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On 29 September, ten million bitter people demonstrated across Europe. They protested government imposed austerity measures brought on by a financial crisis not their fault, or the fault of those now feeling the pain from crisis-caused social cuts. 
 
In the weeks since, that bitterness and anger has not gone away. In fact, it is manifesting itself day by day through differing circumstances in different countries. What the angst and anger have in common from one country to another is the feeling that those that caused the pain do not share in it now. 
 
Perhaps nowhere is the anger more pronounced than in France, where last week&rsquo;s strikes at refineries, pipelines, shipping, and transportation centres were compared to strikes in 2006. The country could be literally shut down this week if the strikes &ndash; focused on President Nicolas Sarkozy&rsquo;s pension reforms &ndash; continue. Prior 24-hour strikes were extended to continuous strikes last week, and another mass day of action is set for tomorrow, 19 September. 
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The CFDT said 3.5 million workers taken to the streets by mid-week last. Although Sarkozy has pushed through portions of pension reform, he still seeks legislation to increase the minimum pension age from 60 to 62 and increase the age for a full retirement package from 65 to 67. As the strikes grew throughout last week, a poll showed 69% of French citizens support the strikes. 
 
In Romania on 13 October, Finance Ministry workers stopped work in a spontaneous strike and occupied the Finance Ministry overnight. They were joined by public-sector workers from the Work, Heath, and Post Office, all protesting elimination of bonus payments from July, totaling between &euro;100-150 per month. That accounts for up to 60% of public-sector salaries. 
 
Continual protests in the Central European nation have now had an effect. Late in the week, the finance minister agreed to restore the bonuses for August and September. And a pension reform bill that would have lifted the retirement age for both men and women was sent back to Parliament for amendments because of &ldquo;people mobilisation&rdquo; and pressure from trade unions. The protests could become even bigger this week, since the menace behind Romania&rsquo;s austerity cuts &ndash; the International Monetary Fund &ndash; is scheduled for an evaluation visit on 22 October. 
 
In the Slovak Republic on 12 October, thousands of trade unions marched in Bratislava and assembled in the city&rsquo;s SNP Square, protesting the government&rsquo;s harsh reductions in the 2011 budget. The measures include cutting one-seventh of the entire state budget, including cutting the pay of all public-sector workers by 10%. The Confederation of Trade Unions (KOZ) said the average family of four throughout the country will see a reduction in income of &euro;400 a year, and instead calls for higher taxation on dividend earnings and granting relief measures to ordinary citizens. 
 
In the Czech Republic, trade unions are on strike alert today, anticipating the worst scenario on how a 10% pay cut in across the public sector will be implemented. A poll in the Czech Republic revealed that 58% of people polled believe the austerity measures will result in slower economic recovery. On 21 September, 40,000 Czech public-sector workers took to the streets because of the pay cuts. 
 
In Athens, Greece, protesters that are owed up to two year&rsquo;s back pay barricaded themselves inside the Acropolis and had to be removed by police force. Other tense confrontations appear to be hotting up for Slovenia, Portugal, and the UK. 
 
Instead of pension reform, wage cuts, and budget curtailments, trade unions see jobs and economic growth as the catapult to recovery. Unions bear witness that most victims of austerity cuts are workers and the working poor, victims of an economic crisis set off by bankers and traders and aided then by the same neo-liberal governmental policies that now call out for social cuts.

Deep Anger to Austerity Continues Across Europe

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As the world rejoiced last week on the release of 33 trapped miners in Chile, questions arise over a chain of events at Campa&ntilde;ia Minera San Esteban Primera&rsquo;s San Jos&eacute; copper mine leading up to the massive 5 August roof collapse and rock slide that entombed miners for a record 69 days. 
 
While Chile President Sebasti&aacute;n Pi&ntilde;era basks in the global spotlight of a heroic rescue marshaled by the world&rsquo;s very best mine engineering and technical expertise, answers to those questions likely will remain hazy. Pi&ntilde;era has pledged there will be no impunity for mine owners and has commissioned an enquiry that will report findings by 22 November. 
 
But the very make-up of that commission explains just one of the structural deficiencies inherent in Chilean mine safety: no trade union representatives will be involved. Chile&rsquo;s mining unions say the government for decades has been unwilling to engage in tri-partite dialogue to improve mine safety, telling workers&rsquo; representatives their job is to negotiate over economic issues, not to participate on health and safety matters. 
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The unions say government officials and mine industrial representatives have consistently refused initiatives to discuss ratification of ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, because it would dislodge strict industry-government control. One trade union leader told the ICEM that with vast private-sector investment already in Chile&rsquo;s mining industry, he has witnessed a steady stream of World Trade Organisation (WTO) people, but never a representative from the ILO. 
 
The facts behind San Esteban&rsquo;s shoddy safety record must come to light to accurately illuminate the structural barriers blocking safe mine practices in Chile. As early as 2004, the single entity trade union at San Jos&eacute;, Union No. 2 of Compania Minera San Esteban, presented legal challenges in courtrooms to close the mine because of unsafe conditions. Those went unheeded. 
 
In January 2007, following a rock slide that killed a worker, the National Service of Geology and Mining (SERNAGEOMIN) did order closure of the mine, but a replacement supervisor for the agency ordered it re-opened several months later. Reportedly, the order to reopen came because of political pressure. 
 
The re-opening was conditional, with the two owners promising to construct a second escape route, improve ventilation, and make other capital improvements inside a mine prone to rock falls after blasting. None of the promises were carried out and no inspections were made. 
 
Six months before 5 August, San Esteban&rsquo;s safety consultant resigned when he couldn&rsquo;t deal with the multitude of safety infractions. He spoke of roof meshing not in place, roof bolts being shorter and interspaced further than standard requirements, and huge rocks not cleared following blasting. In short, all the prerequisites contained in ILO Convention 176 &ndash; a second exit route, regular inspections, trade union consultation, regulatory bodies with the authority to shut and keep shut unsafe mines, workers&rsquo; rights to refuse unsafe work &ndash; were missing in the San Jos&eacute; mine, and no doubt in countless other Chilean mines. 
 
(To view ICEM&rsquo;s global campaign for the ratification of ILO Convention 176, click <a href="/en/209-ILO ">here</a>.) 
 
What is for certain is Pi&ntilde;era, Mining Minister Laurence Golborne, and others, including leaders of state-run copper company Codelco, did assemble a world-class operation that successfully rescued the 33 San Jos&eacute; miners. Chile is a world-class minerals producer. But there is little question that procedural safety processes at the country&rsquo;s mine sites are far from world class. 
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In the aftermath of the recue, scores of ICEM affiliates issued public statements. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) congratulated the Chileans &ldquo;on the successful rescue operation&rdquo; and said that since expert technical aid came from South Africa, South African miners should expect more at home in terms of fewer mine deaths. 
 
&ldquo;Over 90 mine workers have died from January to date and the mining industry in South Africa continues to move snail-paced in safety terms and continues to fool itself and those who believe there is significant improvement&rdquo; inside the country&rsquo;s mines, read the statement. 
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The Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) of Australia said that in August, it &ldquo;set about the task of raising funds to help (the 33 miners) and their families. These are people who have nothing and work under some of the most draconian conditions in the world. (CFMEU&rsquo;s) campaign raised 20 million pesos, about A$40,000, and is still growing. 
 
The Australian union created a video tribute that can be seen <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceX6ftvKgi4 ">here</a>. 
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The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) said, &ldquo;&hellip; while we celebrate, we must also look at this event as a learning opportunity for those who regulate mining at home and abroad. Every mine in the world, regardless of location and engineering challenges, must operate in an environment that puts the safety of miners above every other consideration. 
 
&ldquo;Even the most stringent mine safety laws are only effective when regulators have the will and the means to rigorously enforce them. As we rejoice in the rescue of our Chilean brothers, let us also learn from the mistakes that put their lives at enormous risk.&rdquo; 
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In Germany, the IGBCE stated that this misfortunate must draw on lessons to support Chilean miners in their fight for safe work conditions. The ICEM rightfully uses this mine disaster to call on governments all over the world to ratify and adhere to the safety standards contained in the ILO Convention. 
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And Los Mineros, the Mexican National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (SNTMMSRM), contrasted the all-out effort to rescue the Chilean miners with its own government&rsquo;s refusal to search or to conduct any kind of inquiry into the February 2006 mine disaster that killed 65 miners. 
 
The 33 miners in Chile are now safe and together with their families. But exactly how they came to be at death&rsquo;s door, and whether or not the Chilean government will make corrective structural changes in mine safety, remains an open question.

Chile’s Rescue Illuminates Country’s Mine Safety Shortfalls

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the great success of a project by the German IGBCE women in Tanzania, on the South African government&rsquo;s failure to provide promised female condoms at the World Cup games, and on the mining house AngloAmerican&rsquo;s ongoing campaign to stem the spread of the HIV virus in South Africa. 
 
The ICEM Calls on its Affiliates to Contribute to this e-bulletin 
 
ICEM affiliates are engaged in a wide range of HIV/AIDS activities. To spread the information on new agreements, awareness, and prevention campaigns, and educational activities, affiliates and project coordinators are invited to send news and information to <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a>. Any feedback on the format and contents of the e-bulletin is also welcome. 
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IGBCE Women Sponsor Successful VCT campaign in Tanzania 
 
The second leg of the campaign for voluntary counselling and testing took place in Mwasa, the second largest town in Tanzania, in August. The campaign was sponsored with donations from the women unionists of the German ICEM affiliate, IGBCE. The African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF) gave technical assistance. 
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A total of 875 people were tested, among them 800 workers, members of the ICEM affiliates TUICO and TAMICO in Tanzania. Four percent tested positive, with a marked difference between men (3.1 percent) and women (6.9 percent). All who tested positive were referred to the government hospital in Mwasa. 
 
A dancing troupe of people living with HIV and AIDS provided entertainment, and members of the group also gave testimonies to encourage workers and members of the public to get tested. 
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Female Condoms Missing During World Cup 
 
Female condoms have been widely celebrated as an answer to putting reproductive health and HIV protection in the hands of women. Yet, the South African government fell far short of its promise of distributing 7.5 million female condoms during the World Cup games in June, with only one million finding their way into the hands of consumers. On the other hand, male condoms were available in high numbers - 565 million - though even these were 20% fewer than expected. 
 
Many women&rsquo;s organisations, who had pressed for the condoms, expressed disappointment that the female versions were largely missing in action, thus offering women less choice of how to protect themselves. Tian Johnson of Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Trust is frustrated at the situation, referring to messages communicated by the organisation to 2010 visitors, &ldquo;Coming to South Africa soon? Bring your own condoms; we certainly don&rsquo;t have enough to share!&rdquo; 
 
(Source: <a href="http://www.genderlinks.org.za">www.genderlinks.org.za</a>, as reported in Pambazuka, 23 July) 
 
Note by the Editor: The Coordinator of the ICEM HIV/AIDS Project is campaigning for wider access to female condoms. During the Sub-regional HIV/AIDS Women&rsquo;s Workshop in May, she found that female condoms were not commonly available. 
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World AIDS Day 2010: Universal Access and Human RIghts 
 
First observed in 1988, World AIDS Day (WAD) on 1 December has served to raise awareness about the epidemic, focus attention on issues that are key to a successful response, and to inspire positive action. The WAD theme for 2009-2010 is &ldquo;Universal Access and Human Rights.&rdquo; 
 
In cooperation with the World AIDS Campaign and other organisations, this year UNAIDS is organising a global &ldquo;Lights for Rights Commemoration&rdquo; in 100 cities. This campaign aims to highlight the linkages between HIV vulnerability and Human Rights around the world, especially of people living with HIV, women and girls, men who have sex with men, sex workers, people who inject drugs, and transgender people. 
 
The &ldquo;Lights for Rights&rdquo; campaign began on 1 December 2009 in the US, when the lights were turned off and later turned back on, illuminating New York City landmarks. The darkness represents how stigma, discrimination, and criminalization forces people to die alone in fear and shame, while switching the lights on symbolizes the human rights of all people, which allows one to walk in the light of information, treatment, care, and health. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS website <a href="http://www.uniaidstoday.org">www.uniaidstoday.org</a>. UNAIDS has produced a toolkit which can be accessed on this site 
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Zimbabwe: Patients Forced to Pay for ARVs 
 
Rampant corruption in the provision of life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and other HIV services is threatening Zimbabwe's national AIDS response, according to a recently released report by a local human rights group. 
 
Commissioned by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) in March 2010, the report - Corruption Burns Universal Access to Treatment - found that 73% of HIV-positive respondents had been asked to pay bribes by health workers. Most of those unwilling or unable to pay were turned away or given inadequate services. 
 
The findings were based on interviews with 1,024 people living with HIV in the provinces of Masvingo, Harare, Bulawayo, and Manicaland. Most of the respondents lived in urban areas and 89% had a family income of less than US$100 a month. 
 
HIV patients were often asked to pay for services that were supposed to be free. About a third of the respondents who were asked for bribes refused to pay them, mainly because of poverty; as a consequence, 63% were denied the service and had to pay for drugs or diagnostic tests in the private sector, or on the black market, or go without. 
 
(Sources: Plus News, Harare, 5 October) 
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Kenya: Minister Condemned for Promoting Gay Inclusion 
 
A Kenyan minister who expressed her opinion in support for HIV and Aids mitigation programmes for gays and lesbians has come under sharp criticism from church and Muslim leaders who said her remarks were &ldquo;satanic&rdquo; and contrary to &ldquo;African culture.&rdquo; 
 
Esther Murugi, the special programmes minister in the Kenyan government, while addressing a Gays and Commercial Sex Workers HIV and Aids Symposium held at the Kenya Coastal City of Mombasa, challenged the government, in which she serves to help the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and inter-sex (LGBTI) community efforts in war against the scourge. 
 
The seminar, titled &ldquo;Most &ndash; At-Risk Populations (MARPs),&rdquo; was targeted at Men having Sex with Men (MSM), sex workers, and Injecting Drug Users (IDUs), believed to be at the greatest risk of HIV infection. 
 
Politicians attacked the minister over her remarks and called on Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki to dismiss her for advocating for the recognition of gays and lesbians. The symposium was partly sponsored by the National Aids Control Council (NACC) which is the government national agency that designs and implements policies on the fight against HIV and AIDS. 
 
(Source: BTM correspondent, 6 October) 
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Global Fund: Donor Governments Pledge Record Amounts 
 
Donors are expected to give the Global Fund about US$11.7 billion over the three-year period, 2011-2013. This is 20% more than was pledged three years ago for the 2008-2010 period; but it is still less than the Global Fund says that it needs. 
 
More than 40 countries, together with the European Commission, faith-based organizations, private foundations and corporations attended a pledging session in New York on 5 October chaired by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. 
 
The Fund says that its total needs over the three years 2011-13 will be between US$13 billion and US$20 billion. Over the past few months, donor government studied the Fund's needs and effectiveness and deliberated over how much each would commit to for the three years in question. They then came to New York to announce their decisions. 
 
The four countries that pledged the most for 2011-13 are the US, US$4 billion, 40% more than its pledge for the previous three years; France, US$1.48 billion, a 20% increase over the previous three years; Germany, US$822 million, no change; and Japan, US$800 million, a 28% increase. The three countries that pledged the largest percentage of their Gross National Income (GNI) are Norway and France (0.018% each) and Canada (0.013%). 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 131 of 8 October. GFO is a free service of Aidspan <a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>; to receive GFO send an email to <a href="mailto:receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>) 
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AngloAmerican&rsquo;s Campaign against HIV/AIDS 
 
AngloAmerican is the largest private sector employer in South Africa and the effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic have ravaged its business. However, over the years the situation has become more manageable. By its own estimates, approximately 12,000 of its 71,000-workforce in South Africa are HIV-positive. 
 
The group&rsquo;s medical consultant, Dr Brian Brink, who is also the Global Fund Board member for the private sector, says that the big turning point came when treatment became available and effective. In negotiations with the union, the company agreed to pay for antiretroviral treatment (ART), but the real obstacle to getting things done was the stigma, fear, and distrust surrounding the disease. Agreement with the union also included guarantees that the jobs of HIV-positive workers were safe. 
 
From the economic point of view, giving out ART free of charge also makes sense. The fully-accounted cost for treatment is US$126 per HIV-positive worker per month. Against this, the total savings from reduced absenteeism and declining health care costs, as well as reduced staff turnover and benefits payments are US$219. 
 
(Sources: Daily Telegraph London, 2 August, with additions from the editor) 
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News from the Swedish Workplace HIV/AIDS Programme 
 
The Swedish Workplace HIV/AIDS Programme (SWHAP) is a joint initiative by the International Council of Swedish Industry (NIR) and the Swedish Industrial and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (IF Metall), an affiliate of the ICEM. 
 
In the latest newsletter of SWHAP, there is a report on the Swedish programme&rsquo;s Sub-regional Conference in Zimbabwe related to the development of its South Africa Peer Educators Network and new HIV/AIDS workplace programmes in cooperation with unions and Swedish companies in Southern and East Africa. The SWHAP programme in Namibia has commenced with the adoption of workplace policies by Auto Sueco, Atlas Copco, and ABB, and the training of peer educators. 
 
(Source: SWHAP Newsletter August 2010) 
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News from Global Unions 
 
The International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>, reports in its latest HIV/AIDS update No. 93 of 1 October on its HIV/AIDS capacity-building workshop for the Asian region and the publication of a new seafarers directory that includes information on practising safer sex and advocacy of condom use. 
 
The August Newsletter of PSUFASA (Public Sector Unions Fighting AIDS in Southern Africa) reports on the projects activities in Zimbabwe. The project, which is supported by the UK Department for International Development, is in its last year of the three-year project cycle. The project is coordinated by Tsitsi Mariwo from the PSI Southern Africa office in Johannesburg. 
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Five Years Ago: ICEM&rsquo;s HIV/AIDS e-Bulletin was Born 
 
The first issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin was published in October 2005. In future issues, we will refer to an article from the same month five years ago and reflect on developments. 
 
In October 2005, we reported on the Global Fund replenishment meeting in London in September 2005. Governments then pledged US$3.7 billion, which was short of expectations as the total needs of the Fund had been estimated at US$7 billion. As the article on the replenishment meeting in New York above shows, the amounts pledged have trebled but so have the needs to cover all approved grants and sustain service delivery. 
 
In the October 2005 issue we wrote: &ldquo;The relatively low level of support raises questions about the G8 commitment (at the Gleneagles Summit in July 2005) to place on antiretroviral treatment by 2010 all HIV patients who need it.&rdquo; 
 
That sadly has become true. As the year 2010 comes close to ending, various estimates say that only half of the HIV positive population who needs treatment still has not access to it. 
 
(The source of the article in October 2005: Global Fund Observer, Issue 50 of 7 September 2005) 
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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. 61, October 2010

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The ICEM is encouraging trade union activists from southern Africa nations, Brazil, and India to be one of 20 participants in the Global Labour University&rsquo;s (GLU) six-month &ldquo;Engage&rdquo; programme. A 1 November deadline for application approaches for a unique opportunity to engage in a diploma course that puts individuals on the front lines of current labour policies in the rapid globalisation of trade. 
 
The 20 trade unionists from those areas nations assuredly will strengthen their trade union capacities regarding analysis and then intervention on issues affecting labour struggles. &ldquo;We see this as a big advantage for affiliated trade unions to have people with this experience return home and be involved in strategic national issues,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re very enthused about this shortened curriculum and what it has to offer.&rdquo; 
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For details, including application and scholarship availability, visit the site <a href="http://www.global-labour-university.org/216.html">here</a>. Applications should be sent to <a href="mailto:engage@uni-kassel.de">engage@uni-kassel.de</a>. 
 
The curriculum will run from April to September 2011, and takes place at Kassel University in Germany and the Berlin School of Economics, as well as an internship at a global trade union federation. The programme was developed by the GLU, InWent Capacity Building International, a German labour-management development centre, the two German universities, and the global trade union federations. 
 
The six-month course includes 3.5 months of academic instruction that includes policy workshops with trade union representatives, and then a two-month internship on policy initiatives with a global trade union organisation. This is the second offering of the &ldquo;Engage&rdquo; programme. The first was a pilot project this year. 
 
The six-year-old GLU, part of the ILO, has trained trade unionists in economics and in social sciences from 49 countries in its short existence. The &ldquo;Engage&rdquo; programme gives national or local trade union staff the opportunity to pick up specific curriculums tailored to improve their skills at home.

Global Labour University’s ‘Engage’ Deadline Nears on 1 November

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The ICEM was saddened to hear of the death on 10 September of Mahjoub Ben Seddik, the Secretary-General of the Union Marocaine du Travail (UMT), who died in Paris at the age of 88. He was buried in the &ldquo;cimitiere des chouhadas,&rdquo; the martyrs cemetery in Casablanca, Morocco. 
 
In attendance at the funeral were the entire political class of Morocco, encompassing leaders of political parties, past and present government ministers, trade union centres, as well as numerous Moroccan intellectuals and wider civil society. All had gathered to pay homage to a great trade union leader who had been of massive importance in the trade union world, and the Moroccan struggle for independence. 
<img alt="" src="" width="130" height="160" />
Mahjoub Ben Seddik, the late Secretary-General of the Union Marocaine du Travail (UMT) 
In a message of condolences, Manfred Warda, ICEM General Secretary, echoed the words of UMT national official, Milourdi Moukharik, in stating: &ldquo;Moroccan workers, their trade union movement, as well as the Arab trade union world, and indeed the international trade union movement, have lost a great leader and fighter for trade union independence and struggle. 
 
&ldquo;He founded and continued to lead a vibrant and independent trade union structure firmly grounded in the workplace. The ICEM and the whole international trade union movement have lost a good friend and colleague. His passing really seems to be the end of an era.&rdquo; 
 
Mahjoub Ben Seddik spent his entire life defending the interests of the Moroccan workers. He never deviated from his conviction that the trade union movement should be independent of political parties, but at the same time was immensely political. He played a major role in the struggle for Moroccan independence and was imprisoned for two years in 1952 and again in 1954 before independence was achieved in 1956. 
 
He remained an active leader of UMT until his death and was a key supporter of wider international trade union, and the work of the ICEM in particular. UMT has been an active ICEM member for many years and has played an important role in the Global Union Federation&rsquo;s recent increased activities throughout the Middle East/North Africa Region (MENA), with Abdesalam Mansour being the MENA member of the ICEM Executive Committee.

ICEM Mourns Moroccan Trade Union Leader Mahjoub Ben Seddik

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Some 90 members of Unite the Union in the UK, employed at the Saxon Way, Corby, warehouse of Oxford University Press, will begin a second round of strike actions this week over the publishing house&rsquo;s inferior 2010 wage offer. Members of the GPM Section of Unite staged an initial 24-hour strike on 12-13 October, following a lawful strike ballot and formal rejection of a 2.5% increase. 
 
Last year, warehouse workers accepted a wage freeze in recognition of the financial crisis, only to learn after signing that managers, call centre workers, and admin staff of Oxford University Press had been awarded 2% increases. The 90 workers, who will soon be moved to new warehouse space at Prologis Park, Ketterling, are seeking a 2010 increase of 4.2% to offset last year&rsquo;s loss. 
<img src="" width="92" height="108" alt="" />
&ldquo;The company is doing well. It recorded an 8% increase in profit last year, on the back of a &pound;500 million turnover, so our members believe they are well within their rights to ask for 4.2%,&rdquo; Unite National Officer Steve Sibbald told the industry publication Printweek. 
 
Further industrial actions are scheduled for next week on 28 October and again on 3 November. Messages of support to workers can be sent to Unite Regional Officer Kathy Brooks <a href="mailto:Kathy.brooks@unitetheunion.org">here</a> who will relay all solidarity notes to striking warehouse workers.

Warehouse Workers of Oxford University Press to Strike Again

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For the first time, collective negotiations in Germany&rsquo;s paper industry will cover both the western and eastern regions of Europe&rsquo;s largest economy. Those talks between ICEM affiliate IGBCE and Deutschen Paperindustrie (VAP), the employers&rsquo; association, started 7 October in Dresden and cover 39,000 paperworkers. 
 
Led by IGBCE Chief Negotiator for the Paper Sector, Holger Nieden, the union insisted in the first round of talks that orders in the industry have picked up, productivity has vastly improved, recovery in the sector is apparent, thus wage increases are justified for both regular workers and apprentices. VAP contended in opening talks that the financial crisis is still in effect due to high raw material and high energy costs. 
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A second round of negotiations is scheduled for 12 November in Sulzbach, near Saarbr&uuml;cken, Germany. IGBCE and VAP are coming off a two-year social accord covering workers at some 220 paper mills and paper converting operations. 
 
Without specifying an exact pay gain, the union said it seeks a noticeable remuneration gain, improvements in general conditions of work, and common collective agreement time frames between enterprises in the east and in the west. The current contract in the west expired on 31 August, while in the east, the two-year agreement runs until 30 November. IGBCE is also seeking special criteria for union members in a new accord. 
 
After 20 years of gradual wage adjustments and improvements in working conditions for paperworkers in eastern Germany, it is the first time that a common agreement is being negotiated for both the western federal states and the eastern ones.

IGBCE Seeking Wage Gains as East, West Enjoined in German Paper Talks

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Negotiations between the United Steelworkers Local 7-669 and Honeywell Inc. failed 11-12 October to resolve a company-imposed lockout on 228 union members at a uranium conversion plant in the US. The failure to resolve the 17-week lockout in Metropolis, Illinois, means scab workers will continue to mix dangerous chemicals in a process that mills yellow-cake uranium into uranium hexafluoride (UF6), and then is sold to nuclear enrichment facilities. 
 
The talks last week were the third set of bi-lateral negotiations since the lockout began on 28 June. Progress was made on the first day on one of the major issues &ndash; health coverage and retiree medical insurance &ndash; but talks broke down on 12 October over retirement benefits and Honeywell&rsquo;s demand to create a two-tier pension scheme. Talks could re-start within the next few weeks. 
 
Other issues separating USW and Honeywell are the transnational&rsquo;s insistence on gaining broad contracting-out rights, a weakening of workers&rsquo; seniority rights, and hours of work. The company is offering a 3% wage increase, but its other demands are so detrimental to workers&rsquo; interests that the union has countered with a wage freeze and continuance of the current entitlement terms. 
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Metropolis, the fictional home of Superman, is now a US nuclear safety risk 
Honeywell, together with subcontracting agent the Shaw Group, has used US political leverage to gain certification from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), allowing the use of 200 replacement workers to perform dangerous tasks inside the nuclear supply chain. 
 
After initially signaling to USW Local 7-669 that it would not operate the plant during the lockout, Honeywell in July began staffing the conversion plant with scabs provided by the Shaw Group, and moved Honeywell supervisors from other areas to Metropolis. On 3 September, the NRC granted approval to Honeywell to re-start the final two steps of a four-step converting process. 
 
On 5 September, the town of Metropolis in southern Illinois along the Ohio River was shook by a loud boom that could be heard two kilometers away. Inside the plant, accumulated hydrogen reacted with fluorine gas during a venting process, causing the boom. NRC inspectors were on site at the time, and local police came to the scene. A NRC spokesman said the accident occurred in a non-regulated area of operation, meaning away from the handling of yellow cake uranium. Honeywell and the NRC jointly stated no damage to assets occurred and no one was injured. 
 
The Honeywell plant in Metropolis is the only such uranium conversion plant in the US and takes yellow cake uranium from Canada, Russia, and Australia and transforms it into UF6 through the four-stage process. That process includes ore preparation, through green salt preparation, to fluorination and distillation, before frozen and shipped to nuclear enrichment sites in US sites of Portsmouth, Ohio, and Paducah, Kentucky, as well as to plants in Russia and some Asian countries. 
 
A previous ICEM report on this US lockout is <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3977-Lockout-of-USW-represented-Uranium-Processing-Plant-in-US-Continues ">here</a>.

Talks Fail Between USW, Honeywell in US Uranium Lockout

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The ICEM Colombian affiliate Uni&oacute;n Sindical Obrera (USO) is being attacked by local management of Schlumberger Surenco, the world's largest oilfield services corporation with operations in approximately 80 countries. In an aggressive union busting campaign, the company is offering considerable benefits to those employees who cancel their union membership and to those non-unionised. 
 
Workers who do not choose to utilise their right to join the union are rewarded with increased salaries, increased holiday days, promotions, and general preferential treatment. Bullying and persecution occurs throughout the production sites in Colombia, especially in the Andina and Milenio plants in Bogot&aacute;. A common response from local managers when workers present a problem is &ldquo;disaffiliate from the union, and then we&rsquo;ll talk.&rdquo; 
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A collective agreement was reached between the workers and management in Colombia on 29 March, following months of negotiations. Now the company breaches the agreement regularly. Health and safety breached are common, with workers having to eat meals at their work posts, and in oil wells, to work continuously for months without time off, to work extra hours without overtime benefit. The company repeatedly insists on conducting disciplinary hearings at company headquarters in Bogot&aacute;, making it difficult for the correct USO representatives to travel long distances and attend, circumventing the proper industrial relations structure and process. 
 
As the ICEM has reported many times in the past, Schlumberger&rsquo;s union busting campaign is being conducted under the consent of the national government, now lead by President Juan Manuel Santos. 
 
The global oil services company has annual operating revenues of US$27.16 billion. 
 
USO asks supporters around the world to write to the company and government to demand that Schlumberger employees can freely exercise their right to organise and bargain collectively. Send those messages to the following addresses. 
 
SCHLUMBERGER &ndash; COLOMBIA 
Calle 100 No. 13-21 
Piso 4 
Edificio Megabanco 
Bogot&aacute; D.C 
 
Presidencia de la Rep&uacute;blica 
Dr. Juan Manuel Santos, 
Cra. 8 No..7-26, Palacio de Nari&ntilde;o, 
Santa fe de Bogot&aacute;. 
Fax: (+57 1) 566.20.71 
 
Vicepresidencia de la Rep&uacute;blica 
Dr. Angelino Garz&oacute;n 
Dr. Carlos Franco Programa Presidencial de Derechos Humanos y de Derecho Internacional Humanitario. Calle 7 No. 5-54 
FAX: (+571) 337.46.67 
E-mail: <a href="mailto:cefranco@presidencia.gov">cefranco@presidencia.gov</a> 
 
Programa Presidencial de Derechos Humanos y de Derecho Internacional Humanitario 
Dr. Fernando Ibarra 
E-mail: <a href="mailto:fibarra@presidencia.gov.co">fibarra@presidencia.gov.co</a> &nbsp; 
 
Comisi&oacute;n Interamericana de Derechos Humanos 
<a href="mailto:cidhoea@oas.org">cidhoea@oas.org</a> &nbsp; 
 
Representante Permanente de la OIT en Colombia 
Dr. Jos&eacute; Lu&iacute;s Daza 
E-mail: <a href="mailto:jmunoz@oit.org.pe">jmunoz@oit.org.pe</a> &nbsp; 
 
Procuradur&iacute;a General de la Naci&oacute;n 
Dr. Alejandro Ord&oacute;&ntilde;ez Maldonado 
E-mail: <a href="mailto:dcap@procuraduria.gov.co">dcap@procuraduria.gov.co</a>; 
<a href="mailto:anticorrupcion@presidencia.gov.co">anticorrupcion@presidencia.gov.co</a> &nbsp; 
 
Fiscal&iacute;a General de la Naci&oacute;n 
Dr. GUILLERMO MENDOZA DIAGO (E) 
E-mail: <a href="mailto:contacto@fiscalia.gov.co">contacto@fiscalia.gov.co</a>; 
<a href="mailto:denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co">denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co</a> &nbsp; 
 
Unidad de Derechos Humanos y de Derecho Internacional Humanitario 
E-mail: <a href="mailto:nayacero@fiscalia.gov.co">nayacero@fiscalia.gov.co</a> &nbsp; 
 
Defensor&iacute;a del Pueblo 
Dr. Volmar Antonio P&eacute;rez Ortiz 
E-mail: <a href="mailto:secretariaprivada@hotmail.com">secretariaprivada@hotmail.com</a> &nbsp; 
 
Central Unitaria de Trabajadores CUT 
E-mail: <a href="mailto:presidencia@cut.org.co">presidencia@cut.org.co</a> &nbsp; 
 
USO NACIONAL &ndash; Barrancabermeja 
E-mail: <a href="mailto:jdnb_uso@yahoo.com">jdnb_uso@yahoo.com</a>

Union Busting at Oilfields Services Provider Schlumberger in Colombia

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The ICEM affiliated Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation (PCMLF) reports that the provincial government of Balochistan has passed new labour legislation which does not fulfil its requirements to protect workers in the region. 
 
Up until 30 April 2010 the Industrial Relations Act of 2008 (IRA-2008) governed labour relations throughout Pakistan. However on 30 April that legislation was suspended after its 18th amendment. The provinces of Pakistan were then empowered to pass their own laws. 
 
The Balochistan Industrial Relations Ordinance 2010 was announced after no consultation with employees, where consensus is required from all stakeholders, employers, employees, and government. 
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Secretary General of the PCMLF, Mr. Sultan Muhammad Khan
As trade unionists were angered by the local government&rsquo;s actions, a press conference was conducted, 8 October, in Quetta, Northern Pakistan, by the head of the All Pakistan Labour Federation (APLF) and the Secretary General of the PCMLF, Mr. Sultan Muhammad Khan. 
 
Mr. Muhammad Khan issued the following demands to local government: 
&bull; Do not pass new provincial labour legislation without consensus of the stakeholders &ndash; Employers, Employees, Government 
&bull; Improve the law and order situation in the province 
&bull; Create new Industrial Zones in the province to reduce unemployment 
&bull; Register all mine workers with the Welfare authorities 
&bull; All mine owners must be forced to pay all government welfare contributions 
&bull; Improve health and safety conditions at work in the province

Troubling Pakistan Labour Legislation Passed

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