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A historical achievement happened in Indonesia on 28 October when the country&rsquo;s Parliament passed the Social Security Providers Bill (BPJS), thus clearing the way for long-awaited pension, medical, job-related accident, unemployment and other benefits to millions of ordinary Indonesians. 
 
The House of Representatives gave approval to the new law a plenary session when the six-party ruling coalition, which had worked to delay the legislation, was pressured by a mass rally outside Parliament to reach terms with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). 
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25,000 Manifested 28 October at Indonesia&rsquo;s Parliament
That rally, organized by the trade union/civil society coalition, Action Committee for National Social Security (KAJS), saw 25,000 Indonesians engage in a boisterous sit-in, demanding once and for all passage of the populist bill. BPJS means that the government must now implement compulsory social services mandated by the National Security System Law of 2004. 
 
Labour leaders, however, realize that the BPJS time frame for full implementation of the different social components leaves much room for politicians to maneuver, especially with federal elections coming in 2014. BPBJS I, or the scheme for heath care for all citizens, must come into effect by January 2014, while BPJS II &ndash; social benefits related to occupational accidents, pensions, old-age benefits, and death benefit schemes &ndash; must be implemented by July 2015. 
<img src="" width="106" height="110" alt="" />
D. Patombong Sjaiful
&ldquo;Yes, it was a momentous day,&rdquo; said ICEM Indonesian Affiliates&rsquo; Union Chairman D. Patombong Sjaiful, the leader of FSP-KEP, the Chemical, Energy, Mines, Oil &amp; Gas General Workers&rsquo; Union of confederation KSPI. 
 
&ldquo;But now it becomes a process to guard the intent of this new law and not let it get sidetracked by the political system.&rdquo; 
 
Said Iqbal, the KAJS General Secretary and President of the Federation of Indonesian Metal Workers&rsquo; Unions (FSPMI), agreed, stating that the process must be closely monitored in formulating and calculating sufficient costs for the different benefits. 
<img src="" width="86" height="110" alt="" />
Said Iqbal
&ldquo;This marks a fundamental change in Indonesian social security,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Now we are assured there will be a minimum level of pension benefits for all, that discrimination against the poor regarding health care will end, and that all working people will have some level of social benefits. 
 
&ldquo;We must now be vigilant that government and employers adequately fund these programmes.&rdquo; 
 
Said Iqbal led the KAJS coalition that included some 69 organisations, included 40 trade unions. The coalition, including farm organizations, fishery groups, and many more, included three of the country&rsquo;s main national labour centres, KSPI, KSBSI, and KSPSI. The coalition is expected now to be transformed into &ldquo;BPJS Watch.&rdquo; 
 
The new BPJS law re-makes the four state-owned insurance companies (PT Askes, PT Jamsostek, PT Taspen, and PT Asabari) into two non-profit public companies under the auspices of the President&rsquo;s office. PT Askes will function for the health care scheme, while PT Jamsostek will administer occupational accidents, pensions, old-age risks, and death benefits.

Vigilance Now Needed to Implement Indonesia’s Social Security Law

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If last week&rsquo;s G20 summit in Cannes, France, accomplished anything, it accomplished this: it put the urgent need for a financial transaction tax (FTT) firmly on the global economic agenda. Even though G20 world leaders and economic ministers failed to come to consensus on a FTT, the debate was there and it promises to grow. 
 
The FTT was formally made to the G20 through French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who commissioned a report by US philanthropist Bill Gates at the summit that specifies certain tax proposals on financial services that should be considered by G20 nations to aid development in poorer nations. 
 
Sarkozy has become a keen supporter of a European Commission (EC) proposal for a FTT. France was joined by Germany and Spain in supporting enactment within the Eurozone, but UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne stand as barriers. 
 
In Cannes, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa all said the time was right that nations must consider a FTT. Russia and China are opposed. The US, where Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has long held the view that a FTT is unworkable, is still fundamentally opposed. 
<img alt="" src="" width="188" height="124" />
But either through the occupy movements or other political tailwinds, there was some indication at Cannes that President Barack Obama might be slightly drawing back from the US&rsquo;s longstanding opposition. Certainly it will take far more heat at home for Obama to endorse a FTT and reject Geither&rsquo;s Wall Street belief that a tax on bond or derivative trading, or stock or currency trades, is not practical. 
 
But the mainstream is beginning to believe various forms of FTTs have merit and provide workable solutions to the world&rsquo;s economic woes. Gates of Microsoft fame said in Cannes a financial tax levy is &ldquo;clearly technically feasible.&rdquo; He also proposed that G20 nations impose legally-binding transparency measures on oil and mining extraction companies, as well as reducing fees on remittances sent home by migrant workers. 
 
At the European level, a FTT could net some &euro;57 billion per year. Considering that in a four-year span from 2007 to August 2011, public aid and guarantees to the financial sector amounted to &euro;4.6 trillion, or 37% of total EU Gross Domestic Product, the political timing for a tiny tax on financial transactions would seem correct. And consider again that during the financial crisis, EU banks have raised as much additional capital as they have written down in lost asset values. 
 
&ldquo;It makes sense to have this kind of tax not only to ask the financial sector to give a fair contribution to the common good, but also to use part of this financial transaction tax as a way to support development,&rdquo; said EC President Jose Manuel Barroso. 
 
Besides the obvious is what a FTT could do in developed nations for investment in jobs, to prop up social programmes or to build new infrastructure, there is a reality those same nations are scaling back on foreign aid to poorer nations, either from austerity or rightward political swings. The UN Development Programme says that a currency trading tax of a mere 0.005% would raise US$40 billion per year and it suggests this would go far to help developing nations deal with the effects of climate change. 
 
Growing global momentum for a FTT also comes at the precise time that funding for global health programmes is being reduced. Funding for HIV fell for the first time in 2009 and it fell again in 2010. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria missed awarding grants due to a monetary shortfall in this period as well. 
 
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) predicts that adopting a financial transaction tax would help to reduce market volatility, curb speculative activity and provide resources to fight poverty. The ICEM believes that greed and negligence caused the financial collapse, and it is the perpetrators of that greed and neglect that received the bail-outs. Placing a tiny levy on FTTs is a small price to pay for a sustainable and manageable world. 
 
The financial transaction tax, incidentally, also called the &ldquo;Robin Hood&rdquo; or Tobin tax, was the brainchild of US Nobel prize winning economist James Tobin, who in 1972 proposed a small tax on foreign currency transactions to reduce global speculative risks. Learn more on the <a href="http://robinhoodtax.org/">FTT</a> here.

‘Robin Hood’ Tax Gains Some Traction at G20 Summit

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Canadian-based energy company Pacific Rubiales continues to hit new lows in its illegal efforts to put down ICEM affiliate Uni&oacute;n Sindical Obrera (USO) in the Meta region oil fields of Colombia. On 27 October the ICEM reported on the company signing an accord with company union UTEN on deadline day for a settlement with USO. 
 
Now as the USO activists continue to demonstrate en-masse, the company organises gatherings of its yellow union, complete with armed protection including from a company helicopter. At the same time, the company is financing propaganda campaigns exaggerating the small gatherings. 
 
Evidence is now coming to light of the sinister alliance between the company and local mayor of Puerto Gait&aacute;n, Edgar Humberto Silva. Evidence suggests that dead people were registered to have voted for the company candidate in the mayoral elections, with local indigenous communities harassed and intimidated into voting for Humberto Silva. 
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Unsurprisingly then, Humberto Silva has done all in his power to allow the Canadian company to continue exploiting the region&rsquo;s rich resources and poor workers. Residents of the local community have occupied the school where voting took place and are demanding a re-run of the election. Company union UTEN organised a celebratory march following the election of Humberto Silva on 2 November. 
 
State oil company Ecopetrol is allied with Pacific Rubiales and other multinationals active in the region, in establishing the yellow union and using numerous tactics to crush USO. Ecopetrol is exercising its influence and financial strength by running tens of court cases against USO leaders, while ignoring court rulings that favour the strikers. Ecopetrol is also using its wholly-owned subsidiaries Comai and Propilco to launch legal cases against union activists. 
 
The 28 October <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/PacificRubeLet.pdf">joint letter</a> from ICEM, the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) General Secretaries, and Canadian Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union to Pacific Rubiales Co-Chairmen and Executive Directors Serafino Iacono, and Miguel de la Campa, has not received a response. 
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In the letter, the three trade union organisations condemn the decision of the company to deceive USO in bargaining and then circumvent the legitimate bargaining partner in signing an accord with UTEN. USO represents over 14,000 actual oil workers in the oil fields of Rubiales and Quifa, while UTEN serves only administrative staff. 
 
The day of the false accord signing, Pacific Rubiales discharged 500 workers, and proceeded to intimidate remaining workers with threats of dismissal for remaining members of USO if they refused to switch allegiance to UTEN. 
 
It must be noted that the Colombian government has allowed Pacific Rubiales to abuse all internationally recognised minimum standards on workers&rsquo; rights with these recent tactics. And especially disappointing is the abrogation of Ministry of Labour arbitration that established a timeline for reaching settlement between USO and Pacific Rubiales. That deadline was 21 October, the same day Pacific Rubialies signed the bogus accord with the yellow union. 
 
The ICEM fully supports the campaign of USO and its permanent assembly, in place since 24 October, and the original list of demands including direct recruitment, salary increases, decent housing and adequate food, health, transport and social investment to communities. 
 
The CEP will facilitate the USO leadership to travel to Canada and meet the company management in early December.

Pacific Rubiales, Yellow Union Rig Local Elections, Indignation Rises

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International pressure &ndash; both inside and out of Georgia &ndash; caused a change of course last week by police and political authorities in the aftermath of belligerent 15 September strike-breaking at Euroasian Steels in Kutaisi. Not only were over 30 sacked workers offered their jobs back, but police questioned the Indian managing director and two aides at Euroasian, also known as Hercules Steel, on 29 September.
The next day the top boss was sacked. 
 
Meanwhile, three strike leaders &ndash; Emilo Gumberidze, Irakli Iobidze, and Malkhaz Gogiava &ndash; who were jailed by police on bogus charges were released after serving ten-day sentences in the Kutaisi jail. (See <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4673-Georgian-Trade-Union-Leaders-Jailed-for-Passing-Drug-Test">ICEM report here</a>.) 
 
They immediately called Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union President Tamazi Dolaberidze and pledged their continued support to the union. On 30 September, the new acting managing director of Hercules personally called each of the three to offer them their jobs back. The reversal gave Hercules metalworkers renewed momentum following the strike&rsquo;s crushing and that registered both with Georgian workers and about 130 Indian workers employed at the rolling mill.
<img alt="" src="" width="275" height="160" />
Georgia's Police Break Strike in Kutaisi, 15 September&nbsp;
Several points of global and internal civil pressure caused deep embarrassment to Georgia. There also was high-level diplomatic pressure involved, especially after an international delegation that included the ICEM and top leaders from Poland&rsquo;s Solidarnoş&ccedil; exposed the fact that the Indian workers at Hercules may be treated worse than anyone else. 
 
They live eight to a room in a dormitory adjacent to the mill, their passports were being head by the senior boss, and their salaries are sent back to India. It is believed that the top boss, Raji Kumar Sureika, was sacked because he was holding the passports. 
 
The strike last month by 200 Hercules metalworkers was sparked after the Metallurgical, Mining, Chemical Union gained written support from a majority of the Georgian workers and then requested labour-management dialogue. After several weeks, the request was ignored and the strike started, including hunger strikes by four workers in front of the mill. 
 
Two days into the strike, police violently broke it up and literally <a href="/en/4-Chemicals-Pharmaceuticals/4667-ICEM-Scorns-Blatant-Police-Repression-in-Putting-Down-Georgian-Metal-Strike">forced workers</a> back to their jobs. Workers are angry that the two-year-old start-up mill has no salary schedule, no health and safety plan, and pays no overtime. Following last week&rsquo;s good news, the ICEM-affiliated Metallurgical, Mining, Chemical Union again called on Hercules to enter peaceful, construction negotiations. 
 
The ICEM commends the leadership of the Georgia Trade Union Confederation (GTUC), and Tamazi Dolaberidze, for mobilising to organise, and the Global Union Federation pledges to remain active on the global front over the ever-reocurring abuse of trade union rights in Georgia.

Calm Restored as Georgian Metalworkers Rehired

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Broad strike activity accelerated a positive wage agreement in the Austrian metal sector. In the early morning hours today, 18 October, Austrian trade unions PRO-GE and GPA djp, the Salaried Employees, Print, Journalism, Paper Union, emerged from bargaining on behalf on 170,000 metal and industrial workers with positive results. 
The 2011 pay awards will range from 4.2% to 4.4%, with the minimum wage in the sector increasing by &euro;80-per-month, or a sizeable 5.3%. The ICEM commends these wage gains as a sterling European example in creating consumer power to offset the dire financial climate of the Eurozone. PRO-GE and GPA djp are to be congratulated for negotiating &euro;300 million into the Austrian economy in this single set of talks. 
<img src="" width="180" height="120" alt="" />
This was made possible by strategic and early strikes last week that moved third-round bargaining up to yesterday, and forced the employers&rsquo; hand in raising their wage offers to above 4%. (See <a href="/en/5-Mining-DGOJP/4719-Wage-Shame-Drives-Austrian-Metalworkers-into-Warning-Strikes">ICEM report</a> on Austrian coordinated strikes last week here.) 
&ldquo;We have met our main demands of sustainable wage and salary increases, particularly for the lowest paid workers,&rdquo; said Rainer Wimmer, PRO-GE&rsquo;s chief negotiator. &ldquo;I thank the stewards, members, and supporters who made this deal possible. Without the 800 workplace actions and the pressure generated by the strikes, this would not have been possible.&rdquo; 
Those strikes happened last Thursday and Friday, and were about to carry into Monday, 17 October, except that employers recognised the growing momentum among workers for fair wage gains and they reached settlement on union terms. That recognition came in hastily called exploratory talks held on Sunday, 16 October, that included &Ouml;GB national labour centre President Erich Foglar and the leader of the chief employers&rsquo; association, the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WK&Ouml;). 
<img alt="" src="" width="105" height="160" />
Rainer Wimmer
Third-round bargaining was moved up from 20 October to yesterday to avoid further work stoppages, and the two sides reached accord early today after a 14-hour bargaining session. 
The agreement grants a 1 November pay rise of 4.4% to bottom rung workers, 4.3 to mid-level, 4.2% to senior staff, and 4% to top level people. In addition, pay for apprentices increases by 4.3% and all benefit indemnifications increase by the same amount. 
Perhaps the crowning achievement was hiking the minimum wage by 5.3%, or up to &euro;1,584-per-month. The wage agreement positively affects the buying power for 25,000 autoworkers, 16,000 who work in basic steel and iron, 5,000 in non-ferrous metals, 5,000 in utility work, and tens of thousands more in machinery, metal goods, and other industrial production. 
Austria&rsquo;s metal sector agreement now sets a template for 450,000 retail sector workers. Unions representing those workers and retail employers begin talks on 19 October.

Austria Metalworkers Negotiate Exemplary 2011 Wage Terms

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Further industrial actions in Queenland&rsquo;s rich coal fields happened over the weekend and early last week as three Australian unions &ndash; joined together as the Single Bargaining Unit (SBU) &ndash; continue months-long efforts to gain a fair collective agreement with the world&rsquo;s number one exporter of metallurgical coal, the BHP Billiton-Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA).
Mineworkers led by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), and the Australia Manufacturing Workers&rsquo; Union (AMWU) and Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU), this weekend took 12-hour work stoppages at BMA&rsquo;s Gregory Crinum and Blackwater mines in the Bowen Basin, while similar rolling 12-hour strikes occurred from 7-9 August at the Goonyella Riverside, Saraji, Peak Downs, and Norwich Park mine sites.
The protected actions are in preparation for SBU-BMA talks this week, 18-19 August. Some 4,000 miners have been stymied by the coal-producing enterprise belonging to the two multinationals since December 2010 over a fair collective agreement. (See prior <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4506-Stop-Work-Meetings-Raise-Stakes-in-Queensland-Coal-Talks">ICEM report</a> from June.)
<img alt="" src="" width="260" height="131" />&nbsp;
SBU Picket at Goonyella Riverside Mine, July 
Despite BMA publicly boasting of high miners&rsquo; salaries and its own pay offer in these drawn-out talks, the dispute has little to do with money but rather work conditions and quality-of-life issues. The SBU is resisting unwanted extensions on work rosters, which will negatively affect family life, and they oppose BMA&rsquo;s desire to gain flexibility over contracting out, an obvious job security threat. BMA wants to move from a five-day weekly roster to a seven-day one, and seeks greater rule over operators&rsquo; jobs.
Since industrial action began following a 2 June ballot that saw a 92% support, the strength of miners of the three unions has only grown. That was visible at a mass picket at the Saraji mine that was set up on 6 August.
BMA is a ten-year joint venture that extracts 58 million tonnes annually of coking coal from the Bowen Basin and exports it from its wholly-owned Hay Point terminal on Australia&rsquo;s east coast.

CFMEU Still Seeking Australian Coal Agreement with BHP Billiton/Mitsubishi

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Union members of US affiliated Teamsters Union (IBT) used a broadening corporate campaign to win reprieve over job losses at a BMW auto-parts warehouse in California. IBT Local 495 and North American bosses of German auto-maker BMW agreed on 9 August to a six-month extension of a collective agreement that was to expire 31 August.
BMW North America had given notice in June that it would terminate the agreement at a parts distribution warehouse in Ontario, California, then and outsource the 68 Teamster jobs to a third party logistics company. The IBT nationally then ramped up a pressure campaign on both sides of the Atlantic (see prior <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4570-US-Teamsters-Ardently-Resist-BMW-s-Auto-Parts-Outsourcing">ICEM news article</a> here) and there is little question that adverse publicity on the luxury auto producer caused management to re-consider.
<div>Last week, just as dockworkers belonging to unions affiliated with the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) organised informational pickets at nine ports in 10 countries on behalf of the California warehouse workers, BMW North America sat down with Local 495 in Southern California and agreed to extend the contract for six months to allow the two sides to work out a mutually acceptable solution that addresses long-term employment for Teamster members.</div>
<img alt="" src="" width="223" height="160" />
<div align="center">Dockworkers picket in Bremerhaven, Germany, on behalf of US Teamsters</div>
<div align="center"> 
&ldquo;We sent a clear message to BMW with our campaign actions that outsourcing these jobs is unacceptable,&rdquo; said Teamsters Joint Council 42 Public Affairs Director Ed Rendon. &ldquo;We won&rsquo;t be happy until we get a full agreement, but we&rsquo;re highly optimistic this will happen and BMW will better run their business with our members&rdquo; maintaining direct employment.</div>
Added IBT Local 495 Secretary-Treasurer Bob Lennox, &ldquo;I am confident that BMW will honor its promises to find a solution to keep their long-time, dedicated workforce and ensure that these jobs remain good, middle-class jobs.&quot;
Teamster members and supporters protested at a 6-7 August weekend event called &ldquo;Bimmerfest&rdquo; in the state of Maryland where BMW enthusiasts annually turn out to celebrate ownership of the German car. Thousands of handbills were distributed and a Teamster-hired airplane flew overhead with a banner emblazoned &ldquo;BMW: the Ultimate Misery,&rdquo; the campaign&rsquo;s slogan.
And on 8 August, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa sent a letter to BMW North America CEO Jim O&rsquo;Donnell telling him that members of the International Longshore &amp; Warehouse Union (ILWU) were about to picket the Port of Los Angeles, and reminded him that the company received monetary assistance during the 2008-09 financial crisis from the US federal government.
The 68 Ontario warehouse workers themselves had spent their weekends handbilling BMW dealerships in California, Oregon, and Washington state, telling consumers about on BMW&rsquo;s intended social dumping.
The Ontario, California, warehouse is one of six parts depots in the US, supplying and distributing BMW parts to auto dealerships and auto-supply outlets in the western region of the US.

Campaign Action Wins US Teamsters BMW Contract Extension

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<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" /></div>
<div> 
An unbroken chain of solidarity and staunch resolve by all 157 members of Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Local 2228 staved off contract concessions in Canada recently. On 8 August, union members ratified a three-year agreement with Sandvik Materials Technology Canada, a subsidiary of Swedish industrial giant Sandvik AB, with an 80.6% vote, ending a successful strike that began on 13 July. 
 
On 9 and 10 August, CAW members returned to their Arnprior, Ontario, factory knowing they bested the company&rsquo;s mid-July &ldquo;last, best offer&rdquo; of pension reductions, cost-of-living (COLA) rollbacks, and contract language deletions. After Sandvik made some modifications in its original proposals in talks on 29 July, changes that CAW members saw as insufficient and which they rejected. The company returned to bargaining in early August with more revisions that essentially left a prior labour agreement intact. 
</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img alt="" src="" width="295" height="159" /> 
</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>26 July Protest in Mississauga (CAW President Ken Lewenza, kneeling, center, giving an early prompt how strike would end)</div>
<div> 
There will be no changes to the roll-in effect of the COLA, no changes to job security, and pension benefits will remain the same. In addition, there were some benefit improvements and strengthened contract language regarding layoffs. A 1% wage increase is also due at the beginning of the third year. 
 
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m humbled by the level of support the membership ha shown in their first-even strike, in the facility&rsquo;s more than 30-year existence,&rdquo; said CAW Eastern Ontario Area Director Harry Ghadban. Local 2228 Unit Chairman Derek Mosley said: &ldquo;We could not have done it without the unwavering support from the membership and the support from the national union. 
 
&ldquo;We are proud of the solidarity of our membership in fighting back concessions and holding tough until a negotiated settlement was reached.&rdquo; 
</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div><img alt="" src="" width="215" height="161" /> 
</div>
On 26 July, hundreds of CAW members turned out to manifest at Sandvik&rsquo;s Canadian headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario. 
 
And on Local 2228&rsquo;s blog after the 8 August ratification vote, one union member stated: &ldquo;We can all hold our heads high as we return to work knowing we sent a message to management saying we will not accept your final offer, we go back on our terms. I cannot express how proud I am.&rdquo; 
 
Sandvik Materials Technology in Arnprior manufactures stainless steel and nickel alloy speciality tubing used in the nuclear, aerospace, automotive, and oil and gas industries.

Canadian Auto Workers Win 27-Day Strike at Sandvik Metals

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<div> 
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" /></div>
 
The ICEM affiliated trade union in Botswana, the Diamond Sorters and Valuators (BDSVU), reacted angrily to the government renewing the diamond industry&rsquo;s classification as an essential service in June that would effectively deny workers and trade unions of the sector their legitimate rights.</div>
The union, under the leadership of General Secretary Jacob Mpasopi, was particularly incensed that they heard of the decision for the first time through local media, and were never consulted. The BDSVU is the main stakeholder of the industry in the southern Africa nation.
<img src="" width="100" height="87" alt="" />
<div>The Minister of Labour and Home Affairs had been advised by parliament to consult relevant stakeholders before making a decision. However the union was never given an opportunity to voice its position.</div>
Mpasopi points to the ILO Committee of Experts&rsquo; definition of essential services as services in which &ldquo;the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population.&rdquo; Indisputably, this definition cannot be applied to the finished diamond sector of Botswana.
The BDSVU has struggled hard to achieve recognition agreements with several employers in the sector, formalizing negotiation, and dispute resolution procedures. All of these gains are put at risk by the unilateral decision by Peter Siele, the Minister of Labour and Home Affairs.
The ICEM fully supports its affiliate BDSVU in its call for this determination to be reversed.

Botswana Diamond Sorters Balk at Government’s Industry Re-Classification

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on a survey on HIV/AIDS workplace policies and on the call for proposals for Round 11 by the Global Fund. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Workplace Policies: Survey Reveals Progress by ICEM Affiliates 
 
Since 2005, the ICEM has implemented a comprehensive HIV and AIDS programme. National coordinators acquired knowledge and skills; hundreds of peer educators were trained; tens of thousands of workers and members of the communities attended awareness meetings and VCT campaigns and queued up for being tested and counselled. At a time when still more than two new infections occur for every additional person receiving antiretroviral treatment, prevention is a priority. 
 
Although no baseline information exists, it can be assumed from anecdotal evidence that, with the exception of South Africa, in 2005 only some HIV/AIDS policies unilaterally drafted by companies existed. While more workplace policies and HIV and AIDS clauses in collective agreements have now been concluded, progress in this respect is still unsatisfactory. The ICEM has made a model workplace policy available for its affiliates. This aspect of the HIV and AIDS work of the ICEM and its affiliates has to be intensified. 
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="132" />
No doubt, non-discrimination is the key to any strategy to fight HIV and AIDS at the workplace. Workplace policies negotiated and agreed by unions and employers are a first step. The effectiveness of such policies depends on employer commitment and the ability of a union to monitor implementation of the policy. While such policies commit the parties morally, their implementation can still be weak and workplace policies, as a rule, cannot be legally enforced. Therefore, the establishment of clauses in collective agreements provides one of the strongest measures to deal with HIV and AIDS at the workplace. 
 
A preliminary survey conducted during the recent African regional workshop for nine sub-Saharan African countries revealed that affiliates have started to engage employers or sectoral employers&rsquo; bodies, such as Chambers of Mines, in discussions and negotiations to conclude bilaterally acceptable policies and draw up programmes. 
 
To give but a few examples: in Ghana, major mining houses have HIV/AIDS workplace policies. Although some were initially drawn up unilaterally, the Ghana Mine Workers&rsquo; Union (GMWU) is now involved in the implementation. In Mauritius, collective bargaining agreements with ten companies, out of 36 which are bargaining partners of the ICEM affiliate Chemical, Manufacturing, and Connected Trades Employees&rsquo; Union (CMCTEU), contain non-discriminatory clauses. Affiliates Associated Mine Workers&rsquo; of Zimbabwe (AMWZ) and the Zimbabwe Energy Workers&rsquo; Union (ZEWU) have negotiated and concluded industry-wide HIV/AIDS workplace policies for the mining and energy sectors. 
 
It has to be seen how further commitments to include specific HIV and AIDS clauses in collective bargaining agreements will bear results. Employers&rsquo; awareness of the threat of a spread of HIV infections to their operations helps. The existence of a national legislative framework is conducive. And union strength, leadership commitment, and membership support are absolute prerequisites. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Global Fund: Call for Proposals for Round 11, Change in Grant Architecture 
 
The call for proposals for grants from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will open on 15 August. Deadline for submitting proposals is 15 December. This is later than expected and poses some problems. As decisions concerning Round 11 funding will only be made by the meeting of the Global Fund Board in 2012, countries which have grants expiring would need special extension funding to avoid interruptions, especially of treatment. 
 
Furthermore, new eligibility criteria apply for Round 11. Under the &ldquo;history of funding&rdquo; criterion, 78 countries, which have a history of recent funding for one or more of the diseases, are ineligible to apply in Round 11 for those components. 
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The Global Fund is also going to implement new grant architecture. It is designed to streamline and improve both the applications process and programme implementation. One of the ways it does so is by consolidating programmes and grants so that there is only one agreement per principal recipient (PR) per disease or health systems strengthening (HSS) programme. 
 
Grant consolidation involves merging two or more existing grants for the same PR and disease into one. Anytime two or more existing grants have been consolidated into one, a single-stream-of-funding (SSF) agreement is signed with the PR. SSF agreements are very similar to the grant agreements that have been used up to now. The most significant differences are (a) the provisions for periodic reviews (replacing Phase 2 reviews); and (b) the fact that the SSF grant agreements will be revised after each periodic review and whenever additional funding for the PR is approved in a future round. Under the new grant architecture, the periodic reviews will be carried out at the same time for all SSF agreements for a given disease/HSS programme, regardless of how many different PRs are involved. 
 
By the time proposals for Round 11 are approved, the Global Fund will be well on its way to implementing the new grant architecture. Grants will be replaced by single-stream-of-funding. All proposals submitted for Round 11 have to be consolidated proposals. For all of the proposals approved in Round 11, single-stream-of-funding agreements will be signed with PRs. In most cases, a single-stream-of-funding agreement will cover not only new initiatives included in the proposal, but also all of the PR&rsquo;s active &ldquo;grants&rdquo; for that disease. By the time the Round 12 single-stream-of-funding agreements have all been signed, the old grant agreements will be an endangered species. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 152 of 5 July. 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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Nepal: Migration Main Factor for HIV Prevalence 
 
HIV prevalence in Achham is estimated at 1.7%, but many residents, who have never left the remote western district, know HIV only as &ldquo;Bombay [Mumbai] disease.&rdquo; Naming HIV after India&rsquo;s bustling commercial city is considered the most logical explanation for what happened to men who were healthy when they migrated for work and returned home years later sick. The district has supplied cheap migrant labour to cities such as Mumbai for years. 
 
Although HIV prevalence in Nepal&rsquo;s general population is a low, 0.5%, the country has been experiencing a concentrated epidemic among high-risk groups such as seasonal migrant workers. The government found that in 2008, 41% of all HIV cases in the country were among labour migrants. 
 
Testing and public awareness for HIV are said to be increasing in Achham, where nearly 70% of households migrate at some stage, according to the ILO. An inclusive maternal care programme at district hospitals, which provide women with US$20 if they give birth on-site, has helped control mother-to-child transmission of HIV; the Achham District Hospital reports only 42 cases of transmission since 2005. 
 
(Source: PlusNews, 27 July) 
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Swaziland Crisis Affects Treatment 
 
Unease is mounting in Swaziland after reports that supplies of antiretrovirals are dangerously low. Resources have never been adequate to tackle the world&rsquo;s highest HIV infection rate in the tiny kingdom, but in recent months, the cash-poor government and dwindling donor funding have led to increasing panic among people living with HIV. One in four Swazis between the ages of 15 and 49 is living with HIV &ndash; at 26.1%, the world's highest prevalence &ndash; in a population of about one million. 
 
More than 64,000 Swazis were receiving ARVs by the end of June, a number expected to climb to about 69,000 by the end of July, according to the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit at the Ministry of Health. However, 200,000 Swazi adults are believed to be HIV-positive. 
 
Swaziland is in the grips of an acute financial crisis. Social services have been cut and public servants are facing looming retrenchments. The government is the country's biggest employer. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture last month reported a 29,000-million-tonne shortfall in the annual maize requirement &ndash; the country&rsquo;s staple food &ndash; of a total of about 114,000 million tonnes. 
 
The Southern African Customs Union (SACU), comprising Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland, applies a common set of tariffs and disproportionately distributes the revenue to member states. It has provided an economic lifeline to Lesotho and Swaziland, in particular, which have small impoverished populations, large numbers of HIV-infected people, and few or no natural resources. SACU revenue accounted for about 66% of the Swazi government&rsquo;s income two years ago. Following a reorganization of customs union receipts, it will only make up 32% of this year&rsquo;s budget. 
 
Government has requested financial assistance from South Africa, which is obliged to consider the loan to avoid a humanitarian crisis on its doorstep and a flood of economic refugees. But Swazi NGOs, led by the Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations, and organizations in South Africa, such as the national trade union centre, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), are calling for political reforms to be linked to any financial aid. Swaziland is also the last absolute monarchy in the world. 
 
(Source: PlusNews, Mbabane 18 July) 
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Debt Swap Agreement Benefits Global Fund 
 
The Global Fund has brokered debt swap agreements before, but not like the latest one between Germany and Egypt. 
 
Under the Global Fund&rsquo;s Debt2Health mechanism, creditors (i.e., countries that are owed money) may agree to write off a portion of the debt owed to them, on the condition that the debtor countries (i.e., the countries that owe money) invest an agreed-upon amount in local programmes approved by the Global Fund. Until recently, four Debt2Health agreements had been concluded &ndash; three involving Germany and, respectively, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Cote d&rsquo;Ivoire; and one between Australia and Indonesia. 
 
In June 2011, Germany agreed to write off &euro;6.6 million of Egyptian debt. What makes this agreement unique is that Egypt has agreed to contribute half of the &euro;6.6 million to Global Fund programmes to fight malaria in Ethiopia. This is the first time that a debt swap arrangement under the Debt2Health mechanism has involved reinvestment in programmes in a country other than the original debtor. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 154 of 25 July. 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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New Hope in Fight Against AIDS 
 
Aids drugs designed to treat HIV can also be used to reduce dramatically the risk of infection among heterosexual couples; two studies conducted in Africa have shown for the first time. The findings add to growing evidence that the type of medicines prescribed since the mid-1990s to treat people who are already sick may also hold the key to slowing or even halting the spread of the disease. 
 
The research involved 4,758 &ldquo;discordant&rdquo; couples, i.e. in which one partner was HIV positive and the other negative, in Kenya and Uganda and more than 1,200 sexually active men and women in Botswana. The studies found that daily Aids drugs reduced infection rates by an average of at least 62% when compared with a placebo. 
 
The idea of such &quot;pre-exposure prophylaxis,&quot; known as PrEP, has gained traction in the past year, following results of other research showing a fall in infection rates among gay men taking Aids drugs. 
 
(Source: aljazeera.net, 14 July and Health Day News, 13 July) 
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News from Global Unions 
 
The International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF &ndash; <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>) in its latest HIV/AIDS Update 110 of 1 and 15 July, reports on a long-term HIV/AIDS workplace education project in cooperation with the National Union of Seafarers of Sri Lanka, which will cover all sectors represented by the union in Colombo Port, as well as four seafarers&rsquo; and maritime schools in Sri Lanka. The programme is funded by UNAIDS and the ILO and the UNFPA will provide technical guidance. 
 
In anticipation of the next call for proposals for funding for Round 11 by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) issued a circular to all its affiliates and to the Global Union Federations. The circular gives details for a step-by-step approach to include workplace-related components in proposals submitted by Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM). As cited above, Round 11 will open on 15 August; the deadline for submitting national proposals is 15 December. 
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Five Years Ago: From the August/September 2006 Issue (No. 11/12) 
 
The first issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin was published in October 2005. In current issues, we refer to an article from the same month five years ago and reflect on developments. 
 
In the August/September 2006, we reported on the 16th International AIDS Conference which was held in Toronto from 14-18 August 2006. Over 20,000 scientists, politicians and activists participated in the event. The labour movement was well represented, highlighting the impact of HIV and AIDS on the workplace and outlining the role of workers in fighting the pandemic. 
 
Prior to the Conference, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) organised a two-day labour forum with the support of the ILO. The forum convened union representatives from all over the world who expressed their support for intensifying the involvement of trade unionists and unions and to build strong coalitions with civil society organisations. On the occasion of the labour forum the CLC released a new report, &ldquo;Labour Fights AIDS,&rdquo; which demonstrates that unions are at the fore in the global fight against AIDS 
 
The ICEM abstract written for the Conference was accepted for a poster exhibition. The ICEM was also invited to speak on &ldquo;The importance of social dialogue and workers&rsquo; participation in public/private partnerships&rdquo; at a Satellite Meeting Session with the theme &ldquo;From the workplace to the community &ndash; Co-investment to access prevention, treatment and care in public/private partnerships.&rdquo; 
 
Several broader trends emerged from the Conference. Although still inadequate, treatment is becoming more available. However, those on antiretrovirals (ARVs) remain infected and require treatment indefinitely. This requires a re-emphasis on prevention. Despite many years of research at huge cost, a vaccine has not yet been found. 
 
Also noted was that prevention techniques away from consent-requiring condom use focus on female protection to empower women to take control. 
 
In that issue, we also reported on the 2nd Global Fund Partnership Forum in Durban in July 2006 and on the renewed commitment made by the G8 meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, to tackle HIV/AIDS and to create a regular monitoring of its work. 
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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. 71/72, August/September 2011

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