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State police in Georgia brutally broke a strike by metalworkers last week in Kutaisi, in western Georgia. In the evening of day three (15 September) of a walkout by some 200 workers at Eurasian Steels that was sparked by ICEM affiliate Metallurgical, Mining and Chemical Industry Workers&rsquo; Trade Union and the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation (GTUC), dozens of police cars escorted Imereti Region Governor Lasha Makatsaria across picket lines and into the steel rolling mill. Police then left those cars and rushed the strikers, taking many away. 
 
As some strikers fled, police rounded them up. Around 40 strikers, including four hunger strikers at the factory&rsquo;s plant gates, were taken to police headquarters. They were held for several hours, lectured on strike activity, and then made to sign a document stating they would engage in no further action. Some of the 40 were summarily fired by the police who issued dismissal papers from Euroasian Steels. 
 
Twenty-one trade union activists have now been sacked at Euroasian Steels, or Hercules Steel, as it is called, including six on 11 August. Last week&rsquo;s mass strike was on their behalf, and on many inept management practices that have plague the newly built plant over the past two years. A two-hour warning strike occurred on 2 September that was joined in support by the Georgia Automobile Transport and Highway Workers&rsquo; Union, the Independent Trade Union of Agricultural Workers, a food processing union, and two professional unions &ndash; the Representatives of Educators and Scientists and the Union of Artists. 
 
Management of the steel mill, led by a prominent Georgian, has refused to address the union or the workers&rsquo; serious concerns. 
 
The ICEM reacted with contempt to last week&rsquo;s police actions. &ldquo;We witnessed Georgia&rsquo;s internal police use force to break a strike and now attempt to manage the labour conduct inside this enterprise,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;It is ludicrous, against all rationality, and there has to be sinister reasons behind it. We demand to know why our affiliated trade union&rsquo;s concerns on behalf of workers have not been heard.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
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ICEM will continue the stand with Metallurgical, Mining, Chemical Ubnion of Georgia and with the GTUC. (In 2010, ICEM's Warda and GTUC President Iraki Petriashvile, left)&nbsp; 
 

After the round-up and release of strike activists in the early morning hours of 16 September, police then began raiding the homes of many Euroasian workers &ndash; including several strikers from the day before &ndash; and forcibly brought them to work. A report said a worker not involved in the strike and who was scheduled to work a late shift on 16 September, was forcibly taken from his home and bought in earlier than usual to work. 
 
Police are controlling shift attendance by workers and internal reports are regularly made to police authorities. When workers inquire as to why the police involvement, they are told it is necessary to prevent another strike. 
 
On Friday, workers returning to the steel mill were met with a mandate to either sign a statement denouncing Metallurgical, Mining and Chemical Industry Workers&rsquo; Trade Union, or face dismissal within three days. The ICEM has learned many are resisting and believes this is due to a core group of 180 union activists who are gaining in strength and remain steadfast in their determination not to be deterred from a union voice at Hercules.
The ICEM has vowed to support them through an international outcry in coordination with other labour groups. 
 
Meanwhile, there has been a constant police presence outside the factory over the weekend, 16-18 September. At 13h on Saturday, 17 September, internal security&nbsp;police rounded and arrested three union leaders: Emilo Gumberidze, Irakli Iobidze, and Malkhaz Gogiava. 

The three have been key in coordinating support for the 21 dismissed union members&nbsp;among civil society groups,&nbsp;and the ICEM calls the Georgian government out on violating common&nbsp;freedom of association principals. 

Euroasian Steels is an Indian-Georgian enterprise, 87.5% owned by Dubai-based Euroasian Ventures Ltd., which itself is owned by India&rsquo;s 12th largest steelmaker, Manaksia Ltd., a company specializing in caps, crowns, and metal containers as well as a metal trader. The Kutaisi mill began in spring 2009 to produce rebar and steel billet for a Central Asian market. Built on the former site of a concrete structures plant in Kutaisi, it employs 400 workers, including 130 Indian nationals. 
 
They are treated like indentured servants. Management is in possession of their passports, their salaries are sent back to India, they are given meagre stipends to live on in Kutaisi, and they are instructed not to make contact with Georgian workers. The Indians work dirty and dangerous jobs on four of the operation&rsquo;s eight furnaces and they work apart from Georgian workers. 
 
Some months ago, the Indian workers staged a strike of their own, which resulted in the beating of the Indian plant director, Raji Kumar Sureika. 
 
At Euroasian Steels in the Imereti region, sweatshop conditions persist. There is no Human Resources department, no wage structures, and no adherence to internationally recognised work standards. Work-weeks can last up to 80 hours, there is no overtime pay, workers are routinely refused to use paid vacations, and there is an inordinate amount of industrial injuries.
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As in 2010 in Georgia, ICEM will&nbsp;Vehemently Protest Trade&nbsp;Union Repression in Georgia&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 

In July 2010, workers protested because of wage arrears. Seven of the leaders of that protest were arrested and were jailed for 20 days. 
 
The Georgian who controls Euroasian Steels and whose holding company owns a 12.5% stake is Paata Chkhenkeli. He is general director of the operation and in 2005, he formed a joint venture with the Manaksia Group called Georgia Metalix Ltd. in order to export scrap steel from Georgia. A short time later, he bought a controlling stake of the Georgia-based scrap-metal salvage firm Meoshavliti, and the deal was soon realised between Chkhenkeli, Manaksia, and the Georgian government to construct the Kutaisi mill. 
 
Paata Chkhenkeli, 52, has close connections to senior level figures in the Georgian government. From 2000 to 2003, fresh from a 11-year tenure as director of Iberia Construction Co. in Russia and Georgia, he served as state advisor to Georgia&rsquo;s Minister of Economy. 
 
The ICEM this week will lodge protests with the Georgian government over last week&rsquo;s ruthless actions. While union activity inside Euroasian is certain to be stymied temporarily because of last week&rsquo;s police put-down, the flames of discontent are still very much alive. ICEM will remain connected to shop-floor activists in Kutaisi and their union representatives of the Metallurgical, Mining, Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union and GTUC.

ICEM Scorns Blatant Police Repression in Putting Down Georgian Metal Strike

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With the United Steelworkers (USW) currently voting local-by-local on adoption of a US National Oil Bargaining Policy, one thing is certain when talks with oil refiners get underway early in 2012: union-initiated process safety improvements will lead the agenda. 
 
Some 300 local USW leaders convened in Dallas, Texas, in late September and adopted a bargaining policy. That policy is now up for ratification by USW branch unions representing oil workers and once 75% of local unions agree, the agenda will be tabled when bargaining begins early in 2012. A current three-year labour agreement between USW and a majority of US downstream oil and petrochemical employers expires 1 February 2012. 
<img alt="" src="" width="110" height="159" />
Gary Beevers
USW Vice President Gary Beevers, who heads the sector, said achieving process safety will be the main issue in this round of talks. &ldquo;We must have meaningful and enforceable safety provisions if we are going to save lives, and we are prepared to strike, if necessary, to get that,&rdquo; said Beevers, an ICEM Executive Committee member. 
 
Process safety refers to a safe and functioning engineering and management controls system that prevents explosions, fires, and toxic releases caused by the highly hazardous chemicals used in refining. USW will strive to get a union-trained safety specialist in each of the 69 refineries where it represents workers as part of that process safety system. 
 
The USW reports that during the term of the current labour agreement, up through early September 2011, there were 131 reported fires in US refineries, about one per week. The USW lost seven union members, including some who were Local 12-591 leaders, in the deadly 2 April 2010 explosion at Tesoro Corp.&rsquo;s Anacortes, Washington, refinery. 
 
The Tesoro explosion was caused by a heat exchanger in a naphtha unit that blew apart due to cracks in a welded area, an obvious flaw in process safety. The Washington State Department of Labour and Industry determined that the Texas-based company failed to test equipment for cracks and fined Tesoro US$2.39 million, a fine the company appealed. 
 
The USW represents 30,000 workers at a total of 168 production, refining, marketing, transportation, and pipeline installations, and its membership in the US&rsquo;s 69 oil and petrochemical refineries gives it representation covering 64% of all workers in the US downstream sector. 
 
Oil bargaining in the US is termed pattern bargaining in which USW selects a lead company to negotiate with and then those terms are presented and expected to be accepted by other companies. Traditionally, the USW and its predecessor unions have selected Royal Dutch Shell as the lead company.

Safety Central Issue in Upcoming US Downstream Oil Talks

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From the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation 

In a unanimous vote, the 300-member Central Committee of the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) moved to convene an extraordinary Congress in June 2012 to create a new global union for industrial workers. The action occurred on the second day of the Central Committee&rsquo;s meeting in Jakarta on 8 December. 

The new global union organization will unite workers of metal, mining, chemicals, energy and textile industries, and will bring the IMF together with the ICEM and the International Textile, Garment, Leathers Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF). The new global union, which will represent 50 million workers in 140 countries, will be launched on 18-20 June 2012 in Copenhagen, Denmark. 

Introducing the discussion on creation of the new global union, IMF President Berthold Huber said: &ldquo;Many of our members are working in companies that cut across different industrial sectors. We need to bundle up our forces to speak with a single voice of workers in the manufacturing industries.&rdquo;
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Berthold Huber
In a lively debate, delegates expressed hope about building a stronger counter-power to transnational corporations, and more focus and resources for organizing, fighting precarious work and defending trade union rights. Speakers emphasized the need to further improve gender balance in the different structures, including a 30% minimum share of women on statutory bodies and other forums. 

The Central Committee returned the proposal on presidents of IMF&rsquo;s industrial departments back to the Executive Committee in order to find a better gender and north-south balance.

IMF Central Committee Moves on Dissolution, Merger Congresses

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Like past years, the Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada held its bi-annual Women&rsquo;s Conference in the days around National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada on 6 December, the fateful date in 1989 when 14 young women were massacred at &Eacute;cole Polytechnique in Montreal in an anti-feminist rage. 
 
Some 350 women attended the CEP&rsquo;s 9th Women&rsquo;s Conference in Canada&rsquo;s national capital, Ottawa, from 4-6 December. The conference, entitled &ldquo;Imagine,&rdquo; included workshops on cyberstalking, gun registry, and street-proofing as deterrent for crime and violence against women.
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CEP Women&nbsp; 
 

On the morning of the conference&rsquo;s final day, former Governor General of Canada Micha&euml;lle Jean spoke and told of battered women&rsquo;s shelters in Quebec and the urgent need to engage young Canadians on the degradation that violence against women brings on societies. Following her address, delegates marched from the Westin Hotel in Ottawa to Parliament Hill, where a mass demonstration was occurring for gun control in Canada and the National Day of Remembrance of the Montreal Massacre. 
 
&ldquo;The gun control law is a monument erected in the memory of our daughters,&rdquo; said Suzanne Laplante-Edward, mother of Anne-Marie, who was slain at &Eacute;cole Polytechnique by a lone gunman. The CEP&rsquo;s Western Region Administrative Vice President, Wendy Sol, also spoke at the Parliament Hill manifestation. 
 
In an ICEM letter to delegates at the opening of the CEP&rsquo;s Women&rsquo;s Conference, the federation reminded Canadian women that the Montreal Massacre is rightfully marked in global observance of &ldquo;16 Days Against Gender Violence,&rdquo; as designated by the Global Campaign for Human Rights. Those 16 days began on 25 November with the UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and continued across World Aids Day (1 December), the Montreal Massacre (6 December), and finally International Human Rights Day (10 December). 
 
The ICEM letter read: &ldquo;With the CEP Women&rsquo;s Conference occurring within these globally recognized 16 days, please tell your delegates that the ICEM is using this time frame and indeed, the entire new year, to remind all that gender equity will remain a major global priority.&rdquo;

CEP Holds 9th Women’s Conference in Ottawa, Canada

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Members of the United Steelworkers Local 207L numbering 1,050 are livid that management of Cooper Tire and Rubber in Findlay, Ohio, broke good-faith negotiations and locked them out on 28 November. They showed their anger on Saturday, 17 December, by manifesting strongly with other state and regional trade unionists in the northern Ohio town. 
 
To be sure, descendants of the founders of the company that gave birth to Cooper Tire are also unhappy with current management over the lockout. In a letter to top executives of America&rsquo;s fourth largest tyre maker on 9 December, Janet Clinger and Lingel Winters wrote that their grandfather &ldquo;Claude Hart adhered to the standards &hellip; believ(ing) that the company had a responsibility for the well-being of not only the shareholders, but the workers and the community.&rdquo; 
 
The <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4808-Cooper-Tire-and-Rubber-Locks-Out-Steelworkers-at-Ohio-Factory">lockout began</a> after workers rejected a concession-loaded proposal in late November and after the USW requested to continue work and continue bargaining. Cooper&rsquo;s lockout was sudden, unprovoked, and now damaging both to labour relations and workers&rsquo; lives. Within days of the lockout, the company proudly announced it would re-start production with managers and temporary scab workers.
<img alt="" src="" width="75" height="75" />
Lockout: War on Families
Cooper&rsquo;s war on rubber workers at its flagship factory was evident at the 17 December manifestation. USW Local 207L President Rod Nelson lamented misguided managers who weathered the 2008-09 US manufacturing downturn with no small help from workers&rsquo; pay-check concessions, and now return for more economic cuts from workers when profits are good and executive bonuses are back. 
 
&ldquo;Cooper hasn&rsquo;t been fair with us at the bargaining table,&rdquo; said Nelson, refuting a management that has lost touch with the company&rsquo;s founding principles. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t lock people out of their jobs, we work through our problems.&rdquo; 
 
USW Secretary-Treasurer and ICEM Rubber Sector Chairman Stan Johnson told the rally that the union has responded globally and immediately received support from Serbian union Nezavisnost. That came within days of Cooper&rsquo;s 8 December announcement that it would buy early next year a tyre factory from Trayal Korporacija AD near Krusevac, Serbia. 
 
The USW also received an assist from its trans-Atlantic partner Unite the Union in bringing the lockout to the attention of workers at Cooper&rsquo;s Melksham, Wiltshire, UK. Unite has flooded the shop floor of former Avon Tyres Ltd., which Cooper bought in 1997, with leaflets, posters and details of the American lockout.
<img alt="" src="" width="110" height="136" />
Stan Johnson
&ldquo;This lockout is about greed and gluttony,&rdquo; said Johnson at Saturday&rsquo;s rally. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s about a shiny new jet (Cooper&rsquo;s new purchase) and it&rsquo;s about multi-million-dollar bonuses.&rdquo; 

It is also about abandoning the traditions of social responsibility, judging from the letter by descendants of founders Claude Hart and John Schaefer. Expressing disappointment, Clinger and Winters wrote, &ldquo;Locking out employees who helped the company during hard times and hiring scab workers to replace them subverts the purpose of collective bargaining. &ldquo; 
 
USW Local 207L and Cooper did return to the table on 13 December in talks supervised by US federal mediator Kevin Moyer. But those negotiations produced no trace of Cooper reconciliation, or rescinding of harsh contract terms. 
 
The stakes will now get higher between the USW and Copper as a contract expires on 20 January 2012 between USW Local 752L in Texarkana, Arkansas, and the Findlay-based company. The 1,500 workers there have voted to give their union committee a mandate to strike if necessary.

Steelworkers in Lockout Manifest against Copper Rubber in US

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On 30 November, the ICEM, International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation, and the International Textile, Garment, Leathers Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF) collaborated on an event entitled &ldquo;Cutting Emissions - Transforming Jobs.&rdquo; It was a key part of World of Work side events that were coordinated by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) at COP-17 in Durban, or the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 
 
It has become a tradition for trade unions to hold side events under the World of Work banner at COP meetings since COP-15 in 2009 in Copenhagen. 
 
The three Global Union Federations, speaking for workers in the resource, industrial, processing and other industries, held the event to discuss a sustainable foundation for Just Transition and to develop a common industrial strategy for the future of industrial workers. 
 
The panellists included: Philemon Shiburi, National Treasurer, National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA); Arvind Shrouti, Analyst, Option Positive, India; Anne Panneels, Senior Advisor on Sustainable Development, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC); Bob Baugh, Executive Director, Industrial Union Council/AFL-CIO, US; and David Macatha, the National Treasurer of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), South Africa.
<img alt="" src="" width="160" height="138" />
Anne Panneels&nbsp;
All panellists were asked to consider the following points, from their particular regional and sectoral perspective: 
 
Post Kyoto Framework: Could a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol be a solution to avoid a gap in emission reduction commitments and to re-build the legally-binding framework covering all countries in the future negotiation process? 
 
Building a Foundation-Climate Finance: How should the funding be designed/realized to achieve sustainable jobs and a Just Transition? What are the components of a strong financing scheme, e.g. mandatory contributions from governments, Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), levy on maritime transportation &amp; aviation, or other? 
 
Just Transition: What kinds of programmes are needed for industrial workers who are most dramatically affected by the climate change issues? How can both today's and tomorrow's workers benefit from the transformation to a sustainable economy? What support will be needed? 
 
Developing Industrial Strategy: Industrial strategies which aim towards sustainable production, the transformation and enhancement of existing jobs, and the creation of new, greener jobs are needed at local, national, regional and international levels. How could developed and developing countries be engaged to harmonize/develop respective industrial policies? 
 
Union&rsquo;s Role for the Future: How should unions get involved to transform industry and create new, greener jobs be designed and implemented with the full participation?
<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="113" />
Each panellist made a thought-provoking presentation. Philemon Shiburi emphasized the importance of a second Kyoto commitment period to Africans. Finance and technology transfer are essential. Existing jobs must be protected alongside new ones as renewable energy is developed. 
 
Arvind Shrouti identified inequalities as a barrier to sustainability and urged strengthened industrial democracy with worker participation in decision-making. Anne Panneels outlined some of the European efforts to design a long-term industrial strategy through social dialogue, for green and decent jobs that includes a Just Transition. 
 
Bob Baugh showed that in the USA many unions are committed to an industrial policy that endorses the concepts of &quot;green job&quot; transformation and creation through deployment of technology and training and education. David Macatha said that nothing can be accomplished without the efforts of workers to demand change, decent work, and a democratic renewal. 
 
The presentations showed that workers globally share a vision of an industrial and social strategy that promotes the transformation of existing jobs to a more sustainable model, as well as the creation of new, sustainable jobs that fulfil the ILO goals of &quot;decent work.&quot; The path towards a sustainable future for both today's and tomorrow's workers is strong investment in technological innovation, and a Just Transition.

COP-17 Union Panel Stresses Sustainable Industry in Climate Change Debate

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On 2 December, representatives of the ICEM Canadian affiliate Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) Union participated in a discussion on trade union perspectives on the Canadian bituminous sands, or tar sands or oil sands. 
 
Organized by the Cornell Global Labor Institute and the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) with the CEP, the session was part of the international trade union World of Work events held at the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-17) in Durban, South Africa. 
 
Jim Britton, CEP Western Region Vice-President, introduced the CEP and its membership. The CEP is Canada's energy union.
<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="100" />
Britton explained why the question of the tar sands cannot be separated from the question of the Keystone XL Pipeline, a new pipeline connecting the province of Alberta with US refineries. CEP has been opposed to the Keystone pipeline, and several previous pipeline proposals, for two reasons: the value-added processing of Canada's bitumen should take place in Canada; and the pipelines stand as a symptom of the lack of a sustainable energy policy in Canada, which is desperately needed. 
 
Sadly, these concerns have not found traction with Canada's present Conservative government, nor with the regulatory bodies or courts in Canada. 
 
An intelligent energy policy could ensure a rational continued development of the tar sands, with the creation of high-quality permanent jobs and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Canadians, including those who mine and process bitumen, want adequate regulation that ensures job creation, environmental protection, respects First Nations' rights, a growing economy and reduced risks for business. 
 
This is an area where everyone could win. Instead, Canada is sacrificing energy security and sustainability for short-term and short-sighted profits. It cannot be jobs &quot;or&quot; the environment, it must be both. CEP members expect it and the CEP will fight for it.
<img alt="" src="" width="150" height="132" />
Roland Lefort&nbsp;
Roland Lefort, President of CEP Local 707, representing thousands of oil sands workers, explained that his position was based on CEP policies on energy, the environment, and Just Transition that have been developed over many years and affirmed at successive CEP Conventions. Together, these call on Canada to develop a plan for the sustainable development of the oil sands. 
 
This plan would ensure, among other things: energy security for Canadians; carbon capture and storage for all new tar sands projects; the promotion of energy conservation; a well-funded Just Transition plan for energy workers and energy-dependent regions of the country; a fulfilment of Canada's commitments to stabilize and then cut greenhouse gas emissions. 
 
Oil sands workers in Canada believe in the science of climate change, the rights of aboriginal peoples, and the protection of Canada's resources. Their position is one of sustainable development. It disagrees with the proposition that there are only two positions on the issue of oil sands development &ndash; all or nothing. 
 
The present Canadian government and industry want to extract the oil sands without impediments or controls, while the environmental lobby, which is getting stronger by the day, wants to shut down the oil sands. The CEP believes that there is a position in between, a position of balance, a position for sustainability. 
 
To that effect, the CEP has been working to bring together government, labour, First Nations, and environmentalists to the table to develop the plan on energy as stated in our policies. 
 
Lefort's strong presentation in Durban, backed by his personal credibility as a miner and President of Canada's largest group of unionized oil sands workers, made a huge impact on the audience. 
 
Another panelist was Roger Toussaint of New York City and the Transport Workers&rsquo; Union (TWU). He stated that the issues involved in the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline affected everyone and his union decided it could not be silent on the issue. Instead of uncontrolled development, there is a potential to move towards a lower-carbon and just economy, with the creation of millions of good jobs in renewable energy, mass transportation, energy-efficient buildings, and the like. Toussaint believes that the global labour movement can lead this change and pointed out the forward-looking policies of the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) as an example.
<img alt="" src="" width="90" height="106" />
Asking a question from the floor, Anthony Jacobs, Director of National Construction Agreements for the ICEM-affiliated and US-based International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB) stated that he understood Lefort's position, but passionately defended his union's support for the Keystone XL pipeline and the potential construction jobs it represented. Lefort said that he accepted and understood the IBB position but hoped that he understood CEP's. 
 
Other considerations in the debate on the Keystone XL pipeline include the US's dependency on foreign oil and the potential mutual economic benefit to Canada and the US. 
 
The event illustrated the value of unions' direct participation in international events such as COP-17. The value of an opportunity to hear directly from those affected is impossible to overstate.

Canada’s Tar Sands, Keystone Pipeline Gets Aired at COP-17

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The US-based United Autoworkers&rsquo; Union (UAW) exhibited exemplary trade union solidarity with the Korean Metal Workers&rsquo; Union (KMWU) recently when American autoworkers turned out to picket and handbill Hyundai auto dealerships in the US. 
 
Customers at some 75 Hyundai dealerships on 30 November learned of the injustice afforded a contract worker at a Hyundai Motor Group factory in South Chungcheong province, who was sacked after she filed a sexual harassment lawsuit with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Korea.
<img alt="" src="" width="260" height="171" />
The UAW took on the mid-day action at Hyundai dealerships from California to New York to inform American car buyers of this contract worker&rsquo;s current plight. The KMWU, affiliated to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), is championing the 45-year-old woman&rsquo;s case especially after the Korea Workers&rsquo; Compensation and Welfare Service, in investigating the complaint, inexplicably added to the harassment in outrageous questioning of the woman. 
 
Hyundai claims it is not responsible for liability, since the 14-year service worker was employed by Glovis, a symbiotic contractor of Hyundai. Among other forms of harassment in 2010, the woman had received inappropriate text messages and late night telephone calls from supervisors. 
 
Following the NHRC awarding her compensation of nine million won (US$7,725), Glovis fired her and has since refused to pay her the penalty. The woman has been holding a protest vigil in Seoul since June of this year. 
 
Said UAW President Bob King, &ldquo;The UAW has embraced a global vision of social justice and will mobilize its membership to defend labour rights here and in other parts of the world.&rdquo;

UAW Pickets US Hyundai Dealers over Sexual Harassment in Korea

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Leaders of the PT Freeport Indonesia Workers&rsquo; Union (SP KEP SPSI) and managers of PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) will meet today in Timika, Papua province, in efforts to forge fine points and back-to-work terms after a historic three-month strike ended last week at the Grasberg mines, the world&rsquo;s largest gold and copper deposits. (See <a href="/en/77-All-ICEM-News-Releases/4810-Proud-Indonesian-Miners-End-Strike-with-Freeport-McMoRan">ICEM news release</a> on strike terms.) 
 
Some 10,000 strikers were ready to take up their jobs on 17 December, but security reasons prevented an orderly return to work. PTFI, a subsidiary of US-based giant Freeport-McMoRan, suspended air lifts between Tamika and the Grasberg mines after a helicopter leaving Tembagapura early on 17 December was shot at. 
 
It was carrying 29 people, including union-represented staff workers. The wife of one worker was injured by glass and shrapnel, before the Russian pilots of the charter service, five minutes into the flight, diverted the aircraft to Timika. 
 
A union spokesman said it would be a week before workers started returning to the world&rsquo;s largest gold mine and second largest copper mine. 
 
Today&rsquo;s talks in Timika between the emboldened union and PTFI will center on infrastructure issues, such as bus transportation, improvements in transport shelters, and assuring that the company&rsquo;s personnel data management system is up to date and accurate. 
 
These issues and overall security for PTFI staff and non-staff alike in returning to their jobs will be addressed.
<img alt="" src="" width="241" height="160" />
Mile 28: Union Blockade Stymied Production
PTFI began operating one of five slurry lines between Grasberg and Timika over the weekend. The others are expected to be operational within a week. The slurry lines were vandalized in the early stages of the strike by indigenous people bunkering small amounts of gold and copper concentrate for sale on black markets. 
 
In the month preceding last week&rsquo;s strike settlement, PTFI began repairs on pipelines using helicopter lifts of men and materials. The company will be at full production early in the new year. 
 
That was done to avert an iron-clad blockade between Timika and Grasberg by strikers and their families that proved to be union&rsquo;s most effective leverage point. 
 
The strike, which started on 15 September, was historic since it pitted a low-wage, well-organised, determined and enlightened unionised workforce against a leading global extraction company with a wide revenue stream, most notably from its leading money-maker, the rich Grasberg open-cast and underground mines of Indonesia.

Security a Concern as Indonesian Miners Ready to Return to Jobs

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the ICEM World Congress and ICEM&rsquo;s involvement in ICASA, as well as the problems the Global Fund is facing. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
ICEM World Congress 
 
HIV and AIDS featured prominently at the 5th ICEM World Congress held in Buenos Aires from 24-26 November. 
 
The Congress publication of Global Info highlighted the ICEM&rsquo;s HIV and AIDS work in a two-page spread. The Action Programme, which was unanimously adopted by delegates, makes repeated reference to the importance of the role of trade unions in fighting the pandemic at the workplace. With the adoption of the Action Programme delegates expressed their full support for the merger with the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) and the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF). HIV and AIDS work will take a prominent place in the new organisation which will come into existence in June 2012. 
 
At the Congress, the ICEM HIV/AIDS Consultant maintained a command post that contained HIV and AIDS material and he talked to many delegates on the ICEM&rsquo;s work on HIV and AIDS, as well as on the importance of the ILO Recommendation No 200 concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work, which was distributed at the Congress in print form. 
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ICEM at ICASA 
 
The ICEM and its affiliate in Ethiopia, the National Industrial Federation of Energy, Chemical and Mine Trade Unions (NIFECM), made a great impact at the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa when the NIFECM President, Firew Bekele Afework, gave the oral presentation of an abstract on the HIV and AIDS work in the mining sector in Ethiopia, which is supported by the Danish LO/FTF Council. 
 
The abstract, entitled &ldquo;HIV and the Workplace, Awareness and Prevention in the Mining Sector in Ethiopia &ndash; Trade Unions Take their Responsibility,&rdquo; raised much interest among participants and drove home the message of the importance of workplace HIV and AIDS interventions, and the role of trade unions, whose potential is often underestimated. 
 
ICASA was held in Addis Ababa from 4-8 December under the theme &ldquo;Own, Scale up and Sustain&rdquo;. 
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Global Fund Cancels Round 11 
 
The Global Fund Board has cancelled Round 11 in light of the Global Fund&rsquo;s financial difficulties. This difficult decision was made at a two-day Board meeting in Accra, Ghana, 21-22 November. The wording for the resolution did not include the word &ldquo;cancel&rdquo; or anything implying it. Instead, the Board resolved &ldquo;to convert Round 11 into a new funding opportunity in 2014.&rdquo; 
 
The original decision to launch Round 11 in August 2011 was made at a Board meeting in December 2010. At its meeting in May 2011, the Board did not make any changes to its plans for Round 11 as an estimated US$1.6 billion would be available for that round. But the estimate of funds available for Round 11 declined to US$0.8 billion in September 2011, and then to a negative amount in November. 
 
The Global Fund has long had a policy that the financing of Phase 2 renewals of existing grants has a higher priority than the financing of new grants. As a result, the Board concluded that almost all of the US$8.2 billion in revenues that is now projected to arrive by the end of 2013 will be needed for renewals, leaving no money for Round 11. The next replenishment period will be 2014&ndash;2016. Given that there is no money for Round 11, the next opportunity for countries to apply for new grants will be during the 2014&ndash;2016 period. 
 
Why was Round 11 launched and then cancelled? And what does the decision to cancel Round 11 tell us about the Global Fund&rsquo;s financial condition? Unlike what some news reports suggest, the Global Fund has billions of dollars in the bank, with billions more expected to arrive during the next two years. The problem is that most of that money is needed for the current and renewal phases of existing grants. In addition, the Fund has introduced a more cautious methodology for estimating how much funding it will receive in future. 
 
Primarily because of these two factors, the Global Fund now estimates that until 2014, it will have almost no money for new grants. Hence, the need to cancel Round 11. It is not accurate to say that Round 11 was cancelled because of decisions by donors since May to cancel, reduce or delay their pledges, because that is not happening, although the Fund has serious problems with a few donor countries. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issues 167 and 170 of 23 November and 9 December respectively. GFO is a free service of Aidspan <a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>; to receive GFO send an email to <a href="mailto:receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>) 
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Global Progress in HIV Response 
 
Global progress in both preventing and treating HIV emphasizes the benefits of sustaining investment in HIV and AIDS over the longer term. The 2011 joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and UNAIDS Report on the Global HIV/AIDS Response indicates that increased access to HIV services resulted in a 15% reduction of new infections over the past decade and a 22% decline in AIDS-related deaths in the last five years. 
 
Advances in HIV science and programme innovations over the past year add hope for future progress. In times of economic austerity, it is essential to rapidly apply new science, technologies and approaches in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of HIV programmes in countries. 
 
While there are successes in increased access to testing of pregnant women and subsequent treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission, as well as an expansion of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in general, a lot still needs to be done. More than half of the people who need antiretroviral treatment are still unable to get access to it (and many do not even know that they are infected). 
 
Worldwide, the vast majority (64%) of young people aged 15-24 living with HIV today are female. The rate is even higher in sub-Saharan Africa where girls and young women make up 71% of all young people living with HIV - essentially because prevention strategies are not reaching them. 
 
In 2010, HIV epidemics and responses in different parts of the world vary with shifting trends, progress rates and outcomes. Sub-Saharan Africa has reached an ART coverage rate of 49%. But prevention is still lacking with 1.9 million new infections in the region, where 22.9 million people, two thirds of the world&rsquo;s total, are living with HIV. Asia shows a stabilizing epidemic overall, but new infections are very high in some communities. Of the 4.8 million people living with HIV in Asia, nearly half (49%) are in India. Eastern Europe and Central Asia presents a dramatic growth in HIV, with new infections increasing by 250% since 2001. Middle East and North Africa records the highest number of HIV infections ever in the region (59,000) in 2010, which represents a 36% increase over the past year. Latin America and the Caribbean have a stabilizing epidemic with 1.5 million living with HIV in Latin America and 200,000 in the Caribbean. 
 
The report is also critical about the decrease in funding in the wake of the financial crisis. 
 
Echoing these developments and figures, UNAIDS released a separate report called &ldquo;2011 UNAIDS World AIDS Day Report.&rdquo; 
 
(Source: UNAIDS Press Release, 30 November) 
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Botswana: Mogae in Call to Legalise Homosexuality, Prostitution 
 
Botswana should decriminalise homosexuality and prostitution to prevent the spread of HIV, said Festus Mogae, former President of Botswana. Mogae, who heads the government-backed Botswana AIDS Council, said it was difficult to promote safe sex when the practices were illegal. He also called for condoms to be distributed in prisons. 
 
Mogae said that Botswana should not regard homosexuals as criminals. Similarly, arresting prostitutes does not help to protect them or their clients from being infected. He also said that the government&rsquo;s failure to give prisoners condoms has worsened the pandemic. &ldquo;If people go to prison HIV negative and come out of it HIV positive, it means that prisons are one of the sources of infection,&rdquo; he told the BBC. 
 
Botswana has one of the highest infection rates in the world &ndash; 17% of the population are HIV positive. When Mogae was President, it became the first sub-Saharan country where antiretroviral drugs were widely available for free. 
 
(Source: BBC News, 19 0ctober) 
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Burundi: &lsquo;Die-in&rsquo; to Protest Lack of HIV Care 
 
Hundreds of Burundians living with HIV and AIDS recently staged a demonstration in the capital, Bujumbura, to protest against a lack of treatment. Men, women and children lay on the ground for ten minutes to &quot;show the government that if nothing is done rapidly - this week, this month &ndash; we will all die,&quot; said Jeanne Gapiya, a leading Burundian HIV activist. 
 
According to Gapiya, despite funding from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in 2010, organizations caring for HIV-positive people had not signed agreements with the National Council for HIV/AIDS Control, CNLS, to access the cash. 
 
The Global Fund approved about US$35 million to fight HIV in Burundi under its eighth round of grants. An estimated 150,000 Burundians are living with HIV; the pandemic has left more than 20,000 orphans in the central African country. Global Fund grants to Burundi are channelled through a coordinating body called the Intensification and Decentralization Programme for the Fight against HIV/AIDS (PRIDE), which funds CNLS, which in turn pays for HIV-positive people&rsquo;s healthcare. 
 
(Source: IRIN/PlusNews, Bujumbura) 
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Health Effects of Financial Crisis: A Greek Tragedy 
 
Greece has been affected more by the financial crisis than any other European country. There are signs that budget cuts in health care have led to worsening health outcomes, especially within vulnerable groups. 
 
A significant increase in HIV infections occurred in late 2010. The latest data suggest that new infections will rise by 52% in 2011, compared to 2010, with half of the currently observed increases attributable to infections among intravenous drug users. Budget cuts in 2009 and 2010 have resulted in the loss of a third of the country&rsquo;s street work programmes. Many new HIV infections are also linked to an increase in prostitution and associated unsafe sex. 
 
Overall, the picture of health in Greece is disturbing. It reminds us that, in an effort to finance debts, ordinary people are paying the ultimate price: losing access to care and preventive services, facing higher risk of HIV and in the worst cases losing their lives. 
 
(Source: <a href="http://www.thelancet.com">www.thelancet.com</a>, volume 378, 22 October) 
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News from Global Unions 
 
The International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF &ndash; <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>), in its latest HIV/AIDS updates 115 and 116 of 1 and 15 November, respectively, reports on a week-long organising and VCT campaign in the road transport sector in Togo, UNESCO&rsquo;s new AIDS strategy, on education sessions for Cambodian fishermen and on the effects of austerity measures in Europe, especially on infections by drug users. 
 
On 30 November, on the occasion of World AIDS Day 1 December, the ITF launched the report on a comprehensive and cross-regional HIV and AIDS survey in the port sector. The survey examines the impact of HIV and AIDS among port communities and illustrates the need for union action and support. It also highlights the importance of ILO Recommendation 200 concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work. 
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Five Years Ago: From the December 2006 Issue (No. 15) 
 
The first issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin was published in October 2005. In current issues, we refer to an article from the same month five years ago and reflect on developments. 
 
In the December 2006 e-bulletin, we reported on the initial HIV and AIDS workshop in India in Puri, Orissa, in November. The objectives of the workshop included the achievement of a solid knowledge about the HIV/AIDS epidemic; the introduction and advocacy of the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work; the development of workplace policies and of a work plan of activities with sustainable funding sources. From this initial workshop the Indian National Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation (INMF) in cooperation with the ICEM developed a comprehensive programme which has been running from 2008 to the end of 2011. Corporate partnership with funding from the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim made this project possible. 
 
We also reported on the latest HIV and IADS figures published in the UNAIDS/WHO 2006 Epidemic Update. An estimated 39.5 million people were living with HIV. There were 4.3 million new infections in 2006 with 2.8 million (65%) of these occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and important increases in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where in some countries infection rates have risen by more than 50% since 2004. In 2006, 2.9 million people died of AIDS-related illnesses. The 2010/2011 look a bit better (see article above). 
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This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe 
 
To subscribe to the e-bulletin, send an email to <a href="mailto:press@icem.org">press@icem.org</a>. Please put &ldquo;subscribe ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin&rdquo; in the subject line.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 75, December 2011

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