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Tomorrow, December 1, is the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. To mark the day, the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) has issued a leaflet that can be found here. Since 1988, trade union and civil society efforts have engineered a strong response to the epidemic, and recorded results prove the engineering has solid footing, thanks to labour unions and NGOs. 
 
But more work remains. &ldquo;The fight to eliminate the scourge of the pandemic is far from finished, and more must be done,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re proud to recognise the 20th Anniversary of December 1, but even prouder to mark this day with commitment to wage this fight until the disease is gone.&rdquo; 

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The role of trade unions is critical in the struggle against AIDS. Trade unions demonstrate leadership on the issue by pushing early testing and prevention methods in the workplace, and then in homes and communities. The issue is a priority in most governing bodies, in women&rsquo;s caucuses, on health and safety committees, and most importantly; in negotiations with companies. This impact is positive to the community, to family life, and to national level policies based on workable and achievable grass-roots principles aimed at combatting the disease. 
 
Together with social partners, the World AIDS Campaign set this year&rsquo;s theme for World AIDS Day as &ldquo;Lead &ndash; Empower &ndash; Deliver,&rdquo; building on last year&rsquo;s theme to take the lead. Designating leadership as the overall theme for 2007-08 provides an opportunity to highlight the political leadership needed to fulfill commitments, particularly the promise of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support by 2010. 
 
Any union member, shop steward, union official, committee member, or gender representative who takes action today on HIV/AIDS is a leader in the fight against the deadly disease. 
 
The World AIDS Campaign has developed material that can be accessed at <a href="http://www.worldaidscampaign.org">www.worldaidscampaign.org</a>. 
 
 
 
For further information, contact Dick Blin or Tom Grinter, ICEM, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;+41&nbsp;22&nbsp;304&nbsp;1840&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;; <a href="mailto:dick.blin@icem.org">dick.blin@icem.org</a> or <a href="mailto:tom.grinter@.icem.org">tom.grinter@.icem.org</a>.

ICEM Marks 20th World AIDS Day with Commitment to the Future

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ICEM &uuml;yesi Yeni Zelanda sendikası Ulusal Dağıtım Sendikası'na (NDU) &uuml;ye k&uuml;&ccedil;&uuml;k bir antrepo iş&ccedil;ileri grubu Auckland'da ilk toplu s&ouml;zleşmeyi bağıtlamak i&ccedil;in &ccedil;etin bir m&uuml;cadele veriyorlar. Auckland antrepo iş&ccedil;ileri y&ouml;redeki işyerlerinde &ccedil;alışan dağıtım iş&ccedil;ilerinden y&uuml;zde 30 kadar daha az &uuml;cret &ouml;alıyorlar ve y&ouml;neticilerin aşağılayıcı davranışlarıyla karşı karşıya kalıyorlar. Yeni Zelanda'daki antrepoda L&rsquo;Oreal 20 kadar taşeron iş&ccedil;isi istihdam ediyor. 
 
11 iş&ccedil;inin Ekim sonlarındaki iki kosa grevinin ardından iş&ccedil;ilerin taleplerine sahip &ccedil;ıkan Avrupa'daki kozmetik şirketinde &ccedil;alışan iş&ccedil;ileri temsil eden sendikalarla temasa ge&ccedil;ti ve onlardan Fransa'da kurulu şirket hakkında şik&acirc;yette bulunmalarını istedi. 
 
Yeni Zelanda'daki uyuşmazlık Fransız, Bel&ccedil;ika, Alman, İspanyol ve İtalyan sendikalarının, ICEM'in de katılımıyla, Br&uuml;ksel'de d&uuml;zenledikleri L&rsquo;Oreal'le ilgili bir toplantıda ele alındı. Toplantıda şirketin Avrupa'daki durumu ve koşulları &uuml;zerine ciddi bir değerlendirme ve g&ouml;r&uuml;ş alışverişi yapıldı. Katılımcı sendikalar şimdi Yeni Zelanda'daki uyuşmazlıkla ilgili gelişmeleri dikkatle izliyorlar. 
<img height="92" alt="" src="" width="200" />
NDU yeni antrepodaki iş&ccedil;ileri bu yılın başlarında &ouml;rg&uuml;tledi, ama L&rsquo;Oreal bir toplu s&ouml;zleşme bağıtlama fikrine baştan karşı &ccedil;ıktı. 5 Kasım'daki g&ouml;r&uuml;şmelerde şirket NDU'nun diğer dağıtım iş&ccedil;ileriyle eşitlik sağlamaya y&ouml;nelik &uuml;cret teklifini aldı, fakat y&ouml;neticilerin bir toplu s&ouml;zleşme isteyip istemediklerinden emin olmadığını s&ouml;yledi. 
 
Genel Sekreter Manfred Warda şirketin Fransa'daki genel merkezine g&ouml;nderdiği bir mektupta, şirketin NDU'ya y&ouml;nelik tutumunun ILO'nun 98 nolu &Ouml;rg&uuml;tlenme ve Toplu Pazarlık Hakkı S&ouml;zleşmesi'ni ihlal ettiğini, bu s&ouml;zleşmenin &ouml;ng&ouml;rd&uuml;ğ&uuml; kuralları hem Fransa hem Yeni Zelanda y&ouml;netimlerinin onayladığını ağır bir &uuml;slupla hatırlattı. 

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ICEM Genel Sekreteri Manfred Warda 

Warda, mektupta ayrıca, Br&uuml;ksel'de yapılan toplantının ana konusunun &ldquo;L&rsquo;Oreal ile sendikalar arasında sosyal diyalogu karşılıklı tanıma ve saygı temelinde g&uuml;&ccedil;lendirmenin yollarını aramak olduğunu&rdquo; vurguladı ve ş&ouml;yle dedi: &ldquo;ICEM i&ccedil;in bu k&uuml;resel d&uuml;zeyde anlam taşımaktadır.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;Sizin Yeni Zelanda'daki y&ouml;netiminizin &ccedil;alışma ilişkilerine y&ouml;nelik tutumu buna t&uuml;m&uuml;yle aykırıdır. Auckland'daki sorun en kısa s&uuml;re i&ccedil;inde &ccedil;&ouml;z&uuml;me kavuşmayacak olursa, ICEM bu uyuşmazlığa d&uuml;nyadaki ICEM &uuml;yesi diğer L&rsquo;Oreal sendikalarını katmayı d&uuml;ş&uuml;n&uuml;yor.&rdquo;

ICEM Üyesi Avrupa Sendikalar Yeni Zelanda&#039;daki L&#039;Oreal İşçilerinin Mücadelesine Destek Verdi

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the HIV/AIDS workshops in Trinidad and Tobago and in Ethiopia, and inform on the Global Fund approvals for Round 9, as well as on the 2009 Epidemic Update. 
 
The ICEM Calls on its Affiliates to Contribute to this e-bulletin 
 
ICEM affiliates are already 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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World AIDS Day 
 
In his statement on World AIDS Day, 1 December, the ICEM General Secretary focused on the &ldquo;I AM&rdquo; theme, with the key slogans: &ldquo;I am accepted; I am safe; I am getting treatment; I am well and I am living my rights&rdquo;. &ldquo;Our approach is also rights-based &ndash; we never forget that our first responsibility is to protect the rights, health and livelihoods of our members, their families and the wider community&rdquo;, he stated. &ldquo;Above all, we have to advocate Know-Your-Status campaigns for voluntary counselling and testing. If for every two people who go on antiretroviral treatment five more are newly infected, then we know that prevention must be the focus of our HIV/AIDS work&rdquo;. 
 
The ILO contributed to the &ldquo;I AM&rdquo; theme with the slogan &ldquo;I am living my rights. I am working.&rdquo; 

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World AIDS Day: HIV/AIDS Workshop in Trinidad and Tobago 
 
The Oilfields Workers&rsquo; Trade Union (OWTU) of Trinidad and Tobago, with the support from the Humanity Fund of the ICEM Canadian affiliate, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union (CEP), organised the opening of their HIV/AIDS workshop for OWTU General Council members to coincide with World AIDS Day, 1 December. 
 
Speaking at the opening, OWTU President General Comrade Ancil Roget emphasised the importance of fighting HIV/AIDS at the workplace. He highlighted that the World AIDS Campaign and World AIDS Day are about understanding that access to prevention, care and treatment is for ALL, not just for some. He also reminded the participants that high HIV infections are a manifestation of the deeper social and political crisis we are in and we cannot ignore the fact that poverty, inequality and social injustice make people more vulnerable to HIV. He pledged that his union, in line with the World AIDS Day slogan, will keep the promise to stop HIV/AIDS and protect the rights of workers living with HIV. 
 
Carol Ann Senah, Technical Director of the National AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC), pointed out that the infection does not just hitch rides with truck drivers on lonely highways; it also travels business class with men in dark suits. The number of people living with HIV and AIDS has gone up from 14,000 to 20,000 in a short time. With the productive workforce,&nbsp;the age group 15-49 years hardest hit, the workplace must be an enabling environment to fight the pandemic. She called on everybody to be tested on national testing day, 4 December. 
 
During the three-day workshop, some 45 participants discussed behaviour change, preventing HIV transmission, negotiating on HIV and AIDS and they elaborated the elements of an HIV/AIDS workplace policy on the basis of a presentation by Hans Schwass, the ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant and the OWTU&rsquo;s own HIV/AIDS policy presented by Executive Officers, Comrades Chandersain Ramsingh &amp; Sati Gajadar-Innis, which was adopted in June 2009. Their work in groups was also informed by the excellent presentation of the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work by the regional ILO HIV/AIDS specialist, Madhuri Supersad. 
 
Participants came up with many ideas for HIV/AIDS activities at their workplace and within their communities to be organised within the next six months and to be reviewed and further carried forward at an HIV/AIDS workshop in 2010. 
 
One of the highlights of the workshop was the participation in a mixed performance of pantomime, music and testimonies of people living with HIV, which addressed stigma and discrimination. 

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HIV/AIDS Workshops in Ethiopia 
 
In two consecutive workshops in Addis Ababa in November, stakeholders advanced the LO/FTF-sponsored HIV/AIDS project in cooperation with the ICEM and its affiliate, the National Industrial Federation of Energy, Chemical and Mine Trade Unions (NIFECM). 
 
In the first workshop, officials revisited the NIFECM HIV/AIDS Policy which was adopted by Congress in August and the excellent leaflet which was produced in Ethiopia. They also reviewed and selected materials which should go into a toolbox for peer educators. 
 
A larger group of 20 participants, of whom 9 were women, with unionists from the basic unions discussed strategies to negotiate on HIV/AIDS, elaborated an HIV/AIDS workplace policy, acquired campaigning skills and brainstormed campaigning ideas. 
 
The Project Advisory Committee with participation from NIFECM, the LO/FTF and ICEM also met on the occasion. Priorities for the next few months are the training of peer educators and the starting of awareness and prevention campaigns in mining localities, as well as training on bargaining skills. 

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Indian National Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation Receives ILO Certificate, Organises Peer Educators Training for Women and Commemorates World AIDS Day 
 
On behalf of the INMF, its General Secretary B.K. Das received a certificate from the ILO Delhi Office in recognition of the contribution made to the prevention of HIV/AIDS in the world of work through the successful implementation of the HIV/AIDS Project sponsored by the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim and the ICEM. 
 
In September, the Federation organised a training course for women to become HIV/AIDS peer educators. Peer educators courses held so far have shown a low participation by women, due to strong cultural barriers. Yet the potential of women and their involvement with families and the community has to be harnessed to fight HIV and AIDS. 
 
On World AIDS Day, 1 December, master trainers and peer educators, trained by the HIV/AIDS project, organised meetings, symposiums and rallies in major coalfields. The programmes did not only involve workers but also reached out to local authorities, teachers and students of schools and colleges, non-governmental organisations and organisations of people living with HIV. The HIV/AIDS project provided campaign materials for the events. 

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Global Fund Board Approves 85 Grants in Round 9 
 
The Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, meeting in Addis Ababa from 9-11 November, approved 85 grants (out of 159 proposals received) worth almost USD 2 billion over the first two years for the three diseases. 54 grants received immediate approval, whereas 31 were approved in principle, subject to funding becoming available. 
 
Of the total amount, 44 percent are for HIV/AIDS grants. TB and malaria grants received 28 percent each. Of the grants approved, Africa (East, Southern, West and Central) will receive 56 percent. 
 
Subject to confirmation by the Board meeting in April 2010, Round 10 will be launched at the start of May 2010. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 110 of 12 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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2009 AIDS Epidemic Update: New HIV Infections Down 
 
New infections in 2008 were 30 percent lower than they were 12 years ago, according to data released by UNAIDS and the WHO. The 2009 Epidemic Update, available at <a href="http://www.unaids.org">www.unaids.org</a>, confirms a trend first observed about two years ago. 
 
UNAIDS and WHO state that the spread of HIV appears to have peaked in 1996. An estimated 2.7 million new infections occurred in 2008, the same number as in 2007, but well below the estimated 3.5 million new infections in 1996. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most heavily affected region, accounting for 71 percent of all new HIV infections in 2008. According to the report, there seems to be evidence that the declines are due to HIV prevention measures. 
 
However, the number of people living with HIV continues to grow. In December 2008, an estimated 33.4 million people were living with HIV, compared to 33.0 million in 2007. The reason that this number continues to grow while new infections are levelling off is that HIV-positive people are living longer, due in large part to expanded antiretroviral (AARV) coverage. The percentage of those needing ARV treatment who actually receive it rose from 7 percent in 2003 to 42 percent in 2008 or 4 million. That also means that over half of those in need of treatment or about 5 million people are still not receiving it. AIDS-related deaths in 2008 amounted to 2 million. 

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President Zuma Addresses the Nation on World AIDS Day 
 
In a national address on World AIDS Day, South African President Jacob Zuma declared that drug therapy for HIV-positive women and babies would be broadened and start earlier. 
 
The new policy on pregnant women, aimed at ensuring that babies are born healthy, is in line with the new treatment guidelines issued by the WHO just a day before. This new policy and extended access to antiretroviral drugs gives substance to Zuma&rsquo;s break with the views of his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki, who during almost a decade in office had questioned whether HIV causes AIDS. It is estimated that delays during this decade caused the death of 35,000 babies and that 330,000 people died prematurely for lack of treatment. 
 
With more people being HIV positive than in any other country, Zuma called on South Africans to struggle against AIDS as they had against apartheid. 
 
(Source: Right Vision News, 4 December) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
News from Global Union Federations 
 
The International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a> reports in its HIV/AIDS Updates 75 and 76,&nbsp;1 and 15 November, on the opening of an HIV/AIDS drop-in centre on the Indian-Nepalese border which is designed to reach out to those working on the 2000 trucks that cross the border every day. It further reports on the private sector workshop held in Ghana which focused on the role of the private sector in Global Fund processes. It also informs on preparations for the 18th International AIDS Conference to be held in Vienna from 18-23 July 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. 51, December 2009

The 20-million-member International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) is demanding that the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina intervene on behalf of 1,250 workers in the northern city of Lukavac. The workers have had their pay slashed and are owed wage arrears by India-based Global Infrastructure Holdings Ltd., a subsidiary of the Ispat Group, owned by the Mittal steel-making family. 
 
The company is the minority owner but manages a coke-chemicals enterprise called Global Ispat Koksana Industtrija Lukavac (GIKIL), which sells to steel mills throughout Central Europe, Turkey, and in India. The local government of the Canton of Tuzla is majority stakeholder. 
 
In a 21 January letter to Bosnia-Herzegovina Prime Minister Mustafa Mujezinovic and to Canton of Tuzla Prime Minister Enes Mujić, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda &ndash; together with International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) General Secretary Jyrki Raina &ndash; called on both the federal government and regional government to ensure that restoration of previous pay levels dating to 2003 are restored, that wage arrears are paid, and that the governments be more vigilant on potentially serious health risks existing inside GIKIL. 
 
The ICEM, a Geneva-based global trade federation that numbers 467 affiliated trade unions in 132 countries, is pursuing justice for Lukavac workers on behalf of one of those affiliates, the Independent Trade Union of Chemistry and Non-Metal Workers of Bosnia-Herzegovina. 
 
&ldquo;The ICEM has probed Global Infrastructure Holdings, its parent, the steel-maker Ispat Group, and Pramod Mittal himself.&rdquo; said Warda. &ldquo;What we find is a history of depraved conduct placed on people in many countries and total disregard for global social standards, as well as statutes enshrined in European law.&rdquo; 
 
In Lukavac, workers have carried out lawful strikes twice in six months, laying claims to salaries owed them. Despite all workers taking membership in the union, GIKIL&rsquo;s Indian managing director, Guttupalli Jagannadham, has bypassed the union in slashing pay to 55% of previous earnings. That level is below the minimum wage standard contained in the national collective agreement for chemistry and non-metals, and amounts to just above &euro;200 per month (400 marka), putting it well under the minimum wage threshold for the sector in Bosnia-Herzegovina. 
 
Workers staged a strike from 6 January to 14 January after salaries had not been paid in October, November, and December 2009. During the strike, the October and November pay was made, but December salaries are still in remiss. A mediated agreement that ended a three-day strike in July 2009 called on GIKIL management to honour the collective agreement, and pay all wages due by 31 December 2009. 
 
The ICEM and IMF also stated concern for workers&rsquo; health at GIKIL in the letter to the Bosnia-Herzegovina government. The Independent Trade Union of Chemistry and Non-Metal Workers believes a number of workers have acute cases of cancer due to lack of safeguards around coke ovens. 
 
In the joint letter, the combined 45-million-member ICEM and IMF cautioned the government not to lose oversight over labour-management relations at GIKIL. &ldquo;We think this a mistake, considering the recent history of wage arrears, asset stripping, and general social depravation brought by Global Infrastructure Holdings.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM cites a number of instances in the near past where Ispat and its Global Steel Holdings and Global Infrastructure Holdings subsidiaries have not met payrolls and displayed other social misconduct following privatizations and restructuring. Those cases have occurred in Nigeria, Libya, Bulgaria, as well as against Indian expatriate staff working abroad. 
 
&ldquo;We take the breach of contract, failure to engage the union in social talks, and wage issues very seriously,&rdquo; said Warda of the conflict in Lukavac. &ldquo;Either the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina corrects the wrongs imposed on workers, or we carry this dispute to different levels.&rdquo; 
 
For More Information, Contact: or Kata Iveljic, Tuzla Branch President, Independent Trade Union of Chemistry and Non-Metal Workers, <a href="mailto:sindikat.tz@bih.net.ba">sindikat.tz@bih.net.ba</a>, +387 35 279 081 (mobile: +387 61 894 385); or Dick Blin, ICEM Information and Campaigns Officer, <a href="mailto:dick.blin@icem.org">dick.blin@icem.org</a>, +41 22 304 1842 (mobile: +41 79 734 8994).

ICEM, IMF Decry Mittal’s Pay Delinquencies in Bosnia-Herzegovina

<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="59" />
The Geneva, Switzerland-based International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) announces that it gives its unequivocal support to the 560 miners of US affiliated union, International Longshore &amp; Warehouse Union (ILWU), who were locked off their jobs by the Rio Tinto subsidiary, US Borax and Chemical Corp., on Sunday, 31 January. 
 
The workers were refused entry to the mine and processing plant in Boron, California, when they showed for their work shift at 06h00 on Sunday. 
 
&ldquo;We note that all 500 members of ILWU Local 30 voted against the company&rsquo;s contract proposal on Saturday night,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;This should have served as a message to Rio Tinto Minerals to continue negotiating, continue seeking the necessary compromises in order to achieve a mutually acceptable collective agreement.&rdquo; 
 
A prior contract expired on 4 November 2009. Management is seeking unprecedented changes to workers&rsquo; seniority, shift and overtime assignments, and the way in which promotions are made, as well as seeking unilaterally to impose flexibility changes that favour the company to the detriment of workers. 
 
The ICEM condemns the company for its announcement that it will continue production with replacement workers during the company-initiated lockout. The ICEM will use its role, as the leading Global Union Federation in the mining industry, to alert trade unions around the globe, particularly those representing Rio Tinto workers, of the lockout and urge them to take action on behalf of ILWU Local 30 in California. 
 
Borax, or sodium borate, is a mineral used in detergents, glass, building materials, and other uses such as an ingredient in chemicals. The ICEM represents 20 million workers worldwide that are part of 467 affiliated trade unions in 132 countries. 
The ICEM urges all affiliates and supporters to send their own letter to Rio Tinto, condemning the lockout.&nbsp; Click <a href="/index.php?id=5&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3600">here</a> for a model, paste the text onto your letterhead, and send to Rio Tinto CEO Albanese at <a href="mailto:tom.albanese@riotinto.org">tom.albanese@riotinto.org</a>, copied to <a href="mailto:joe.drexler@icem.org">joe.drexler@icem.org</a> and <a href="mailto:info@ilwu.org">info@ilwu.org</a>.

ICEM Pledges Support to Locked-Out Rio Tinto Workers in US State of California

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The world&rsquo;s biggest steelmaker announced to workers and trade unions at its December European Works Council (EWC) that the company likely will continue to reduce its global workforce in 2010. Trade union projections suggest that ArcelorMittal plans to cut some 10,000 jobs, or 3.5% of its total global workforce, as the company seeks cost savings of US$500 million. 
 
Arcelor Mittal currently employs 285,300 people worldwide. The Luxembourg-based company aims to regain lost market share. Company spokesman Bill Steers told the EWC at a plenary meeting on 9 December that &ldquo;global workforce reductions [will be] due mainly to natural attrition and optimisation of production.&rdquo; 

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The company has said that most of the cuts will affect US and Europe, where its growth potential is limited. ArcelorMittal workers in South Africa were relieved to be told that the announcement of 10,000 job losses would not affect them. Some of ArcelorMittal's facilities in the U.S. and South America are struggling, particularly those producing flat rolled steel for the auto industry. 
 
Dave McCall, District 1 director for the ICEM-affiliated United Steelworkers (USW), said the union did not expect mass job cuts in the US, as demand there is picking up some in the wake of the financial crisis. 
 
Overall, demand for steel is rising again, after most steelmakers took a major hit in 2009 and were forced to cut their production in response to a slump in demand. ArcelorMittal has put a bid down on Zimbabwe's Zisco; it has invested in a mill in India; and is looking at further Brazilian operations to match iron-ore supplies there. The company has operations in 60 countries around the world. 
 
The cuts are expected to affect workers who were temporarily laid off at plants idled last year. 
 
The company had originally planned to eliminate 9,000 positions in its administrative and commercial functions during 2009, but ended up cutting 36,000 jobs, of which 50 percent were in Europe.

ArcelorMittal to Cut 10,000 Jobs This Year

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
While the campaign for retention of coal-mining jobs and a fair contract by the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) with Xstrata in Australia continues, another union is resisting proposed mining and metallurgical job cuts by the Anglo-Swiss mining house. 
 
In North America, the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) launched a campaign in northern Ontario in mid-December to preserve 676 copper and nickel smelting and refining jobs at Xstrata&rsquo;s Kidd Creek metallurgical plants in Timmons, Ontario. The company announced on 8 December that it was permanently shuttering a smelter and refinery, effective 1 May 2010, thus heaping further economic havoc on a region already beset by job losses and a strike. 

<img alt="" src="" width="160" height="74" />
The proposed job losses come on top of 725 mineworker layoffs by Xstrata in February 2009, when it temporarily shut three mines in the region. CAW Local 598 of Sudbury, Ontario, which is currently engaged in negotiations with Xstrata Nickel toward a 1 February contract expiration, has made recall of those jobs its number one bargaining table priority. 
 
In Timmons, CAW Local 599 has started a public campaign aimed at drawing business and government pressure on Xstrata Copper Canada to reverse the Kidd Creek closure. A major part of the campaign is aimed at the federal government, which, the union contends, must protect Canadian jobs as part of the C$19 billion sale of these former Falconbridge assets to Xstrata in 2006. 
 
That issue is similar to one included in the campaign by the United Steelworkers (USW) in its strike against Brazilian Vale. The CAW has supported USW Local 6500 on picket lines and with financial support in its current six-month strike against Vale, and it has also joined USW in calling on the Canadian Parliament to enact legislation that would give transparency to deals made under the Investment Canada Act. 
 
In the corporate takeovers of both Vale buying Inco and Xstrata paying a premium to get Canadian-based Falconbridge, many details between the federal government and the foreign mining houses were kept secret, and the job-slashing now &ndash; the unions feel &ndash; could have been prevented had more disclosure come in 2006. 
 
CAW Local 599 is pursuing an aggressive petition campaign calling for both retention of the Kidd Creek facility and for government action on the proposed job cuts. Visit the union&rsquo;s website <a href="http://www.caw599.ca">here</a> to learn more and to join the petition. 

<img alt="" src="" width="183" height="150" />
In Australia, CFMEU&rsquo;s campaign against Xstrata in New South Wales on redundancies and lack of a current enterprise agreement continues. Last summer, Xstrata announced it was cutting 180 coal-mining jobs at two collieries, Tahmoor and Ulan. 
 
The union has been engaged in lawful industrial actions at Tahmoor over the past several months (see past ICEM coverage <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/">here</a> and <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/">here</a>), with miners conducting a march through Tahmoor on 21 December to coincide with a 24-hour work stoppage. Other industrial actions included the refusal to load coal on to trains for shipment to Port Kembla. 
 
Early in the new year, the industrial actions were halted so coal could be loaded on to trains and eventually shipped to German steelmaker ZKS. That request came from metalworkers in Germany due to low inventories and in order to keep operations at ZKS in production. 
See the CFMEU's campaign website <a href="http://www.xstratafacts.com/">here</a>.

Mine Unions in Australia, Canada Reject Xstrata’s Job Cuts

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At a press conference on 8 January in Mexico City, during an ICEM North American Regional Coordinating Committee meeting there, Canadian and US ICEM leaders denounced the Mexican government of Felipe Calder&oacute;n Hinojosa&rsquo;s anti-union conduct in dissolving the Mexican Electrical Workers&rsquo; Union (SME) and its continuing persecution of the National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (SNTMMSRM, or Los Mineros) and its General Secretary Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez Urrutia. 
 
The regional forum, led by ICEM North American Vice Presidents Ken Neumann of the United Steelworkers (USW) and Dave Coles of the Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada, stressed that the repressive tactics heaped upon trade unions by the Calder&oacute;n government is an affront to human rights and that these actions will receive world-wide attention. 

<img alt="" src="" width="261" height="196" />
ICEM North American leaders at press conference 
The North American ICEM leaders also said the anti-union policies subject millions of Mexican workers to poverty. They also called attention to Mexican trade union leaders like Los Mineros&rsquo;s Juan Linares Mont&uacute;far who have been jailed for their legitimate union activities. The press conference was attended by members of Los Mineros, by several ICEM North American delegates, and by ICEM&rsquo;s Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs Joe Drexler. 
 
Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez himself has escaped jail in Mexico by fleeing to Canada, with the Mexican government now seeking his extradition. 

<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="145" />
Neumann, the USW&rsquo;s National Director for Canada, said that there is evidence that the charges against Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez are unfounded and purely an invention by the Mexican government in sync with the mining company, Grupo M&eacute;xico. &ldquo;Mexico is a NAFTA partner with Canada and the United States and we will not sit back and allow these repressions to occur,&rdquo; said Neumann. 
 
On 10 October 2009, the Calder&oacute;n government swept in with federal agents and armed police to shut down the country&rsquo;s second largest utility, the Mexico City regional Luz y Fuerza del Centro (LyFC), or Central Light and Power. Calder&oacute;n used an executive decree to merge the electric power distributor with the Federal Electricity Commission and to disband the 95-year-old and 60,000-member SME. 
 
The North American ICEM representatives condemned the government for not proceeding through legal channels if it suspected there were misdeeds inside the utility.

ICEM North Americans Use Mexican City Press to Condemn Calderón’s Labour Policies

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On 14 December 2009, the Supreme Court of Namibia struck down a two-year-old government law that banned labour hire agencies. In a unanimous, five-judge decision, the court said that government must first try to regulate irregular work imposed by labour hire firms before imposing a ban on them. 
 
The court&rsquo;s decision also cited the law as unconstitutional because it fails to protect the right to practice &ldquo;occupation, trade or business.&rdquo; In 20-year-old Namibia, images of an entrenched contract labour system through apartheid are recent, and this labour issue has both the emotions and the memories to make it a leading story in all of Africa. 
 
The Supreme Court itself called it &ldquo;an emotive and politically charged&rdquo; issue, and both opponents and proponents of agency labour expressed sharp differences on the court&rsquo;s ruling. 
 
The decision was the second time within a year that the High Court in Namibia has taken up the case. It had earlier upheld the ban on labour hire agencies, contained inside Section 128 of the 2007 Labour Act. But Namibia&rsquo;s largest temporary employment agency, Africa Personnel Services (APS), appealed the constitutionality of this section of the labour code on the eve of it taking effect. The 14 December ruling overturns the High Court&rsquo;s earlier decision, and now places responsibility on the government and civil society to implement stringent regulatory measures on the operations of labour agencies. 
The head of the Namibia Employers&rsquo; Federation, Tim Parkhouse, heralded the court&rsquo;s decision, calling it an investment attraction. 

<img src="" width="133" height="133" alt="" />
But the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) reacted angrily to the court&rsquo;s decision, while Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Immanuel Ngatjizeko, said that although the government must abide by the decision, he pledged the government of President Hifikepunye Pohamba will not allow the labour-hire system to continue in its current form. 
 
Ngatjiseko, in a Windhoek newspaper, said: &ldquo;It is ironic that a provision of the Namibia Constitution that was intended to eradicate apartheid practices that subjected black workers to the injustice and humiliation of job reservation, influx control and the like has now been interpreted to turn a blind eye to commercial arrangements for the rental of human labour in order to avoid the protections afforded to workers by the labour laws.&rdquo; 
 
Ngatjiseko said the current system in Namibia, where labour hire firms are allowed to employ people who then provide these people to clients, is exploitative and reminiscent of the apartheid contract labour system because workers in Namibia with few or no other options for gainful employment fall into the clutches of labour agencies. 
 
The NUNW, linked in history with the ruling South West African People&rsquo;s Organisation (SWAPO) 
political party and a union itself banned in the pre-Namibia days of the 1970s and 1980s because it dared to challenge the apartheid labour system, was more blunt in its assessment of the court&rsquo;s decision. &ldquo;We firmly believe that one cannot regulate slavery and thereby give it a human face,&rdquo; said the federation. 

<img src="" width="146" height="66" alt="" />
The court&rsquo;s decision last month provoked wide opinions, proving again the intensity of the labour hire issue inside Namibia and in all of Africa. 
 
The New Era, a Windhoek publication, predicted, &ldquo;There is no denying that labour hire is a niece of the contract labour system that we have supposedly got rid, but when weak regulations are approved, the Supreme Court would be left with no choice but to stick to what is lawful on paper.&rdquo; 
 
An editorial in The Namibian, another Windhoek newspaper, stated, &ldquo;The principal of labour hire may be an important one, especially in a country with a very high unemployment rate, but it cannot be allowed to perpetuate exploitation of workers to the benefit of middlemen; to provide ways around employer adherence to the Labour Code; and to shut out unions.&rdquo; 
 
On 5 July 2007, the country&rsquo;s National Assembly passed an amendment to the labour code stating that &ldquo;no person may, for reward, employ any person with a view to making that person available to a third party to perform work for the third party.&rdquo; The law was to take effect on 1 March 2009. But on 27 February, the High Court suspended implementation of the law to hear APS&rsquo;s appeal.

Namibian Supreme Court Strikes Down Labour Hire Bill

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The struggle continues for trade union rights for contract workers at Colombia&rsquo;s vast mining complex, Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n. ICEM mining affiliate Sintracarb&oacute;n has been fighting to organize the contract workers at the mine. 
 
Following the successful organization of mechanics and machinists of the company Chaneme at Cerrej&oacute;n in November (see InBrief No. 144 <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/">here</a>), the new union Sintrachaneme was formed and recognized by Chaneme. Since, the company has refused to discuss even the slightest improvements to salaries and working conditions with either Sintrachaneme or Sintracarb&oacute;n. 

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="108" />
A second union of contract workers under Sintracarb&oacute;n&rsquo;s guidance, Sintrans, representing transport workers of the Sotrans company, has seen that employer refuse to recognise the union or to consider any of the bus drivers&rsquo; demands. In fact, the sacking of union activists among bus drivers has brought fear and reluctance by workers to engage in union activity. 
 
Sintracarb&oacute;n, with the full support of ICEM, is focusing efforts towards the consolidation of Sintrachaneme and pressuring the mechanical maintenance contractor to accept the demands of workers. International support is important in the push for a collective agreement between Chaneme and its 300 staff, an accord that will guarantee the existence of the union. 
 
&ldquo;The Chaneme management, Carbones de Cerrej&oacute;n management, and the Colombian Ministry of Social Protection must all commit to the process,&rdquo; said Sintracarb&oacute;n representative Jaime Deluquez. 

<img alt="" src="" width="146" height="66" />
Since workers of Chaneme and Sotrans at Cerrej&oacute;n took the step to organize, they have suffered a campaign of harassment and persecution from employers. Sintracarb&oacute;n, consisting of 3,500 direct employed miners at Cerrej&oacute;n, has denounced complicity by their employer of denial of work rights by contractors, saying Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n has &ldquo;turned a blind eye to the abuses.&rdquo; 
 
Harassment has included workers being visited at home, with threats of dismissal or offers of perks in return for loyalty to the contractors and a turn against the newly-formed unions. 
 
Cerrej&oacute;n management is also criticised by its mining workforce for applying double standards, claiming on the one hand that it respects human and trade union rights with rhetoric that it support the free association into unions of workers of contractors, while working covertly with the contractors and units of government to destroy the trade union organization process. 
 
These abuses of the right of association and collective bargaining contravene national law, the Colombian Constitution, and ILO Conventions 87 and 98, ratified by Colombia. 
 
An ICEM Project on Social Dialogue, organized by Colombian Coordinator Carlos Bustos and counting Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n as a participant, has achieved exemplary results. The multinational companies holding stakes in one of the world&rsquo;s largest open-cast coal mining operations &ndash; Xstrata, AngloAmerican, and BHP Billiton &ndash; must now prove that a commitment to the Social Dialogue Project and to global labour standards is genuine by stepping forward to defend the rights of outsourced workers at its mining operation in La Guajira department in northeastern Colombia.

Union, Contract Workers Continue Fight for Work Rights at Cerrejón in Colombia

Archive

ICEM Marks 20th World AIDS Day with Commitment to the Future

ICEM Üyesi Avrupa Sendikalar Yeni Zelanda'daki L'Oreal İşçilerinin Mücadelesine Destek Verdi

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 51, December 2009

ICEM, IMF Decry Mittal’s Pay Delinquencies in Bosnia-Herzegovina

ICEM Pledges Support to Locked-Out Rio Tinto Workers in US State of California

ArcelorMittal to Cut 10,000 Jobs This Year

Mine Unions in Australia, Canada Reject Xstrata’s Job Cuts

ICEM North Americans Use Mexican City Press to Condemn Calderón’s Labour Policies

Namibian Supreme Court Strikes Down Labour Hire Bill

Union, Contract Workers Continue Fight for Work Rights at Cerrejón in Colombia

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