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At the Fifth Meeting of the Brazilian national network of trade unions at Dutch-based Akzo Nobel plants from 15-17 July in S&atilde;o Paulo, union representatives from British-based ICI chemical facilities joined the network. Akzo Nobel recently acquired ICI. 
 
The expansion of the network is expected to further the links of solidarity between workers of the two companies in Brazil. 
 
The 25 union representatives present came from plants located in Recife, Santo Andr&eacute;, Mau&aacute;, S&atilde;o Bernardo do Campo, Jundia&iacute;, Itupeva, S&atilde;o Roque, S&atilde;o Paulo, Bahia, Guarulhos, and Rio de Janeiro. 
 
The network meeting opened with a presentation by the Brazilian national centre CUT on a multinational project surrounding the ABC Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union&rsquo;s Project of Life programme. That deals with the demands of life, health, and work, and introduces actions to ensure a better work environment. 
 
The coordinator of the network, Sergio Carrasso, then delivered a report on activities of the network since its inception in 2003. That was followed by the results of a survey done by the Social Observatory Network on working conditions at Akzo Nobel.
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&nbsp; 
The survey reflects a positive outcome through collective negotiations, with workers of Akzo Nobel in Brazil managing to establish better social dialogue practices in which civil rights have been guaranteed and wage differentials bridged. 
 
ICI trade unionists attending made a presentation on their individual plants, including numbers of workers, length of work days, discrimination problems, and social dialogue and corporate social responsibility experiences. 
 
The mid-July network meetings also served as preparation for the Third National Social Dialogue forum of Brazilian unions with Akzo Nobel. The network meeting concluded with a visit to the S&atilde;o Bernardo do Campo plant. 
 
Akzo Nobel workers pledged to continue seeking contacts with workers of the company in Mexico and The Netherlands.

Brazilian Akzo Nobel Workers’ Network Brings in ICI Plants for Effective Solidarity

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&nbsp;The ICEM lodged a stern protest with the government of Turkey following excessive police force to quell a peaceful protest by ICEM affiliate Belediye-İş, the Municipal and General Workers&rsquo; Union. Due to stalled negotiations on behalf of 10,000 union members at different segments of the Istanbul Metropolitan Muncipality, the union issued a 60-day strike notice in mid-July. 
 
On 17 July, 2,000 Belediye-İş members, along with officials of the union, marched to an administrative building of the municipality to hang a banner announcing their legal strike. They were immediately repelled by police, using pepper spray and pressurized water cannons. 
 
The police force was a reminder of the force used on 1 May this year when trade unionists attempted to lay flowers at Istanbul&rsquo;s Taksim Square in memorial to the 37 comrades killed there by government forces on 1 May 1977.
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Police Water Cannons Impede Peaceful&nbsp;Belediye-İş March on 17 July 

&ldquo;The attitude taken by police against peaceful demonstrators reinforces the impression and opinion worldwide on your government&rsquo;s pursuit against (workers&rsquo; rights),&rdquo; wrote ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. 
 
&ldquo;Although Turkey has ratified ILO Conventions 87 and 98, we understand that neither in law or in daily life can these standards be freely exercised.&rdquo; 
 
The strike notice was issued because the Istanbul Metropolitan Muncipality has closed the door on negotiations after offering only an 8% increase. Belediye-İş is seeking a 40% increase. According to the union, daily consumer costs have rapidly escalated beyond the high inflation rate in Turkey, with water and transportation increases nearing the 35% mark.

ICEM Protests Police Force to Break up Belediye-İş Strike Call in Turkey

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Trade unions the world over are encouraged to apply for the remaining spots in the 2008-2009 master course offerings of the Global Labour University, to be held in Germany, India, Brazil, South Africa. 
 
Forms and information can be found&nbsp;<a href="http://www.global-labour-university.org/">here</a>. 
 
The programme offered at Germany&rsquo;s University of Kassel and Berlin School of Economics centres on global governance and macroeconomics; the programme at the Tata Institute in Mumbai, India, deals with the informal economy; the curriculum at the University of Witwaterstand, Johannesburg, South Africa, is the politics of development; while at Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), S&atilde;o Paulo State, the focus is on transational companies.
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The Global Labour University is an initiative of the ILO, global trade unions, academic institutions, and foundations. ACTRAV, the ILO Bureau for Workers&rsquo; Activities, offers scholarships to trade unionists from developing nations and transitional economies. Applicants must have the endrosement from a trade union to apply.

Applications Closing Fast for Admission to 2008-2009 Global Labour University

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The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) of the UK has issued a cautionary warning on the number of hydrocarbon releases in the offshore oil and gas industries. Such releases are considered precursors for major accidents. 
 
The concern comes just five weeks after British trade unions and civil society commemorated the 20-year anniversary of the deadly Piper Alpha offshore disaster, in which 167 oil workers were killed. 
 
Figures released by the UK's HSE reveal that there has been no improvement in the number of hydrocarbon releases in 2007-2008. Some 517 dangerous incidents were reported in that period, 40% of which were hydrocarbon releases.
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The statistics, released by the HSE on 13 August, show that there was also an increase in the number of serious injuries in the offshore sector in 2007-2008 from the prior year. There were 44, compared to 39 in 2006-2007. Although for the first time in three years there were no fatalities in the offshore sector, there were 12 deaths in marine operations tied to offshore work. That included eight seamen who perished in April 2007 when the Norwegian anchor-handling tug supply vessel Bourbon Dolphin sunk in UK waters off the Shetland Islands. 
 
HSE Executive Judith Hackitt said the statistics are a reminder &ldquo;that we are far from being in a position where we can feel comfortable. On the failure to reduce the number of hydrocarbon releases, plus the increase in recorded dangerous incidents, she said the obvious implication is &ldquo;that basic safety systems are not being followed.&rdquo; 
 
UK&rsquo;s worst offshore disaster in the UK occurred on 6 July 1988 during Occidental Petroleum&rsquo;s Piper Alpha platform blasts. The 167 workers killed were caught in a hellish series of explosions lasting 75 minutes that many blamed on lax management control systems.

UK’s Health, Safety Executive Issues Warning on Offshore Hydrocarbon Releases

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The mining company Rio Tinto has been identified by the Australian labour movement as a major obstacle in stopping the use of AWAs, the draconian individual work agreements made to order by the ousted Howard government in order to weaken workers&rsquo; rights. 
 
And ICEM affiliate Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) is taking on the company squarely for trying to renew Australian Work Agreements (AWAs) with railroad workers at Pilbara Rail Services, a key Rio subsidiary in its lucrative western iron ore business. 
 
The CFMEU is seeking authorization from the Industrial Relations Commission to hold a secret ballot election in order to take industrial action, a move geared to rid rail workers of AWAs in favour of real collective agreements. Getting such legal sanction in West Australia is aimed at forcing Rio Tinto to the bargaining table.
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The union is similarly running campaigns to persuade BHP Billiton iron ore workers in the west to toss away AWAs, as well as Xstrata coal miners in the north. 
 
The Labour Government of Kevin Rudd, in March, passed a new law that scrapped John Howard&rsquo;s WorkChoices, but major companies are using loopholes in the new law to continue offering AWAs. 
 
Australian Council of Trade Unions President Sharan Burrow said &ldquo;there has been clear evidence that (telecommunications company) Telstra, Rio Tinto, Cochlear, and other major companies are still exploiting&rdquo; the loopholes. The ICEM stands with the CFMEU and asks that all miners in Australia refuse AWAs, and demand ironclad collective agreements with their employers.

Rio Tinto Test Awaits to Get Mining Firm to Discontinue Individual Work Agreements

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The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in South Africa has hit hard on four deaths within a week at AngloGold and AngloPlatinum, pivotal proof that the country is in need of rigid safety regulations that hopefully will become law late this year. 
 
During a week spanning 12 August to 17 August, safety performances by both AngloGold and AngloPlats sunk at the same time the Chamber of Mines lobbied against tougher criminal penalties and corporate liabilities. Those arguments came in discussions during public hearings of the proposed Mine Health and Safety Amendment Bill. A Chamber of Mines leader said such measures would undermine CEOs in their current focus on workplace safety. 
 
At AngloGold, one worker was killed underground on 12 August in a mine collapse at Mponeng, while at TauTona, another miner was killed similarly, and two others were seriously injured. This happened on 15 August. At AngloPlats, majority owned by AngloAmerican, a company that sacked an AngloPlats CEO over safety performance, a fatality occurred at the Mogalakwena mine (16 August) and the Amandabult mine (18 August).
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NUM Gen. Sec. Frans Baleni&nbsp;
AngloGold workers set up a Day of Mourning for 21 August, but it was met with a company &ldquo;no work, no pay&rdquo; rule, which infuriated the national NUM. &ldquo;It is within our African culture to mourn and workers will continue to mourn for their deceased colleagues whether or not&rdquo; the industry accepts the practice, said NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni. 
 
AngloGold shut production at one of the two mines stricken by the worker fatalities, but AngloPlats continued production at both its mines. The NUM is pushing enactment of reform legislation that would lift maximum fines from R200,000 to R1 million on mining deaths, as well as place criminal liabilities on company officials.
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Also in the NUM, a near month-long strike by 700 miners at UK-based Petra Diamonds Ltd.&rsquo;s Heman mine ended on 19 August when the nation&rsquo;s second largest diamond producer significantly rised wages. The company admitted during the strike that even though its wage offer was near the inflation rate of 12%, its wage proposal would still not lift salaries to national mining averages. 
 
In other South African mining news, Energy and Minerals Minister Buyelwa Sonjica emphatically blasted activists who are attempting to block a titanium mining venture in the country&rsquo;s remote western coastal regions. Speaking in favour of a project by the Australian company Minerals Resource Commodities and its South African subsidiary, Transworld Energy and Minerals, she said those opposing the project now should examine their own apartheid-era disinterest before they take up the mantle community activists.

NUM Protests Rash of AngloGold, AngloPlats Mine Deaths in South Africa

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On 13 August, in the northern Colombian city of Baranquilla, the right-wing paramilitary group &ldquo;Black Eagles&rdquo; issued a communiqu&eacute; calling for death to community activists and trade union leaders, most notably a union leader in ICEM mining affiliate Sintracarb&ograve;n. He is Adolfo Llanos. 
 
The ICEM strongly denounced the cowardly acts in a letter to the Colombian government and the three MNCs that control worksites in which Sintracarb&ograve;n represents coal miners, and transport and port workers. The ICEM demanded greater security for trade union leaders in the letter, and for the government to apprehend and convict those responsible.
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ICEM Gen. Sec. Manfred Warda
&ldquo;It must now be the obligation and responsibility of the government, in close cooperation with the management of Carbones del Cerej&oacute;n, to ensure the safety for all the people on this death list,&rdquo; wrote ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We take this vile and cowardly letter seriously and we hope you do as well, particularly in view of the fact that the 22 March 2008 murder of Sintracarb&ograve;n activist Adolfo Gonz&aacute;lez Montes has gone unsolved.&rdquo; 
 
Gonz&aacute;lez Montes was a committeeman for the Barrancas mining section of Sintracarb&ograve;n. He was murdered early in the morning of 22 March prior to his work turn at his home in Riohacha. Before his murder, multiple assailants tortured him in front of his four children, and immediately following the murder, other leaders of Sintracarb&ograve;n received telephone death threats.
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Adolfo Llanos is a union leader at Puerto Bolivar, Cerrej&oacute;n&rsquo;s deep-water coal export port on the Caribbean coast. Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n is one of the world&rsquo;s largest open pit coal mining firms, equally owned by AngloAmerican, BHP Billiton, and Xstrata. 
 
The Colombian government has maintained that the Aquilas Negras, or &ldquo;Black Eagles,&rdquo; no longer exists. But leaders of other unions have received death threats from the paramilitary group, including the food and beverage trade union Sinaltraninal late last year.

ICEM Demands Greater Security for Sintracarbòn Unionists in Recent Colombian Death Threats

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Focused militancy coupled with poised negotiating gave 325 workers of German industrial gas company Linde in Thailand a solid 31-month collective agreement. The Thai Industrial Gas Local Union (TIGLU), aligned with ICEM affiliate Petroleum and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Federation of Thailand, won major gains at 10 chemical plants in a negotiated agreement reached late last week. 
 
On 22 July, in the first round of collective negotiations, local management claimed they had no authority to address the union&rsquo;s 16 demands. Even at a 28 July tripartite bargaining session in a provincial labour office in Saraburi, management refused to take the demands.
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Last Week's Bargaining, TIGLU Committee in Foreground
TIGLU then conducted extraordinary meetings at different worksites where strike authorization was put to a ballot. As important, the union reached out to the ICEM and to German affiliate IGBCE, insisting that parent Linde instruct local management to bargain in good faith. 
 
A strike by two-thirds of the combined workforce started on 6 August, and lasted only four days. A commitment was gained quickly and honest talks began on 11 August. Those talks produced the first written agreement between TIGLU and the company. That happened last Friday, 22 August. In the binding pact, the union scored major gains on 10 of the 16 demands. They also won agreement that the remaining items would be addressed by joint union-management committees.
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&nbsp;TIGLU Workers on Strike, 8 August
TIGLU won important contractual commitments on contract labour, giving contract workers the right to full-time and permanent work after time periods. Effective 1 January 2009, a union dues check-off system will be put in place by the company, and Linde&rsquo;s management agreed to begin giving 39 scholarships for children of workers, ranging from elementary school age to post high-school age. 
 
TIGLU also achieved paid union leave, training courses for all workers on their rights, benefits, and entitlements, and increased health care benefits. That increases to 40,000 baht per year, the equivalent of &euro;750. 
 
They also won Providence Fund increases of up to 10% of salary for workers with 15 years service or more, and 5% increases for workers with less than five years. 
 
The ICEM congratulates the members of TIGLU for their energy, integrity, and ability to use social dialogue to post benefits and work rule improvements for Linde workers in Thailand.

Thai Industrial Gas Workers Win Through Striking, Engagement in Earnest Bargaining Table Talks

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Mission to Ghana &ndash; Breakthrough in ICEM Pilot Project 
 
Key elements of the ICEM Global HIV/AIDS Project are the pilot projects. In identifying areas where we can make a real contribution, the ICEM has developed the concept of such projects in cooperation with major mining companies. 
These projects target health clinics operated by the companies, which provide functioning medical services to their workers and immediate dependents. The clinics can be used to expand their services to the broader community in the area and provide voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) as well as antiretroviral treatment (ART). 
 
The ICEM concept has now received recognition at the AngloGold Ashanti mine in Obuasi, Ghana. Building on discussions between the ICEM and management in Johannesburg, AngloGold Ashanti is now involved in a public-private partnership with the Ministry of Health. The project is intended to provide HIV clinic services, including voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) and antiretroviral treatment (ART) to employees, their dependents and the community of Obuasi. 
In a good example of a co-investment project, the company makes the infrastructure of the hospital and the medical staff available. It provides VCT and ART to its employees and their dependents at its own cost and gets reimbursed for such services provided to the community. 
 
During a joint mission with representatives of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), the ICEM Global HIV/AIDS Coordinator visited the Obuasi mine. Members of the delegation were briefed at the company&rsquo;s Edwin Cade Memorial Hospital on the HIV/AIDS programme. Weekly health briefings at the Obuasi office of the Ghana Mine Workers&rsquo; Union will involve the union in the programme. 
The delegation also visited the Malaria Control Centre which was opened by the President of Ghana on 28 April. The malaria control programme covers the spraying of all houses in Obuasi. 
 
The joint ICEM/GFATM mission was a first for the global union movement. Representatives of the Ministry of Health/Ghana Health Service, as principal recipient of the grants, and members of the Country Coordinating Mechanism were briefed on the advantages of public/private sector co-investment projects for the implementation of Global Fund grants. 
In all meetings the point was made that the private sector includes business and unions. The ICEM can take credit that this concept has been recognised by the Global Fund when exploring further co-investment projects in other countries. 
<img height="28" alt="" src="" width="20" />
United Nations High Level Meeting on AIDS 
 
Heads of state and government, ministers and more than a thousand representatives of civil society and the private sector gathered in New York for the follow-up to the 2001 UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) and a comprehensive review of the progress made in achieving the targets agreed by member states five years ago when the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS was adopted. 
 
Trade unions attending the event have urged government representatives and HIV/AIDS activists to focus on workplace strategies to address stigma and discrimination attached to HIV/AIDS. 90% of the 40 million people who are HIV infected are found in the working age population. Many of them live in daily fear of losing their jobs. 
The workplace is particularly well-positioned to combat discrimination in society and it holds tremendous potential for awareness-raising, prevention, treatment and counselling. More attention must be directed to the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work, which speaks directly to the need for partnership and social dialogue in the workplace. 
 
Trade union representatives have also approached government delegations to seek support for the creation of a high-level G8 Working Group on HIV/AIDS. This ongoing campaign had already targeted health ministers attending the World Health Assembly of the WHO in Geneva in May. It will continue at the International Labour Conference of the ILO in June. 
 
As reported in the May issue of this e-bulletin, the UN produced two reports prior to the meeting, which can be accessed on the UNAIDS website <a href="http://www.unaids.org">www.unaids.org</a>. On the eve of the High Level Meeting, UNAIDS launched the 2006 Report on the global AIDS epidemic. This special edition, marking the 10th anniversary of UNAIDS, contains the most in-depth date from countries to date, based on progress reports from 126 countries. 
(The outcome of the Conference and the UNAIDS 2006 Report will be given more detailed attention in the July issue of this e-bulletin). 
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Global Fund Calls for Round 6 Proposals 
 
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has issued its Sixth Call for Proposals. The application form and support documentation are available in six languages at <a href="http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/apply/call6">www.theglobalfund.org/en/apply/call6</a>. Proposals have to reach the Global Fund by 3 August. 
 
The Global Fund does not have offices in any country. The application process is devolved to the national level. All proposals have to go through the Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM). The composition of the CCMs is supposed to be representative of all stakeholders in the fight against HIV/AIDS, including civil society, the private sector and organisations of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). 
Very few CCMs include trade unionists. This should not prevent trade unions to work through members of the CCM who are sympathetic to their cause and to find cooperating partners who can develop workplace-related project ideas into proposals for the CCM. 
 
The role of the workplace in the fight against HIV/AIDS is recognised. No workplace activities can be efficiently implemented without unions. The role of national unions and their international bodies, the Global Unions Federations, is acknowledged by international organisations such as the ILO, the WHO and UNAIDS. 
 
The Global Fund is keen to build public/private partnerships and to implement co-investment projects. Without the involvement of the private sector, universal access to voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) and to anti-retroviral treatment (ART) is not possible or will be further delayed. The private sector is business and trade unions as the workers&rsquo; representatives. 
The ICEM has worked with the Global Fund to establish this principle in public/private co-investment projects. 
<img height="28" alt="" src="" width="20" />
FNV Report Acknowledges Contribution of ICEM Projects 
 
In a report entitled &ldquo;Trade union support in the struggle against HIV/AIDS&rdquo;, FNV Mondiaal, the international trade union development organisation of the Dutch national centre FNV, stresses the importance of HIV/AIDS as a trade union issue. 
FNV Mondiaal is currently supporting 12 HIV/AIDS-related projects in cooperation with Global Union Federations and national unions. Fighting the pandemic is one of the priorities of its business plan 2005-2008. 
 
The report cites the ICEM project, which also enjoys the support of the Swedish LO/TCO, as a good example of integrating HIV/AIDS issues in collective bargaining and global framework agreements. 
The report gives credit to the ICEM&rsquo;s efforts to build partnerships, especially in Ghana, to decrease the incidence of HIV/AIDS in mining companies and to upscale VCT and ART. It further acknowledges ICEM&rsquo;s role in working with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and national Country Coordinating Mechanisms to involve unions and generate additional funds. 
<img height="28" alt="" src="" width="20" />
Australia and AIDS 
 
Two initiatives have been launched in Australia to try to stop the spread of HIV infections in Asia, from where 40% of the disease&rsquo;s growth is forecast to come over the next few years. 
The first is a partnership between the Australian government and the Bill Clinton Foundation. Australia will provide USD 18 million to work with the Foundation in China, Vietnam and Papua New Guinea to provide test kits and antiretroviral drugs. The government-Clinton coalition will work with a second cooperative effort involving Australian companies that have operations in Asia. 
(Source: The Economist, 1 April 2006) 
<img height="28" alt="" src="" width="20" />
South Africa: May Day Focus on HIV/AIDS 
 
Along with a number of trade unions throughout Africa, the Congress of South African Trade Unions focussed its 1 May activities on HIV/AIDS under the theme &ldquo;AIDS &ndash; The New Struggle&rdquo;. It emphasised breaking the silence and building solidarity with the slogan &ldquo;Each one teach one! Test, Treat and Fight for Life&rdquo;. 
Sectoral summits with employers and other stakeholders are planned during 2006 and mining companies will be asked to create a fund to assist with the scaling up of access to care and treatment in Lesotho and Mozambique, where the pandemic has been fuelled by migrant labour to the mines. 
<img height="28" alt="" src="" width="20" />
Fighting HIV/AIDS &ndash; Lessons from Brazil 
 
In the history of the response to the HIV pandemic, Brazil is best known for its pioneering decision in 1996 to offer free combination antiretroviral treatment to all citizens. 
The government-funded treatment programme has improved the health and extended the survival of countless Brazilians, has saved the country billions in hospital cost and has inspired similar efforts elsewhere &ndash; including the US President&rsquo;s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the WHO&rsquo;s 3x5 Initiative. 
Between 1996 and 2005, the government spent a total of USD 3.5 billion in response to HIV and AIDS, including USD 2 billion for antiretroviral drugs. All the money for drug treatment has come from internal funds; about 11% of total expenditure has come from World Bank loans, spent chiefly for prevention programmes and to establish a national laboratory network for the clinical monitoring of patients. 
 
Brazil&rsquo;s persistent and aggressive efforts to prevent new HIV infections have probably played an equal if not greater role than treatment in slowing down the spread of the virus and containing the country&rsquo;s epidemic. At the beginning of the 1990s, the epidemics in Brazil and South Africa were at a similar stage, with a prevalence rate of about 1.5% among adults of reproductive age. 
 
However, by 1995, the year before Brazil&rsquo;s treatment programme was established, the epidemic in South Africa began to explode with a prevalence already greater than 10%, whereas the infection rate in Brazil had declined by half. The early success of prevention efforts allowed its national treatment programme to be feasible logistically and financially by limiting the number of people infected. 
In turn, access to free treatment has made Brazilians more willing to be tested and has made it easier to address the types of behaviour associated with transmission. 
 
In Brazil, during the week before Carnival, citizens who ventured to catch a bus, buy a beer or mail a letter were likely to be reminded by their government to use condoms. Postal costumers received condom brochures along with their stamps. Public health officials, contracted with Coca-Cola distributors, delivered condom posters to bars along with the soft drinks. Prevention efforts targeting high-risk parts of the population have achieved impressive success, particularly among injection-drug users and commercial sex workers. 
 
An important factor in making the programme affordable was the expertise of the domestic pharmaceutical industry, which allowed the country to produce generic versions of antiretroviral drugs with patents that had been registered before 1996, predating Brazil&rsquo;s signing of the TRIPS agreement. 
For newly developed drugs, Brazil may still decide to issue compulsory licenses in the future on the basis of the WTO Doha declaration that the TRIPS agreement should be interpreted and implemented by member countries &ldquo;in a manner supportive of WTO members&rsquo; rights to protect public health, and in particular, to promote access to medicines for all&rdquo;. 
 
(Source: The New England Journal of Medicine, No. 19, 11 May 2006) 
<img height="28" alt="" src="" width="20" />
News from ILOAIDS 
 
A new brochure &ldquo;The workplace: gateway to universal access&rdquo;, published in April, gives a succinct overview of the role of the ILO in reducing discrimination and increasing access to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. 
 
Published in May, &ldquo;Saving lives, protecting jobs&rdquo; is an interim report of the International HIV/AIDS Workplace Education Programme, also known as Strategic HIV/AIDS Responses by Enterprises (SHARE) and financed by the US Department of Labor. Under the programme, almost 2,800 government officials and key members of workers&rsquo; and employers&rsquo; organisations have received in-depth training on developing policies and implementing programmes on HIV/AIDS. Over 2,000 workers have been trained as peer educators. 
 
Both publications can be accessed at <a href="http://www.ilo.org/aids">www.ilo.org/aids</a>. 
<img height="28" alt="" src="" width="20" />
REMINDER TO ICEM AFFILIATES 
 
This is your newsletter &ndash; contribute to it! 
 
ICEM affiliates are already engaged in a wide range of activities; some have formal agreements with companies; others run education and awareness programmes at the workplace. 
 
To spread the information on new agreements and campaigns and to build on best practices, affiliates and project coordinators are invited to send news and information to hiv.aids@icem.org. Any feedback on the format and contents of the e-bulletin is also welcome.&nbsp;&nbsp;

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 9

<img height="130" alt="" src="" width="350" /> 
&nbsp;
&nbsp; Enactment of the unpopular WorkChoices labour reform law in Australia will reverse the course on gender equality in the workplace, said Sharon Burrow, president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
&nbsp;Contents<a name="BackUp"></a>
<a href="#A1">1. WorkChoices Act - Australian Women&rsquo;s Rights Hit Hard</a> 
<a href="#A2">2. Nepal - Equality for Women Goes from Strength to Strength</a> 
<a href="#A3">3. USA - A New Movement for Family-Friendly Policies</a> 
<a href="#A4">4. Canada - C$100 Million Pay Equity Settlement</a> 
<a href="#A5">5. China - Women&rsquo;s Pay Still a Long Way from Equal</a> 
<a href="#A6">6. Colombia - Court Legalises Some Abortions</a> 
<a href="#A7">7. Finland - 100 Years of Women&rsquo;s Suffrage</a> 
<a href="#A8">8. Malaysia - Give Women What is Fair</a> 
<a href="#A9">9. Mexico - Women Allege Sex Abuse by Police</a> 
<a href="#A10">10. Switzerland - Work-Life Balance Means a High Return on Investment</a> 
<a href="#11">11. UK - Iraqi Women Visit Trade Unions</a> 
<a href="#A12">12. Resources</a> 

<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" /><a name="A1"></a><a name="1"></a>
1. <a name="1"></a>Australia &ndash; Women&rsquo;s Rights Hit Hard 
 
The Australian government&rsquo;s industrial relations reforms have set back women&rsquo;s fight for equal rights at work by decades, according to the national labour centre, Australian Council of Trade Unions. 
 
ACTU president Sharan Burrow told a recent women&rsquo;s conference that female equality in the workplace was unachievable under WorkChoices. She said, &ldquo;We were already struggling&hellip;.now with WorkChoices we&rsquo;ve lost the tools to do anything about it.&rdquo; The tools included the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, unfair dismissal laws and equal pay principles. She said the changes had angered many women who had fought hard in the past three decades to try to achieve equality. 
 
But she also predicted the Howard government&rsquo;s reforms will prompt a new generation of women to rally behind the cause for work rights. Burrow is the first woman ever to serve as president of the ICFTU. 
<a href="#BackUp">Back Up</a>
<img height="25" alt="" src="" width="20" /><a name="A2"></a><a name="2"></a>
2.<a name="2"></a> Nepal &ndash; Equality for Women Goes from Strength to Strength 
 
The General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) congratulates all women in Nepal for the new victory in the fight for equality. The House of Representatives made one more landmark declaration guaranteeing the right of women, by providing a 33% requirement in all state bodies. 
 
It will secure women a one-third representation on all security forces, bureaucracy and constitutional bodies, including Parliament. It will be imperative for every political party and mass organisation to follow the same rule. Moreover the declaration put an end to the patriarchal nature of the existing citizenship law and ensured citizenship to all. 
 
Now Nepali citizenship will be awarded on the basis of both mother and father, contrary to the previous practice of citizenship based on the father&rsquo;s only. By this declaration all discriminatory laws and practices against women will be annulled. The demands were the major agenda of Nepali women&rsquo;s movement including working-class women, the trade union movement and gender-friendly organisations. 
 
The ICEM congratulates GEFONT and all women in Nepal on this important achievement in the immediate aftermath of the political capitulation of King Gyanendra.
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3.<a name="3"></a> United States &ndash; A New Movement for Family-Friendly Policies 
 
Patti Devlin from LIUNA wrote about the new movement for family-friendly policies because of the family crisis in America. Mothers and families are in trouble. A full quarter of families with children under six live in poverty, at least 9 million children have no health care, and far too many parents cannot afford to stay home with sick children. 
 
Working toward common sense, family-friendly policies, like those covered in The Motherhood Manifesto, will help all families. To support common sense family-friendly policies that protect and invest in mothers, children and families. Please sign the petition at: <a href="http://www.momsrising.org/">www.momsrising.org</a>.
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4.<a name="4"></a> Canada &ndash; C$100 Million Pay Equity Settlement 
 
BCE Inc., Canada&rsquo;s largest telephone company, agreed to pay about C$100 million to workers represented by the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers&rsquo; (CEP) Union of Canada. 
 
The union filed suit in 1992 to seek equal pay for Bell&rsquo;s largely female operators, and dining and housing-service employees. About 2,000 people who work or have worked full time as operators would each receive between C$25,000 and C$30,000, plus an adjustment to their pensions. 
 
&ldquo;People have waited a long time for this settlement,&rdquo; said CEP President Bryan Payne. The settlement covers current and former employees who worked for Bell between 1993 and 1999. Most of the people covered by the proposed agreement no longer work for Bell because their jobs were cut in the 1990s.
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5. <a name="5"></a>China &ndash; Women&rsquo;s Pay Still a Long Way from Equal 
 
While more Chinese believe both genders are equal, a recent national survey by the All-China Women&rsquo;s Federation found women were still in a passive and disadvantageous position in the workplace. 
 
According to the survey, the employment rate of women age 18 to 49 has decreased by more than 16 percentage points compared to 1990. More than half of all laid-off workers are women. For working women in cities, their average income is roughly 70% that of men, representing a disparity of about 7% wider than a decade ago. This could be based on the fact that far fewer women want to have a voice in the managerial affairs of their units, even though China has many more women leaders in every aspect of social life than ever before, said survey analysts. 
 
According to the survey, only about 42% of women staff are concerned with the politics of their organisations, in contrast with more than 58% of men. 
 
While most men surveyed said their suggestions had been taken on board, most of the women said their suggestions had only brought &ldquo;negative&rdquo; results. It is this attitude towards the ability of women that freezes almost 65% of women in low-ranking positions, said Deng Li from the federation. &ldquo;While gender equality is widely recognized in China, the social tradition and climate promoting a subordinate female role in relation to the male role persists,&rdquo; Deng said. 
 
Consequently the survey found 20% of the men had promotion opportunities in the past three years, while only a little more than 16% of their female counterparts had the same opportunities. 
 
In addition, fewer women have been protected by proper unemployment and retirement pensions, which Deng said will prompt the federation to suggest that the National People&rsquo;s Congress write &ldquo;safeguarding equality in employment&rdquo; into the Law on the Protection of Women&rsquo;s Rights and Interests. 
 
&ldquo;Discrimination against women has become the most severe problem in the employment market in China, ranging from higher recruitment requirements for women to scarce promotion opportunities and humiliating workplace abuse,&rdquo; Deng said. 
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6. <a name="6"></a>Colombia &ndash; Court Legalises Some Abortions 
 
Colombia&rsquo;s highest court has legalized abortion under limited circumstances. The decision is expected to embolden women&rsquo;s rights groups across Latin America to use courts in their countries to try to roll back some of the world&rsquo;s most stringent abortion laws. 
 
The court overturned Colombia&rsquo;s complete ban on abortion and ruled that the procedure would be permitted when the life of a mother was in danger, or the foetus was expected to die or in cases of rape or incest. 
 
The lawyer in Bogot&aacute; who brought the case fought on the grounds that Colombia was violating its own commitments to international human rights treaties ensuring a woman&rsquo;s right to life and health. The court, explaining its decision, said the life of a foetus could not be put ahead of the life of the mother, and called the complete ban &ldquo;disproportionate&rdquo; and &ldquo;irrational.&rdquo; Advocates of abortion rights say the arguments are applicable to other Latin American countries as well. 
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7. <a name="7"></a>Finland &ndash; 100 Years of Women&rsquo;s Suffrage 
 
Finns are celebrating a century of being the first country to grant women full political rights. On the First of June, 1906, a law was enacted giving all citizens the right to vote and full political rights for women, the first country in the world to do so. A year later, 19 women were elected into the 200-member single chamber. In 1893, New Zealand became the first country permitting women to vote, but it initially did not allow them to compete in elections. 
 
Finland&rsquo;s Foreign Minister, Erkki Tuomioja, said the country was among &ldquo;the most advanced nations in gender equality. We&rsquo;re not perfect, we have a lot to do still, but we are an example for the rest of the world,&rdquo; Tuomioja said in an article distributed by the Associated Press. 
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8. <a name="8"></a>Malaysia &ndash; Give Women What is Fair 
 
Referring to the complaint that salary should not be the basis for maternity pay, companies still treat women indifferently, especially when it comes to maternity leave. Employers could be charged in court if they sack a female employee just because she is pregnant, as provided by the 1955 Employment Act. Many companies give two months&rsquo; paid maternity leave (up to the fifth child), even though their salaries are above RM 1,500. 
 
Efforts are being made to amend the Employment Act for the definition of workers to include those who earn more than RM 1,500. The Malaysian government has not ratified ILO Convention 183 on maternity protection, which sets a requirement for 14 weeks&rsquo; paid maternity leave, parenting leave for the spouse, breastfeeding breaks for nursing mothers and provision of childcare centres. 
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9.<a name="9"></a> Mexico &ndash; Women Allege Sex Abuse by Police 
 
Mexico&rsquo;s human rights agency said on 30 May it has filed complaints with prosecutors after nearly two dozen women claimed they were raped or sexually abused by police following a violent protest. 
 
The allegations are the most serious to arise against police, frequently accused of corruption and violence, during the administration of President Fox, said Guillermo Ibarra, coordinator-general of projects and communication for the Mexican National Human Rights Commission. He said seven women reported that they were raped and 16 others, including three foreign nationals, said they were sexually abused by police who detained them after violent clashes last week in the town of San Salvador Atenco. 
 
Ibarra said his panel has filed criminal complaints with the attorney general&rsquo;s office in the central state of Mexico, where local, state and federal police officers have been accused by the women in the alleged abuses. 
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10. <a name="10"></a>Switzerland &ndash; Work-Life Balance Means a High Return on Investment 
 
The Swiss union UNIA has found that work-life balance is profitable for companies; that it provides an 8% return on investment. 
 
A government study proves this figure for three reasons. Mothers come back to work after their maternity leave, which lowers the rate of fluctuation and reduces costs for new hiring. New hiring costs for bringing low-paid workers (CHF 4,000 to 90,000) on to payrolls is significant, and making better use of part-time workers means that companies use their human resources more efficiently. And finally, work-life balance makes it possible for mothers to have qualified careers in spite of their family responsibilities. Motivation and company image were not taken into account in these figures. 
 
In addition, in the chemical and pharmaceuticals industry in the Basel region, UNIA managed to boost maternity leave from 16 to 18 weeks. 
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11.<a name="11"></a> United Kingdom &ndash; Iraqi Women Visit Trade Unions 
 
Iraqi and Kurdish women trade unionists visited the UK in March with the support of the Trades Union Congress, and unions Unison and Amicus. 
 
The delegation consisted of Nazanin T. Ali, Head of Women&rsquo;s Affairs at the Kurdistan Workers Syndicate, member of the Service Workers Union; Hoda S Rafiq, member of the Kurdistan Journalists&rsquo; Union, who works for the Kurdistan Workers Syndicate newspaper; Hassana Abdulsatar, member of the Mechanics, Metal and Printing Workers Union, and a member of her union&rsquo;s women&rsquo;s committee; and Violet Issa Qalaab, President of the Oil and Gas Workers Union Al Zubair Branch and member of the Iraqi Women&rsquo;s League. 
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12. <a name="12"></a>Resources: 
 
The EU&rsquo;s Responsibility at the WTO: Environment, Gender and Development, written by Women in Development Europe and Friends of the Earth Europe, 2006. 
 
This publication aims to contribute to a constructive dialogue between civil society representatives from the North and the South, and representatives from the EU that could contribute to an EU trade policy consistent with social and gender justice and environmental sustainability. 
The first part reports on the public hearing, entitled &ldquo;The EU&rsquo;s Responsibility at the WTO: Environment, Gender and Development,&rdquo; highlighting issues such as the commoditization of natural resources under the WTO, the importance of people&rsquo;s food sovereignty, the gender dimension of the trade agenda and biosafety. 
The second part consists of an analysis of the outcome of the Hong Kong Ministerial meeting, from a feminist and environmentalist perspective. Available online at: 
<a href="http://www.eurosur.org/wide/Globalisation/WTO06.pdf">http://www.eurosur.org/wide/Globalisation/WTO06.pdf</a>
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ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN N° 12

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