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In this issue of ICEM&rsquo;s HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the HIV/AIDS Workshop in Trinidad &amp; Tobago, on the 1 December World AIDS Day statements, as well as on the 2010 UNAIDS report.
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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OWTU: Make HIV/AIDS Workplace Policies a Priority! 
 
The President General of the Trinidad/Tobago&rsquo;s Oilfields Workers&rsquo; Trade Union (OWTU), Ancel Roget, called on all companies, state or privately owned, to negotiate with unions and jointly adopt and implement HIV/AIDS workplace policies when he spoke at the opening of the OWTU/CEP/ICEM HIV/AIDS workshop in San Fernando, Trinidad &amp; Tobago, on World AIDS Day, 1 December. 
 
OWTU can argue from a point of strength as it adopted its own workplace policy on HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses in June 2009. Roget also warned employers that the union would take decisive action against any employer engaging in covert HIV/AIDS testing of employees. 
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OWTU President General, Ancel Roget
The workshop was attended by some 45 participants from OWTU, as well as representatives from the country&rsquo;s Communications Workers&rsquo; Union, Banking, Insurance and General Workers&rsquo; Union, Fires Services Association, and the Estate Police Association. It was sponsored by the Humanity Fund of ICEM affiliate Communications, Energy, and Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada. 
 
The workshop put HIV/AIDS in the context of decent work to reduce and eliminate stigma and discrimination. ILO HIV/AIDS Technical Specialist Madhuri Supersad introduced the new ILO Recommendation No. 200 concerning HIV/AIDS and the World of Work. She said that a focus must be on prevention and that behaviour change and a prevention revolution must begin at the workplace. 
 
The ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant, Hans J Schwass, reaffirmed the Global Union Federation&rsquo;s commitment to fight the pandemic. When for every one person put on treatment, there are two new infections, we know that prevention must be our focus and the workplace is an ideal entry point to eliminate stigma and discrimination, and advocate voluntary counselling and testing. He also drew attention to the ICEM website on which a model workplace policy and other materials and resources are available. 
 
Participants under the guidance of OWTU Head of Education and Research, Ozzi Warwick, who organised the workshop, worked on an action plan for 2011, which includes a January 2011 peer educators&rsquo; course for two unionists from each of the 27 OWTU units and a minimum of three activities by peer educators within six months of the training. Such activities should comprise workplace interventions, community awareness programmes, and interaction with youth groups and schools. 
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ILO on World AIDS Day: Workplace Policies to Tackle HIV and AIDS 
 
On World AIDS Day, 1 December, ILO online spoke to Dr. Sophia Kisting, Director of the ILO Global Programme on HIV and AIDS and the world of work (ILO/AIDS) about progress made on giving effect to Recommendation 200 since its adoption in June 2010. 
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Dr. Sophia Kisting, Director of the ILO Global Programme on HIV and AIDS 
Kisting said that the response to this strong human rights standard that can help improve the issues of stigma and discrimination at the workplace has been overwhelming. There is also an important understanding that countries need to report back to the Committee of Experts at the 2011 International Labour Conference on progress made in giving effect to the Recommendation. 
 
Referring to the Governing Body&rsquo;s decision to develop a plan of action, she stated that one of the most important steps is the development of national workplace policies on HIV and AIDS and to make sure that these become part of national programmes and strategies so that the workplace is not separate from the broader national response to HIV and AIDS. 
 
(Source: ILO website Communication and Public Information) 
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Global Unions on World AIDS Day 2010 
 
In its World AIDS Day statement, the ICEM affirmed that HIV/AIDS is a social disease. HIV transmission mainly takes place along the fault lines caused by poverty, gender inequality, and social injustice. HIV/AIDS is also a workplace issue. The workplace is crucial for successful action to combat the pandemic. 
 
HIV and AIDS funds are in recession due to the impact of the global financial crisis; HIV and AIDS are not in recession. Still for every three people put on treatment, five more become infected. That is why awareness and prevention as well as advocacy for voluntary counselling and testing are crucial in the fight against the epidemic. These are also cornerstones of the ICEM HIV/AIDS project. 
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HIV is also a human rights issue closely related to workplace non-discrimination laws and regulations. The ICEM calls on its affiliates to negotiate and adopt HIV/AIDS workplace policies, which are rights-oriented, non-discriminatory, and do not victimise people living with HIV and AIDS. 
 
The statement of the Global Unions AIDS Programme (GUAP) reiterated the commitment by trade unions to give effect to the implementation of Recommendation 200. The workplace cannot be left out of a coherent strategy to control the epidemic. GUAP also called for the adoption of national HIV/AIDS workplace policies and for them to be rights-oriented, non-discriminatory, and mainstreamed into national Decent Work strategies. 
 
The International Trade Union Congress (ITUC) reminded unions that World AIDS Day is a focus for action in the workplace. The union movement is intensifying its push for national implementation of the new ILO Recommendation 200 on HIV and AIDS and the world of work. This landmark ILO instrument breaks new ground by providing a framework for HIV and AIDS to be dealt with as a workplace issue, and by reinforcing the human rights consequences of the pandemic. 
 
The ITUC also announced the result of the first-ever writing contest, &ldquo;Positive Workers Write!&rdquo; which was open to HIV positive workers in Latin America and the Caribbean. 
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2010 UNAIDS Report: Beginning to Reverse the Spread of HIV 
 
The 2010 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic by the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) shows that the AIDS epidemic is beginning to change course as the number of people newly infected with HIV is declining and AIDS-related deaths are decreasing. 
 
Data from the report show that an estimated 2.6 million people became newly infected and that approximately 1.8 million died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2009. Both figures are down by about 20% compared to those five years ago. Still, 33.3 million are living with HIV. And there are two new infections for every one person starting treatment. 
 
From 2001 to 2009, the rate of new HIV infections stabilized or decreased in 56 countries around the world, including 34 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Among young people in 15 of the most severely affected countries, the rate of new infections has fallen by 25%, led by young people using safer sexual practices. Significant progress has also been made in the prevention of mother- to-child transmissions. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS Press Release, 23 November) 
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International Guidelines Launched to Protect Health Workers 
 
Health Workers are at the frontline in providing prevention, treatment, and care for people living with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. They are at risk of occupational exposure to HIV and TB, but often lack access to protection and treatment. 
 
To address this gap, new international guidelines were launched by the ILO, WHO, and UNAIDS to protect doctors, nurses, and other medical staff. There are an estimated 60 million health workers throughout the world. The 14 action points of the guidelines are based on respect for workers&rsquo; rights, as well as practical workplace health and safety programmes. 
 
(Sources: ILO, WHO, UNAIDS Press Release, 19 November) 
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Global Fund: Serious Deficiencies in Grant Management 
 
The Global Fund Observer devoted its entire issue 132 to reports released by the Global Fund&rsquo;s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on deficiencies in grant management and poor performance of principal recipients (PR) in a number of countries. 
 
In Zambia, the PRs have shown evidence of significant financial management and control weaknesses, episodes of misappropriation and fraud, and losses of grant funds, according to a report issued by the OIG. The OIG concluded that the two governmental PRs, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, were not fit to continue as PRs. More than US$10 million in expenses was identified as either ineligible or not properly documented. 
 
According to the OIG, there are a number of significant deficiencies in Cameroon in the financial management control framework of the Ministry of Public Health, principal recipients (PRs) and sub-recipients (SRs). The OIG was particularly critical of the Ministry, which was the PR for five of the six grants. Some US$3.4 million constituted overpayments which have to be recovered. The PR for the sixth grant was Care Cameroon, a non-governmental organisation. The OIG found that the internal control environment at Care Cameroon was strong, and made only minor recommendations. 
 
Insufficient grant management was also reported for Haiti (prior to the earthquake) and Cambodia. 
 
As one consequence, Sweden did not announce a pledge at the Global Fund&rsquo;s replenishment meeting in New York in early October because it was concerned about how the Global Fund is responding to findings by the OIG concerning misappropriated grant money. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 132 of 2 November. 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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Global Fund Should Expand Non-CCM Window 
 
In an interesting commentary published in the Global Fund Observer issue 133, the author, David Garmaise, argues that it is time for the Global Fund to make some changes to the eligibility criteria for proposals from organisations other than country coordinating mechanisms (CCM). It is evident that in many countries the needs of key vulnerable populations are not being addressed by the national response because CCMs too often are still dominated by government representatives. Civil society organisations could fill this gap. 
<img src="" width="250" height="53" alt="" />
The Global Fund has always discouraged applications from Non-CCMs, which can apply only if they are from a country that is without a legitimate government; that is, in conflict or in an emergency situation, or that is facing a natural disaster &ndash; or if they are from a country that suppresses, or has not established partnerships with civil society. Of the 150 Non-CCM proposals submitted in Rounds 5-9, more than 90% were deemed ineligible. The most common explanation provided for screening out these proposals was that the applicant had failed to explain why it had applied outside its national CCM. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 133 of 15 November) 
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News from Global Union Federations 
 
The International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF &ndash; <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>) in its latest HIV/AIDS updates No. 95 and 96 of 1 and 15 November, respectively, reports on HIV/AIDS workshops and strategic campaign meetings by its affiliates in the US, Tanzania, Ecuador, and South Africa. 
 
While we focus on sub-Saharan Africa, it is often forgotten that according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one million people are living with HIV in the US. More than one in five of those people living with HIV are unaware of their infection. Despite increases in the total number of people living with HIV in the US in recent years, the annual number of new HIV infections has remained relatively stable. 
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Five Years Ago: From the December 2005 Issue 
 
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 December 2005, The ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter reported on the Second Regional HIV/AIDS Workshop held in Johannesburg, South Africa, with the theme &ldquo;Fighting for our Rights.&rdquo; This workshop led to the publication of the ICEM Training Manual for Collective Bargaining on HIV/AIDS, a publication which is still relevant and widely used. Furthermore, as witnessed by this issue and previous activities, negotiating HIV/AIDS clauses in collective bargaining agreements and workplace policies has become a focus of ICEM&rsquo;s HIV/AIDS work. This is also in line with giving effect to the new ILO Recommendation No. 200. 
 
The Epidemic Update 2005, a joint report by UNAIDS and WHO, which was summarised in the December 2005 newsletter, estimated that there were five million new infections in 2005, bringing the total number of people living with HIV and AIDS globally to 40.3 million. As the summary of the 2010 update in this issue shows, some progress has been made since then. But this is still far from satisfactory and universal access goals have not been reached at the end of 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="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. 63, December 2010

By a vote of 521 to 398 on 6 December, members of Sindicato de los Trabajadores de Collahuasi voted to end a 32-day strike against the world&rsquo;s third largest copper miner, located in Chile. The Union of Workers of the Collahuasi Copper Mine and Do&ntilde;a Ines de Collahuasi, owned jointly through 44% stakes each by AngloAmerican and Xstrata, resumed talks early last week with help from Roman Catholic Prelate Marco Antonio &Oacute;rdenes, Bishop of Iquique. 
 
The union's Second Director, Carlos Daniel Rojas, told the ICEM early today that Bishop &Oacute;rdenes succeeded &quot;in opening the door&quot; with the company when there appeared little hope that talks would resume, and the union took it from there to work out a settlement. 
 
The final resolve came in negotiations over the weekend and early Monday, 6 December, with an acceptable compromise. 
 
The vote Monday night ends the longest private-sector Chilean copper strike, surpassing one of 26 days in 2006 at the Escondida mine, owned 57.5% by BHP Billiton and 30% by Rio Tinto. 
 
Terms of the settlement will give the 1,551 miners of Collahuasi a wage increase of 16.3% over a 42-month period, and a bonus payment of 14 million pesos (US$28,733). Other key issues in the strike, which began on 5 November, were company-paid health care and education costs for miners&rsquo; children. The union did make advances in both these areas from prior levels paid by the company. 
 
The strike was marked by a united workforce led by President Manuel Mu&ntilde;oz and Second Director Rojas. The miners of Collahuasi took up residency in the Santa Mar&iacute;a School in Iquique, and staged peaceful and near-daily manifestations in that city. Those demonstrations were strategic in order to draw attention to their cause of gaining adequate health coverage and educational stipends from an employer that posted net profits in 2009 of US$1.56 billion due to high copper pricing. 
 
Last night&rsquo;s vote took place inside the Santa Mar&iacute;a School. Collahuasi miners were scheduled to return to work high in the Atacama desert of Chile&rsquo;s northern Region I, some 285 kilometres from the port city of Iquique, today, 7 December. 
 
&quot;The Collahuasi miners and their families showed strength and fortitude in a dignified and peaceful way against an enterprise intent on maintaining production and turning profits,&quot; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &quot;For that, they have earned the pride and admiration of the world's mining unions.&quot; 
 
Coverage of this heroic strike, taken from the ICEM website, can be found <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4117-Chile’s-Collahuasi-Copper-Strike-Now-in-Crucial-Stage">here</a> and <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4102-Miners-Dig-In-at-Chile’s-Collahuasi-Copper-Strike">here</a>.

Strike Ends at Collahuasi Copper Mine in Chile

<img alt="" src="" width="289" height="62" />
By a vote of 521 to 398 on 6 December, members of Sindicato de los Trabajadores de Collahuasi voted to end a 32-day strike against the world&rsquo;s third largest copper&nbsp;miner, located in Chile. The Union of Workers of the Collahuasi Copper Mine and Do&ntilde;a Ines de Collahuasi, owned jointly through 44% stakes each by AngloAmerican and Xstrata, resumed talks early last week with help from Roman Catholic Prelate Marco Antonio &Oacute;rdenes, Bishop of Iquique.
The union's Second Director, Carlos Daniel Rojas, told the ICEM early today that Bishop &Oacute;rdenes succeeded &quot;in opening the door&quot; with the company when there appeared little hope&nbsp;that talks would resume, and the union took it from there to work out a settlement.
The final resolve came in negotiations over the weekend and early Monday, 6 December, with an acceptable compromise. 
The vote Monday night&nbsp;ends the longest private-sector Chilean copper strike, surpassing one of 26 days in 2006 at the Escondida mine, owned 57.5% by BHP Billiton and 30% by Rio Tinto.
<img alt="" src="" width="190" height="142" />
&nbsp;Collahuasi Miners Vote on the Evening of 6 December 
Terms of the settlement will give&nbsp;the 1,551 miners of Collahuasi&nbsp;a wage increase of 16.3% over a 42-month period, and a bonus payment of 14 million pesos (US$28,733). Other key issues in the strike, which began on 5 November, were company-paid health care and education costs for miners&rsquo; children. The union did make advances in both these areas from&nbsp;prior levels&nbsp;paid by the company.&nbsp;
The strike was marked by a united workforce led by President Manuel Mu&ntilde;oz and Second Director&nbsp;Rojas. The miners of Collahuasi took up residency in the Santa Mar&iacute;a School in Iquique, and staged peaceful and near-daily manifestations in that city. Those demonstrations were strategic in order to draw attention to their cause of gaining adequate health coverage and educational stipends from an employer that posted net profits in 2009 of US$1.56 billion due to high&nbsp;copper pricing. 
Last night&rsquo;s vote took place inside the Santa Mar&iacute;a School. Collahuasi miners were scheduled to return to work high in the Atacama desert of Chile&rsquo;s northern Region I, some 285 kilometres from the port city of Iquique, today, 7 December.
&quot;The Collahuasi miners and their families showed strength and fortitude in&nbsp;a dignified and peaceful&nbsp;way against an enterprise intent on maintaining&nbsp;production&nbsp;and turning profits,&quot; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &quot;For that, they have earned the pride and admiration of the world's mining unions.&quot;
Coverage of this heroic strike, taken from the ICEM website, can be found <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4117-Chile’s-Collahuasi-Copper-Strike-Now-in-Crucial-Stage">here</a> and <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4102-Miners-Dig-In-at-Chile’s-Collahuasi-Copper-Strike">here</a>.

<img src="" width="100" height="122" alt="" />
Media Advisory 
 
Who: 
International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) &amp; International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers&rsquo; Union (ICEM) 
 
What: 
Cutting Emissions &ndash; Transforming Jobs 
 
Where: 
Room/SALAA - TRABAJO 
World of Work Pavilion 
Universidad del Sur 
S&uacute;per manzana 24, Manzana 15, Lote 10 
Av. Uxmal 
Canc&uacute;n Quintana Roo 
Mexico 
 
When: 
7 December 2010 
15h30 to 17h00 
A unique panel entitled &ldquo;The Links Between the Economic, Environmental, and Social Crises,&rdquo; presenting lessons to preserve decent jobs in green public policy through sustainability and Just Transition. Featuring: Shoichiro Kaneko, IMF-JC/JBU, Japan; Michael O&rsquo;Connor, National Secretary-elect, Construction, Forestry, Mining &amp; Energy Union (CFMEU), Australia; and Anabella Rosemberg, Policy Officer, Climate Change, Sustainable Development and Occupational Health and Safety, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Belgium. 
 
Keynote Address (16h20): Jun Arima, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), Japan &ndash; &ldquo;Importance of Sustainable Development in Manufacturing and Energy Industries: Job Creation Through Green Technology Innovation.&rdquo; 
 
Contact: Kan Matsuzaki (IMF): +41 79 947 8618, (mobile), <a href="mailto:kmatsuzaki@imfmetal.org">kmatsuzaki@imfmetal.org</a>; Brian Kohler (ICEM): +41 79 734 9178 (mobile)

Press Advisory: Global Trade Unions’ COP16 Industrial Conference, 7 December, Cancún

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report, among other news items, on the first ICEM &ndash; IndustriEnergi (IE-Norway) workshop on HIV/AIDS in Jordan, on the adoption of an ILO Recommendation on HIV/AIDS and the world of work, and on the launch of the Global Fund &ldquo;Born HIV Free&rdquo; campaign. 
 
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" />
ICEM, IndustriEnergi of Norway Break Ground on HIV/AIDS Work in Jordan 
 
The ICEM organised a first HIV/AIDS workshop in a Middle Eastern country! Following a request from its affiliate in Jordan, the General Union of Petroleum and Chemical Workers in Jordan (GUPCW), and with solidarity funding from its Norwegian affiliate, IndustriEnergi, the workshop was organised in Amman in June. 
 
The workshop was attended by some 30 participants, of whom about 35% were women. Essential elements of the programme were presentations by local facilitators, power point presentations by the ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant, and working groups in the evening. A highlight was the presentation by a person living with HIV/AIDS, a first step to reduce stigma and discrimination. 
 
For a first workshop of this kind, the most important objective was to initiate an open discussion and to launch the union&rsquo;s HIV/AIDS work with the participation of civil society organisations and government agencies. 
 
Unionists who came from workplaces have gone back with a better knowledge of basic facts about HIV and AIDS and they are prepared to talk about it. They recognise the importance of reducing stigma and the value of policies against discrimination. They can use the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work, and its ten principles in their work. 
 
Khaled Elzyood, the GUPCW President, was actively involved in the workshop. In his presentation on the ILO Code of Practice (and on numerous other occasions), he emphasised that HIV/AIDS is a union issue and that the union has the responsibility to provide workers with information and to safeguard their rights. Lack of knowledge creates stigma and leads to discrimination. People do not talk about HIV and AIDS but we have to accept the realities even though this may go against cultural traditions and religious beliefs. 
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International Labour Conference Adopts New HIV/AIDS Instrument 
 
The annual International Labour Conference of the ILO adopted a new Autonomous Recommendation on HIV/AIDS and the world of work, as well as a resolution. The new standard was adopted by a vote of 439 to 4, with 11 abstentions. 
 
High-level engagement and consensus on the urgency to act prevailed during this second and final round of discussion in the Committee on HIV/AIDS for the formulation of the first international human rights instrument to focus on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. 
 
Over the 19 sittings of the Committee, delegates representing governments as well as employers&rsquo; and workers&rsquo; organizations discussed and reached consensus on 118 amendments without resorting to a single vote. Throughout the amendment process, committee members worked at formulating a recommendation all-inclusive in scope and as practical as possible. Universality of human rights, feasibility, efficiency, sustainability, and accountability were kept at the forefront of all discussions, spurred by a great sense of urgency to address the HIV pandemic. The adoption of the recommendation is accompanied by a strong resolution for its follow-up, promotion, and implementation, which also invites the ILO Governing Body to request regular reports from member States. 
 
For more information and links to interviews with delegates from the HIV/AIDS Committee, please consult the new ILOAIDS web site at <a href="http://www.ilo.org/aids">www.ilo.org/aids</a>. 
 
Note by the Editor: The new standard is in the form of a Recommendation, one of two types of labour standards the ILO can adopt. While distinct from a Convention in that it does not require ratification under Article 19 of the ILO Constitution, a recommendation must still be communicated to national parliaments and discussed in terms of how it might be implemented through national policies and legislation. 
 
(Source: ILO website) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
UNAIDS Welcomes Creation of New UN Body for Women 
 
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has welcomed the merging of four gender entities of the United Nations into UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The new entity will provide a new powerful voice for women and girls and help move the AIDS response forward. 
 
&ldquo;I look forward to working with UN Women,&rdquo; said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidib&eacute;, &ldquo;Together we can ensure that all women living with HIV access treatment when they need it. And most importantly, we can restore their dignity and rights.&rdquo; 
 
Nearly half the people living with HIV in the world are women. In sub-Saharan Africa more women are infected than men. HIV is a major cause of maternal mortality. It is behind nearly one-in-five of all maternal deaths. 
 
Gender inequities, violence, lack of access to education, health, and economic opportunities are making women vulnerable to HIV. But by teaming up and working on common goals the AIDS movement and the women&rsquo;s movement can dramatically reduce the impact of HIV on women and their families. 
 
UNAIDS recently recognized the importance of promoting gender equality and eliminating violence and discrimination against women, by appointing the renowned singer Annie Lennox as International Goodwill Ambassador for UNAIDS. Her particular mission is to raise awareness and support for women affected by the AIDS epidemic. 
 
(Sources: UNAIDS Press Statement, Geneva, 5 July) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Kenya: Muslim Leaders Champion HIV Testing 
 
Binti Omar waits anxiously for her HIV test in a tent erected as part of a testing drive being conducted by the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya (CIPK) in the coastal city of Mombasa. Omar is accompanied by her fianc&eacute;, Abubakar Ismael, and his two wives. 
 
&quot;I'm about to be part of Abu's larger family, so we found it necessary to come here and get ourselves tested so that we can plan our future much better,&quot; Omar said. &quot;Life nowadays is so risky. It would be good for us all to get to know each other's HIV status.&quot; 
 
Ismael and his family, as well as hundreds of other locals, are getting tested at the CIPK camps in response to calls by imams - Muslim scholars - in mosques in Kenya's largely Muslim Coast Province. 
 
Outgoing Chief Kadhi Sheikh Ahmed Kassim recently led some imams and locals in getting tested for HIV. He noted that the camps were meant to enlighten and encourage Muslim youths, couples, and Kenyans in general on the importance of getting tested. Muslim men are allowed four wives and the initiative is encouraging all spouses to get tested. 
 
For many years, Muslim leaders in Kenya shied away from discussing HIV, especially in the mosques. More recently, however, they have joined the national prevention campaign, although many still reject some aspects of it, particularly the use of condoms. 
 
The HIV prevalence in Coast Province is 7.9%, marginally higher than the national average of 7.4%. The 2007 Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey revealed that an estimated 44% of new HIV infections in Kenya occur among married or cohabiting couples. 
 
(Sources: IRIN PlusNews, Mombasa, 2 July) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Lesotho Suffering 
 
The impact of AIDS has ruined Lesotho. A third of the population is HIV positive. Of the total number of inhabitants of 1.9 million, as many as 400,000 are AIDS orphans. Life expectancy has fallen to 34. Uniquely in the developing world, Lesotho&rsquo;s deaths are close to outnumbering its births. 
 
The impact of AIDS has also ruined the economy of the Kingdom. In 1980, Lesotho produced 80% of the cereals it consumed; now this is down to 30%. Due to tariff modifications, its textile industry, largely Chinese-owned, which at its height employed 50,000 people, has collapsed. 
 
In an unusual move, 30,000 people have signed a petition which was delivered to the Lesotho parliament and the South African High Commission, requesting that their country be integrated into its giant neighbour, which completely surrounds it. This followed a move by South Africa barring thousands of people from Lesotho from crossing its borders in the wake of higher security measures ahead of the Soccer World Cup. 
 
(Source: The Observer, 6 June) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
WHO Issues Technical Brief on Addressing Gender Inequalities in Global Fund Proposals 
 
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a technical guidance brief on &quot;Addressing Gender Inequalities: Strengthening HIV/AIDS Programming for Women and Girls&quot; in Global Fund proposals. The information in the seven-page brief is designed to support the development of proposals to improve access to, and the quality of, HIV prevention, treatment, and care programmes for women and girls through approaches that address gender inequalities. 
 
The brief discusses gender-related elements that should be included in a situation analysis (e.g., harmful gender norms and practices, violence against women, lack of economic security, lack of education for girls). The brief also provides a list of essential elements for gender-responsive programming, as well as examples of strategies and activities for standard HIV/AIDS interventions and broader interventions that promote gender equality. 
 
Examples of strategies and activities for standard HIV/AIDS interventions are: providing skills to women and girls to negotiate safe sex; behaviour change communication strategies that target harmful gender norms and practices; and reducing barriers faced by women in accessing HIV/AIDS services. Examples of strategies and activities for broader interventions that promote gender equality are: working with law enforcement to respond to violence against women; providing economic opportunities to women; and keeping girls in school and making schools safe for them. 
 
&quot;Addressing Gender Inequalities: Strengthening HIV/AIDS Programming for Women and Girls&quot; is available at <a href="http://www.who.int/hiv/pub/toolkits/2-1a_Gender_Oct08EN.pdf">www.who.int/hiv/pub/toolkits/2-1a_Gender_Oct08EN.pdf</a>. 
 
(Source: Global Fund press release and Global Fund Observer, Issue 126 of 14 June. 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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Global Fund Launches &lsquo;Born HIV Free&rsquo; Campaign 
 
The Global Fund is hoping that its &ldquo;Born HIV Free&rdquo; campaign will not only mobilise public support for a world where no child is born with HIV, but will also persuade donor countries to give more to the Fund at the Third Replenishment meeting in New York on 4-5 October 2010. The Global Fund and UNAIDS have said that elimination of HIV transmission from mother to child by 2015 is possible if governments continue to invest adequately in the fight against HIV/AIDS. 
 
In a press release, the Global Fund said that the campaign has been designed to work across digital and traditional media, and that it brings together several major companies who have joined up as official partners in support of the Global Fund: Google, JC Decaux, Jean-Paul Gaultier, MSN, Orange, Tiffany &amp; Co., and YouTube which will be a major platform for the campaign. The campaign is operating in several languages. 
 
To check out the Born HIV Free website and to sign up: <a href="http://www.bornhivfree.org">www.bornhivfree.org</a>. 
To see the videos on YouTube: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/bornhivfree">www.youtube.com/bornhivfree</a>. 
 
(Source: Global Fund press release and Global Fund Observer, Issue 126 of 14 June.) 
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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. 58, July 2010

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2010 brings hazards activists a special opportunity - the 12th bi-annual European Work Hazards Conference, hosted by the UK Hazards Campaign at Leeds University. The conference will give hazards activists the chance to meet and work with activists from throughout Europe and other parts of the world. 
 
The conference will explore the impact of the global recession on work environments and occupational health and safety. It is organised by the European Work Hazards Network, a forum uniting activists with different experience, skills and backgrounds - workers, trade union health and safety representatives, campaigners, academics, scientists and occupational safety and health professionals. 
 
Delegates from countries outside Europe are also welcome. Full detail of the conference is available <a href="http://www.ewhn.eu/">here</a>.

European Work Hazards Conference, 10-12 September, Leeds University

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The ICEM has supported an initiative sponsored by the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), conducting a global e-petition against maritime piracy. The initiative is co-sponsored by virtually all employer organisations in the shipping industry, forming an unprecedented coalition. 
 
Although campaigning against piracy at sea has for many years been a concern to the ITF Seafarers&rsquo; Section, the recent growth of pirate attacks in the Somalia region has brought the issue to the attention of the public around the world. The ITF and co-organisers are aiming to collect over half a million signatures in time for World Maritime Day, 23 September 2010. 
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With half a million signatures, the global petition will be used to push governments toward committing the necessary resources to end Somalia-based piracy. 
 
Currently at least 379 seafarers from 25 countries are being held hostage, some since December 2009. In the last two years over 1800 seafarers have been kidnapped. 
 
See more information and sign the petition on the dedicated website <a href="http://www.endpiracynow.org/">here</a>.

Global Petition against Maritime Piracy

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Under the auspices of the &lsquo;ICEM Asia MNCs and Social Dialogue Project&rsquo;, worker representatives and management of Thai Industrial Gas (Linde) participated in a joint training session on social dialogue, 28 June in Bangkok, Thailand. 
 
The purpose of the joint training was to seek a possibility of establishing peaceful and cooperative labour relations by analysing how the international standards for social dialogue are respected inside the company. 
 
Forty participants joined the training, with seven participants from senior management, including the Managing Director and heads of all major departments. 
 
The other 33 participants were trade unionists. Four participants came from the ICEM Thai Committee and the other 29 participants from the TIG/LINDE union including Nopphadol Sanom, president of TIG Labour Union, and Sutthirak Yalomphan, Vice-president. 
 
Union participants came from 5 plants, all near to Bangkok; TIG/LINDE has a total of 13 plants in Thailand. The union participants had to use their own annual leave to participate in the training, and applied voluntarily to take part. 
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The company Managing Director, Mr. Keerin, gave a welcome speech on behalf of management, while Nopphadol, union president, emphasized the importance of implementing international standards agreed by LINDE HQ at the local level. 
 
Dr. Ahn Pongsul, ILO Bangkok Office Senior Specialist, made a presentation on the Basic Principles of Social Dialogue. He stressed the basic enabling conditions to materialize social dialogue at enterprise level, such as a democratic environment, union recognition, two-way communication, mutual commitment and good will, respect, and adequate institutional support. 
 
Mr. Keerin (MD) made a presentation on the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Policy of TIG/LINDE. A union participant said that he had never heard of the company&rsquo;s CSR policy in his 12-year service. 
 
Yoon Hyowon, ICEM&rsquo;s Project Coordinator for MNC monitoring and Social Dialogue, made a presentation on ILO Core Conventions, OECD Guidelines and the UN Global Compact. The information on the international standards was almost new to management participants. Management participants had not been aware that LINDE had joined the UN Global Compact in 2005. 
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Yoon pointed out that the Linde Code of Ethics had not been translated into Thai, while it had been into Chinese and Korean in Asia. Mr. Sansern, Head of Human Resources, said that the translation was in process. 
 
In the meeting with union leaders on 27 June prior to the joint training, they said that management had consistently interfered with union activity, that collective agreement were poorly implemented or often ignored, that management had discriminated against CAL workers and union members, that any company information such as financial data and outsourcing had not been disclosed, that unconditional 12-hour work for drivers had been systematically forced by management, and that management had not provided any union facility for constructive collective bargaining. 
 
In concluding the joint training, Yoon Hyowon proposed management and the union to implement the following points: 
1. To organize training for all employees on international standards agreed to by Linde HQ; 
2. To organize a social dialogue forum to compare the actual situation of the company with international standards, especially the chapters 3 and 4 of OECD Guidelines on MNEs; 
3. To translate the Linde Code of Ethics into Thai; 
4. To post and distribute the UN Global Compact inside factories; 
5. To post and distribute OECD Guidelines inside factories. 
 
In the closing session, all participants from management and the union acknowledged that there was a long way to go for both parties to properly implement international standards promised by Linde HQ. At the same time, all participants from both sides expressed their commitment to social dialogue.

Thai Gas Industry Social Dialogue Meeting, Brings Management, Workers to the Table

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In a rare advisory referendum taken amongst members of the Dutch national union FNV, 80% of those voting agreed with the negotiated result between unions and employer federations to raise the basic retirement pension (AOW) age of the country. 
 
In balloting between 19 June and 1 July, 160,000 of 1.4 million union members voted that the Dutch retirement age ought to be raised from 65 to 66 in the year 2020, and then possibly to 67 in 2025 if a national evaluation of higher life expectancy after 2020 warrants it. The advisory vote goes to FNV&rsquo;s Council on 14 July, which is now expected to endorse the 4 June negotiated agreement between social partners. 
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FNV Bondgenoten President Henk van der Kolk
The negotiated social plan is seen as a guiding measure to a deadlocked government on retirement policy. The results of a 9 June election in the Netherlands revealed that any coalition government quite likely would come up with an even worse solution on pension revenue shortfalls and mandatory retirement age. 
 
Under the proposed social plan, workers would still have the option to retire at 65, but they would face a 6.5% reduction in pension benefits. And under the union-business plan, the lowest-paid workers, and workers who do heavy physical jobs, would be exempt from any rise in the current pension age. 
 
FNV Bondgenoten President Henk van der Kolk said he was pleased with the outcome of the late June balloting, calling it &ldquo;a clear result.&rdquo; The advisory referendum, a difficult administrative undertaking, was only the fifth time that FNV has even taken such a vote from its entire union membership.

FNV Members Give Nod to Raise Future Pension Age in the Netherlands

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A strike by 100 members of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) against an intransigent Brazilian multinational is now in its 18th week with no bargaining occurring since the outset. CAW Local 222 in Bowmanville, Ontario, 65 kilometres east of Toronto, is resisting deep pension and other cuts being forced it by Votorantim Cementos and its St. Marys Cement subsidiary, 
 
&ldquo;Workers have the right to a decent pension,&rdquo; said CAW National President Ken Lewenza. &ldquo;This is outright bullying of this small group of workers. This company is far from destitute and the rollback of any hard won workers' benefits is out of the question.&rdquo; 
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The strike began on 12 March. CAW Local 222 members last month began extending their picket lines to other St. Marys Cement plants and terminals in Canada. Local 222 saw their prior collective agreement expire on 31 January 2010, with the company demanding a change from a defined benefit pension plan to a defined contribution plan. 
 
The change could mean as much as a 400% drop in annual pension earnings for workers. St. Marys is also seeking deep work-rule cuts. &ldquo;This is an important struggle against a company&rdquo; attempting to attack workers pensions, said Local 222 President Chris Buckley. 
 
Votorantim purchased seven cement plants and terminals, as well as 39 ready-mix operations from Lafarge&rsquo;s Blue Circle operations in Canada and the US in 2001 for US$700 million. It then revived the name St. Marys to the Toronto-based subsidiary, a name the operations went by for eight decades prior to Blue Circle buying them in 1997. Votorantim is a privately-held S&atilde;o Paulo-based industrial conglomerate that controls one-third of the Brazilian cement market. 
 
The ICEM supports CAW Local 222 in its struggle to retain a fair labour contract in Ontario.

Canadian Cement Strike Now in Its 18th Week

Archive

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 63, December 2010

Strike Ends at Collahuasi Copper Mine in Chile

Strike Ends at Collahuasi Copper Mine in Chile

Press Advisory: Global Trade Unions’ COP16 Industrial Conference, 7 December, Cancún

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 58, July 2010

European Work Hazards Conference, 10-12 September, Leeds University

Global Petition against Maritime Piracy

Thai Gas Industry Social Dialogue Meeting, Brings Management, Workers to the Table

FNV Members Give Nod to Raise Future Pension Age in the Netherlands

Canadian Cement Strike Now in Its 18th Week

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