
Commenting in a UK newspaper on the EU Commission&rsquo;s tough reprisal to fine governments who do not adhere to austerity measures, former Danish Prime Minister and European Socialists Leader Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said, &ldquo;Governments are not always right. If governments were always right, we would not have the situation that we have today.&rdquo; Rasmussen accused the commission of lacking &ldquo;an understanding of how ordinary people are suffering.&rdquo;

European Unions Ardently Protest Government Austerity Cuts

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The World Day for Decent Work (WDDW) will be marked on 7 October by trade union actions all over the world. Last year, WDDW saw 472 actions in 111 countries and organisers are aiming for more this year. The significance of the Day this year is high, under a backdrop of a global financial crisis that shows no sign of ending in terms of the crisis regarding unemployment. 
 
The global financial crisis has made 34 million people unemployed and pushed 64 million into extreme poverty. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has identified three core messages for this year&rsquo;s WDDW: &ldquo;Growth and decent jobs, not austerity, are essential to beating the crisis and ending poverty; Quality public services are essential for a decent life and must not be slashed in the name of fiscal consolidation; and, The financial sector must pay for the damage it has caused and be made to serve the real economy and real human needs.&rdquo; 
 
Visit the dedicated website of WDDW 2010 <a href="http://www.wddw.org/-English-">here</a>. 
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On the issue of quality public services and in concert with WDDW, the Council of Global Unions is organising a landmark &ldquo;Quality Public Services - Action Now!&rdquo; conference from 12-14 October in Geneva. 
 
The conference will bring together over 400 delegates from trade unions, governments, and civil society organizations from around the world. Delegates and supporters will develop a global charter and action plan for protecting and improving quality public services that are, along with workers in the sector, under threat as the world seeks to move out of the economic crisis. 
 
Speakers at the conference will discuss evidence that investment, not disinvestment, in quality public services is the most effective way to job creation and a sustainable global economy. 
 
Kumi Naidoo, leader of Greenpeace International and co-chair of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty, will provide the keynote address. 
 
View more <a href="http://www.qpsconference.org/home">here</a>.

World Day for Decent Work Actions Abound 7 October, and Beyond

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