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International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM)
&nbsp;International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF)
International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF) 
Stronger Together - Fighting for a Sustainable Future 

We, the global industrial trade union federations representing workers in the metal, chemical, energy, mining, paper, rubber, textiles, materials, and related sectors, believe we have a golden opportunity to demand that the global economy be transformed from an unsustainable &ldquo;casino&rdquo; model into something that supports a sustainable environment and a sustainable society. 
 
The financial crisis that very nearly destroyed the world&rsquo;s economy is only the most obvious recent result of the same short-sighted thinking that has jeopardized the global environment, threatened human health, and destabilized society. In particular, the runaway gambling by banks, hedge funds and other finance institutions has had catastrophic implications for millions of working people. 
 
Working women and men, their families, and the communities that depend on them have paid heavily for the crash of the casino economy through massive job losses, decreased wages, and reduced benefits. The global trade union movement strongly opposes any attempt to make working people assume the major burden of the financial crisis through regressive tax reforms. We believe it is time for the people who caused this mess to pay to clean it up. 
 
The failure of world leaders in December 2009 in Copenhagen to reach an ambitious, fair and binding agreement on greenhouse gases is another example of short-term greed trumping long-term need. The price of inaction will be paid by future generations. From broad concerns like global warming to more specific examples like the Deepwater Horizon disaster, nothing about a de-regulated market ensures the protection the environment. 
 
The inability of the deregulated financial market to value the long-term health of the economy, the environment, or society must now be clear to any thinking person. The ICEM, IMF and ITGLWF are showing the way to a sustainable future by calling for re-regulation of the global financial market, including among other instruments the introduction of a financial transaction tax that would raise billions to tackle poverty and climate change. We believe this will generate substantial revenues to pay for the costs of the crisis, climate change measures, and official development assistance while reducing the pressures that could cause a renewed financial crisis. Coupled with fair and binding environmental regulations, and strong social programs, we can shape a prosperous and sustainable future. 
 
Industrial workers have a central role to play in building a future that lifts people out of poverty while protecting the environment. Through industrial and political action, our three global federations demand that the world&rsquo;s leaders take decisive actions to solve the economic, social and environmental crises. 
 
The economic crisis has not just been about how things are made, bought and sold, but also about people. Evidence shows that many companies that have begun hiring again are doing so with fixed-term or temporary workers. Such precarious work is bad for all workers. It creates cut-price labor that drives down wages. It increases the gap between rich and poor and amplifies the unfair practices that already disadvantage women, young and migrant workers. 
 
We believe the upcoming G8 and G20 summit meetings in Canada provide an opportunity for world leaders to address the legitimate concerns of industrial workers for social justice and long-term employment policies. The solution lies in global governance. Financial markets must be re-regulated, and the environment must be better protected. Jobs, workers&rsquo; rights, social protection, quality public services, and sustainability are at the heart of our proposal for a new system for global governance. 
 
We therefore call on world leaders to: 
&bull; Ensure that global financial markets are regulated, including as an initial step better disclosure of transactions, strengthened monitoring schemes and regulation of leveraging; 
&bull; Ban the creation or use of financial instruments with no verifiable real-world value, such as certain derivatives and swaps; 
&bull; Introduce an international financial transaction tax system to be levied on transactions between financial institutions. A tiny tax on financial transactions would make a massive difference in the way we face up to the challenges of today. Even at just 0.05 percent experts have estimated that an international transaction tax system could eventually raise as much as $400 billion every year - money that could be used to save our planet and build a future fairer for all. 
&bull; Make sustainable development a criteria of trade and investment deals; with balanced and fair access to markets, and transparent monitoring mechanisms of all trade and investment deals past and future; 
&bull; Assess the social, economic and environmental sustainability impact of potential trade agreements prior to the conclusion of negotiations; 
&bull; Consider the employment repercussions of trade liberalization in the negotiation of multilateral and bilateral trade agreements &ndash; to be assessed with full involvement of trade unions; 
&bull; Respect fundamental workers' and trade union rights as set out in the ILO Core Labour Standards; to be included in all bilateral and multilateral agreements on trade and investments along with effective enforcement mechanisms; 
&bull; Create jobs that meet the ILO definition of &ldquo;decent work&rdquo;. We recognize that industrial change is happening, but challenge the legal and political rules that allow precarious work to flourish; 
&bull; Reach an ambitious, fair, and binding, agreement on greenhouse gases at COP16 in Mexico; and 
&bull; Ensure that funds in the Copenhagen Green Climate Fund earmarked as part of the Copenhagen Accord are available to trade unions for vocational and educational purposes as part of the broader principle of Just Transition. 
 
In short we believe that world leaders can no longer ignore the big problems facing the world today. We are calling for an innovative, international regulatory response that will boldly deal with global issues.

ICEM-IMF-ITGLWF Declaration: Toronto, Canada, 19 June 2010

IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 17 June 2010 &ndash; Two Global Union Federations (GUFs) representing a combined 45 million workers will conduct a two-day conference on economic, environment, and social dimensions of sustainability in Toronto beginning tomorrow, aimed at forging a worldwide workers&rsquo; and communities&rsquo; declaration for the upcoming G8 and G20 summits. 
 
The &ldquo;Triple Crisis of Sustainability&rdquo; Conference is sponsored by Geneva, Switzerland-based International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine &amp; General Workers&rsquo; Union (ICEM) and International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), and will include voices from 270 trade union and other leaders from over 50 countries. 
 
The conference runs from 9h00 to 17h30 on both 18 and 19 June in the Dominion Ballroom of the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, 123 Queen Street West. 
 
&ldquo;The financial crisis that brought the world&rsquo;s economy to its knees needs correcting and it needs the resonating voices of those most affected by runaway greed and banking calamities,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;Environmental catastrophes, monetary disparities, and destabilized societies all have related origins, and this is the pivotal time for the world&rsquo;s economic and political leaders to correct the imbalances.&rdquo; 
 
Added Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of the IMF: &ldquo;The uncertainties that workers and their families face is now unprecedented. We want guarantees that the G8 and G20 summits address the legitimate concerns of workers for social justice and long-term, sustainable employment, and include the introduction of a global tax on financial institutions.&rdquo; 
 
The two GUFs believe that the crises of failing economies, environmental inaction, and social disorder are interconnected. ICEM and IMF also believe these crises have been produced by absence of global financial and environmental regulations, as well as inept financial governance of markets. The conference will ensure that the voices of global workers are heard on these issues before the G8 and G20 summits convene. 
 
Jobs, workers&rsquo; rights, social protections, quality public services, and sustainability &ndash; both on environmental stewardship and in providing decent work &ndash; will serve as the heart of a common declaration from the conference to the G8 and G20. 
 
A keynote speech on 18 June will be delivered by United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard, whose union has been victimized by the merciless globalization and one of the world&rsquo;s largest and most profitable mining companies in Ontario. A panel on the opening day will address the economic crisis. 
 
Other panels will be on topics of sustainable development and climate change, and on corporate governance. On the concluding day, 19 June, David Donnelly, a leading environmental attorney connected with Canada&rsquo;s Blue-Green Alliance, will speak, as will John Evans, the General-Secretary of the Paris-based Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 
 
The conference&rsquo;s programme has been built to allow for maximum comments from the 250 participants in order to gain a wide-ranging discourse over the effects of the social, environmental, and economic crises. 
 
The ICEM counts 467 trade union affiliates in 132 countries, and represents 20 million workers. The IMF represents the collective interests of 25 million metalworkers from more than 200 unions in 100 countries.
Note to Media Outlets: A Press Briefing will occur at the venue at 12h30, 18 June.)
For more, contact: Dick Blin, ICEM Information Officer on-site at <a href="mailto:dick.blin@icem.org">dick.blin@icem.org</a>, +41 79 734 8994 (mobile); or Alexander Ivanou, IMF Communications, <a href="mailto:aivanou@imfmetal.org">aivanou@imfmetal.org</a>, +41 22 308 5033 (land line).

Global Trade Unions Meet in Toronto for Sustainability Conference

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On 23 March, 8,000 members of the ICEM affiliate in the UK, GMB, voted for strike action against British Gas by 82%. Upon releasing the ballot results, GMB General Secretary Paul Kenny said, &ldquo;It is now time for them to sit up and take notice. We are giving British Gas a week to give us a constructive response.&rdquo; 
 
Last week, GMB got that constructive response. The electric and gas utility that is owned by Centrica Plc. began positive discussions with the union and as a result, threatened strike action was halted. 
 
GMB and management of British Gas issued a joint statement saying a new relationship will be &ldquo;built on trust and the ability to have frank, honest debate.&rdquo; The two sides will use the month of April to engage in substantive negotiations on pay and work conditions. &ldquo;Neither party will be seeking to undermine the other in these talks,&rdquo; read the statement. 

<img src="" width="68" height="100" alt="" />
Paul Kenny
As a start, the company has separated a performance management process from arbitrary discipline, something that had been used indiscriminately in recent months to reprimand engineers, service and repair mechanics, and other workers. The union and company also agreed to zero tolerance on bullying, an issue brought forward through a GMB workers&rsquo; survey that revealed overwhelmingly that a &ldquo;bullying management culture&rdquo; had set in. 
 
The two sides agreed also to job times. Kenny said last week&rsquo;s &ldquo;discussions have not been easy, but we do now have a platform on which to build relations. 
 
&ldquo;It is positive that the company respects the position of GMB.&rdquo; 
 
British Gas Managing Director Phil Bentley stated, &ldquo;We remain committed to growth and as British Gas grows we want to create an environment in which our union relationships develop with us. Looking forward, we have the opportunity to work together with GMB to agree a new and exciting future for our engineers.&rdquo; 
 
GMB&rsquo;s 21 national shop stewards at British Gas will meet this week with management to formalise the process forward. A short two months ago, GMB and British Gas were completely polarised, as reflected in <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3604-GMB-to-Take-Strike-Ballot-at-British-Gas-This-Week ">this</a> ICEM dispatch then. The ICEM commends our British affiliate, and senior management of the company, in establishing the proper social protocol to resolve outstanding issues.

GMB Lifts Strike Action Against British Gas; Positive Dialogue Takes Hold

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With the support of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), trade unions in Iraq have come together to create a campaign and a website, calling for international solidarity and pressure on the government of Iraq to enact fair labour legislation. Seven years after the fall of Saddam Hussein&rsquo;s regime, workers in Iraq are still without legislative protection of their fundamental rights at work. 
 
The ICEM strongly supports the campaign, and urges all trade unions from all corners of the world to offer similar support by logging onto the website <a href="http://www.iraqitradeunions.org/cgi-bin/campaign1.cgi">here</a>&nbsp;and join the campaign. (If your organization wants to endorse the campaign, send a mail to Abdullah Muhsin of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW) <a href="mailto:postmaster@iraqitradeunions.org">here</a> to give that endorsement.) 
 
Many in the Iraqi government now perceive trade unions as government tools. However, momentum is building behind the campaign for free and independent trade unions, and fair and just labour laws. Important political figures inside Iraq are now pledging their support. These include former President Jalal Talabani, 85 members of Parliament, the Oil Minister, and many community and business leaders. 

<img alt="" src="" width="175" height="118" />
Hashmeya Muhsin
Hashmeya Muhsin, President of the GFIW-affiliated General Union of Electricity Workers and Technicians, and a member of the ICEM Executive Committee, is a key figure in the campaign. She recently told the ITUC in an interview that international solidarity and pressure are crucial in pushing the government to enact fair labour legislation. 
 
The key parliamentary drafting committee has consulted with the campaign's coordinating group, the National Labour Campaign Committee (NLCC), and MPs are petitioning for proposed legislation to be debated in Parliament. 
 
Despite the right to organize being clearly guaranteed in the new constitution, Iraq&rsquo;s government falls back on the blatant anti-union decree of the Saddam era. The current campaign calls for the abolition of Saddam&rsquo;s Law 150 of 1987, and Order 8750 of August 2005 by the occupation forces, which effectively froze all trade union assets and financial accounts, making it impossible for unions to function. 
 
Saddam&rsquo;s Law 150 bans all public sector employees from organising or striking. Some 90% of all Iraqi enterprises are considered part of the public sector, including oil, gas, electricity, textiles, and most other manufacturing sectors. 

<img alt="" src="" width="320" height="184" />
While several versions of a new labour code have been drafted, with the aid of the ILO, political opposition and a gridlocked Parliament has blocked progress. When the campaign is successful in abolishing the draconian anti-union measures of Saddam and the occupation forces, only then can elections to union office be held, free and without government interference. Free trade unions in Iraq will enhance nation-building and contribute greatly to establishing democratic institutions. 
 
Current evidence of the urgent need for new labour legislation is the government interference in the Iraqi Teachers&rsquo; Union (ITU). The government committee entrusted with overseeing the leadership elections of the union is attempting to install its preferred candidates into leadership positions. 
 
The ICEM calls on all its trade union affiliates to join this campaign. Now is the time to raise the profile that Iraqi trade unions have been working towards since 2003 &ndash; labour statutes that comply with international labour standards, and strong trade unions that can enforce those statutes and protect global standards.

Campaign for Effective Iraqi Labour Laws Takes Shape

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The first round of collective negotiations in the German chemicals and pharmaceutical industries proved futile, with the employers&rsquo; BAVC Chemical Industry Association infuriating ICEM affiliate IGBCE and its 550,000 chemical workers by citing the economic crisis as the reason for not offering pay rises. 
 
Bargaining at the different state levels broke off the week of 22 March. The second round of talks will take place now at the federal level in W&uuml;rzburg, Germany, on 20-21 April. Contracts for workers at some 1,900 companies expired on 31 March in some states, and expire in other German states on 30 April. 
 
At a press conference at IGBCE headquarters in Hannover on 31 March, the union made it clear that a wage increase is in order because the country&rsquo;s chemicals industry has weathered the crisis, with a substantive upswing realized in the second half of 2009. 
 
Much of that can be attributed to sacrifices of workers in helping their companies cope with the crisis, including shortened work hours at reduced pay. Also in 2009, some 130,000 workers at 347 companies did not take scheduled pay increases because of the crisis. 
 
The union also cites job security as paramount in this round of negotiations. 

<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="188" />
Peter Hausmann
Peter Hausmann, IGBCE Governing Board member, who heads the union&rsquo;s Collective Bargaining Department, said employers in the opening round of talks completely missed the union&rsquo;s initiatives to continue strengthening the industry. IGBCE stressed that job and skills retention and avoiding compulsory redundancies is essential for competitiveness. The union also proposes to continue to create training opportunities for young workers. 
 
Hausmann said the employers&rsquo; response to the dedication made by German chemical workers during the economic crisis was one of ridicule, as well as ignoring the sacrifices that were made. &ldquo;It was a completely absurd assessment of the economic situation,&rdquo; said Hausmann, adding such posturing is not conducive to productive social dialogue. 

<img alt="" src="" width="140" height="138" />
The IGBCE maintains that recovery in Germany&rsquo;s chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors in 2009 and a bright forecast in 2010 means these industries are better positioned for immediate wage growth than other industries to resuscitate the economy. The BAVC, almost assuredly, is using February&rsquo;s early settlement in the German metals and electronics sectors as a blueprint for all industries. In that, IF Metall deferred a wage increase until spring 2011. 
 
IGBCE is calling on the BAVC to return to bargaining by meeting the union&rsquo;s call for further negotiated training positions to assure future competiveness. Through novel negotiating between the two parties, life-long opportunities for young workers to take skilled jobs in chemicals and pharmaceuticals increased by 9.4% between 2003 and 2008. But between 2008 and 2009, those opportunities decreased, largely due to the crisis. 
 
IGBCE is willing to take a 12-month contract in the upcoming W&uuml;rzburg talks. Traditionally, the union and BAVC have negotiated two-year agreements.

German Chemicals Pact Elusive in First Round of Talks

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After seven-and-a-half to eight days trapped deep inside a coal mine, Chinese rescue teams freed some 120 workers today, 5 April, from a massive state-owned colliery still under construction. The Wangjialing mine in northern Shanxi Province was flooded by 140,000 cubic metres of water on 28 March when workmen, one kilometre underground, inadvertently broke through a wall into an adjacent and abandoned shaft filled with water. 
 
There were hopes that some of the remaining 30 of 153 workers trapped might also be alive. &ldquo;It is a miracle. This has been worth all (our rescue) efforts, not to have slept for several days,&rdquo; said one medical worker today to the news agency China Nouvelle. 
 
Chinese authorities began sending divers and other rescuers into the mine on Saturday, 3 April, after drilling and laying pipes were done to pump water out. Workers were stranded for over a week in some nine different mine shafts. Some 100 rescue workers descended into the mine late last evening, 4 April, and returned in the early hours of today with the first nine survivors. 

<img src="" width="200" height="134" alt="" />
By mid-afternoon in Shanxi Province, or 06h00 GMT, another 111 construction workers had been pulled from pits. 
 
The State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) last week blamed lax safety and a haste to finish construction on the 180-square-kilometre mine as cause, but ineffective mapping of either waterlogged old shafts or an underground river no doubt also contributed. 
 
Workers reported persistent water leaks in the days leading up to the flood and brought that to the attention of construction supervisors. But the warnings went unheeded. Workers had also seen their eight-hour workdays increase to 16 in efforts to finish mine construction so mechanical digging could begin. Reportedly, several construction managers fled the area immediately after the flooding began, and they are now wanted by Chinese authorities. 
 
SAWS stated on its website: &ldquo;This incident once again exposes lapses in responsibility and management of safety and failure to take safety checks and measures seriously.&rdquo; 
 
The eight-day ordeal, which saw some 3,000 recovery and medical personnel present, got wide attention both inside China and worldwide. Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang appeared at the site on the third day of rescue operations (30 March) and later in the week sided with angry relatives of workers who demanded local officials release a list of those missing. 

<img src="" width="216" height="156" alt="" />
Huajin Coking Coal Ltd., jointly owned by the China National Coal Group and the Shanxi Coking Coal Co. Ltd., was started in 2006 as a US$287.5 million project, with an expected production of six million tonnes annually. The mine is estimated to have 2.3 billion tonnes of coal reserves, including 1.04 billion tonnes of proven reserves. 
 
Construction started on the Wangjialing project near the city of Hejin in Xiangning County in April 2007 and was originally scheduled to be completed by March 2010. 
 
But delays pushed that deadline back to October 2010, and it is now certain that the rush to finish later this year jeopardized construction safety. 
 
The Wangjialing mine tragedy will inevitably result in some deaths, but it was not the only China coal mine last week that experienced death. In nearby Henan province on 31 March, 19 miners were killed and 24 are still missing after a methane gas explosion inside an illegal Guomin Mining colliery near Luoyang City, Yichuan County. The mine had been ordered closed by provincial safety authorities on 1 May 2009, after huge gas outbursts were reported. Managers of the privately-owned company had gone missing following the explosion. 
 
And a day earlier, on 30 March, ten workers became trapped and died at the Shajihai Coal Mine in the far western autonomous region of Xinjiang Uighur when a shaft collapsed. 
 
On 1 April, nine miners perished from a fire inside the Quanzigou Coal Mine near Hancheng City, Shaanxi Province. In the northeastern province of Heilongjiang on 1 April, a flood inside shafts trapped five miners and they are presumed dead. And carbon monoxide from self-made explosives claimed four lives in the autonomous region of Guangxi Zhuang in southeastern China.

Miraculous Rescue for Majority of 153 Workers Trapped in Chinese Coal Mine

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Five members of the United Steelworkers (USW) were killed at a Tesoro Corp. oil refinery in Anacortes, US state of Washington, when an explosion occurred during a re-start of the refinery&rsquo;s naphtha unit. Killed were three men at the scene, while two women died in the hours after the fiery explosion in a Seattle hospital. 
 
Two other workers remain in critical condition. 
 
The tragedy occurred in the early morning hours of 2 April. A Washington state labour investigator speculated that a fire and subsequent explosion occurred in a bank of boilers that heats fluids under high temperature and pressure in the production of naphtha, an extremely volatile hydrocarbon composite used as a feedstock in high-octane petrol. 
 
The three process operators killed at the scene were Matthew Bowen, 31, Darrin Hoines, 43, and Daniel Aldridge, 50. The women, who died from severe burns and other injuries in the Seattle hospital, 110 kilometres from Anacortes, were operators Kathryn Powell, 29, and Donna Van Dreumel, 36. All were members of USW Local 12-591. 
 
Severely injured were USW member Matt Gumbel, 34, and Lew Janz, 41, a supervisor who had been a long-time USW member. 

<img alt="" src="" width="110" height="159" />
Gary Beevers
USW Vice President Gary Beevers said it was vital that the cause of this blast is fully investigated so that &ldquo;the rest of the oil industry (can) apply the lessons learned. There have been too many accidents and near-miss incidents in the oil refining industry. In honor of our brothers and sisters who were killed and seriously injured at the Tesoro refinery, we urge the industry to take steps to ensure an incident of this type never happens again.&rdquo; 
 
USW District 12 Director Robert LaVenture said, &ldquo;While we mourn now, we will seek justice.&rdquo; 
 
US oil refineries are considered the least safe in the world due to age and poor safety processes. Last Friday&rsquo;s Anacortes tragedy was the deadliest since the March 2005 explosion at BP/Amoco&rsquo;s Texas City, Texas, refinery that killed 15 and injured 170. As a result of the BP explosion, the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board and state inspection agencies began safety probes at all 150 US refineries. 

<img alt="" src="" width="190" height="126" />
BP explosion aftermath, 2005
From that, in April 2009, Tesoro&rsquo;s Anacortes refinery was cited with 17 serious safety and health violations, defined as those with potential to cause death or serious injury. It fined the company US$85,700. Inspectors also found 150 instances of deficiencies and said Tesoro did not ensure safe work practices, and failed to update safety information when changes were made to equipment. 
 
Tesoro appealed the fine and through a settlement negotiation process, in November 2009 the number of serious violations was reduced to three and the fine reduced to US$12,250. 
 
The US Chemical Safety board, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industry, and USW&rsquo;s Emergency Response Team and Safety and Health Department are all investigating the deadly 2 April explosion. 
 
Tesoro, an independent, downstream refiner and retail marketer of petroleum products based in San Antonio, Texas, operates seven refineries in the US states of Alaska, California, Hawaii, North Dakota, and Washington. The Anacortes, Washington, refinery has a production capacity of 130,000 barrels per day, and produces gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel fuel from crude oil brought in from Alaska.

Five Steelworkers Killed in US Oil Refinery Blast on 2 April

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the results of the questionnaires on strength and weaknesses of the ICEM HIV/AIDS project; on treatment in earthquake devastated Haiti; and the call for union participation in the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria, in July 2010. 
 
The ICEM Calls on its Affiliates to Contribute to this e-bulletin 
 
ICEM affiliates are engaged in a wide range of HIV/AIDS activities. To spread the information on new agreements, awareness, and prevention campaigns, and educational activities, affiliates and project coordinators are invited to send news and information to <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a>. Any feedback on the format and contents of the e-bulletin is also welcome. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Annual Questionnaires Reveal Strength of ICEM HIV/AIDS Project 
 
Last year, the ICEM HIV/AIDS Project introduced year-end questionnaires in addition to the reporting of activities. The objective was to better assess the results compared to the objectives and to find out more about success stories and difficulties encountered in project implementation. 
 
The questionnaires show an increased focus not only on training of peer educators and counsellors but also their deployment in follow-up activities which reach more and more workers, their families, and the community. They also reveal more cooperation with employers, NGOs, and service providers. VCT campaigns in some countries were an overwhelming success, revealing how much can be done by unions when government agencies fail to respond. 
 
The introduction of a small budget allocation for material production was well accepted with the result that ICEM affiliates in the majority of project countries now have their own leaflets for use in awareness and prevention work. 
 
Difficulties encountered included the lack of time off granted by employers for peer educators to perform their duties and for meetings during working time; the lack of incentives for peer educators; the lack of resources to produce more campaign material and inadequate resources to cover more workplaces, especially in countries with a poor infrastructure and failing transport systems. 
 
What is still lacking, with a few exceptions, is the negotiation of HIV/AIDS workplace policies or collective bargaining agreements with HIV/AIDS clauses. In almost all countries, there is at least one employer with good practices on dealing with HIV/AIDS. Unions must become more active to build on good practices in their own country or in countries of a region to convince employers, who are lagging behind, to do more in the field of HIV/AIDS. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Global Union AIDS Programme Calls for Union Participation at the International AIDS Conference 
 
The Global Union AIDS Programme (GUAP) has called on Global Union Federations (GUFs) to sponsor unionists to participate in the International AIDS Conference (IAC), Vienna, Austria, 19 &ndash;23 July 2010. 
 
The last IAC took place in Mexico City in August 2008, and several GUF representatives attended the Conference, as well as the two-day Labour Forum. As a result of their participation and the efforts of ILO/AIDS, GUAP made significant progress in securing recognition of HIV/AIDS as a workplace issue and ensuring that the world of work was on the agenda. 
 
In Vienna, GUAP needs to do even better. The year 2010 is a significant year for the global HIV/AIDS response and for the world of work in particular. This year is the target year for the G8 commitment to achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, and care made in 2005, and for achieving the second target of Millennium Development Goal 6, universal access to treatment. What is more, the new ILO instrument on HIV/AIDS in the world of work will be discussed and hopefully adopted at the International Labour Conference in June. The IAC will be an important forum to disseminate the instrument, explain its significance, and promote its use 
 
GUAP calls on GUFs to earmark funds to enable representatives to participate in the IAC so that labour&rsquo;s voice will be heard. 
 
(Source: GUAP Circular, 2 February) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Combating AIDS through Workplace Action in Uganda 
 
TUC Aid &ndash; the development arm of the British trade union movement &ndash; is working in partnership with the National Organisation of Trade Unions (NOTU) in Uganda in a two-year workplace initiative to combat AIDS. The activities planned for the second half of 2009, under the Workers' AIDS Project (WAP) launched in July 2009, with a view to reducing stigma and discrimination associated with workers living with HIV/AIDS and negotiating for treatment, care, and support for such workers through collective bargaining arrangements with employers were successfully completed. 
 
The Project, funded by the Bill Morris Testimonial Fund for HIV/AIDS in Africa through TUC Aid, has contributed to greater awareness of risks of infection and of the potential for effective action through workplace. 
 
(Source: TUC website <a href="http://www.tuc.org.uk">www.tuc.org.uk</a>, with contribution from Robert E. Lovelace, GUAP HIV/AIDS Consultant, Washington, D.C.) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Global Fund Ensures AIDS Treatment in Haiti 
 
As Haiti begins the process to rebuild the country after the devastating earthquake that hit on 12 January, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is focusing its effort to ensure that the thousands of people living with AIDS will be able to access the drugs they need to stay alive. 
 
Haiti has the highest HIV infection rate outside southern Africa, and 36,000 people are currently receiving antiretroviral treatment to stay healthy, 13,000 of these depend on programmes financed by the Global Fund. With many health centres destroyed and health workers killed, people moving away from their home areas and with transport difficult, there is an acute danger that many people will run out of the drugs they need. This would not only lead to many deaths, but the disruption of treatment would also lead to a high chance of drug resistance among those who stop and start their treatment. 
 
The Global Fund is making an emergency provision of US$800,000 for a supply of six months of stocks of antiretroviral medicines. The Global Fund is working closely with the U.S. President&rsquo;s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and UNAIDS to ensure an uninterrupted flow of life-saving AIDS medicines to these patients. 
 
(Source: Global Fund website) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
ILO Announces Strategy to Fight the Pandemic in Ghana 
 
Over a period of two years, the ILO/AIDS Workplace Programme will train about 195 senior officers from 20 trades associations on the removal of stigmatization and discrimination at the workplace, reaching out to more than 55,400 vulnerable people in the informal economy. In addition, 390 Peer Educators will be trained to assist some 100 companies with formulating and implementing HIV/AIDS workplace policies. The programme will also distribute two million condoms. 
 
Mrs. Akua Ofori-Asumadu, ILO/AIDS Workplace HIV National Programme Co-ordinator, announced this at the ILO/HIV and AIDS Programme Advisory Board meeting in Accra, which was attended by the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare, Ghana AIDS Commission, Ghana Employers Association, Ghana Business Coalition against AIDS, and Ghana Trades Union Congress. 
 
She also said that the programme would develop kits and user guides necessary for workplace representatives to build comprehensive HIV/AIDS workplace programmes. 
 
(Source: Ghana News Agency, posted on <a href="http://www.peacefmonline.com">www.peacefmonline.com</a> on 13 January) 

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Lack of Resources Could Undermine HIV Response in Pakistan 
 
Pakistan&rsquo;s capacity to effectively respond to the HIV epidemic could be hindered due to the lack of resources to implement its National Strategic Framework. A priority is to address the increasing levels of HIV infections among injecting drug users (IDUs). 
 
Despite having an HIV prevalence rate of less than 0.1% among its general population, Pakistan&rsquo;s HIV epidemic has transitioned from low to a concentrated one, as the prevalence among IDUs has steadily increased from 10.8% in 2005 to nearly 21% in 2008. 
 
Following the model seen in other countries in Asia, also known as the Asian Epidemic Model, the epidemic in Pakistan is characterised by high prevalence among IDUs and potential spill-over into other risk populations such as commercial sex workers and men who have sex with men. 
 
Lack of financial resources and constraints in the health infrastructure could jeopardise an effective and timely response. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS website <a href="http://www.unaids.org">www.unaids.org</a>, Feature Stories, posted 5 February) 

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Spotlight on the Middle East and North Africa 
 
The HIV epidemic in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, while seldom highlighted, is steadily growing. In 2008, there were an estimated 310,000 people living with HIV, up from 200,000 in 2001. Approximately 35,000 people became newly infected. 
 
Stigma and discrimination remain key barriers to an effective regional response. In many countries, the criminalisation of higher risk behaviours pushes affected communities, such as men who have sex with men, underground thereby limiting access to HIV prevention, treatment, and care and support services. 
 
UNAIDS works closely with government and civil society partners in the region to advocate the removal of punitive laws and policies that block an effective response. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS website <a href="http://www.unaids.org">www.unaids.org</a>, Feature Stories, posted 27 January) 

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Zimbabwe: HIV-positive People Want Constitutional Rights 
 
AIDS activists in Zimbabwe have launched a major drive to ensure that the rights of people living with HIV are enshrined in the new constitution. 
 
The Global Political Agreement, signed in September 2008 between Zimbabwe's political rivals, which gave rise to the coalition government in February 2009, includes writing the new constitution expected to be introduced in 2010. 
 
The Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS (ZNPP+) and the Southern Africa AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAFAIDS), a regional non-profit AIDS organisation, call for a meaningful involvement of HIV-positive people in the constitution-making process. They note that the current constitution did not have any explicit reference to the right to healthcare and was &quot;silent on HIV.&rdquo; 
 
SAFAIDS and ZNNP+ are calling for a bill of rights that would promote better access to health services. The estimated two million people who are living with HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe, one of the countries hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, have never before been actively involved in such legislation. 
 
(Source: PlusNews, 4 February) 

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A Beginner&rsquo;s Guide to the Global Fund 
 
AIDSPAN recently published a beginner&rsquo;s guide to the Global Fund. The purpose of this guide is to provide a broad introduction to the Global Fund for people who have little or no prior experience of the Fund &ndash; ranging from new CCM members, to NGOs, to trade unions, to government officials, to new sub-recipients, to journalists who have to write about the Fund. This guide comes in three versions: the full guide (about 60 pages), an eight-page summary, and a two-page summary. 
 
All three versions of this guide are available at <a href="http://www.aidspan.org/guides">www.aidspan.org/guides</a> in English, French, Spanish, and Russian. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 114 of 19 January. 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="http://receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">http://receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>) 

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News from Global Unions 
 
The latest Newsletter of Public Sector Unions Fighting AIDS in Southern Africa (PSUFASA) gives a full summary of the many HIV/AIDS activities organised by the project. The project office is based in Johannesburg and the project is now coordinated by Tsitsi Mariwo. The project is sponsored by the Department for International Development (DfID, UK) and the British affiliate of Public Services International, UNISON. The website of PSUFASA is <a href="void(0);/*1265880702106*/">www.psufasa.org</a>. 
 
(Source: PSUFASA Newsletter January 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="void(0);/*1265880720731*/">press@icem.org</a>. Please put &ldquo;subscribe ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin&rdquo; in the subject line.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 53, February 2010

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Today, International Women&rsquo;s Day, was marked in Geneva with a large demonstration at plaine de Plainpalais, between 12pm and 2pm. The ICEM, along with other Geneva-based Global Union Federations turned out in support. 
 
The manifestation, organized by ICEM&rsquo;s Swiss affiliate UNIA, protested the issues of raising the retirement age of women, fighting for gender equality on wages, the effective application of equality legislation, protesting against the proposed lengthening, in Switzerland, of opening hours of shops, this sector employs more women than men. 

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Today&rsquo;s action will be followed by a national Women&rsquo;s March in Bern on Saturday 13 March. Saturday&rsquo;s march is again organized by UNIA, pick up from Geneva will be 10am from Place des 22 cantons. Call the UNIA Secretariat at +41 22 949 1200 to sign up to Saturday&rsquo;s action. 
 
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has recently published a report &ldquo;An examination of the factors influencing women&rsquo;s decisions for work&rdquo;, view that document <a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org/ituc-report-decisions-for-work.html ">here</a>. 
 
Visit the official website of International Women&rsquo;s Day <a href="http://www.internationalwomensday.com/default.asp ">here</a>, to see what actions are being organized in your home country.

Geneva Marks International Women’s Day

ICEM International Women’s Day Bulletin: 8 March 2010 / Boletín de la ICEM

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