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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the UN General Assembly Declaration on HIV and AIDS, on a call by unions for more funding for HIV and AIDS, and more workplace activities and on efforts to find a vaccine or a cure to the disease. 
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UN Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS 
 
On 10 June, the High Level Meeting of the UN General Assembly adopted its outcome document, the new United Nations General Assembly Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS. 
 
The Declaration reaffirms the commitment of governments to fight the pandemic with time-bound targets laid down in the Millennium Development Goals, such as halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV by 2015. It commits governments to work toward the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2015. Efforts must be accelerated to achieve the goal of universal access to antiretroviral treatment for those eligible based on WHO treatment guidelines by 2015. 
 
Governments also pledge to eliminate gender inequalities, gender-based abuse and violence, and increase the capacity of women and adolescent girls to protect them from the risk of HIV infection. The Declaration calls on young people to help lead global HIV awareness. 
 
Of particular importance to unions and the world of work is Article 85 of the Declaration which says: &ldquo;Commit to mitigate the impact of the epidemic on workers, their families, their dependants, workplaces and economies, including by taking into account all relevant ILO conventions, as well as the guidance provided by the relevant ILO recommendations, including ILO Recommendation No 200, and call on employers, trade and labour unions, employees and volunteers to eliminate stigma and discrimination, protect human rights and facilitate access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.&rdquo; 
 
While the Declaration recognises that funding has increased in the period from 2001 to 2010 over eight-fold to US$16 billion, it expresses concern that the global financial and economic crises have a negative impact on the HIV and AIDS response. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS and ILO/AIDS press releases) 
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Unions Call for Closing Funding Gap; More Workplace Action 
 
Trade unions told a key meeting of UNAIDS, the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS that, along with real commitments from governments to fill the US$8 billion funding gap, the potential impact of workplace-based activities in tackling the pandemic is still not being realised. 
 
Unions called on the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board, the organisation&rsquo;s governing body, to add its weight to the UN call (see article above) and ensure that work-related activities are a full part of the overall response to HIV and AIDS. 
 
The action plan by the ITUC and its Global Union partners stresses reduction of stigma and discrimination, increase in access to prevention services, scaling up of social protection services and access to treatment, care and support. 
 
(Source: ITUC press release, 24 June) 
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Toward an HIV Cure? 
 
On the 30th anniversary of the first medical reports of a new illness, articles appeared on new efforts to find a cure for the AIDS virus. 
 
The new head of the International AIDS Society (IAS), Bertrand Audoin, said that a cure is the only way to keep ahead of the HIV epidemic in the long term during tough financial times. He admitted, however, that it may take as long as 25 years to find a cure. 
 
IAS has convened a working group of international researchers to develop a strategy that might lead to a cure. The group is co-chaired by Professor Fran&ccedil;oise Barre-Sinoussi, who won the Nobel Prize in 2008 for discovering HIV together with Luc Montagnier. 
 
Barre-Sinoussi writes in the International Herald Tribune that there is now robust evidence that early and highly active antiretroviral therapy can have a major impact on HIV transmission, demonstrating the &ldquo;treatment as prevention&rdquo; concept. AIDS is no longer the death sentence it was, but there now remains extreme uncertainty concerning the long-term sustainability of treatment access, especially in resource-limited settings, she writes. 
 
The Economist devotes its 4 June cover to the epidemic: &ldquo;The end of AIDS? How 5 million lives have been saved, and a plague could be defeated.&rdquo; The lead article gives this stark statistic: since the discovery of AIDS, 25 million people have died and another 34 million are infected. But the death rate is dropping. In 2005 the disease killed 2.1 million; in 2009 the number was down to 1.8 million. Inside, an article gives a detailed account of the present state of research. If a few people&rsquo;s immune system controls the disease naturally, it suggests that a vaccine might be possible. And if antibodies have been discovered that neutralise the virus, that might form the basis of AIDS-clearing drugs. 
 
(Sources: BBC News, 1 June; International Herald Tribune, 4/5 June; and the Economist, 4 June.) 
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South Africa: New Policy Saves Thousands of Babies from HIV 
 
The South African government has slashed the HIV transmission rate from pregnant mothers to their babies to merely 3.5%, potentially sparing some 67 000 babies from HIV infection. The success is due mainly to the Health Department vastly improving its programme for the prevention of mother-to-child HIV infection (PMTCT) from April last year. 
 
&ldquo;It is possible to prevent all HIV-positive mothers from passing the virus on to their babies, but we now have to concentrate on the care of babies after birth,&rdquo; said Precious Robinson, deputy director of government&rsquo;s PMTCT programme, at the release of the new figures at the SA AIDS conference. 
 
Under the old treatment programme, mothers and their newborns were given one dose of the antiretroviral drug nevirapine. At best, this reduced the HIV transmission rate to 8.8%, according to small local surveys. But in some parts of KwaZulu-Natal, one in five HIV-positive mothers were still infecting their babies despite getting nevirapine. 
 
In order to save babies, the PMTCT treatment programme was prioritised. From last April, the Health Department advised that all pregnant women with HIV are given the ARV called AZT from 14 weeks of pregnancy and three ARVs during labour (nevirapine, tenofovir, and 3TC). If a pregnant woman has a CD4 count of less than 350, she should be put onto triple therapy (three ARVs) within two weeks of getting her CD4 test results. Newborn babies are now given nevirapine syrup for as long as their mothers are breastfeeding them, or for six weeks if not they are not breast-fed. 
 
(Source: <a href="http://www.health-e.org.za">www.health-e.org.za</a>, 9 June) 
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&lsquo;Red Card&rsquo; to Keep Children Free from HIV 
 
Captains of national football teams competing in the FIFA Women&rsquo;s World Cup 2011 soccer championship in Germany are signing up to the Give AIDS the Red Card appeal in support of a global plan to eliminate new HIV infections among children by 2015. The Give AIDS the Red Card appeal, which was launched by the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) one year ago at the FIFA 2010 Men&rsquo;s World Cup in South Africa, uses the power and outreach of football to unite the world around stopping new HIV infections in children. 
 
Every day more than 1,000 babies are born with HIV. However, with access to HIV counselling and testing for pregnant women and their partners, and treatment when needed, the risk of transmission can be brought down to less than 5%. 
 
On signing the pledge, team captains appeal to football players and fans across the world to &ldquo;celebrate life and support the global campaign to prevent mothers from dying and babies from becoming infected with HIV.&rdquo; 
 
(Source: UNAIDS press release, Geneva, 24 June) 
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Websites of Global Fund County Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM) 
 
According to research conducted by Aidspan, at least 20 CCMs have established their own websites. Countries with CCM websites where the ICEM cooperates on HIV/AIDS include: 
<a href="http://www.india-ccm.org ">India</a> (Language: English) 
<a href="http://ccm-mauritius.org ">Mauritius</a> (Language: English) 
<a href="http://ccmnigeria.org ">Nigeria</a> (Language: English) 
<a href="http://www.gf.or.tz ">Tanzania</a> (Language: English) 
 
The information available varies considerably from one website to another, with the India site being by far the most comprehensive. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 149 of 8 June. GFO is a free service of Aidspan www.aidspan.org; 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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News from Global Unions 
 
The International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF &ndash; <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>) published the fifth issue of Agenda, its yearly magazine dedicated to HIV and AIDS. Agenda features, among other articles, case studies from ITF affiliates, strategies to fight HIV and AIDS at the workplace, and a new study on the civil aviation sector which reveals workers&rsquo; exposure to HIV infection, as well as stigma and discrimination. 
 
In the ITF HIV/AIDS updates 108 and 109 of 1 June and 15 June, respectively, articles can be found on peer education for civil aviation workers in Ecuador, a life skill education programme on HIV and AIDS in Indonesia organised by the Indonesia Seafarers&rsquo; Union, and the critical role the Transport and Dock Workers&rsquo; Union at Mumbai Port is playing in the implementation of a workplace policy on HIV and AIDS. 
 
The June Newsletter of the Swedish Workplace HIV and AIDS Programme (SWHAP), jointly run by the International Council of Swedish Industry (NIR) and the Swedish Industrial and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (IF Metall), reports on a range of peer educators and other HIV and AIDS programmes in East and Southern Africa. SWHAP focuses on the response to HIV and AIDS at Swedish related workplaces. 
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Five Years Ago: From the July 2006 Issue (No. 10) 
 
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 July 2006 issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin, we reported on the first seminar on HIV and AIDS and the workplace organised by ICEM affiliates in Colombia in cooperation with UNAIDS and the Ministry of Social Protection. 
 
We also reported on the concern the ICEM affiliate in Mongolia expressed about the increase in HIV infections. In a report to the ICEM Asia and Pacific Regional Committee, the Mongolia Mining and Energy Union gave an account of the recent increase in HIV prevalence in the country. Despite the still very low prevalence rate, the potential for a further increase due to unsafe sex, high infection rates among migrant workers and mobile traders, and lack of education among young people is high. It will be recalled that, with the help of the Japanese affiliates, the ICEM later initiated an HIV/AIDS programme in Mongolia. 
 
The article devoted to the United Nations High Level Meeting on AIDS stated that unlike the 2001 UN General Assembly Session on HIV/AIDS, relatively few world leaders attended this meeting which took place in New York from 29 May to 2 June, 2006. Civil society organisations criticised the final declaration. Difference over prevention strategies, such as abstinence and condom use, intellectual property rights and the naming of vulnerable groups have resulted in a weaker declaration and in serious omissions. In deference to Muslim and conservative Latin and Vatican opposition, the Declaration refers only to &ldquo;vulnerable groups&rdquo; at risk for infection without naming sex workers, homosexuals, or intravenous drug users as in need of particular attention. Civil society also noted an insufficient commitment to women&rsquo;s rights. Most of these deficiencies seem to have been removed from the new Political Declaration (see first article in this issue). 
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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. 70, July 2011

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The ICEM conducted a seminar entitled &ldquo;Modern Occupational Health and Safety Management in the Mining Industry,&rdquo; in Tbilisi, Georgia, on 4-8 July. The seminar was facilitated with the financial support of the ILO through its Moscow branch, and included the participation of ILO specialists. 
 
Representatives of ICEM affiliates in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, as well as respective national trade union centres, were brought together with trade union leaders responsible for workers&rsquo; safety and health. 
 
ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, was the central topic. ILO Conventions 187 and 155 on occupational health and safety, and their related Recommendations were also studied by participants. In-depth discussions were conducted over the systematic and preventive approach of the ILO, particularly in the mining industry, and risk assessment and implementation of state standards for enterprises were studied. 
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At the opening session, Confederation of Trade Unions of Georgia President Irakli Petriashvili, took the floor. He noted the relevance of the chosen topic, as well as the importance of the realisation of such a project in Georgia. As before, the relationship between unions and the government remain strained, he said, and there is no social dialogue. Most importantly, there is no legal basis for the adoption of necessary documents concerning labour protection. 
 
Petriashvili thanked international trade union representatives for their participation, which would again pressure the Georgian government to respect the national trade unions and their struggle for workers&rsquo; rights. 
 
Especially significant was involvement in discussions from representatives of ICEM affiliated unions in Armenia and Azerbaijan. The trade unions in these countries are working closely with their governments and employers. Armenia ratified Convention 176 back in 1999, while Azerbaijani participants reported a good situation for workers in the mining industry. In Georgia, there is no possibility of ratification of ILO Convention 176 in the foreseeable future, due to a total lack of dialogue between unions and the government. 
 
The seminar was attended by the ICEM Representative for Central and Eastern Europe, Anatoly Surin, and ICEM Health, Safety, Sustainability Officer, Brian Kohler. From the ILO, Viking Husberg, Specialist in Occupational Safety, and Oksana Gerasimova, Occupational Safety Coordinator of ILO Moscow took part. Also participating was Martin Hahn, Chief Specialist of the ILO responsible for the mining industry.

ICEM, ILO Conduct Mine Safety Seminar in Tbilisi, Georgia

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A two-year organizing campaign conducted by ICEM Turkish affiliate Petrol-İş, the Oil, Chemical, and Rubber Workers&rsquo; Union, has faced serious difficulties at targeted worksites. The anti-union Turkish labor legislation, which has been criticized by the ILO and whose major conventions have been ratified by Turkey, as well as hostile employer actions are the main reasons why. 
 
Petrol- İş has been picketing several factories to showcase this absence of genuine union rights. The ICEM was recently in Turkey supporting the union&rsquo;s organizing drives. General Secretary Manfred Warda and Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs Kemal &Ouml;zkan visited in early July to lend support. 
 
They first visited workers at Polyplex in the Corlu free trade zone, close to the Bulgarian border. Workers at Polyplex were in their 240th day of struggle after joining Petrol-İş in November 2010. When management learned of the drive, they used different tactics to get rid of the union, including firing 22 workers seen as union activists. 
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Manfred Warda Addresses Workers of Polyplex Europa
The Turkish Ministry of Labour and Social Security authorized Petrol-İş as the lawful bargaining unit on 5 January 2011. But managers immediately used the anti-labour provisions of Turkish legislation to delay collective bargaining by filing an appeal at a local labor court alleging that Petrol- İş had not signed up the required majority of workers. This stood as clear signal that Polyplex Europa would not recognize the union&rsquo;s existence. Such an appeal could run for two years, thus denying workers union rights. Both ICEM and Petrol-İş asked the company for a meeting to reconcile, but Petroplex consistently refused. Union representatives met with the General Consulate of India in Istanbul and stressed that the current situation brings a bad public image to the reputation of India. 
 
&ldquo;I am here on behalf of the entire ICEM family to show our solidarity,&rdquo; said Warda. &ldquo;We applaud the workers&rsquo; honorable struggle and we vehemently protest the Indian company Polyplex because of disrespect to workers&rsquo; rights guaranteed by international conventions.&rdquo; 
 
Warda and &Ouml;zkan later visited dismissed workers at the Aroma-Polifarma pharmaceutical company in the same region. A large majority of 300 workers at Aroma-Polifarma became Petrol-İş over the last few weeks. This came because of inhumane working conditions such as extended working hours, up to 16 hours per day; short breaks, only a maximum 30-minute break for lunch; inadequate drinking water in which some workers developed kidney problems; and most shamefully, cameras in the dressing rooms, even in the women&rsquo;s room. 
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Warda and Petrol-İş President Mustafa &Ouml;ztaşkın (center) with Polifarma Workers
The day before the ICEM visit, Polifarma dismissed some 150 workers because they were suspected of joining the union. In his letter to the owners of the company, the Kumrulu family, Warda said the sackings are clear violations of basic human and labour rights which can never be accepted or tolerated. &ldquo;I am sure most of these practices are subject to measures in Turkish penal and labor legislation,&rdquo; he wrote. &ldquo;Under all these circumstances, on behalf of the whole ICEM family, I vehemently protest all that you&rsquo;ve done &hellip; and urge you to immediately&rdquo; cease and desist. 
 
The ICEM delegation also went to the city of Gebze where dismissed workers of German-based Bericap were in their 200th day of resistance to the company&rsquo;s mass dismissals. Petrol-İş organised workers at Bericap in July 2009, following dismissal of six workers initally for attempting to unionise. On 26 January 2010, a collective agreement was agreed to in hopes of a mature labour relations relationship. 
 
But local management never intended to fully recognize the existence of Petrol-İş and began implementing a hostile attitude against the union and union members. Under such negativity, four union members were dismissed without justification on 25 December 2010 with no union rights being adhered to. In response, some 100 Petrol-İş members started an industrial action in front of the workplace. Local management terminated employment contracts of all those protesting and failed to provide any severance compensation. The Bericap situation became a prominent case in Turkey, which created an environment against the company and workers won the support of different community groups. (A short video of a <a href="http://www.evrensel.net/news.php?id=9396">Bericap Manifestation</a> can be seen here.)&nbsp; 
 
ICEM and Petrol-İş several times tried to initiate dialogue with Bericap in order to reinstate the dismissed workers, but reciprocal good will from the company never resulted. ICEM also informed its German affiliate, the IGBCE, the German Metalworkers&rsquo; Union, IG Metall, and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), since the German unions represent workforces there. Labor inspectors appointed by the Labour and Social Security Ministry recently disclosed their report after investigations. The report clearly states that local managers abused workers&rsquo; rights. Bericap Turkey is now liable and must pay compensation to the dismissed workers. In addition, local management must pay penalties since deficiencies and legislative misalignments were found during the inspection. 
 
&ldquo;Bericap cannot behave irresponsibly to its employees,&rdquo; said Warda in his address to striking workers on the picket line. &ldquo;We will give a last chance to the company to solve this problem in a peaceful way. Otherwise an international &lsquo;shame campaign&rsquo; will be launched.&rdquo; Immediately after the visit, ICEM sent another letter to Bericap Managing Director Alexander Krautkramer to take immediate actions to restore good-faith labour relations. 
 
&ldquo;We are pleased to have the support and solidarity of the ICEM in these struggles,&rdquo; said Petrol-İş President Mustafa &Ouml;ztaşkın. &ldquo;Our international partner has offered tremendous support in all our organizing drives and we know success will come with global solidarity from all workers of these companies worldwide.&rdquo;

ICEM Lends On-site Support to Workers Organising with Turkey’s Petrol-İş

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The annual meeting of ICEM&rsquo;s International Nuclear Workers&rsquo; Union Network, (INWUN) took place in the US city of Boston on 14 July, preceded by a two-day ICEM Electric Power conference. Some 30 union delegates from ten nations attended, including unions representing nuclear power station workers, uranium miners, and staff employed along the nuclear supply chain, including fuel conversion and enrichment processes. 
 
INWUN was founded inside the ICEM in 2004 and was incorporated as an official workers&rsquo; network of the Global Union Federation (GUF) in 2008. It is presided over by David Shier of the Canadian Power Workers&rsquo; Union (PWU), who stressed the importance of adding more unions to the network once conclusion of a new GUF is built with the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) and the International Textile, Garment, Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation. 
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IGBCE&rsquo;s Ralf Barttels
This year&rsquo;s event featured in-depths looks at the US lockout by Honeywell of members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7-669 in Metropolis, Illinois, as well as a spirited question and answer session of leaders of the 220,000-member Japanese affiliate Denryoku Soren, or the Federation of Electric Power Related Industry Workers&rsquo; Union. That focused on the cooling down and aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station following March&rsquo;s earthquake and tsunami. 
 
Denryoku Soren leaders Takashi Wakasugi, Kiyoaki Kotabe, and Manabu Sasaki spoke of the courage that came to workers and union staff working at Fukushima in the days immediately following when hundreds of ICEM affiliates poured moral and physical support to the Japanese union. &ldquo;Your encouragement and solidarity enabled all of us to press forward with restoration work as strenuous as it was,&rdquo; said Wakasugi, Denryoku Soren&rsquo;s Policy Officer. 
 
The USW was represented at INWUN by Vice President James &ldquo;Kip&rdquo; Phillips, Local 7-669 President Darrell Lillie, and the local&rsquo;s Vice President, Tim Goines. The lockout by Honeywell, ongoing now for 55 weeks (see recent ICEM <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4538-Honeywell-Threatens-Safety-by-Extending-Lockout-of-USW-Members-">news dispatch</a> here), pits a multinational company against a group of 228 workers, who represent the safety and security of a community of 6,400. 
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Ukraine Atomprofspilka President Valeriy Matoc, with Lesia Semeniaka Seated
Since last July, Honeywell has been attempting to operate the uranium conversion plant with scab workers and several near-miss safety and environmental occurrences have happened. INWUN delegates condemned the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission&rsquo;s decision to grant licenses to Honeywell to operate the plant with scab workers, and a letter to that extent was sent to the American agency. 
 
INWUN delegates also heard reports from individual countries, including the German union IGBCE on the de-commission of all nuclear facilities by the year 2022. IGBCE Representative Ralf Barttels made clear that although the union accepts closure of power stations in harmony with the wishes of the German public, the union has lobbied successfully to retain uranium enrichment, nuclear fuel production, research and development, and manufacture of nuclear components. 
 
French delegates told of their ongoing efforts to achieve a Global Framework Agreement with Areva, as well as their court efforts to block outsourcing by the global nuclear provider in France. Delegates to INWUN also pledged to build a more coordinated dialogue with employer federations in the nuclear industry, particularly around safety. A representative from the industry-based World association of Nuclear Operations (WANO) also addressed the group.

INWUN Conference Hears Heroic Deeds of Japanese Nuclear Workers

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Mediated negotiations this week between ICEM affiliate National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Chamber of Mines in South Africa will prove pivotal in determining if gold and coal strikes occur in the coming weeks. The NUM has also declared disputes in the nation&rsquo;s important platinum mining sector, with talks between the union and Anglo Platinum, Impala, and Northam Platinum at a stalemate. 
 
On 7 July, the NUM filed a declaration of dispute with South Africa&rsquo;s Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) over unresolved issues &ndash; including pay awards &ndash; in the coal industry. Talks on 8 July with the Chamber went nowhere, with employers refusing to budge from an offer that is less than the inflation rate. The Chamber represents AngloCoal SA, Exxaro, Xstrata Coal, Delmas Coal, Optimum Coal, and Springlake. 
 
The two sides will meet again this Wednesday, 20 July, under the auspices of the CCMA. There are a combined 250,000 miners covered under the coal and gold talks with the NUM representing 80% of those workers. Gold companies represented by the Chamber include AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, and Goldfields. 
<img alt="" src="" width="150" height="90" />
If no solution is found this week, the CCMA is likely to issue a certification of non-resolution, which means the union need only give employers a 48-hour notice before striking. In coal, the NUM is seeking a 14% pay hike, while the Chamber of Mines has been steadfast on granting only a 4.5% increase for the lowest mine classifications and 4.2% for others. 
 
A coal strike will severely cripple state-run electricity producer Eskom, which generates 95% of South Africa&rsquo;s power needs and 45% across the whole of Africa. 
 
In gold mining, talks failed on 6 July and again on 13 July, after which the NUM filed for dispute resolution with the CCMA. The union is also seeking 14% from the Chamber in the gold talks, while employers have increased their offer from 4.2% to between 5% and 5.5% in the most recent set of talks. 
 
&ldquo;We have already begun the mobilisation for massive strike action by over 250,000&rdquo; miners, said NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni. &ldquo;A real war has just started, a war over a living wage and this is not reversible.&rdquo; 
 
That war likely will be extended to South Africa&rsquo;s rich platinum mines, as well, where the nation is the world&rsquo;s leading producer. On 12 July, NUM declared a dispute with Northam Platinum at the company&rsquo;s 6,800-worker Zondereinde Division in Limpopo Province, and at two other Northam mines. A day later, a formal dispute was lodged against Impala Platinum, where NUM is seeking 14% for the lower classifications and 13.5% for higher job grades. The union is also polling members at the world&rsquo;s number one producer, AngloPlatinum, where it is seeking a 20% increase. 
 
One mine strike has already commenced. That is at the chrome mine of Chemstof Pty. Ltd. in Boksfontein, North-West Province, where 200 workers downed tools on 11 July over wage differences, living-out allowances and transport stipends. And at diamond producer DeBeers, the two sides are still far apart over a 2011 wage package.

NUM in Formal Disputes with South African Gold, Platinum, Coal Mining Houses

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The two-week strike by 120,000 members of the National Union of Metalworkers&rsquo; of South Africa (NUMSA) ended over the weekend when union members accepted a three-year contract from the Steel and Engineering Federation of South Africa (SEIFSA), the main metal employers&rsquo; federation in South Africa. 
 
NUMSA members will receive a first-year pay rise of 10% effective 1 July 2011. In the second and third years, metalworkers will receive no less than 8% in each year. If the consumer price index (CPI) is less than that percentage, the 8% increases will take hold; if it exceeds 8%, workers will receive 2% above the CPI. 
 
&ldquo;We ran a successful action,&rdquo; NUMSA General Secretary Irvin Jim said of the strike that began 4 July. &ldquo;We applied excellent pressure, workers were firm in their determination, and the timing for settling was good before the country&rsquo;s economy was bruised.&rdquo; 
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NUMSA Manifestation on 12 July
Jim said another fundamental issue resolved concerned labour brokers. Contract language was improved whereby labour brokers are allowed to deploy workers for only a four-month period. If a labour broker is retained for more than that period that broker&rsquo;s workers will win full-time, permanent positions with the primary employer inclusive of all social benefits. Workers will begin returning to jobs today and tomorrow, 19 July. 
 
Meanwhile, talks between the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers&rsquo; Union (CEPPWAWU) and several employers&rsquo; federations resume today. Some 70,000 CEPPWAWU members have been striking since 11 July against scores of employers in the petroleum, pharmaceutical, glass, plastics, industrial chemicals, fast-moving consumer goods, and pulp, paper, and wood products sectors. 
 
By far the biggest impact of those strikes has been in petroleum distribution businesses. The CEPPWAWU strike there has created panic buying and fuel shortages, with the seven members of the South African Petroleum Industry Association unable to move supplies to market from the country&rsquo;s 130 fuel depots. 
<img alt="" src="" width="240" height="160" />
CEPPWAWU Members March in Johannesburg, 11 July
CEPPWAWU&rsquo;s strikes were joined last week across several sectors by 14,000 members of the South African Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union (SACWU) and 10,000 members of the General Industrial Workers&rsquo; Union of South Africa (GIWUSA). 
 
The unions are seeking wage increases ranging from 11% to 13%, while respective industries are offering only 6.5% to 7%. ICEM-affiliated CEPPWAWU seeks a complete ban on labour brokers, a minimum month wage of R6,000 (&euro;615), six months paid maternity leave, and a 40-hour work-week. 
 
The strike, specifically in regard to fuel shortages and transport, is expected to be exacerbated starting today with the start of the third trimester of school in South Africa. Some of the companies affected are petrol giants BP Southern Africa, Chevron SA, Engen Petroleum, PetroSA, Shell SA, and Total SA; pharmaceutical companies Adcock Ingram, Aspen Pharmaceutical, and Pharmacare; consumer companies Revlon and Colgate; the industrial chemicals company Sasol, as well as Nampak Glass and paper companies Sappi and Mondi. 
 
South African strikes were amplified this winter by a PricewaterhouseCoopers&rsquo; report showing that executive pay trends of the 40 top-listed companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange saw median pay increases of 23.3%, while executive bonuses rose 56%.

Metal Strike Ends in South Africa with Exemplary 3-Year Contract

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The 55-week lockout by US manufacturing and technology company Honeywell Inc. on 228 unionised workers appears to be over. United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7-669 in Metropolis, Illinois, and the US company came to tentative terms for a new three-year contract on 20 July, which likely sets in motion a return to work for USW members beginning on 15 August if union members ratify the tentative accord next week. 
 
The workers convert yellow-cake uranium into uranium hexafluoride (UF6), which is used in nuclear fuel enrichment. USW Local 7-669 members have been locked off their jobs since 28 June 2010 and in the weeks following, Honeywell inexplicably re-started operations at a worksite utilising dangerous chemicals with inexperienced replacement workers. 
 
Local 7-669 President Darrell Lillie said the union is currently in the process of sorting out job re-classifications; Honeywell has created 21 new jobs and with the union retaining its seniority provisions in the tentative new agreement, job scheduling and job bidding must take place for returning workers.
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USW Local 7-669 President Darrell Lillie&nbsp; 

Lillie said that should be complete today and the union will conduct an explanation meeting of the new contract early next week, with voting on the tentative agreement expected to occur by mid-week. 
 
&ldquo;Overall, we&rsquo;re not entirely happy with the proposed contract but we are glad that several of the key issues that the company was trying to take from us will remain in place,&rdquo; said Lillie. &ldquo;We preserved most provisions that are at the heart of what trade unionists value.&rdquo; 
 
Those provisions include the seniority provisions, which allow senior-most workers to accept more favourable jobs when they become open; retention of a defined benefit pension plan for existing workers; retiree medical care under that same pension scheme; and retention of overtime pay for time work after eight and 12 hours per day. Honeywell workers in Metropolis work both eight- and 12-hour work shifts. 
 
Another important provision kept by workers was time-and-a-half pay on the sixth consecutive day in a week worked, and double-time for the seventh. (See <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4538-Honeywell-Threatens-Safety-by-Extending-Lockout-of-USW-Members-">ICEM news piece</a> from earlier this month.) 
 
Regarding wages, the proposal contains no increase for the first year of the contract, 1% effective 15 August 2012, and 2% due on 15 August 2013. It should be noted that at the outset of the lockout, Local 7-669 proposed a freeze on wages and continuation of all terms and conditions from a previous three-year contract, but the company was set on gutting many benefits and union-protection provisions. 
 
In the proposed agreement, new hires will fall into an equity fund scheme rather than the defined-benefit AlliedSignal Pension Benefit Thrift Fund, and workers on leave under the US Family and Medical Leave Act must take vacation time concurrently. A handful of janitorial and laundry jobs will be contracted out, and more worrisome in such a dangerous worksite, a single safety operator job will be outsourced. That position is responsible for maintaining all safety equipment throughout the plant, such as fire extinguishers, emergency breathing devices and other safety equipment. 
 
Lillie said 150 workers will return to training and re-orientation as mandated by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission on 15 August, 40 workers two weeks later, and the remainder two weeks after that. The unionised workforce will number about 220 workers when the experienced and qualified USW members are&nbsp;fully back to work.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;Local 7-669 is highly appreciative of the tremendous support we have received from trade unions, those in the community and others throughout this long lockout,&rdquo; said Lillie. &ldquo;The donations, the international support, and the recognition by many here and abroad on what we were up against will never be forgotten.&rdquo;

USW Union at Honeywell Reaches Tentative Labour Agreement

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from International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation 
 
Some 10,000 workers and citizens from every part of Korea participated across the night of 9-10 July in the &quot;Hope Bus&quot; march to the Hanjin shipyards in Korea to protest against dismissals in breach of contract and precarious work, and to make a solidarity visit to hunger-striking protester Kim Jinsuk. After a culture festival at Busan, the participants started a candlelight march to the shipyards. One kilometre from the yard riot police blocked the road and opened fire on marchers with water cannons and liquid tear gas. 
 
Kim Jinsuk has been denied access to medical treatment since 5 July, when her doctor was physically prevented from seeing her. The company has also stopped her from getting necessities and a recharged mobile phone. 
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Marchers attacked with tear gas
The president of a national trade union centre, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), planned on taking part in the hunger strike on 13 July to call on the Hanjin Corporation to bargain in good faith. 
 
The Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU) will hold a press conference on 14 July to announce protest letters to the Korean president Lee Myung-bak to the press. 
 
The International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) sent a letter to the Korean president on 4 July, calling for the Korean government to stop all violence against the workers at Hanjin Heavy Industries shipyard and Yuseong Piston Ring factories, to push the companies to start collective bargaining and lift the lock-out, stop the persecution of union officials, members and sympathizers, and to respect the ILO Conventions on freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining. 
 
The IMF, KMWU and LabourStart have launched a campaign calling on the Korean government to end the violence immediately. Join the <a href="http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=1046 ">LabourStart campaign</a> through this link.

Korean Metal Workers’ Continue Struggle at Hanjin Shipyards

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The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, a key ICEM global affiliate in the Materials Sector, held its quadrennial Convention in Las Vegas, US, from 25-28 July, and re-elected their top office-bearers with unanimous voice approval. The nine officers stood as the Proven Leadership Team. 
 
The convention marked the 32nd Convention of the US-Canadian union that has united boilermakers, cement workers, ship builders, forgers, and blacksmiths for the past 131 years in North America. 
 
Re-elected President was Newton B. Jones; Secretary-Treasurer, William Creeden; and Vice Presidents: Warren Fairley, US Southeast; James Pressley, Industrial Sector; Lawrence McManamon, US Great Lakes Region; Joseph Maloney, Western Canada; Edward Power, Eastern Canada; J. Tom Baca, Western US States; and David Haggerty, US Northeast. 
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Speaking on the closing day of the Convention, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda sincerely thanked Jones for accepting global responsibilities with the ICEM as a member of the Executive Committee and as Chairman of the ICEM Materials Sector. He also cited the importance of specific sector work, citing ICEM and European trade union influence in blocking Lafarge&rsquo;s attacks on retiree health insurance of IBB Local D-27 members in Sugar Creek, Missouri, in 2008 and 2009. 
 
&ldquo;I assure you the ICEM will always be prepared to mobilise global support and solidarity whenever you call and tell us of the need,&rdquo; said Warda. 
 
The ICEM leader also told of trade union repression by governments in Colombia, Iraq, and Mexico, and he reminded IBB delegates of the shameful deeds by US right-wing politicians in camouflaging deficit-reduction measures as direct attacks on trade unions. 
 
&ldquo;Wisconsin must be stopped before it becomes a virus spreading all around the world,&rdquo; said Warda to standing applause. 
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UMWA President Cecil Roberts
United Mine Workers&rsquo; of America (UMWA) President Cecil Roberts spoke on the convention&rsquo;s opening day and praised the leadership of the IBB. &ldquo;These people are the blood of your blood, the flesh of your flesh, and the soul of your soul,&rdquo; Roberts told delegates. &ldquo;They have shown the way for all of us.&rdquo;

US Boilermakers Hold 32nd Convention

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from International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation 
 
Miners at Cananea, Sonora, Taxco, Guerrero and Sombrerete, Zacatecas, have now been on strike for four heroic years in defence of their labour and trade union rights. On 30 July and the following days, the miners will hold rallies to reaffirm their continued support for the strikes and the struggle of the Mexican Miners' Union. 
 
The National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM), or Los Mineros, affiliated to the ICEM and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF) says it is willing &quot;to negotiate legal arrangements necessary to end the strikes, if a solution can be found that will respect the workers, recognize their collective agreements, definitively establish adequate health and safety conditions, and respect the miners' union led by Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez Urrutia.&quot; 
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The three strikes continue because there has been no legal ruling to determine a definitive end to the strikes, explained the union. The union added that, throughout this period, the company has stubbornly refused to act peacefully and resolve the strikes in accordance with the law. 
 
During these years, the workers on strike have been persecuted and some judges have ruled that the strikes were invalid. However, the courts have ruled in the union's favour in response to union requests for legal protection. Workers have been subjected to repression in these four years, for example on 6 June 2010 at the Cananea mine, which was occupied by 4,000 armed men who maintained a climate of terror against the miners. 
 
In addition to the rallies that will take place on July 30 to commemorate four years on strike, the union will hold meetings to discuss how to strengthen the strikes and to call on the local communities to continue their support for the miners. 
 
The miners and the local communities are deeply concerned that neither the government nor Grupo M&eacute;xico has taken any steps to resolve the disputes, recognise the collective agreements, and respect the National Miners' Union.

Los Mineros Commemorates Four Years on Strike Against Mexican Mine Companies

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