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Bookings for the ICEM&rsquo;s World Conference for the Pulp and Paper Industry, scheduled from 8-10 December 2008 in Piri&aacute;polis, Uruguay, are filling fast, and the last of some 150 spots are expected to be taken in the coming fortnight. Uruguay President Tabar&eacute; V&aacute;zquez will open the conference on 8 December, and he will be joined by the country&rsquo;s Ministers for Energy, Labour and Social Security, Economy and Finance, and Tourism, with some of the government officials closing the conference on 10 December. 

The Pulp and Paper Conference will feature an opening day panel and discussion on the state of the industry &ndash; both in the emerging economies and in the traditional pulp and paper countries. That forum will discuss the current economic crisis, its effect on the industry at present, as well as trends over the past few years on output shifting from the global north to the global south. Mets&auml;-Botnia President and CEO Ilkka H&auml;m&auml;l&auml; will be one of the panelists participating.
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&nbsp;Centre, CUOPYC Walter Silva and at right, Uruguay President Tabar&eacute; V&aacute;zquez&nbsp; 

Industry growth in China will also be on the agenda. A Friedrich Ebert Siftung expert, Bernd Reddies, will also take part in a panel. 

Day two will include a panel of trade union and NGO leaders. They will develop a concise solidarity action plan for ICEM affiliated trade unions and others representing global paperworkers. The afternoon session on 9 December will lay the practical foundation for that plan. 

The host union, ICEM affiliate Centro Uni&oacute;n Obreros Papeleros y Celulosa (CUOPYC) of Uruguay, has already done much groundwork to make sure the conference will be a success. The union has reserved 10 December as a social-events day to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UDHR was signed on 10 December 1948. 

Uruguay President V&aacute;zquez said this on the coming ICEM conference: &ldquo;It is a great challenge for CUOPYC, but it is also an excellent opportunity. Not just for CUOPYC, but for all in Uruguay, and the national government has committed to organize this event. We declare this meeting to be of national interest.&rdquo; 

Sizeable trade union delegations have already registered from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, Sweden, and Thailand, as well as several countries from Europe. Finnish Paperiliitto President Jouko Ahonen, sector head of ICEM&rsquo;s Pulp and Paper Industry, will chair the conference.
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Trade unions still wishing to send delegates are encouraged to move fast in order to get visas, and to register through the ICEM Secretariat. Information and Registration documents can be found by going to the ICEM website <a href="http://www.icem.org">here</a>, clicking the respective language, and then going to &ldquo;Pulp and Paper&rdquo; for each language&rsquo;s homepage. The 8-10 December conference will be conducted in all seven statutory ICEM languages. 

The ICEM&rsquo;s Pulp and Paper Conference will be preceded by a 6-7 December workshop by South American forest-sector unionists on certification programmes, sponsored by the Building and Wood Woodworkers&rsquo; International (BWI). ICEM delegates are welcome to attend, with sessions to be conducted in Spanish.

Registrations Draw Tighter as ICEM’s Uruguay Pulp, Paper Conference Nears, 8-10 December

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Le Fonds Mondial de la lutte contre le SIDA, la tuberculose et la malaria a publi&eacute; son 9&egrave;me appel &agrave; propositions. Le formulaire d'inscription et la documentation de r&eacute;f&eacute;rence sont disponibles en six langues &agrave; l'adresse <a href="http://www.theglobalfund.org">www.theglobalfund.org/</a>
 
Les propositions doivent parvenir au Fonds mondial d'ici le 21 janvier 2009 
 
Toutes les propositions soumises d'ici l'&eacute;ch&eacute;ance du 21 janvier 2009 seront examin&eacute;es par le secr&eacute;tariat afin de v&eacute;rifier qu'elles r&eacute;pondent aux crit&egrave;res d'&eacute;ligibilit&eacute;. Les propositions recevables seront ensuite transmises au Comit&eacute; technique d'examen des propositions (Technical Review Panel - TRP). Le TRP fera part de ses recommandations au Conseil du Fonds mondial, qui prendra ensuite ses d&eacute;cisions en fonction. 
 
Comment fonctionne le Fonds mondial? 
Le Fonds mondial, lui-m&ecirc;me un partenariat entre secteur public et priv&eacute;, est une instance de financement. Depuis son lancement en janvier 2002 et jusqu&rsquo;en d&eacute;cembre 2007, le Fonds mondial a donn&eacute; son approbation pour des subventions dont la somme totale s&rsquo;&eacute;l&egrave;ve &agrave; 14,5 milliards USD, plus de la moiti&eacute; &eacute;tant destin&eacute;e &agrave; la lutte contre le VIH/SIDA. 
 
Le Fonds mondial est bas&eacute; &agrave; Gen&egrave;ve. Il n&rsquo;est pas repr&eacute;sent&eacute; par pays. Le processus de propositions et l&rsquo;attribution des subsides sont d&eacute;l&eacute;gu&eacute;s au niveau national. Le Fonds Mondial donne le cadre de travail et publie les directives concernant plusieurs aspects de ses op&eacute;rations. Il r&eacute;colte de l&rsquo;argent, le d&eacute;pense et le v&eacute;rifie &ndash; le Fonds mondial fonctionne au m&eacute;rite. 
 
Toutes les propositions doivent passer par les Country Coordinating Mechanisms &ndash; CCM (Instances de coordination nationale &ndash; ICN). La composition des ICN est suppos&eacute;e &ecirc;tre repr&eacute;sentative de tous les acteurs de la lutte contre le VIH/SIDA, y compris la soci&eacute;t&eacute; civile, le secteur priv&eacute; et les organisations de personnes vivant avec le VIH/SIDA (PVVIH). 
 
Comment les syndicats peuvent-ils s'int&eacute;grer? 
Le r&ocirc;le du lieu de travail dans la lutte contre le VIH/SIDA est reconnu. Aucune des activit&eacute;s li&eacute;es au lieu de travail ne peut &ecirc;tre efficacement &eacute;tablie sans les syndicats. Le r&ocirc;le des syndicats nationaux et de leurs pendants internationaux, les f&eacute;d&eacute;rations de syndicats mondiaux (Global Unions), est reconnu par des organisations internationales telles que l&rsquo;OIT, l&rsquo;OMS et ONUSIDA. 
 
Le Fonds mondial est d&eacute;sireux de construire des partenariats entre le secteur priv&eacute; et le secteur public et de r&eacute;aliser des projets de co-investissement. Sans la participation du secteur priv&eacute;, l&rsquo;acc&egrave;s universel aux conseils et tests volontaires (CTV) et au traitement antir&eacute;troviral (ARV) ne serait pas possible ou serait encore plus retard&eacute; qu'il ne l'est d&eacute;j&agrave;. Les repr&eacute;sentants des travailleurs dans le secteur priv&eacute; sont les syndicats. Les directives de la 9&egrave;me S&eacute;rie de propositions mentionnent les syndicats comme organisations &eacute;ligibles du secteur priv&eacute;. 
 
Les capacit&eacute;s des syndicats en termes de main d&rsquo;&oelig;uvre sont limit&eacute;es. Ils ont en outre d'autres pr&eacute;occupations quotidiennes. Les syndicats ne sont pas des ONG qui ne traitent que d'un seul probl&egrave;me. Ils doivent trouver des partenaires et former des alliances avec les entreprises et les ONG. 
 
Tr&egrave;s peu d'ICN comptent des syndicalistes dans leurs rangs. Bien que nous continuions d&rsquo;&oelig;uvrer pour la repr&eacute;sentation des syndicats aux ICN, il vital qu'&agrave; court terme, ces derniers travaillent en collaboration avec les membres des ICN favorables &agrave; leur cause. Il est important pour eux de trouver des partenaires coop&eacute;ratifs qui peuvent d&eacute;velopper leurs id&eacute;es de projets &agrave; travers des propositions pour les ICN. 
 
L&rsquo;Organisation allemande pour la coop&eacute;ration technique (Deutsche Gesellschaft f&uuml;r Technische Zusammenarbeit &ndash; GTZ) g&egrave;re l&rsquo;initiative BACKUP (Building Alliances &ndash; Creating Knowledge &ndash; Updating Partners), sur laquelle vous pouvez vous appuyer. La GTZ est repr&eacute;sent&eacute;e dans plus de 130 pays. De nombreux bureaux d'USAID ont des coordinateurs VIH/SIDA et certaines ambassades, notamment celles des pays scandinaves, des Pays-Bas, du Royaume-Uni et de l&rsquo;Union europ&eacute;enne peuvent pr&ecirc;ter assistance. Les syndicats mondiaux et l&rsquo;OMS sont favorables &agrave; l'utilisation du potentiel des syndicats dans le but d'&eacute;largir et d'acc&eacute;l&eacute;rer l&rsquo;acc&egrave;s aux CTV et aux ARV. L&rsquo;OIT et son programme sur les lieux de travail OITSIDA ont des points de mire sur le VIH/SIDA dans de nombreux bureaux. 
 
Le Fonds mondial recommande aux candidats de nommer un (ou plusieurs) B&eacute;n&eacute;ficiaires principaux (BP) gouvernementaux et un (ou plusieurs) B&eacute;n&eacute;ficiaires secondaires de divers secteurs non gouvernementaux, y compris du secteur priv&eacute; dont les syndicats font partie (financement &agrave; deux voies de cession). 
 
Quelles sont vos prochaines &eacute;tapes? 
&bull; R&eacute;digez vos id&eacute;es d&rsquo;un programme sur le lieu de travail sur une page et pr&eacute;parez une &eacute;bauche de budget. 
&bull; Mettez-vous en relation avec les membres de votre ICN et influencez ceux potentiellement favorables aux causes syndicales afin d&rsquo;inclure des programmes li&eacute;s au lieu de travail dans les propositions de la 9&egrave;me S&eacute;rie. Les informations nationales sp&eacute;cifiques sont disponibles &agrave; l&rsquo;adresse <a href="http://www.theglobalfund.org">www.theglobalfund.org</a>. 
&bull; Contactez les bureaux de la GTZ, d&rsquo;USAID, de l&rsquo;OIT, d&rsquo;ONUSIDA et de l&rsquo;OMS. 
&bull; Tissez des alliances avec les entreprises; rappelez-leur leur responsabilit&eacute; sociale. 
&bull; Collaborez avec les ONG et les organisations de PVVIH. 
&bull; Consultez le site <a href="http://www.aidspan.org/guides">http://www.aidspan.org/guides</a>&nbsp;sur lequel un guide de la 9&egrave;me S&eacute;rie est disponible. 
 
Comment l'ICEM peut-elle vous aider? 
Le Coordinateur mondial de l&rsquo;ICEM a de bonnes relations de travail avec toutes les organisations mentionn&eacute;es. Il peut vous aider gr&acirc;ce &agrave; ses contacts et peut vous donner des liens menant &agrave; de la documentation utile. Envoyez vos id&eacute;es de programmes li&eacute;s au lieu de travail et vos demandes &agrave; <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a>. L&rsquo;ICEM a des accords mondiaux avec une douzaine d&rsquo;entreprises multinationales qui devraient s&rsquo;engager dans la lutte contre la pand&eacute;mie. 
 
Surtout : 
 
&bull; Commencez aujourd&rsquo;hui si vous voulez parvenir &agrave; quelque chose. 
&bull; Rappelez-vous que le secteur priv&eacute; inclut les syndicats au titre de repr&eacute;sentants des travailleurs. 
&bull; Rappelez-vous que vous avez des alli&eacute;s que vous pouvez mobiliser et qui peuvent vous aider. 
&bull; &Eacute;crivez au coordinateur mondial de l&rsquo;ICEM &agrave;&nbsp;<a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;pour plus d&rsquo;informations et d'aide.

ICEM VIH/SIDA bulletin électronique: Appels du Fonds Mondial pour les propositions de la 9ème Série

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Job cuts caused by the financial meltdown are not uncommon. But in Zambia, mining companies are cutting some jobs and holding others hostage in an attempt to overturn higher taxes and payment of higher royalty fees. And they&rsquo;re citing the economic crisis for the job cuts, and threats of more job cuts have become common. 
 
Zambia&rsquo;s rich copper and cobalt reserves &ndash; as well as other minerals such as iron ore, manganese, and soon uranium &ndash; are primarily owned by companies composed of investor groups. 
 
In April 2008, Zambia government passed mineral royalty increases to 3% from 0.6%. The corporate tax rate increased from 25% to 30%. Since, foreign-based mining companies such as Canada&rsquo;s First Quantum Minerals, India&rsquo;s Vedanta Resouces, and others claim the country must revert to old development pacts when the Zambian Consolidated Copper Mines was divested, or further retrenchments will occur. The royalty and tax issue will be taken up in the courts. 

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The Chamber of Mines denied it was &ldquo;arm-twisting&rdquo; the government over jobs, and said dropping copper prices and the world recession was having an impact. The Zambia Congress of Trade Unions challenged the mining companies to stop using the economic crisis as the excuse for retrenchments. First Quantum, which holds huge cooper assets at Bwana Mkubwa and Kansanshi, and Chinese-based Chambisi Metals, owner of the biggest cobalt mine in Zambia, have recently sacked workers and cited the economic crisis. 
 
President Rupiah Panda, who took over for Levy Mwanawasa following his August death and was elected on 30 October, called on investors with mining stakes to engage in meaningful dialogue with the government and unions in order to prevent retrenchments. Mining investors have tentatively agreed to sit and talk. Meanwhile, Mines and Minerals Development Minister Maxwell Mwale has called for calm in the fierce public debate, falling just short of accusing certain mine industry players of creating panic. 
 
Central to the issue, however, is the question: should massive profits made in the recent past, when copper and mineral prices were at historic highs, have any bearing on jobs now? And Zambians ask: should it not be a matter of social responsibility to keep workers employed even in hard times? Now it is up to the Panda government to strike a social commitment deal with the many stakeholders that hold equity in the country&rsquo;s rich mineral grounds.

Job Cuts in Zambia’s Mining Industry Causing Aggravation

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The General Council of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has called on all Zimbabweans to remove their cash from banks on Wednesday, 3 December. Union heads, leading a march, will present a petition that same day to Gideon Gono, the Governor of Zimbabwe&rsquo;s Reserve Bank, which the International Monetary Fund says is bankrupt. 
 
In Zimbabwe, the government imposed a low cash withdrawal limit, and Wednesday&rsquo;s action by the ZCTU in six regions is expected to challenge that authority. The daily withdrawal limit from automatic tellers is now Z$500, equivalent to R1 South African, or &euro;.08. Gono said in a state-run newspaper recently that the low limits will reduce long queues outside banks. 

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The labour protest is meant not only as a stand against a clamp on banking, but it is against a number of larger issues, including Mugabe dictates giving preferential treatment to some shop owners to trade in foreign currencies. The masses in Zimbabweans are excluded from such shops, and regardless, they have little currency and no means to buy food, medicine, or the necessities of basic life, even if those essentials were on Zimbabwe&rsquo;s shelves. 
 
The ZCTU clearly made that point in making its &ldquo;cash availability&rdquo; announcement following its General Council meeting in Masvingo on 25 November. The union federation estimated that thousands of Zimbabweans have died in recent months simply from inability to buy available medicines. 
 
The ICEM extends support to the ZCTU for its heroic efforts aimed at improving life and bringing dignity to the people of Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe Trade Union Congress Calls for Bank Run, 3 December

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Thousands of oil and gas workers held a rally on Thursday, 19 November, in continuation of strong protests against the decision to privatize the Qadirpur gas fields. The company, Oil &amp; Gas Development Company Ltd., will lose huge assets to foreign investors. The government is expecting to receive between US$3 and US$4 billion, whereas many commentators value the assets at more than US$12 billion.
The most recent rally was led by the OGDCL Labour Union President, Chaudry Mohammad Akram. &ldquo;The Qadirpur gas field is a profit-earning entity, making over US$182 million for the state each year, and its privatization will hurt the national interest,&rdquo; he said. 
 
Hundreds of workers in the Dhodhak oil fields staged a demonstration and blocked the Taunsa Sharif-Dera Ismail Khan road for four hours, while dozens of OGDCL workers from the Qadirpur fields staged hunger strikes, demanding that the government reverse the decision. 

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&ldquo;President Asif Ali Zardari should act upon the mission and policies of Ali Bhutto instead of following the policies of IMF-World Bank and the United States,&rdquo; said Badshah Khan Qaiserani, a manager at the Dhodhak oil and gas fields. 
 
Leader of the opposition political party JI, Liaqat Baloch, assured the demonstrators that political parties would support their cause. &ldquo;We will launch a massive countrywide political move if government fails to withdraw its privatization decision.&rdquo; 
 
The Pakistan Muslim League-N has also strongly opposed the move to privatize. Information Secretary, Ahsan Iqbal, described the Qadirpur gas fields as &ldquo;the spinal cord of the Pakistan economy. The country is already facing an energy crisis, this would further worsen the situation.&rdquo; 
 
Elsewhere in Pakistan, workers from WAPDA Hydro Electric Central Labour Union held a rally, demonstrating against recent price hikes, unemployment and lawlessness.

Workers in Pakistan Unite Against Oil, Gas Privatisation

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Fourteen Turkish trade unions, comprising the ICEM Coordinating Committee of Turkey, met in Ankara on 20 November and formulated an ambitious agenda related to union-building activities. 
 
Led by the ICEM Secretariat, Turkey&rsquo;s leading trade union officials agreed to an Organising and Social Dialogue Project, sponsored by the global arm of the Dutch national labour center, FNV Mondiaal; they agreed to launch a cross-border series of solidarity activities with Iraqi unions; and they agreed to begin a campaign on getting Turkey&rsquo;s government to ratify ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention. 
 
The meeting was hosted by Tes-İş, the Turkish Energy, Water, and Gas Workers&rsquo; Union, and chaired by Mustafa Kumlu, the union&rsquo;s President, who also serves on the ICEM Executive and is President of Turkish national labour center T&uuml;rk- İş. He addressed the negative effects brought on by the global financial crisis inside Turkey&rsquo;s industrial sectors. 

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Tes-İş President, Mustafa Kumlu
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda and Chemicals and Rubber Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan presented the two-year FNV Mondiaal project for Turkey and the necessity for ratification of Convention 176. Later, T&uuml;rkiye Maden-İş, the largest mining union in Turkey, agreed to lead the ratification effort. 
 
The project will consist of eight activities in which 500 trade unionists will come together to begin recruitment exercises, create proper workers&rsquo; representation systems within workplaces, and to develop techniques to establish constructive bargaining and social dialogue practices with employers. 
In Coordinating Committee business, Turkish union leaders decided to establish a technical committee to prepare background information to the full committee. Besides Tes-İş and T&uuml;rkiye Maden-İş, other trade unions participating included: &Ccedil;imse-İş, Cement, Ceramics, Pottery, and Glass Workers&rsquo; Union; Belediye- İş, the Municipal and General Workers&rsquo; Union; Petrol-İş, Oil and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union; Genel Maden-İş, representing Mine Workers; and Dev Maden-Sen, another union representing Mine Workers. 
 

<img height="133" alt="" src="" width="380" />
Participants at ICEM's Coordinating Committee
 
Also, Lastik-İş, Petroleum and Rubber Workers&rsquo; Union; ESM, or the Energy, Industry, and Mining Union of Public Employees; Sel&uuml;loz-İş, Pulp, Paper and Paper Products Union; Kristal-İş, Glass, Cement, Ceramic and Soil Workers&rsquo; Union; T&uuml;rk-Enerji-Sen, the Energy, Mine, Metal, Petroleum and Chemistry Branch Employees&rsquo; Union; T&uuml;mka-İş, the All Pulp and Paper Workers&rsquo; Union; and T&uuml;rk Tarim Orman-Sen, a Union of agricultural, forestry, and environmental services&rsquo; workers. 
 
The ICEM Secretariat delegation also received commitments from &Ccedil;imse-İş and Kristal-İş to co-host ICEM&rsquo;s 2009 World Conference for the Materials Industry. Also attending the Coordinating Committee meeting was Michael Mersmann, head of the International Department of German affiliated union, IGBCE.

ICEM’s Turkish Coordinating Committee Takes on Dutch Project

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In Victoria, Australia, on 29 November, a state prosecutor dismissed charges against a construction trade union leader who faced six months imprisonment for exercising basic trade union rights. The union leader, Noel Washington, the Senior Vice President for the Construction, Forestry, Mine, Energy Union&rsquo;s (CFMEU) Victoria Branch, was to appear tomorrow, 2 December, in a Melbourne Magistrates Court on charges that he failed to show up for interrogation by a government watchdog agency created by former Prime Minister John Howard. 
 
The criminal charge against Washington was brought by an empowered Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC), which has authority to conduct broad and over-reaching investigations into industrial matters. Washington&rsquo;s alleged crime was that he refused to come before an ABCC inquisition in June on matters that occurred inside a union meeting. 
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Noel Washington
Washington, in his CFMEU capacity, met with workers during a lunch period and off-the-job union meeting in 2007. The ABCC had been demanding an account of comments made in that meeting. 
 
Several trade unions, including the ICEM, registered strong letters of protest at current Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd over the Washington indictment. The unions called on Rudd to publicly refute the &ldquo;errant misuse of power given the ABCC by the Howard government,&rdquo; and called the charges clear breaches of ILO Conventions 87 and 98, the Freedom of Association and Right to Bargain Collectively Conventions. The Building and Woodworkers&rsquo; Union (BWI) also issued a global statement calling on trade unions everywhere to protest the charges against Washington. 
 
The CFMEU says Washington is not alone in defending commonly accepted union rights. Some 100 other building tradesmen have been up on similar charges by the ABCC in the recent past. On 12 September, Washington&rsquo;s first court date, CFMEU held rallies at the courthouse in Geelong and elsewhere across Australia. The union and the Australian Council of Trades Unions (ACTU) had begun airing television ads against ABCC&rsquo;s wide swath of powers in the days just prior to the dismissal. 
 
Fair Work legislation now in Australia&rsquo;s Parliament is expected to strip the agency of its powers, as well as giving agency itself a make-over.

Case Dropped against CFMEU’s Noel Washington, Charged with Defending His Lawful Union Rights

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After a long process of collective organisation and negotiation, ICEM affiliate Sintravidricol of Colombia, together with the workers of Caldas Glass Company, VICAL S.A., achieved a significant victory against Contract and Agency Labour (CAL). The right to organise collectively was established, and the first collective agreement was signed by this group of workers. 
 
It follows a similar collective agreement covering part-time workers achieved with Peldar Glass &ndash; part of Owens-Illinois &ndash; at Zipaquira, Colombia. There, ICEM&rsquo;s Colombia Project successfully combined the federation&rsquo;s global CAL programme, and a Social Dialogue project unique to multinationals operating in Colombia, to bring full-time status for many of Peldar&rsquo;s temporary workers. 
 
The unionisation of the workers at Caldas Glass had been attempted by various groups repeatedly for the past 20 years, notably by Risaralda-CUT. 
The artisan workers at the Caldas Glass Factory make various glass products, using mainly only their hands (and lungs) in their work. At least 80% of the workers in the plant are employed through temporary work contracts, with tose agreements lasting less than a year. 

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Even workers with 15, 20, 30 years of service remain on one-year contracts, and its non uncommon for them to receive wages and social benefits late. Under these conditions, the workers took the brave decision to organise. 
 
The three priorities of the newly organised workers: to end the system of separating workers from their years of service by imposing the yearly contracts; full recognition of the union by Caldas and registry with the Ministry of Social Protection; and labour stability, a key component to achieving a better and more productive workplace. 
 
Impressively, early talks with management indicate that the new union will achieve all three goals. Caldas, as well, will meet with Sintravidricol in a labor-management committee to analyse the problems of workers. The union also has established regular meetings with the president of the company. In addition, the first negotiations achieved scholarships for children of all employees of thirty thousand pesos (US$2,200) each, a productivity bonus, and a salary increase, equivalent to the percentage of the minimum wage increase as ordered by the national government. 
 
The ICEM commends its Colombian affiliate, Sintravidricol, in this very significant achievement.

Hard Fought Victory for Colombian Trade Unionists

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The dismantling of anti-social work laws in Australia has finally begun, a full year after a Labour government replaced the failed economic and social policies of former Prime Minister John Howard. On 25 November, introduction of some 650 pages of rollbacks to Howard&rsquo;s work laws came in Parliament&rsquo;s House of Representatives. Fair Work Australia, replacing Howard&rsquo;s WorkChoices, is now on track toward law as it heads to Australia&rsquo;s Senate in 2009. 
 
House minority leaders promised they would not dilute the package, but a combination of Tory, Family First, and independents have threatened to offer amendments that could bring portions of any final legislation back to the Howard work agenda. Last week, Labour Prime Minister Kevin Rudd warned the Senate not to tamper with the legislation and to pass it with no delay. 
 
The legislation creates a Fair Work Commission that replaces six agencies created by the Howard government that essentially removed regulations concerning workplace governance. Fair Work creates ten national job standards, and it charters collective bargaining as the main tenet in labour-management relations. Individual labour agreements, or AWAs in Howard speak, are still applicable, but only under common law. 

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The legislation spells out workers&rsquo; rights to representation; access to arbitration, even on economic matters; and gives casual workers certain rights. It also establishes a 38-hour workweek, grants four weeks annual leave, and allows the practice of flexible work schedules and conditions to take hold. In addition, it sets out a standard process for regularly raising the minimum wage. 
Most industry groups were passive in issuing any negative comments on MP and Workplace Relations Commissioner Julia Gillard&rsquo;s House introduction. The Australian Mines and Metals Association was a blatant exception, however. Ignoring the toll on production and jobs due to an economic collapse, the association took a low road by saying Fair Work will create &ldquo;turf wars&rdquo; between unions, causing loss of productivity and jobs. 
 
Considering the devastation brought to hundreds of millions by unregulated capital &ndash; notably depicted by Howard&rsquo;s draconian job laws &ndash; the association&rsquo;s comment stands as strong argument that more workplace regulations and better protections are part of the solution toward solid economic footing. 

<img height="200" alt="" src="" width="151" />
President ACTU, Sharon Burrow
Sharon Burrow, President of the Australian Council of Trades Unions (ACTU), the trade union centre that brought all Australian unions together under a single voice to reverse WorkChoices, called the legislation &ldquo;a major achievement but that does not mean the campaign for better rights is over. Unions remain concerned that there are important areas of unfinished business.&rdquo; 
 
The legislation does contain some ambiguity regarding strike rights, as well as practical application of the consultation and arbitration procedures. And a pre-Howard three-strike warning rule before dismissal is not in the current bill. It is replaced by a one-warning rule before lawful dismissal can occur. The dismissal criteria is extended to workers employed in worksites of less than 15 staff, provided they have worked for 12 months. 
 
With Australian Senate approval, the new and improved set of workplace social standards will take effect 1 January 2010.

Parliament in Australia Takes Up ‘Fair Work’ scuttling ‘WorkChoices’

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Saskatchewan Inc.'a bağlı Potash Corp. şirketinde &ccedil;alışan 500 Kanadalı maden iş&ccedil;isi yeni bir toplu s&ouml;zleşme bağıtlamak amacıyla &uuml;&ccedil; ayı aşkın bir s&uuml;redir grevdeydi. Birleşik &Ccedil;elik İş&ccedil;ileri Sendikası'nın &uuml;&ccedil; şubesine bağlı iş&ccedil;ilerin y&uuml;zde 77,5'inin yeni toplu iş s&ouml;zleşmesini onaylaması &uuml;zerine, grev 13 Kasım g&uuml;n&uuml; sona erdi. 
 
&Uuml;&ccedil; yıl s&uuml;reli s&ouml;zleşme asgari y&uuml;zde 18 bir &uuml;cret artışı &ouml;ng&ouml;r&uuml;yor. Sendikanın Kanadalı y&ouml;neticilerinden Roger Falconer, sendika &uuml;yelerinin işbaşı yapmaktan mutlu olduklarını belirtti. S&ouml;zleşme uyarınca, geriye etkili olarak 7 Ağustos'tan itibaren iş&ccedil;ilere 5.000 Kanada doları ek pazar primi/ikramiyesi ve saat başına 1.35 Kanada dolarından başlamak &uuml;zere vardiya prim artışları sağlanıyor. S&ouml;zleşme tatil &ouml;demelerinde de artışlar &ouml;ng&ouml;r&uuml;yor. 

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Ekonomideki hızlı gerileme nedeniyle, grevin başlıca nedenlerinden biri olan &uuml;r&uuml;n temeline dayalı prim/ikramiye talebi ger&ccedil;ekleşmedi. 
 
PotashCorp'un 2007 k&acirc;rlarında 2006'ya oranla y&uuml;zde 400'l&uuml;k bir artış ger&ccedil;ekleşti. D&uuml;nyanın en b&uuml;y&uuml;k g&uuml;bre işletmelerine sahip şirket Kanada'nın potas arzının y&uuml;zde 18'ini, d&uuml;nyadaki &uuml;retim kapasitesinin y&uuml;zde 6'sını sağlıyor.

USW Canadian Members End 99-Day Strike at Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan

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