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To support IMF's global efforts the Committee of Metal Industry Unions (CMIU) in Hong Kong made the following actions: •·        Put posters on boards and dispatched some leaflets to members.•·        On Oct 7, when the &quot;Minimum Wage Bill&quot; was submitted to the Legislative Council, CMIU gathered in front of the Legislative Council Building to take a petition.  For the &quot;Minimum Wage Bill&quot; suggested the wage calculating only on hourly rate, the unions believe this will lead more precarious work.  So, the unions made the action to warn the Government and the Councilors.  CMIU participated in the action carry posters with the slogans &quot;Minimum Wage Legislation! We Support!&quot; and &quot;Precarious Work! We Oppose!&quot;

HONG KONG

BANGLADESH: Md. Jahangir Alam, a shipbreaking worker who had migrated from the poverty stricken Rangpur district to work at the Habib steel shipbreaking yard in Chittagong, Bangladesh, died as a result of an accident at work on October 12, 2009. He was the seventh Bangladeshi shipbreaking worker to die in one week.On October 11, three other shipbreaking workers at the Pakija shipyard died from inhaling poisonous gases. On October 8, three other workers were smashed to death by an iron-plate at the Crystal shipyard.&quot;The labour law is being blatantly violated and the police have recorded these incidents as un-natural deaths,&quot; reports Mojibur Rahman Bhuiyan, General Secretary of IMF affiliate the Bangladesh Metalworkers' League.At a meeting between Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP), an organization of workers and employees' organizations, and the Bangladesh State Labour Minister, on October 15, Bhuiyan demanded that the Minister investigate and punish the companies responsible for the deaths.&quot;This is murder by shipyard owners and we demand exemplary punishment. We can not allow this to happen anymore. No one can take advantage of poverty and unemployment. The government has a responsibility to create decent jobs,&quot; Bhuiyan said to the Minister.BML also demanded a mechanism for inspecting the ships before their entrance into the Bangladeshi territory, and that the rights of labour are protected. The union also appealed for international solidarity to &quot;stop these barbaric killings&quot;.The IMF sent a letter to the Bangladeshi State Labour Minister in support of the shipbreaking workers, calling for immediate action to respect the rights and improve the health, safety and welfare of shipbreaking workers in Bangladesh. To sign a petition calling on the G20 heads of states to do more to protect the rights of shipbreaking workers in Bangladesh, go here: <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/677/t/7078/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=2108">http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/677/t/7078/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=2108</a>

BML and the IMF call for an end to barbaric deaths in the shipbreaking yards in Bangladesh after seven workers die in one week.

IMF joins global effort in support of Bangladeshi shipbreakers

IMF letter to Bangladesh Labour Minister regarding shipbreaking worker deaths

Seven shipbreaking workers die in one week

SIERDas Zentralkomitee der SIER beabsichtigt, eine öffentliche Sondersitzung über die globale Aktion gegen prekäre Beschäftigung durchzuführen und alle Medien einzuladen. Zudem wird die SIER eine Sonderausgabe ihres Info-Magazins herausgeben. Auf der Titelseite wird das Logo der Kampagne gegen prekäre Beschäftigung abgedruckt.Weiterhin ist vorgesehen, am 1. und 2. Oktober mit der neuen Führung der GSM Nezavisnost ein gemeinsames Seminar durchzuführen, das sich u.a. mit der Frage der prekären Beschäftigung befasst.

MAZEDONIEN

MEXICO: On October 15, more than 100,000 people marched in Mexico City to protest the sacking of 45,000 workers by the national government when it shut down the city's electrical utility. Earlier, on October 10, thousands of Federal Police seized the plants of the state-owned Central Light and Power Company (Luz y Fuerza del Centro), which provides electricity to Mexico City and several neighbouring states. Minutes later the government of President Felipe Calderón announced that the company would be liquidated and all its approximately 45,000 workers fired, which would mean the destruction of the Mexican Electrical Workers' Union (SME) and elimination of its members' collective agreement and pension benefits for 20,000 retirees. The SME is one of Mexico's oldest independent trade union organizations with one of the best collective agreements in the country. It has been playing a leading role in the fight against privatization, proposed regressive reforms to the Federal Labour Law, and other neoliberal policies. Secretary of Labor Javier Lozano declared in September that SME's internal elections were invalid and that General Secretary Martín Esparza and other officers would not be recognized by the government. Without legally recognized officials, the union cannot engage in contract negotiations or other activities.&quot;This act of aggression on an independent union that campaigns for progressive change for Mexican people comes as no surprise to the IMF. The attack on the SME is not dissimilar to the attacks we have seen on IMF affiliate the Mexican Miners' Union since 2006,&quot; said IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina.&quot;This most recent attack against SME and independent unions in Mexico is truly shocking and will not be tolerated by the international community. The government's actions, including the use of the police and the military, breaches all international norms and represents a serious set-back to democratic life in Mexico,&quot; added Raina.Together with the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), the IMF sent a letter to President Calderón on October 14 protesting the breach of international labour standards and calling on the President to &quot;directly and promptly to reverse this decision, restoring the full independence and autonomy of the SME trade union&quot;.

More than 100,000 people protest in Mexico City against power firm closure and attempted destruction of SME, an independent trade union in Mexico.

Letter to President Calderon - SME - October 2009

Mexican government attempts to bust Electrical Workers&#039; Union

AFRICA: The Afrec coordinating committee met on October 9 in Johannesburg, South Africa to discuss with the IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina IMF priorities for 2010 and beyond and to plan for 2010 regional activities. This important coordinating meeting was attended by members of the Executive in Africa's three sub-regions and their substitutes. Also participating in the meeting were the general secretaries of IMF affiliates in the four countries in the southern Africa sub-region. The meeting heard from affiliates presenting their country's challenges and enabled participants to exchange ideas. Three countries were immediately identified as priorities for the next few months. They are:Kenya: The meeting agreed that there is an urgent need to engage the two IMF affiliates in Kenya to develop an organizing strategy, it became clear in the reports from both IMF regional representative Stephen Nhlapo and the Kenyan delegate that there are more than 100,000 metalworkers in Kenya who are not organized and the situation needs to change. The meeting also tasked the other executive committee members and IMF to work with the two Kenyan unions towards the formation of one union in that country.Zimbabwe: The meeting agreed to dispatch a delegation of Numsa leadership to meet with the two unions and the national centre to discuss ways of speeding up the merger discussions and to encourage parties to cooperate with the process.Swaziland: The meeting agreed that IMF regional representative, working with the IMF Executive Committee, should meet with the Swaziland national centre leadership to try and resolve the relationship between our affiliate and the centre. The meeting agreed that it is unacceptable that our affiliate is not part of the national centre in that country.After the presentation by the IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina on IMF priorities based on the IMF action program and regional priorities based on the consultation document the meeting agreed on the following issues:<ul><li>There is a need to add the issue of industrialization of the continent as part of the regional priorities, including the development of an industrial development strategy that can be used by affiliates when they engage the government about development, </li><li>The regional office should develop a strategy to organize and recruit affiliates in west Africa and strengthen the sub-region, this is one of the key priorities in 2010,</li><li>All affiliates need to play a role in IMF activities including making input on the consultation documents,</li><li>That affiliates in the region should meet to re-discuss the regional strategy but before the meeting the region should provide affiliates with a detailed analysis of each affiliate and that country's economy and politics.</li></ul>

IMF coordinating committee for the Africa region agrees to prioritize work in Kenya, Zimbabwe and Swaziland, review IMF's regional strategy and develop an industrial development strategy for Africa.

Identifying IMF&#039;s priorities in Africa

CANADA:  The delegates of IMF affiliated International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) from the U.S. and Canada met recently in Vancouver to discuss how communications will develop in the future. The delegates, including local and district communicators, educators and web stewards, spoke about the ways their union could manage to get on the forefront of 21st century communications.The speakers at the forum were IAM general vice president Rich Michalski as Chairperson of the Conference, IAM's Canadian general vice president Dave Ritchie, IAM general secretary-treasurer Warren Mart, and former Senator Hillary Clinton's Chief of Staff Tamera Luzzatto. One of the most important events at the forum was the launch of a newly designed IAM website <a href="http://www.goiam.org/">http://www.goiam.org/</a>. The developers made the site more user-friendly and added new features including the possibility for visitors to leave their comments, rank and share stories. Interactive video is another innovation on the site. The IAMAW turned its electronic newsletter iMail into a blog. In addition, the site is updated with a new search system allowing the search by keywords known as 'tags'.Staying on the forefront of new communication technologies the IAM launched its official <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/International-Association-of-Machinists-Aerospace-Workers-IAMAW/75198195635?ref=nf">Facebook</a> and Twitter pages <a href="http://www.twitter.com/machinistsunion">www.twitter.com/machinistsunion</a>. The IAM event proceeds the IMF-EMF Communicators' Forum, which is scheduled for November 17-18 and will be hosted by German IMF affiliate IG Metall in Frankfurt. For more details see our previous <a href="../index.cfm?c=20519">story</a>.

IAMAW delegates from the U.S. and Canada met in Vancouver to discuss union communication strategy.

International Machinists discuss communications for the 21st century

FIM-CISLFIM-CISL deltar som följer i IMFs andra globala mobilisering mot otryggt arbete, den 3-10 oktober 2009 i samband med IFS' internationella dag för anständigt arbete, som också de andra globala fackliga organisationerna och Europeiska Metallfederationen deltar i:  &#160;1. Den 5-9 oktober anordnar FIM-CISLs, FIOM-CGILs och UILM-UILs gemensamma lokala representanter i Brembokoncernen i Bergamo (RSU Brembo) möten i alla anläggningar för att tala om kollektivavtalsförhandlingarna i Brembo, om den kamp som förs av Brembo- och Boschanställda i Pune, Indien, och om solidaritetsaktioner. 2. FIM-CISLDen 10 oktober deltar FIMs medlemsförbund i den nationella marschen i Rom som anordnas av huvudorganisationen CISL, som uppmanar regeringen och företagen att sörja för lika rättigheter för immigranter och arbetstagare med otrygga anställningar: &quot;Det sker ingen integration utan rättigheter, plikter, anständigt arbete och trygghet&quot;.

ITALIEN

In Serbia, l'affiliata alla FISM, il sindacato metalmeccanico Nezavisnost, porterà avanti diverse attività:•·        Insieme ai colleghi della Repubblica della Macedonia organizzeremo un seminario congiunto su &quot;Il lavoro precario&quot;, che si svolgerà a Ohrid, Macedonia.•·        Dal 3 al 10 ottobre si svolgeranno riunioni tematiche nei nostri uffici regionali in tutta la Serbia, imperniate sulla tematica &quot;Il lavoro precario e lo stress che ne consegue&quot;.•·        Distribuzione di materiale promozionale relativo ai dipendenti di aziende che impiegano personale con un contratto a durata indeterminata o sulle cooperative giovanili.

SERBIA

&#160;In Ucraina, le organizzazioni affiliate alla FISM prevedono di distribuire volantini ed informare i lavoratori sulla minaccia rappresentata dal lavoro precario.

UCRAINA

&#160;Am 7. Oktober wird es in den Unternehmen Zusammenkünfte und an öffentlichen Plätzen Mahnwachen geben. Dank der Initiative der IMB-Mitgliedsorganisationen wird die FNPR (Russlands größte nationale Zentrale) zusätzlich zu den Slogans der Globalen Kampagne für menschenwürdige Arbeit auch Slogans gegen prekäre Beschäftigung einsetzen. Die Massenmedien sind dazu eingeladen, über die Kundgebung der russischen Gewerkschaften zu berichten.Das IMB-Regionalbüro hat zusammen mit der IUF, der VKT, der School of Workers' Democracy und dem Center of Social and Labour Rights einen Ausschuss eingerichtet, um  Ende November eine GUS-Konferenz über prekäre Arbeit und Erfahrungen bei deren Bekämpfung durchzuführen.

RUSSLAND

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