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Belgian ICEM affiliate La Centrale G&eacute;n&eacute;rale / de Algemene Centrale, together with its national centre FGTB/ABVV organised a series of actions on 13 September in Belgium at the occasion of its second &ldquo;Day on the Rights of Temporary Agency Workers.&rdquo; 
 
About 300.000 copies of the &lsquo;Interim Times,&rsquo; a special free &ldquo;newspaper&rdquo; dedicated to the issue of agency labour, were distributed at train stations throughout the country. The Francophone version of newspaper is available online on the union&rsquo;s site <a href="http://www.accg.be/sec/be-fr/ser/inte/news/20060913%20Interim%20Times%20FR.pdf ">here</a>. For the Flemish (Dutch language) version, click <a href="http://www.accg.be/sec/be-du/ser/inte/news/20060913%20Interim%20Times%20NL.pdf ">here</a>. 
<img height="90" alt="" src="" width="80" align="middle" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="44" alt="" src="" width="130" align="middle" />
Among other things, the paper contains a series of personal stories, revealing a large number of problems related to agency labour. These include obvious insecure job situations and the often all too vague promises for permanent work &ldquo;later on.&rdquo; Possibly less obvious, but equally omnipresent, are several other problems, such as the difficulty to fight for one&rsquo;s rights, which opens the door for abuse, or simply not being able to get a loan from a bank. 
 
The &ldquo;Interim Times&rdquo; paper was also available on many shop floors, where meetings were held by health and safety committees or company councils to discuss the issue of agency labour. The FGTB wanted all relevant bodies to talk to their managements about the problems connected to agency labour. 
<img height="65" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The FGTB warns that temporary agency work tends to replace more and more permanent jobs. The union also observes many legal violations in the sector. Under Belgian law, temporary agency labour can only be used in three circumstances: when a worker with a permanent contract needs to be replaced temporarily; in case of a temporary increase of the work volume at a company; or when extraordinary work needs to be performed. 
 
However, there is an ongoing discussion on the subject of a &ldquo;fourth category,&rdquo; which would allow employers to also use temporary agency workers as an &ldquo;in-flow&rdquo; method. The FGTB&rsquo;s position is clear in this: there is to be no agreement as long as there are no guarantees towards permanent employment and towards solid trade union verification. The FGTB also rejects the idea of temporary agency work in the public sector. 
 
On the occasion of the day of action, the FGTB encouraged all its members to consider a few key questions: does the company inform the workers&rsquo; representatives and/or company councils adequately on its use of agency labour? Does management stick to the rules in those cases where it needs to have an agreement from the workers representatives on agency labour? Is agency labour only used for temporary work, as required by law?

Agency Labour Day in Belgium

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The ICEM has a new Norwegian affiliate, the result of a merger between oil and gas union NOPEF and chemicals union Norsk Kjemisk. On 4 September in Oslo, the two unions officially merged during a day-long joint Congress to form Industri Energi. 
 
The merged union, with a combined membership of&nbsp;45,000 members, will have its headquarters in Oslo. 
<img height="75" alt="" src="" width="100" />
NOPEF President Leif Sande was elected Industri Energi&rsquo;s first president, while Liv Undheim, former Deputy President of Norsk Kjemisk, won election as Vice President. After a long and successful career as Norsk Kjemisk President, Olav Stoylen took a well deserved retirement, effective with the 4 September Congress. 
 
The union marriage marks the second such merger this year among Norway&rsquo;s trade unions. Last January, ICEM affiliate Fellesforbundet took in the Norwegian Graphical Workers&rsquo; Union, creating one big union for the pulp, paper, graphical and cardboard industry.

Industri Energi the Result of NOPEF, Norsk Kjemisk Merger in Norway

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Despite a compromised wage proposal by the union, ICEM affiliate Oilfield Workers&rsquo; Trade Union (OWTU) and Trinidad and Tobago&rsquo;s state oil company, Petrotrin, are no closer to an agreement on a new three-year contract, dating from 2005 to 2008. 
 
The two sides, however, with assistance from the Labour Ministry, continued intense negotiations through last week. 
 
Some 1,500 OWTU members at the company&rsquo;s lone refinery carried out another wave of industrial actions in the nine-month dispute, staging short work stoppages on 7 and 8 September. The action effectively shut production at the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery, and was the fourth such industrial action taken by OWTU members at the refinery since last March. 
<img height="93" src="" width="100" alt="" />
On 5 September, refinery workers marched on Petrotrin&rsquo;s main offices in Pointe-a-Pierre. They were joined by many of the 3,500 other members employed at Petrotrin, who also await updated labour agreements. 
 
In bargaining in early September, OWTU lowered its wage demands from 32% over three years, but Petrotrin has not moved upward from its 10% proposal. OWTU is attempting to negotiate fair and equitable settlements in five labour agreements, covering 5,000 workers. 
 
The credit ratings agency Moody&rsquo;s, meanwhile, has placed Petrotrin&rsquo;s foreign currency issue rating under review for possible downgrade due to the labour dispute. The review will &ldquo;assess the company&rsquo;s operations and debt servicing capabilities in light of its current labour unrest and the highly uncertain dynamics of labour negotiations,&rdquo; said Moody&rsquo;s in a statement. Roughly a quarter of refined output from the former Texaco refinery at Pointe-a-Pierre is for domestic use, with the remainder exported to eastern Caribbean islands, South America, and the east coast of the US.

Dispute in Trinidad and Tobago’s Oil Industry Continues

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Over 200 trade union leaders and activists throughout Zimbabwe were arrested last week, on 12 and 13 September 2006. A large number of them were treated in an extremely violent way by the police forces while in detention. 
 
Victims include the three top leaders of the national centre Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). ZCTU President Lovemore Matombo and Secretary General Wellington Chibebe were so brutally assaulted that they could not stand up afterwards. First Vice President Lucia Matibenga could no longer walk. She was, as were others, severely beaten on the soles of her feet. 
<img height="146" src="" width="125" alt="" /> 
 
ZCTU General Secretary Wellington Chibebe
After being ill-treated at the Matapi Police station in Mbare on 13 September, the three top leaders were refused immediate medical attention. They were released later on bail. Speaking from his hospital bed, Brother Chibebe told the press afterwards he had been unconscious for over half a day. Police from Matapi later simply denied that the arrested were assaulted. 
 
Reportedly, their physical shape was such that senior police authorities refused to take them in custody at Harare&rsquo;s Central Police Station. Comrade Chibebe has a broken arm. Both he and Comrade Matombo suffered cranial/facial bruising and other head injuries. Many other arrested trade unionists equally suffered from the police violence, having their heads bashed against prison walls and being stamped and kicked in the head. 
<img height="111" alt="" src="" width="107" />
Police reports from last week suggest that the trade unionists could be charged under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), a commonly used law to deter trade union activists in Zimbabwe. 
Ruling party Zanu PF militia had started the repression last week by intimidating and blocking union marchers in many cities, including in Harare. The ZCTU&rsquo;s demonstration was against the country&rsquo;s inflation rate of 1,000 %, in demand of higher incomes, lower taxes and better access to antiretroviral drugs needed to fight HIV/AIDS. 
 
Some 256 ZCTU activists were arrested in total, in at least 16 cities. ZCTU offices were blockaded and sealed by the army and police forces. Meanwhile, the union leaders vow to continue their protest.

Bloody Repression against Trade Union Leaders in Zimbabwe

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Nigeria&rsquo;s two oil workers&rsquo; unions, PENGASSAN and NUPENG, suspended a three-day warning strike after day two on 14 September. The unions received assurances from the government and its oil ministry that security concerns along the Niger Delta and other grievances would be addressed. 
 
The assurances included establishing a commission to investigate the kidnapping and death last month of PENGASSAN member Nelson Ujeya, who was killed in a hail of gunfire by a military task force as he was about to be released. 
 
Meeting in a joint National Executive Committee (NEC) session on 14 September in Abuja, leaders of the two unions requested that 20,000 Nigerian oil and gas workers return to their jobs the following day after government officials promised earnest dialogue to find lasting solutions to security matters and other concerns. The first such discussion forum will be held 21 September. 
<img height="124" alt="" src="" width="120" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="113" alt="" src="" width="107" />
The strike on 13 and 14 September caused domestic disruptions as fuel depots shut, petrol stations closed, and fuel tanker lorries stayed off roads. Oil marketing companies in Lagos, Abuja, Warri, and Port Harcourt all stopped business. The strike also hampered oil and gas exploration and production facilities, although some offshore oil production and crude exports were allowed to continue. 
 
Besides the concerns over security, in which the government has failed to provide a safe and peaceful work environment, PENGASSAN and NUPENG seeks an honest and transparent process on the privatisation of state-owned assets. They cite the recent sale of the Eleme Petro Chemical Ltd. (EPCL) refinery in Port Harcourt and how the facility was under-valued and sold to a start-up company with little experience in the petrochemical business. (In meetings with Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Edmund Daukoru, on 13 September, the NEC did receive a commitment for work guarantees for all current staff of EPCL.) 
<img height="50" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Other demands of the two ICEM-affiliated unions include social commitments that jobs and skills development will occur in the country&rsquo;s oil patch for young Nigerians. They also demand strict adherence to past agreements made by energy companies and the government on expatriate quotas in the oil, gas, and related industries. The unions also object to merging the Petroleum Training Institute into the University of Benin. 
 
PENGASSAN and NUPENG demands must now be met or further and longer strikes will occur in the immediate future. The short warning strike last week achieved the unions&rsquo; objective to gain the government&rsquo;s attention to the serious security concerns that oil and gas workers in Nigeria face.

Nigerian Warning Strike Succeeds in Grabbing Government’s Attention

Comrade Peter Esele 
President 
PENGASSAN 
PENGASSAN House 
288, Ihorodu Road, Anthony 
PO Box 10433 
Marina-Lagos 
NIGERIA 
 
Dear Comrade Peter, 
 
The ICEM has learned of the tragic and senseless death of one of PENGASSAN&rsquo;s members, Nelson Ujeya, earlier this week in the vicinity of Brass Creek or Biobou Creek, Bayelsa State. We understand that Brother Ujeya had been kidnapped on 8 August 2006 in Letugbene while performing his employment duties for Shell Petroleum Development Corporation. 
 
We also have unconfirmed reports that he died in a violent gun fight between Nigeria&rsquo;s Joint Military Task Force and militant youth groups on 20 August 2006 as he was about to be released after negotiations. 
 
The 20-million-member ICEM, the Global Union Federation for oil and gas workers, finds it reprehensible that such indiscriminate use of force by Nigerian government militia be used in such a situation. The ICEM stands firmly behind PENGASSAN in holding both the government of Bayelsa State initially responsible for the abduction of Brother Ujeya while in the presence of state officials, and the federal government for its new policy of &ldquo;force by force&rdquo; in dealing with kidnappings that occur in the Niger Delta. 
 
The ICEM calls on all energy companies operating in Nigeria to apply the same effort and resources in securing the release of kidnapped Nigerian workers as they do for their foreign national employees. 
 
Next week, on 30 August 2006, PENGASSAN and NUPENG will conduct a joint National Executive Council (NEC) in Benin City to discuss this and other security matters in the Niger Delta. The ICEM recognises that the combined voice of NUPENGASSAN in Nigeria has been one of reason and soundness in stemming the social instability occurring along the Niger Delta. We know that this combined voice has stood for education, skills training and other social development initiatives that will increase employment opportunities in the oil and gas sectors for Nigerians. We commend and fully endorse that stand. 
 
We would look forward to having a report from the NEC&rsquo;s deliberations as soon after 30 August as possible in order to publicise your sensible positions on the global level. 
 
In conclusion, please convey sincere condolences from the ICEM and its family of global trade unions to the family of Wilson Ujeya. We are very distraught on the circumstances of his horrific death. Also, please express our deep concern to all trade union members of PENGASSAN and NUPENG, who are forced to work in such a difficult and terrifying environment. 
 
Fraternally, 
 
 
Fred Higgs 
General Secretary

ICEM letter to Pengassan

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A strike by glass workers in New Zealand enters its second week today. About a dozen night-shift workers at Pilkington Glass in the Auckland suburb of Mt. Wellington began the strike late on 30 August. They were joined by the plant&rsquo;s 50 other workers the next morning. 
 
The glass workers are represented by ICEM affiliate Engineering, Printing &amp; Manufacturing Union (EPMU). Workers are seeking the standard 5% contained in nearly all EPMU-negotiated collective agreements, but Pilkington, now a subsidiary of Nippon Sheet Glass, is offering only 4%. Union members are also seeking an increase in the daily shift allowance from NZ$3.25 to NZ$10.00. 
<img height="152" src="" width="100" alt="" /> 
EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little
&ldquo;(Workers) claims are quite modest &ndash; nothing more than the going rate,&rdquo; stated EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little. &ldquo;The company says it can&rsquo;t afford it, but the New Zealand operation made a NZ$14 million net profit in the year up to March 2005, with a global profit of more than NZ$600 million.&rdquo; 
 
The 60 glass workers started industrial action during the week of 7 August when they conducted two stop-work actions. The next week saw EPMU members begin a ban on all overtime work.

Pilkington Glass Workers in New Zealand Strike for 5% Pay Gains

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) announced it will conduct a week-long general strike in South Korea, beginning 6 April, over the non-regular workers&rsquo; legislation that again is before the National Assembly. The legislative body opened an extraordinary session today and the controversial bill, designed to allow employers more flexibility in hiring contract workers, will be the focal point of its agenda. 
KCTU organised a mass rally today in front of the National Assembly to draw attention to the start of Thursday&rsquo;s strike. The legislation, a cluster of three bills adversely affecting the rights and working condition of temporary workers, would grant employers the right to employ hundreds of thousands more contract workers for up to two years before laying them off.

Korean Labour Group to Strike over Non-Regular Workers’ Legislation

<img height="40" src="" width="100" alt="" />
The ICEM&rsquo;s 2006 World Conference for the Rubber Sector will be held later this week, 6-7 April, in Istanbul, Turkey. Co-hosted by Turkish trade union Lastik-Iş, the conference will draw some 106 trade union leaders from 15 countries. 
The quadrennial conference will discuss current developments and challenges facing workers in the global rubber sector, as well as crucial collective bargaining negotiations that will occur in some countries in 2006. Rubber sector trade union leaders from Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, the UK and USA will be in attendance at this week&rsquo;s conference. The ICEM&rsquo;s last Rubber Sector Conference was held in 2002 in S&atilde;o Paulo, Brazil, while the 1998 conference was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

ICEM’s Rubber Sector Conference in Turkey This Week

<img height="145" alt="" src="" width="390" />
Contents
1. Afghanistan - Violence against Women Goes&nbsp;Unpunished 
2. Australia - Women Shrink the Pay Gap 
3. Belgium - Equal Pay Day 
4. Brazil - Women Demonstrate Against Aracruz Celulose&nbsp; 
5.&nbsp;**Carol Fraser on Canada** 
6. Iran - Women Take to the Streets on 8 March 
7. Iraq - Women are Victims of Anarchy 
8. Japan &ndash; RENGO Marches on 8 March 
9. Netherlands &ndash; Booklet on Pregnancy and Maternity 
10. Pakistan &ndash; Working Women Organisation Demonstrates on 8 March 
11. United Kingdom - Women Are More Likely to Join Unions 
12.&nbsp;USA -&nbsp;The Retirement Gap 
13. Inter-Parliamentary Union - More Women Elected to Office 
14. Resources 
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" />
1. Afghanistan - Violence against Women Goes Unpunished 
 
Women in Afghanistan continued to suffer from official neglect and social restrictions in 2005, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) reported. The commission said it has documented 154 cases of self-immolation (setting oneself on fire) by women in the western zone over the course of the year, while as many as 144 forced marriages and 25 money-for-opium marriages were reported in the South. 
 
The Afghanistan government&rsquo;s attempts to curb the cultivation of opium have had unexpected fallout on women. Desperate farmers, with their poppy fields razed by the government, were forced to turn to a traditional practice, in which a family pays off&nbsp;debts by handing over a daughter to a relative of the creditor. Usually, there is a marriage ceremony for the sake of propriety, but the woman is treated as property. 
 
Also, investigations by the authorities into complaints of violent attacks on women are neither routine nor systematic, and few result in prosecutions, stated Amnesty International in its 2005 report. 
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" />
2. Australia - Women Shrink the Pay Gap 
 
In a comparison of gender-pay ratios among developed nations, Australia ranks second. Women make 91 cents to the man&rsquo;s dollar in Australia. The reason lies partly with the high number of Australians whose wages are determined by collective bargaining, or are set by the government. However, major changes to labour laws go into effect soon, which could endanger some of the strides made by working women over recent decades, say rights activists and labour leaders. 
 
Under the current system, government panels set industry-specific wages and benefits for many workers. This baseline pay is generally high in comparison to minimum wages in other developed nations. Some workers then strike still better deals through union negotiations with their employers. 
 
Labour experts contend that the pay gap between men and women has narrowed under this system for a couple of reasons. One is that it has kept many women from having to negotiate their own salaries (research shows women tend not to bargain as hard as men). Another reason is that feminists have been able to mount legal challenges against the traditional undervaluing of predominantly female professions like nursing and teaching. 
 
It needs to be pointed out, though, that the 91-cent figure only applies to non-managerial, full-time workers, excluding overtime pay. Once all earnings and part-time labour is included, the ratio falls to 66 cents to the dollar. 
 
The problem is that the state board will be scrapped under the new system, and that its federal counterpart will have many of its powers placed into a new entity, called the Fair Pay Commission (FPC). The FPC is expected to be more focused on Australia&rsquo;s international competitiveness and on expanding employment &ndash; suggesting it will hold a tougher line on wage increases. The legislation also encourages more individual bargaining for wages. 
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" />
3. Belgium - Equal Pay Day 
 
31 March was Equal Pay Day in Belgium, organised jointly by the Belgian trade union federation FGTB and the country&rsquo;s Socialist Party. 
 
The date of 31 March is significant: women, on average, have to work one year and three months (until 31 March) to earn the same wages as a man in one year. 
 
More information is available on <a href="http://www.equalpayday.be/">www.equalpayday.be</a>.&nbsp;
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" />
4. Brazil - Women Demonstrate Against Aracruz Celulose 
 
Via Campesina, which represents peasant organisations in 56 countries, staged a demonstration on 8 March in Brazil. About 2000 women invaded the Barba Negra eucalyptus-growing estate, owned by Aracruz Celulose, in Barra do Ribeiro, in the Rio Grande do Sul state. Aracruz Celulose was targeted because it is one of the largest paper and cellulose firms in Latin America with huge eucalyptus and pine plantations. 
 
The campaign points were as follows: 
<ul>
 <li>
 <div align="left">Protest against the invasion of the native forest with single-crop plantations; </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="left">Draw attention to the fact that pollution by cellulose firms is not confined to the headline-grabbing case of Uruguay&rsquo;s projects on its border with Argentina; </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="left">And highlight the fact that large enterprises, such as these, boosted by public financing, generate only one job per 185 hectares planted, whereas smaller properties generate one per hectare. </div>
 </li>
</ul>
The demonstration was also a solidarity action with the indigenous people in the state of Espiritu Santo, another state where Aracruz Celulosa invaded lands. This January, indigenous families were expelled by the Federal Police there, with police using the company&rsquo;s own vehicles to displace them. 
&nbsp;<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" />
5. Carol Fraser, CEP Canada, writes: 
 
Canada: The Battle over National Child Care 
Thank goodness for Canada's women. They won 16 medals in Turin&hellip; 
Now we're counting on women to save our national bacon in the political arena, too. 
In particular, Canadian women -- individually and collectively -- will be the key players in the first major legislative contest facing Stephen Harper's minority government: the battle over national child care. 
<a href="http://www.buildchildcare.ca/">http://www.buildchildcare.ca</a> 
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" />
6. Iran - Women Take to the Streets on 8 March 
 
The total number of arrests, which followed a gathering of hundreds of women&rsquo;s rights defenders in Tehran, remains uncertain, as is the fate of those arrested by the security forces, which reportedly used harsh tactics to disperse the peaceful demonstration. According to Human Rights Watch, police dumped cans of garbage on the heads of women that were sitting down, before charging into the group and beating them with batons to compel them to leave. 
 
Mehri Amiri of the Society for Defence of Women&rsquo;s Rights in Iran reported that three women from her organisation had been released, but that four others remained in the Evin Prison in Tehran. She said that many others are still being held, but that her group cannot get in contact with any of them since the phone lines are being controlled by the government. 
 
On the eve of International Women&rsquo;s Day, the Women Rights Association of Iran had prepared a resolution calling for an end to gender discrimination, demanding social and legal rights for all Iranian women. Many of the women who handed out the resolution were arrested. 
 
Since 1981, over 120,000 political opponents have been executed in Iran. A report compiled by Iranian human rights activists in commemoration of International Women&rsquo;s Day says that four women were executed this year, all under the age of 30. Another 1,372 women have been arrested since the start of 2006, the group says. And, according to Human Rights Watch, security forces have repeatedly resorted to violence to suppress peaceful gatherings. 
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" />
7. Iraq - Women are Victims of Anarchy 
 
The situation in Iraq is going from bad to worse, say NGOs and women&rsquo;s organisations such as MADRE, an international women&rsquo;s rights group, and Women&rsquo;s Will. Most women feel that they will only be better off once the occupation is over. 
 
As the crisis in Iraq intensifies, the group says women and their families need security urgently, as well as a functional government and the provision of basic services within a human rights framework. Rape, abduction and abuse in prisons by prison guards and the killing of women is widespread, say the women. MADRE is calling for the deployment of a UN-led peacekeeping force and an immediate end to the occupation. 
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" />
8. Japan &ndash; RENGO Marches on 8 March 
<img height="200" alt="" src="" width="300" /> 
On 8 March, Japanese trade union women distributed leaflets on the streets in major Japanese cities and called for &ldquo;Solidarity for Women.&rdquo; In Tokyo, the action was the start of the Women&rsquo;s Conference, attended by 800 union women. The conference was organised to demand the inclusion of provisions to eliminate indirect discrimination into the law of equal employment for men and women. The participants pledged their commitments to pursue the campaign at their workplaces. 
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" />
9. Netherlands &ndash; Booklet on Pregnancy and Maternity 
 
Jeannette Van Dongen of FNV Bondgenoten has sent us a booklet on pregnancy and maternity called &ldquo;Work and Pregnancy: From Month to Month&rdquo;. The brochure explains what pregnancy and maternity means for working women and working new mothers, providing practical advice. To receive a copy of the booklet, please ask <a href="mailto:carol.bruce@icem.org">carol.bruce@icem.org</a>.&nbsp;Thanks to Jeannette and Bondgenoten, Netherlands. 
 
The brochure is also available on the ICEM web-site here: 
<a href="/index.php?id=71&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=1719">http://www.icem.org/index.php?id=71&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=1719</a>&nbsp;
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" />
10. Pakistan &ndash; Working Women Organisation Demonstrates on 8 March 
 
Pakistan&rsquo;s Working Women Organization demonstrated in Lahore, on the occasion of 8 March, with the demand to narrow the gender gap, improve women&rsquo;s status and improve the economy. Women can play an effective role in income generation activities as well as in the sustainable development of countries and societies. However, this will only happen when women are perceived as subjects, not objects of development. 
 
Large numbers of children and trade union activists also participated with great enthusiasm. Women and children were chanting slogans, such as &ldquo;we want peace,&rdquo; &ldquo;stop violence against women and harassment at workplace,&rdquo; &ldquo;no gender discrimination,&rdquo; &ldquo;women want equal rights,&rdquo; and &ldquo;long live international women solidarity.&rdquo; 
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" />
11. United Kingdom - Women Are More Likely to Join Unions 
 
Government figures show that women workers in the UK in 2005 were more likely to belong to a trade union than men. The data show that 29.9 precent&nbsp;of women workers were union members last year, versus 28.2 percent for men. 
 
Members&rsquo; average pay was 11.98 pounds an hour &ndash; 17.6 percent higher than for their non-union colleagues, who averaged 10.19 pounds. 
 
Low paid women are the main winners from the 30 pence minimum wage increase announced by the government. Low paid women benefit from minimum wages more than any other group in the economy, with part-time workers benefiting most of all. 
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" />
12. United States of America: The Retirement Gap 
A lifetime of hard work should bring economic security -- income sufficient to raise a family, and resources to enjoy a retirement earned over many working years. It is troubling that as far off as this goal seems to millions of American men, it is even further off for America's working women, especially in the area of retirement security. 
For more: <a href="http://www.steelworkers-usw.org/usw/program/content/2592.php">http://www.steelworkers-usw.org/usw/program/content/2592.php</a>
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" />
13. Inter-Parliamentary Union - More Women Elected to Office 
 
As reported by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the ratio of women elected to public office increased in 28 of the 39 countries that held parliamentary elections in 2005. By the end of 2005, 16.3 percent of upper and lower house members were women, sustaining the progress made since 1995, when the proportion of women in parliaments was only 11.3 percent. Several African nations now have a third of their parliaments comprised of women &ndash; Rwanda, Mozambique, South Africa, Burundi and Tanzania. 
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" />
14. Resources 

<ul>
 <li>
 <div align="left">For the conclusions of the recent 50th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, see: <a href="http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/50sess.htm">http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/ 
 50sess.htm</a>. 
 </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="left">WICEJ has produced a guide to UN summits and how to use their outcomes. See <a href="http://www.wicej.addr.com/tools.html">http://www.wicej.addr.com/tools.html</a>. 
 </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="left">The Women&rsquo;s Global Network for Reproductive Rights focuses on HIV/AIDS among other things: <a href="http://www.wgnrr.org/">http://www.wgnrr.org</a>. 
 </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="left">The Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defence of Women&rsquo;s Rights - <a href="http://www.cladem.org/">http://www.cladem.org</a>. 
 </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="left">EU Commission Report on Equality between Women and Men &ndash; 2006: 
 <a href="http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/publications/2006/keaj06001_en.pdf">http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/ 
 publications/2006/keaj06001_en.pdf</a>. 
 </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="left">The International Women&rsquo;s Health Coalition works to promote and protect the health and rights of women and girls worldwide: <a href="http://www.iwhc.org/">http://www.iwhc.org</a>. 
 </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="left">The elimination of gender stereotypes at work has been the object of a European project involving UGT Spain, FGTB, Belgium and the UIL, Italy. A booklet on this is available from UGT Spain. 
 </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="left">The Chilean Health and Gender Equity Observatory is an instrument to provide follow-up and evaluation in the framework of cooperation with the Pan American Health Organisation. See <a href="http://www.observatoriogenerosalud.cl/">http://www.observatoriogenerosalud.cl</a>. 
 </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="left">The Clean Clothes Campaign has published a book on improving working conditions in the global garment industry as well as on the movement for women workers&rsquo; rights. To order it, see <a href="http://www.cleanclothes.org/pub.htm">http://www.cleanclothes.org/pub.htm</a>. 
 </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="left">FORWARD is an international NGO dedicated to improving the health and well-being of African women and girls See: 
 <a href="http://www.forwarduk.org.uk/welcome.htm">http://www.forwarduk.org.uk/welcome.htm</a>. 
 </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="left">Two new websites provide gender-sensitive news reporting: <a href="http://www.cimacnoticias.com/index.html">http://www.cimacnoticias.com/index.html</a> and <a href="http://www.artemisanoticias.com.ar/site/default.asp">http://www.artemisanoticias.com.ar/site/ 
 default.asp</a>. 
 </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="left">For a report on the ILO/PSI/Global Unions Discussion Forum on Pay Equity held at the ILO on 16 February 2006, please contact <a href="mailto:carol.bruce@icem.org">carol.bruce@icem.org</a>. 
 </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="left">The International Labour Organisation has published a new International Labour Review which highlights women&rsquo;s labour force participation. It is the 2005/4 edition and is available from the ILO.</div>
 </li>
</ul>

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN N° 10

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