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Also in Brazil, the Brazilian National BASF Network of ICEM’s Latin American BASF Network took place 4-6 May in Sao Paulo. Delegates defined priorities to be proposed for the first national social dialogue, and met with BASF managers regarding problems workers confront in BASF’s Brazilian facilities. In attendance were members of the Factory Commission of German-based BASF, IGBCE chemical sector representatives, as well as delegates from the Secretariat and International Relations Department of CUT. The ICEM’s Regional Coordination Committee meeting of the BASF Network along with social dialogue talks with the company is occurring over the next several days.

ICEM’s Regional BASF Network Meets in Brazil

<img height="40" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/InBrief 1.gif" width="100" alt=""/>
In Argentina, affiliate FeTERA won a dispute with energy company Edea S.A. when the company agreed to place 30 contract workers on its core staff at a workplace near Buenos Aires. “This is a very proud labour achievement,” said FeTERA General Secretary José Rigane. “We are making progress on the issue of contract labour. The energy sector of Argentina belongs to all of the people.”

Victory for Contract Workers at Electric Company in Argentina

Trade unions in Belarus are holding a National Day of Action today to demand a living wage and an end to restrictions on trade union rights. 
 
The 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) is "alarmed by recently published facts and figures which clearly indicate an unprecedented decline of the standards of living in Belarus," writes ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs in a message of support to ICEM-affiliated unions there. 
 
"Existing structures have prevented the effective development of the national economy and triggered severe inflation," Higgs argues. "Workers' salaries no longer reflect their true contribution to the society and can hardly keep them from the brink of poverty or ensure physical survival." 
 
The Belarus unions "stand as the only force that defends the right of the workers and their families to a decent life," Higgs writes. "This determined attitude has put the unions under severe attack by the authoritarian regime, which the world community is observing with growing concern. I have addressed President Alexander Lukashenko and the Belarus government on several occasions, strongly protesting against the violations of union rights in Belarus." 
 
Pledging full international support to the Belarus unions' campaign, Higgs urges the country's government to "finally negotiate and sign a General Tariff Agreement with the unions".

Belarus Union Action Gains Global Support

The ICEM today, 12 September, signed its first Global Framework Agreement in the Materials Sector—a social responsibility code of behaviour with French-based Lafarge, a building materials manufacturer. The agreement was signed in Paris jointly with the global union federation International Federation of Building and Wood Workers (IFBWW), and the World Federation of Building and Woodworkers Unions (WFBWU), a Christian labour federation. 
 
The Global Agreement marks ICEM’s twelfth such international code of standards contract with a multinational enterprise, and the second that has been jointly signed with another global union federation. 
 
“We welcome Lafarge’s commitment to uphold high principles of social responsibility in all global operations, whether it’s on workers’ rights, union recognition, environment, health and safety, or other recognised international work standards,” stated ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs. 
 
IFBWW General Secretary Anita Normark also welcomed the commitment of Lafarge to apply international labour standards at all worksites worldwide. “The value added of the agreement with Lafarge must be seen, that the three federations have a global network of trade unions which are able to monitor the agreement,” said Normark. 
 
“Lafarge is convinced that there can be no sustainable economic success without progress in the fields of social responsibility and environmental protection,” said Christian Herrault, the company’s Executive Vice President for Human Resources and Organisation. “Consequently, this broader vision which goes beyond economic factors to embrace human, labour and environmental aspects has been built into our programmes underpinning performance and managerial processes.” 
 
Herrault added that Lafarge “has consistently valued the central role played by its workforce within the company and signature of this agreement represents a further step forward in our ongoing dialogue with staff.” 
 
The agreement cites the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the ILO’s Tripartite Declaration of Principles on Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, the United Nations Global Compact, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. 
 
The agreement states in its preamble: “Lafarge considers respect for workers’ rights to be a crucial element in sustainable development” and the 172-year-old company “will seek to use the services of those trading partners, subcontractors and suppliers, which recognise and implement principles” contained in the Global Agreement. 
 
Those principals include: 
• No forced labour; 
• No discrimination in employment; 
• No use of child labour; 
• Freedom of association and right of workers to collective bargaining; 
• Living wages paid at least at the level of national legislation or collective agreements, as applied in the industry/sector concerned; 
• Working hours comply with relevant national legislation, national agreements and industry/sector standards; 
• Safe and healthy work environment in accordance with ILO Convention 156 and ILO Guidelines for Occupational Health Management Systems; and 
• Development of Skills Training for all workers in cooperation with trade unions. 
 
The Lafarge Global Agreement establishes a review process group composed of representatives from company management and the signatory trade union federations that will meet at least annually for review and implementation of the principles in all Lafarge worksites. 
 
Lafarge employs 77,000 workers in 75 countries. The company is the worldwide leader in building materials; number two producer of aggregates and concrete; and the world’s number three producer of gypsum. 
 
The ICEM has 420 affiliated trade unions in 125 countries, encompassing 20 million workers. The IFWBB has 10.5 million members in 281 trade unions, also in 125 countries. The WFBWU represents 1.5 million workers affiliated to 55 Christian unions in 41 countries.

ICEM Signs Global Agreement with French-based Lafarge

With a Trade Union and Human Rights Conference scheduled for Kathmandu this weekend, 10-12 September, the 20-million-member ICEM has again protested loudly to the King of Nepal over actions taken by royal police to suppress free assembly and free speech in the Himalayan kingdom. 
 
In a letter today to King Gyanendra, ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs specifically referred to harsh actions by police yesterday and Sunday. Police used tear gas and brute force in the country’s capital to break up a march of political and Trade Union leaders, who were calling for full restoration of fundamental political liberties in Nepal. Some 400 leaders of Nepal’s seven political parties as well as leaders of Trade Unions, including ICEM affiliates, were arrested over the two days. In addition, 65 protesters on Monday were hospitalized due to unnecessary force by the royal administration on 5 September. 
 
“It has become obvious to the ICEM that King Guyanendra of Nepal is using an anti-corruption task force to repress political liberties and restrict universally accepted principles of free speech and free assembly,” said Higgs. “It also is obvious that this device is being used to restrict Trade Union activity.” 
 
In his letter, Higgs cited a statement by the king on April 30, 2005, lifting the state of emergency and authoritarian rule that Guyanendra had imposed on 1 February. “But you left in place a powerful anti-corruption panel and continued to ban free speech, assembly—most notably Trade Union meetings—and protests. It has become apparent to the ICEM and to the world that your lifting of authoritarian rule was not genuine, but rather a ruse to the outside world while still retaining a ban on free and democratic participation, particularly by trade unions.” 
 
Higgs pointed out that the ICEM, representing 420 chemical, energy, mining and other unions in 125 countries, will participate fully in the 10-12 September conference in Kathmandu aimed at producing an agenda toward restoration of full democracy. The conference, sponsored by national trade union centers and others in Nepal, is backed by global trade union confederations and will draw 1,500 participants. 
 
At last May’s Annual Executive Council meeting of the ICEM, global trade union leaders condemned King Gyanendra’s “irrational and unacceptable acts of denial to democratic rights and liberties.” The Global Union Federation’s Exectutive produced a resolution calling for five specific actions in Nepal: 
 
• Immediate restoration of democratic governing principals and acceptance of a representative, parliamentary system, and release of all detainees; 
 
• Withdrawal of censorship on media and guarantee of freedom of association and information; 
 
• For the G-7 governments, the EU, India, and the rest of the International Community, to focus on the problem of liberty and democracy in Nepal and to use political and economic influence to bring about peace and a return to full democracy; 
 
• For all civil societies of the World to mobilize and engage every possible means to wage campaigns and protests against the oppression of basic human rights in Nepal; 
 
• For strenuous work, together with Global Union Federations and other Trade Unions of the World to support Trade Unions in Nepal through assistance in union building and other measures until full democracy and complete compliance with international labour standards, particularly freedom of association, are rediscovered in Nepal.

ICEM Again Calls for End to Nepalese Repression

Placer Dome, the world's third-biggest gold miner, faces a global trade union campaign aimed at reversing the company's recently announced job cuts and pressing it to repair the severe environmental damage that it has caused in a number of countries where it operates. 
 
Gold mining workers' leaders from around the world unanimously adopted a resolution to that effect this afternoon, at the close of a World Gold Forum held in Durban, South Africa. The event was organised by the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), whose membership includes gold mine workers on all continents. 
 
The forum also agreed proposals for safeguarding the future of the world gold industry as a whole. 
 
The World Gold Forum precedes the ICEM World Congress (Durban, 3-5 November). This will map out a trade union response to globalisation. 
 
Today's resolution was sponsored by South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which is campaigning for the reinstatement of 2,895 workers recently retrenched at Placer Dome's Western Areas joint venture near Johannesburg. The sackings represent a cut of around 40 percent in the company's South African workforce, and are a potentially explosive issue in a country which has an unemployment rate of about 30 percent. 
 
Seconding the action call was Australian mining union the CFMEU. In solidarity with the South Africans, CFMEU members will picket Placer Dome offices in Australia next Monday morning - just a few hours after an NUM rally at Western Areas on Sunday 31 October. 
 
Full text of today's resolution: 
 
 
Noting that: 
 
1. Placer Dome is a Canadian transnational having mining interests in many countries. 
 
2. Placer Dome has a terrible record of destroying jobs and the environment and a disregard for the communities, wherever they have invested, in pursuit of profits. 
 
3. The owners and management have a history of union bashing while projecting itself as the best gold mining company on the earth. 
 
 
Believing that: 
 
1. Global investment should be socially responsible and must not undermine human rights, trade union rights, the community and the environment. 
 
2. In those countries where investments are made, collective bargaining conventions must be respected. A balance between global rules and the scope of domestic regulation has to be struck. 
 
 
We therefore resolve that: 
 
1. Placer Dome be targeted for an international campaign by the ICEM. 
 
2. This campaign should entail demands on the reinstatement of retrenched workers in the Western Areas Gold Mine Joint Venture; and restoration of the environment destroyed in the Philippines, Chile, Peru, Papua New Guinea and Australia. 
 
3. Placer Dome be pressured to sign a Global Agreement on Industrial Relations with the ICEM. 
 
4. A solid foundation for this campaign be built by organising a workshop early in the year 2000 for representatives from countries where Placer Dome has operations. A common platform for worker rights and working conditions and a programme for international worker solidarity must be agreed at this workshop. 
 
5. Unions affiliated to the ICEM must, where necessary, make available organisers and leaders to give direct practical assistance to worker struggles and organise the unorganised in Placer Dome operations throughout the world.

Placer Dome: Unions Launch Worldwide Campaign

Click <a href="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/GoodyaerAsia2005.ppt" type="internal">here</a> for an ICEM Powerpoint presentation on the current world situation within the tyre market, the challenges for Goodyear and the regional problems for Goodyear in Asia.

ICEM Powerpoint presentation on Goodyear world-wide and Goodyear in Asia

This is the first issue of the e-bulletin on HIV/AIDS. The e-bulletin will be a regular feature in the ICEM’s information strategy on the pandemic. Emphasis will be on workplace issues. It contains news on international governmental organisation such as the ILO and its Programme on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work, The Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS – UNAIDS, the World Health Organisation – WHO and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The e-bulletin features news from the ICEM and other Global Unions as well as business organisations. It also gives links to useful websites and materials for union activists who want to deepen their knowledge and broaden their activities to fight HIV/AIDS. 
 
ICEM affiliates are already engaged in a wide range of activities, some have formal agreements with companies; others run education and awareness programmes at the workplace. To spread the information on new agreements and campaigns and to build on best practices affiliates and project coordinators are invited to send news and information to hiv.aids@icem.org. Any feedback on the format and contents of the e-bulletin is also welcome. 
 
To subscribe to the e-bulletin, send an e-mail to press@icem.org. Please put ‘subscribe ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin’ in the subject line. 
 
Unfortunately, the e-bulletin can only be published in English. For a free automated (non-ICEM) translation of this HIV-AIDS bulletin into other languages, you may want to try http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr or http://www.google.com/language_tools. 
 
 
Revised Statoil Global Agreement Contains HIV/AIDS Clause 
 
The ICEM and its affiliate NOPEF renewed the Global Agreement with the Norwegian gas and oil producer Statoil. The agreement, which was ICEM’s first when signed in 1998 and has since been reviewed and renewed twice, now contains a clause on HIV/AIDS. The clause stipulates that “the company provides a clear and supportive policy on HIV/AIDS and that this policy is effectively implemented throughout Statoil’s operations.” 
 
In the upcoming review of other Global Agreements and in new agreements, the ICEM will strive to include a clause on HIV/AIDS. 
 
 
Crucial Role of Business Fighting HIV/AIDS 
 
In an interview with Newsweek former US ambassador Richard Holbrooke, who is the CEO of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, stressed the vital role of workplace interventions in the prevention and treatment of the disease. He stated that 95% of all the people in the world who are HIV-positive don’t know it and are therefore spreading the virus for the seven or eight years it lies without any symptoms in a person’s body. Without voluntary but highly encouraged testing and prevention, the amounts spent on treatment will be a bottomless pit. Companies have to get heavily engaged in prevention and treatment. 
 
While he conceded that Africa is at the heart of the problem, he emphasised that it is not just an African disease. The fastest growing rates of the disease are in countries such as Russia, the Ukraine and India, which because of its large population has the first or second largest number of victims already although the prevalence rate is still low. 
 
The Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS – www.businessfightsaids.org - has a wide range of case studies of the HIV/AIDS policies and interventions of its member companies. 
(Source: Newsweek, 15 August 2005) 
 
 
Global Fund Replenishment Meeting Falls Short of Target 
 
At the replenishment meeting in London at the beginning of September, government donors pledged USD 3.7 billion to the Global Fund. This commitment, which fell short of expectations, will be sufficient to pay for grant renewals during 2006 and 2007 after the two-year review period and also for the 2005 anticipated shortfall, but it will not cover the cost of any new rounds. The total needs, including cost of new rounds, had been estimated at USD 7 billion. It has to be said, however, that some countries could not yet commit themselves because of their budgetary cycles. Such late pledges and a further replenishment meeting in June 2006 might still bring the commitments to a level to allow for another round of financing. With a commitment of USD 600 million so far the US is well below its target of contributing one third of total funds committed. 
 
The relatively low level of support raises questions about the G8 commitment in July to place on antiretroviral treatment by 2010 all HIV patients who need it. In June the WHO reported that one million people received ARV treatment. The target of 3 million people on ART by the end of this year, the 3 by 5 Initiative of the WHO, is unlikely to be reached. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer Newsletter, Issue 50 of 7 September 2005) 
The GFO is an independent source of news, analysis and commentary about the Global Fund. The Newsletter is provided free of charge; to receive it send an email to receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org. 
 
 
Mozambique/South Africa: Catastrophic AIDS Death Toll Among Miners 
 
The level of mortality from AIDS among Mozambican miners in South Africa has reached catastrophic levels, according to the Mozambican Deputy Labour Minister. In the last four years at least 2,500 Mozambican miners had died of AIDS. This figure almost certainly understates the true mortality, since it only includes known cases of the disease. There are currently about 46,000 Mozambicans working in South African mines. The article states that some South African mining companies have adopted discriminatory practices, immediately repatriating miners when they are known to have been infected. Miners who suffer this fate die in Mozambique and are thus not included in the South African figures. 
(Source: www.allafrica.com from Agencia de Informaçao de Moçambique, 13 September 2005) 
 
 
ILOAIDS Website 
 
Visit the website of ILOAIDS, which was re-designed in the course of the year. 
www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/trav/aids/index.htm. 
New features include a step-by-step guide to workplace action, a registration facility to keep you informed of events and new materials and a 24-hour news service focusing specifically on HIV/AIDS in the world of work. You can also find the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and World of Work in some 20 languages.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 1

Hundreds of thousands of Australian workers will take to the streets 15 November to protest the Howard government’s proposed reforms to industrial relations, reforms that are expected to be tabled in Parliament by late October. Called a National Day of Community Protest, the event is being coordinated by the Australian Council of Trade Unions and will feature a satellite link-up to hundreds of locations across Australia spelling out the loss of workers’ rights if the reforms are adopted. The nationwide Union Meeting, as it is billed, is expected to become a one-day national strike against the union-smashing measures being put forward by Prime Minister John Howard following the Conservatives new majority in the Parliament’s Senate.

Australians to Protest Labour Reform 15 November

New Zealand’s unions will embark on a third round of stop-work actions at Carter Holt Harvey’s (CHH) wood and paper operations starting tomorrow. ICEM affiliates Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) and the National Distribution Union are protesting the company’s inferior pay offers of 2.8% to 4%. NZ unions have set a minimum pattern of 5% across all sectors. On 12 September, workers at five CHH wood products plants and one paper converting operation engaged in one-day strikes, and subsequent rolling work stoppages occurred at other jobsites. Workers at one of the company’s pulp and paper mills—Kinleith—are also protesting a poor pay offer. A set of three-day talks between CHH and EPMU there concluded on 2 September with the company offering only 4% and less for some job classifications. The labour unrest comes when the 50.5% majority stakeholder of CHH, US based International Paper Co., has received a US$1.5 billion sale offer for sale to NZ’s richest individual, Graeme Hart and his Rank Group Investment Ltd. CHH’s board of directors, however, has recommended shareholders vote down the offer, saying it is 9.1% under the company’s true market value.

Carter Holt Harvey Targeted over Wage Deficiencies

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