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The ICEM has demanded that the Turkish parent company of Trakia Glass in Bulgaria intervene to settle a two-week strike at factories in Turgovishte, in the northeast of Bulgaria. Hundreds of glass workers, members of ICEM affiliate National Federation of Chemical Workers &ndash; CL Podkrepa, began a strike on 19 May over the company&rsquo;s failure to keep pace with minimum salary levels, as set by Bulgarian labour code. 
 
Trakia is wholly-owned by Turkish glass and chemicals groups, Şişecam Group. In a letter dated 1 June, ICEM called on Şişecam&rsquo;s General Director Doğan Arıkan to resolve the dispute immediately in a manner that protects the company&rsquo;s reputation, as well as respects Bulgaria&rsquo;s status as a member of the European Union.
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&ldquo;Bulgaria&rsquo;s membership in the EU assures that its citizens have certain rights and entitlements, and your company&rsquo;s recent behaviour in Targovishte reflects disdain and disrespect for these rights and entitlements,&rdquo; wrote ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda to Arikan. &ldquo;A company headquartered in Turkey, which is now on a course of negotiations toward EU entry, must and should do better in pursuit of such entry.&rdquo; 
 
Workers of Trakia are seeking increases in overtime work and night-shift work, increases which were mandated by the country&rsquo;s minimum monthly salary which took effect 1 May.
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Because of the union&rsquo;s salary demands, during the week of 7 May, Şişecam has suspended a &euro;221.6 million investment at the glass factories, an investment that was to include a second flat glass factory, a second factory for glassware, and additions to processed glass works already operating. The Bulgarian government had made incentives available to the Turkish company, which included road construction and associated infrastructure needs. 
 
Trakia Glass Chief Executive Gulsum Azeri openly states that the investment was suspended until Bulgaria make regressive revisions to its labour legislation, social conduct which the ICEM termed &ldquo;unacceptable.&rdquo; 
The ICEM Regional Conference for Central Europe, meeting in Hungary on 5 and 6 June 2007, adopted a resolution in support of the striking workers in Bulgaria. To read the resolution, click <a href="/index.php?id=21&amp;doc=2286&amp;la=EN">here</a>.

Turkish Glass Firm Şişecam Prompts Strike In Bulgaria

The European Works Council (EWC) of Alcan Packaging, facing imminent spin-off by new owner Rio Tinto, won a&nbsp;commitment that an Extraordinary Meeting of the Works Council&nbsp;would be held within 14 days&nbsp;after&nbsp;any announced sale of the company is made. Following frank discussions during EWC meetings on 25 July, where Alcan President and CEO Richard Evans reiterated Rio&rsquo;s intent to sell Alcan&rsquo;s packaging businesses, the commitment to hold a further Works Council meeting immediately following an announced sale is&nbsp;welcome news to packaging industry workers&rsquo; and their trade unions. 
 
The ICEM, a global union federation of 389 trade unions in 119 countries, applauded the commitment, calling it &ldquo;an important check-and-balance on corporate governance.&rdquo; The ICEM also congratulates the EWC and the trade unionists on the EWC for gaining this commitment. 
 
Evans told the EWC that Rio Tinto was hopeful of selling the collection of packaging businesses of as block, that there are serious buyers, and that a sale agreement could be completed soon. Peter Ellis, National Officer of ICEM UK affiliate Unite, welcomed the company&rsquo;s commitment.
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Rio Tinto&rsquo;s newly acquired flexible and specialty packaging businesses throughout the world are vast. The Australian company could realise &euro;5 billion from a sale. In 2003, the Canadian-based company purchased Norsk Hydro&rsquo;s packaging units, and the following year Alcan took over French-based Pechiney in a US$3.9 billion stock and cash deal. Alcan&rsquo;s packaging businesses produce products for the food, personal care, and pharmaceutical sectors.

Alcan Workers Win Commitment from Company at EWC

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Former ICEM Gen. Sec. Fred Higgs was awarded the Transport &amp; General Workers&rsquo; Union&rsquo;s (TGWU) highest award on 4 July when the Unite Joint General Secretary, Tony Woodley, awarded him with the Gold Patch at the TGWU&rsquo;s last Policy Conference. 
 
Higgs served as ICEM general secretary from 1999 to his retirement in late 2006. He is a 40-year member of TGWU and began his long service career with the union in 1979. Prior to his election as ICEM general secretary, Higgs served as National Secretary of TGWU&rsquo;s chemicals, oil, and rubber sectors.
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&nbsp;Fred Higgs Speaking at TGWU's Policy Conference 
 

In a speech upon receiving the award, Higgs told delegates of his disgust after reaching Brussels with the UK Labour Party government&rsquo;s complicity in occupying Iraq. He also spoke on global labour solidarity, and gave the story of TGWU&rsquo;s Peter Booth intervening with a British-based company to reinstate two sacked trade union leaders in Thailand. They had been sacked in 2004 for trade union activities, and they turned to the ICEM for help. 
 
Booth not only won their reinstatement but together with Higgs and the ICEM, won a guarantee that trade union organisation would not be interfered with at their plant. In the year since the two leaders have been back at work, they, along with fellow workers grateful to Booth and the ICEM, have organised 11 of the 12 plants that this particular British company operates in Thailand.
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Peter Booth 
 

The TGWU Policy Conference is likely to be the last such biannual gathering since new forums and structures will result in TGWU&rsquo;s merger with Amicus to form Unite. The conference reviewed TGWU&rsquo;s aggressive organising project, demanded the withdrawal of British troops in Iraq, and took a tough stance on the abuse of labour agency workers in the UK. Delegates heard vivid stories of such abuses, including the real life situation of a Polish woman who was forced to live her car after her agency evicted her from living accommodations. 
 
The Policy Conference made history by electing the first and last woman to chair this year&rsquo;s proceedings. &ldquo;Same old story &hellip; as soon as a woman gets to the top, the job is abolished,&rdquo; joked Brenda Sanders. &ldquo;This union will be carrying forwards our finest traditions together with our colleagues in Amicus as we build Unite to a powerhouse in the world of work and the 21st century,&rdquo; she added.

Fred Higgs Receives Gold Patch Award from Transport &amp; General Workers in the UK

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A caustic strike by 800 miners of state-owned Solid Energy and its contractors was suspended by the union last week as &ldquo;good faith&rdquo; leading into government-mediated talks. The miners are represented by New Zealand ICEM affiliate Engineering, Paper, and Manufacturing Union (EPMU). 
 
But 200 miners took further strike action early on 13 July, just days after industrial actions were halted. Only this occurred not at Solid but at HWE Mining, an Australia contractor working Solid Energy&rsquo;s Rotowaro mine near Huntley. The miners&rsquo; issue there is over pay. HWE Mining has recently been bought by Leighton Contractors in Australia, and it also is a major contractor to the big mining houses.
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&nbsp; 
EPMU&rsquo;s HWE unit struck the Rotowaro mine for 20 hours on 29 June. Other rolling stoppages in this three-week-old dispute have happened at the Terrace Mine, the Stockton mine near Ngakawa, as well as at other Solid facilities. 
 
At the underground Spring Creek mine near Greymouth on 2 July, Australian workers doing development work at the site, refused to cross picket lines of EPMU members, thus ratcheting up pressure on the mining bosses. 
 
The industrial actions, which begun 26 June, are over a break-down in June of talks on renewal of the Mining Industry Multi-Employer Collective Agreement. The employer table consists of Solid Energy and some eight of its major contractors.
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EPMU Organising Director Ged O&rsquo;Connell said last week ago that miners would suspend their nationwide overtime ban and campaign of spontaneous rolling stoppages &ldquo;as a show of good faith, and miners at the Spring Creek and Terrace Mines agreed to suspend their eleven day strike&rdquo; in order for meaningful mediation to occur. 
 
The dispute became pitched in late June when management at the Spring Creek mine and the Terrace mine near Reefton refused to provide the customary transportation within the jobsites. The curtailment was retaliatory, since it was taken immediately after miners took their initial industrial actions. It also angered miners, due mainly to the fact that it stranded 42 workers in an unsafe environment. 
 
O&rsquo;Connell called it &ldquo;immature behaviour&rdquo; by Solid. A report quoted him as saying, &ldquo;Responsible employers do not put their workers&rsquo; safety at risk just so they can prove a point, whatever the circumstances might be.&rdquo; 
 
The 800 miners of Solid Coal and its contractors were also involved in a three-month standoff in 2005 with the employers. That ended with 5% pay raises won.

Union Halts Industrial Action to Talk in NZ’s Coal Fields, But EPMU Miners Walk Out on Contractor

Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, today, the Presidium of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) gave its full support to a week-old boycott of Petro-Canada products in the North American country. The action by the governing board of the 20-million-member Global Union Federation is in support of 260 oil-refinery workers, members of Local 175 of Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union, who have been locked-out at a Petro-Canada refinery in Montr&eacute;al, Qu&eacute;bec, since 17 November 2007. 
 
In Montr&eacute;al on 28 October, the CEP, the Canadian Labour Congress, and the F&eacute;d&eacute;ration des travailleurs du Qu&eacute;bec, the major labour union federation in that province, announced a national boycott of all petroleum products produced by Petro-Canada. 

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&ldquo;We want people throughout the world to know that this once patriotic and state-owned oil company has turned on workers in its own country,&rdquo; stated ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana, also the President of the National Union of Mineworkers in South Africa. &ldquo;ICEM leaders will now return to their respective countries and tell workforces about this unjust lockout. We will also inform those travelling to Canada on the boycott, and urge them to refrain from purchasing anything with the name Petro-Canada.&rdquo; 
 
The energy company, which was fully privatised in 2004 by the government of Canada, locked out union members at the 130,000 barrels-per-day Montr&eacute;al refinery when they refused to accept work terms and conditions significantly inferior to those contained in the CEP&rsquo;s National Energy and Chemical Bargaining Pattern Agreement. Ironically, that collective bargaining pattern was set by Petro-Canada and CEP at an oil refinery in Edmonton, Alberta, earlier in 2007. 
 
The ICEM resolution endorsing the boycott states that the company has jeopardized the safety and community well-being of residents of Point-aux-Trembles, an east-end Montr&eacute;al residential area, by attempting to operate the refinery at reduced output using managers and outside replacement workers. Petro-Canada has been cited by a provincial labour court for violated Qu&eacute;bec&rsquo;s laws by using such workers. 

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ICEM Presidium members were vocal in their condemnation of Petro-Canada, as well as their support for the workers. 
 
&ldquo;Our union members have been aware of this lockout since November 2007,&rdquo; said Phil McNulty, National Officer for the Energy Sector of Unite the Union. &ldquo;Now we learn of the national boycott in Canada. Unite the Union will assure that all our members in the United Kingdom and Ireland are aware of this boycott, and we will encourage them to spread the message to honour it.&rdquo; 
 
Said ICEM Latin American/Caribbean Vice President Sergio Novais, a trade union leader in Brazil&rsquo;s National Federation of Chemical Workers (CNQ-CUT), added, &ldquo;The message we will deliver at home is that CEP members in Montr&eacute;al are standing strong and united after one year&rsquo;s time. We will communicate to our chemical workers across the country &ndash; and to Petrobras workers &ndash; that all of Canada is behind a boycott of Petro-Canada. We support that and encourage all Canadians to respect this call.&rdquo; 
 
The Geneva-based ICEM consists of 467 trade unions in 132 countries, and is the voice of oil, gas, and energy workers in both the upstream and downstream sectors.

ICEM Endorses North American Boycott of Petro-Canada Products

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ICEM Asya-Pasifik B&ouml;lgesi'nin &Ccedil;alışan Kadınlar Grubu 26 Ekim g&uuml;n&uuml; Endonezya'nın Cakarta kentinde toplanarak analığın korunması konusundaki &ccedil;alışmalarını s&uuml;rd&uuml;rd&uuml;. &Ccedil;alışma 2007 D&uuml;nya Kadın Konferansı'nda saptanan yedi konu &ccedil;er&ccedil;evesinde bir yıldır s&uuml;r&uuml;yor. 
 
Toplantıya Endonezya, Japonya, Hindistan, Tayland, Malezya ve Avustralya'daki ICEM &uuml;yesi &ouml;rg&uuml;tlerden kadınlar katıldı. Kadınlar maden, &ccedil;imento, kimya, cam, ila&ccedil; ve elektrik enerjisi gibi farklı işkollarından geliyorlardı. 
 
Gebe ve yeni anne olan kadınlar d&uuml;nyanın &ccedil;oğu &uuml;lkesinde h&acirc;l&acirc; ayırımcılığa uğruyorlar. K&uuml;resel mali kriz s&ouml;z konusu ayırımcılığı daha da keskinleştiriyor. 
 
Kadınların analığın korunmasına ya da analık haklarına duydukları ihtiya&ccedil; Asya-Pasifik B&ouml;lgesi'nde b&uuml;y&uuml;k farklılıklar g&ouml;steriyor. S&ouml;zgelimi Japonya ve Avustralya'da toplumların yaşlanması ve vasıflı işg&uuml;c&uuml; a&ccedil;ığından &ouml;t&uuml;r&uuml;, karar organlarındaki y&ouml;neticiler, &ccedil;&ouml;z&uuml;m&uuml;n kadınları doğurmaya teşvik etmekten ge&ccedil;tiğinin farkına varıyorlar. Başka &uuml;lkelerde ise kadınların hakları taşeronlaşma nedeniyle tehdit altında. 
B&ouml;lgedeki hi&ccedil;bir &uuml;lkenin onaylamamış olduğu Analığın Korunmasıyla Ilgili 183 nolu ILO S&ouml;zleşmesi'nin onaylanması i&ccedil;in kampanya d&uuml;zenlenmesi kararlaştırıldı. Bununla birlikte, bir&ccedil;ok sendika toplu s&ouml;zleşmeyle analığın korunmasını bir &ouml;l&ccedil;&uuml;de sağlamış bulunuyor. Bu &ccedil;abaların s&uuml;rmesi ve g&uuml;&ccedil;lendirilmesi gerekiyor.

ICEM&#039;in Asya-Pasifik Çalışan Kadın Grubu Analığın Korunması Çalışmalarını Sürdürüyor

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Asya-Pasifik Goodyear Lastik ve Kau&ccedil;uk İş&ccedil;ileri Ağı'nın d&ouml;rd&uuml;nc&uuml; b&ouml;lge toplantısı beş Asya &uuml;lkesinden 20 delegenin katılımıyla 28 Ekim g&uuml;n&uuml; Endonezya'nın Cakarta kentinde yapıldı. Ağın &ouml;nceki toplantıları 2005'te Manila'da (Filipinler), 2002'de Singapur'da ve 2000'de Kuala Lumpur'da (Malezya) yapılmıştı. 
 
Japon sendikasının başkanı Toshiaki Hojo toplantıda yaptığı konuşmada şunları vurguladı: &ldquo;B&ouml;lge ağımızın &ccedil;alışmalarının 2000'den bu yana s&uuml;r&uuml;yor olması, katılan sendikaların uluslararası dayanışma ve işbirliğine bağlılığını g&ouml;steriyor. Bu bizleri gelecek adına umutlandırıyor. &Ccedil;alışmalarımızın ICEM'in Goodyear K&uuml;resel Sendika Ağı'na paralel y&uuml;r&uuml;mesi &ccedil;ok &ouml;nemli.&rdquo; 
Hojo şirketin Asya-Pasifik Ağı'nın iş sağlığı ve g&uuml;venliği konularında başarılı bir &ccedil;alışma y&uuml;r&uuml;tt&uuml;ğ&uuml;n&uuml; ekleyerek bu alanda daha fazla şey yapma s&ouml;z&uuml; verdi. 
<img height="257" src="" width="160" alt="" />
Toshiaki Hojo, GOMU-RENGO
Delegeler Goodyear K&uuml;resel ve Asya-Pasifik B&ouml;lge ağlarının ge&ccedil;miş faaliyetlerini değerlendirdiler. Toplantıya 25 &uuml;lkedeki 60 fabrikada 70.000 iş&ccedil;iyi istihdam eden Goodyear'ın mali durumu ve &ccedil;alışma ilişkileri konusunda ayrıntılı bir rapor sunuldu. Delegeler &ccedil;alışma toplantısında işyerlerindeki &uuml;cretler, &ccedil;alışma saatleri ve toplu s&ouml;zleşmelerle ilgili somut sayısal bilgiler verdiler. 
 
İş sağlığı ve g&uuml;venliği konusunun ele alındığı oturumda ise ICEM Kimya ve Kau&ccedil;uk Sorumlusu Kemal &Ouml;zkan ge&ccedil;mişten bug&uuml;ne kadar olan gelişmeyi &ouml;zetledi. Daha sonra, iş sağlığı ve g&uuml;venliğiyle ilgili somut sorunlar ele alındı ve bilgi alışverişinin &ouml;nemi vurgulandı. ICEM'in &ouml;zellikle sıcaklık limitleri ve g&uuml;venlik g&ouml;zl&uuml;kleriyle ilgili k&uuml;resel standartlar konusunda bilgi vermesi istendi. 
 
ICEM'in 2009 Kau&ccedil;uk İşkolu D&uuml;nya Konferansı ve gelecek yıl yapılacak diğer işkolu konferanslarının g&ouml;r&uuml;ş&uuml;lmesinden sonra, toplantıda kabul edilen eylem planı &ccedil;er&ccedil;evesinde, ortak &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenme &ccedil;alışmalarının artırılması, eğitim programlarına ağırlık verilmesi, elektronik ortamda d&uuml;zenli ve ayrıntılı bilgi alışverişi yapılması kararlaştırıldı. 
B&ouml;lge ağı toplantısında, ayrıca, şirketin haksız olarak işten &ccedil;ıkardığı Taylandlı ve Malezyalı arkadaşlarımızın işe iadesine y&ouml;nelik eylemin s&uuml;rd&uuml;r&uuml;lmesi konusunda &ouml;zel bir &ccedil;ağrı kabul edildi.

Asya-Pasifik Goodyear Kauçuk İşçileri Ağı&#039;nın Cakarta&#039;daki Dördüncü Toplantısı Sonuçlandı

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In this issue, we call on ICEM affiliates to get involved in activities on World AIDS Day which occurs on 1 December. We report on the engagement of women of ICEM German affiliate of the German IGBCE in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the situation of women in Asia, and the fight of women in Nepal for better HIV/AIDS services. 

 
The ICEM Calls on its Affiliates to Contribute to this e-bulletin 
 
ICEM affiliates are already 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. 
 
Editor: Hans J Schwass, ICEM Global HIV/AIDS Coordinator 
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World AIDS Day 2008, 1 December &ndash; Get Ready! 
 
The ICEM calls on its affiliates to take the lead in campaigning on World AIDS Day, 1 December 
 
The first of December marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. There is no time to celebrate. Since 1988, efforts made to respond to the epidemic have produced positive results, however the latest UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic (see e-bulletin 35/36, August/September <a href="/en/72-HIV-AIDS/2745-ICEM-HIV-AIDS-e-bulletin">here</a>) indicates that the epidemic is not yet over in any part of the world. 
 
Together with its partners, the World AIDS Campaign set this year&rsquo;s theme for World AIDS Day as &ldquo;Lead &ndash; Empower &ndash; Deliver,&rdquo; building on last year&rsquo;s theme of &ldquo;Take the Lead.&rdquo; Designating leadership as the overall theme for 2007 &ndash; 2008 provides an opportunity to highlight the political leadership needed to fulfil commitments &ndash; particularly the promise of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support by 2010. 
 
Unions can demonstrate leadership at every level &ndash; in the workplace, in their own governing bodies, in women&rsquo;s committees, in health and safety committees, in negotiations with companies, in the community and at the national policy level. 
 
Any union member, shop steward, union official, committee member, gender representative who takes action on HIV/AIDS is a leader in the fight against the deadly disease. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS press release, 27 October) 
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IGBCE Women&rsquo;s Conference 
 
The Women&rsquo;s Conference of the ICEM affiliate IGBCE (mining, chemicals, and energy) in Germany made a strong commitment to help in the fight against HIV/AIDS. 
 
Meeting in Hanover in early October, funds were collected at the conference for an HIV/AIDS project in Tanzania in partnership with ICEM affiliates TUICO and TAMICO, and the ICEM HIV/AIDS project. In numerous discussions with delegates, ICEM Women&rsquo;s Officer Carol Bruce and HIV/AIDS Coordinator Hans J Schwass explained the project in Tanzania which focuses on women and their stronger involvement in HIV/AIDS work, training as counsellors and advocacy for voluntary counselling and testing. 
 
Delegates will continue the appeal in their regional and local structures to raise the funds necessary to sustain the project in 2009 and 2010. 
 

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Global Fund Launches Round 9 
 
(For more details, see the ICEM HIV/AIDS special e-bulletin in October <a href="-Global-Fund-Calls-for-Round-9-Proposals">here</a>) 
 
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria launched Round 9 on 1 October, just seven months after the launch of Round 8. The proposal form and guidelines for Round 9 are substantially unchanged from Round 8. They are available in six languages at <a href="http://www.theglobalfund.org">www.theglobalfund.org</a>. 
 
Applicants must submit their Round 9 proposals by 21 January 2009. All proposals submitted by the deadline will be reviewed by the Global Fund Secretariat to ensure that they meet the Fund&rsquo;s eligibility criteria. Those that do meet the criteria will then be sent to the Technical Review Panel. The Global Fund Board will decide which proposals to approve at its meeting on 7-8 May 2009. 
 
In light of the fact that the Round 9 application form and procedures have hardly changed since Round 8, Aidspan has not updated its guides for applications which are accessible at <a href="http://www.aidspan.org/guides ">http://www.aidspan.org/guides </a>in English, French and Spanish. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, GFO, Issue 96, 24 October 2008. The GFO is a free service of Aidspan <a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>, a Kenya-based NGO that serves as an independent watchdog of the Global Fund. To receive the GFO send an email to <a href="mailto:receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>)
<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="40" />
Caribbean Needs to Increase Efforts against HIV/AIDS 
 
Increased efforts are needed to bolster HIV/AIDS prevention, care, treatment and education in the Caribbean, Karen Sealy, head of the UNAIDS Caribbean office, said recently. &ldquo;High-risk groups include commercial sex workers and men who have sex with men. An increase in HIV/AIDS cases is also being recorded among drug users,&rdquo; said Sealy, adding, &quot;We know that the spread of HIV in the Caribbean is in fact being fuelled by serious gaps in gender equality.&quot; 
 
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning said that &quot;one of the true successes&quot; of the country's efforts to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS is the decrease in mother-to-child transmissions because of the no-cost antiretroviral drugs provided to all pregnant women who receive treatment at government clinics. Manning said that many of the people living with HIV/AIDS in Trinidad and Tobago are able to live &quot;a high quality of life&quot; because of the country's health care program but added that more work needs to be done to address the spread of HIV. 
 
The Caribbean has the second highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate worldwide, after sub-Saharan Africa. UNAIDS figures show that an estimated 230,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS in the region and that 14,000 AIDS-related deaths were recorded last year. 
 
(Source: Medical News Today, 27 October, reprinted with kind permission from <a href="http://www.kaisernetwork.org">www.kaisernetwork.org</a>) 
 

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Assessment Missions to Botswana and Namibia 
 
In the last year of the project cycle, the ICEM conducts an internal assessment of the impact of the HIV/AIDS project at national level. In September, Project Management Assistant Paule Ndessomin went to Botswana and Namibia and met with national coordinators, peer educators trained by the programme and national NGOs. Visits of mining sites completed the mission. 
 
Overall the project had a very positive impact in both countries. Awareness has increased considerably. In Botswana, most large companies organised by ICEM affiliates such as Botswana Power Corporation, Botswana Copper and Nickel (BCL), and diamond miner Debswana have HIV/AIDS workplace policies. Affiliates have cooperated with BONELA, an NGO that deals with issues of ethics, legislation, and advocacy in the field of HIV/AIDS. 
 
Employment legislation stipulates that every employee who enters into a contract of employment shall be examined by a medical officer. As this section in the Employment Act stands, it may include pre-employment HIV testing. The Public Service Code, however, prohibits such testing. Another inhibiting factor is the fact that living on the proceeds of commercial sex is illegal thus making it difficult for sex workers to have access to medical care. 
 
In Namibia, ICEM&rsquo;s only affiliate, the Mineworkers&rsquo; Union of Namibia (MUN), has been engaged in HIV/AIDS activities for some time. Large mines such as R&ouml;ssing Uranium, which is two-thirds owned by mining giant Rio Tinto, have workplace policies in place and provide treatment and care. More recently, MUN has also been involved with the country&rsquo;s employer group, the Chamber of Mines. The Chamber&rsquo;s Occupational Health Education and Awareness Programme (OHEAP) is currently being evaluated in cooperation with the Labour Resource and Research Institute. 
 

<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="40" />
Women need empowerment in fight against AIDS 
 
Women must be more involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS and men must also be encouraged to respect women more. Nafis Sadik, U.N. special envoy for HIV/AIDS in the Asia-Pacific region, told a poverty alleviation conference in Beijing that lack of respect for women was helping drive the spread of the virus. 
 
&quot;Gender-based violence and discrimination on grounds of gender drive the HIV and AIDS epidemic among women. Empowerment of women - equipping them with self-esteem, the knowledge, and the ability to protect themselves &hellip; will be of critical importance in winning the battle,&quot; Sadik said. 
 
&quot;Women suffer doubly. First, from HIV and AIDS itself, and secondly from the stigma associated with the disease. Women are routinely blamed for infecting their husbands, though it is almost always the men who infect their wives,&quot; she said. 
 
In Asia, at least 75 million men regularly buy sex from about ten million female sex workers, she added. &quot;The results of male behaviour can be seen in changing patterns of infection. Today, about one-third of all people living with HIV in China are women, compared with one in ten in 1995,&quot; Sadik said. 
 
(Source: Reuters, 17 October) 
 

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HIV-positive Women in Nepal Call for Greater Assistance 
 
Nepal's HIV/AIDS policies and programs have failed to address the problems of women living with HIV/AIDS in the country, stated HIV-positive women of Shakti Milan Samaj, a social organisation working on behalf of women living with HIV/AIDS. 
 
The women also called on the government to guarantee access to no-cost treatment, care, resettlement, social security and jobs, as well as a special programme to help them maintain a living. They added that the government &quot;should make arrangements for free education to our children and announce legal action against all violence against us regarding it as a crime against the state.&quot; 
 
The women said that although the country has received significant funding for efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, the government still does not address the issues they face. Women in the country are vulnerable to HIV because of cultural and economic factors, as well as domestic violence. 
 
(Source: News Medical Net, 5 October with permission from <a href="http://kaisernetwork.org">kaisernetwork.org</a>) 
 

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How Obama and McCain Differed on HIV/AIDS 
 
With Barack Obama winning the US presidential election, it might be useful to look back to see how he and opponent John McCain compared on HIV/AIDS policy. For starters, they both fully support President Bush&rsquo;s PEPFAR programme, the President&rsquo;s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which was re-authorised with increased funding. 
 
While this is focused on the epidemic overseas, activists have criticised neglect of the US domestic epidemic. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that 5% of the people living in Washington, DC, have the infection. That is a rate two-and-a-half times higher than in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, one of the poorest nations in the world. 
 
Barack Obama calls for a more effective AIDS policy and says that studies have shown that the incidence of HIV and AIDS may have been undercounted. Obama&rsquo;s plan begins with his promise to sign universal health care legislation by the end of his first term as president. He wants to prevent HIV through sex education and by promoting HIV testing. The cornerstone of Obama&rsquo;s plan calls for a national HIV/AIDS strategy involving all federal agencies. 
 
While John McCain also called for a domestic plan, his main prescription to prevent HIV is abstinence programmes. For those with pre-existing conditions such as AIDS, he campaigned on a plan to establish &ldquo;guaranteed access plans&rdquo; for affordable insurance. His prescription for rising drug costs was to create greater competition among drug companies. The centrepiece of a McCain campaign blueprint is a US$2,500 tax credit for individuals to purchase health coverage of their choice. 
 
(Source: CBS News, from 14 October) 
 

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New Vigour in Fighting the Epidemic in South Africa 
 
AIDS organisations and activists welcomed the nomination of Barbara Hogan as new health minister of South Africa. Unlike her predecessor, Hogan has made it clear that the HI-Virus causes AIDS and that the only way to treat it is with anti-retroviral drugs. Hogan announced better access to such drugs and an expansion of the programme to fight mother to child transmission. 
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ICMM Launches Guide on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria 
 
The International Council on Mining and Metal (ICMM) launched its new guide, &ldquo;Good Practice Guidance on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria,&rdquo; in London on 15 October. Among the panellists was ICEM HIV/AIDS Coordinator Hans J Schwass who welcomed the initiative of the ICMM to publish this guide but criticised that very little reference is made to organised labour or workers&rsquo; organisations or unions as potential partners in the fight against the diseases. Schwass said, &ldquo;There is no reason not to collaborate on life and death issues with organisations with which companies are at times in dispute over pay and working conditions, especially when these organisations can add value to HIV/AIDS interventions. Of course, to cooperate with trade unions, means recognising them in the first place.&rdquo; 
 
The guide provides a systematic framework and practical advice on the management of the three diseases that will enable mining and metal operations worldwide to address key challenges, both among workers and neighbouring communities. 
 
The guide can be accessed at the ICMM website <a href="http://www.icmm.com">www.icmm.com</a>. 
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News from the Global Union Programme and Global Unions 
 
The Global Union AIDS Programme is planning a series of coordinating and capacity building workshops in sub-Saharan Africa, and is coordinating the union input in the International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (ICASA), as well as the Global Fund Partnership Forum, both in Dakar, Senegal, in December. 
 
In its latest Newsletter on Education for All and HIV &amp; AIDS Prevention at Schools (EFAIDS) of 2 October, Education International reports on the launch of its programme in Nepal. It also addresses World AIDS Day. The EI EFAIDS programme has prepared an activity kit which teachers around the world can use to share knowledge and encourage discussion on HIV/AIDS issues in the campaign for World AIDS Day &ldquo;One Hour on AIDS&rdquo; &ndash; <a href="http://www.ei-ie.org/efaids">www.ei-ie.org/efaids</a>.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin No. 37 November 2008

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One of ICEM&rsquo;s newest affiliates held a workshop in Bandung, Indonesia, 24-26 October, and keenly identified areas of growth for the dynamic trade union. Federasi Serikat Pekerja Pulp Dan Kertas Indonesia (FSP2KI) had 30 participants from 14 mill-level trade unions attend. Six of those unions are branches of FSP2KI, with the potential great for the union to increase its membership due to unions enthusiastic attendance by the others. 
 
The workshop was sponsored by Svenska Pappers, the Swedish Pulp and Paper Workers&rsquo; Union, which has been working closely with the union. The conference heard presentations on the work of the ICEM, as well as work being done by Pappers by Bala Somahsundram, a leader in the Paper and Paper Products Manufacturing Employees&rsquo; Union of Malaysia. 
<img height="186" alt="" src="" width="230" />
From left, Malaysian Union&nbsp;Leader Bala Somahsundram; FSP2KI President Irzan Zulpakar; H.M. Mansyur; and&nbsp;FSP2KI Gen. Sec. Etin Rodiana 
Indonesian paper, packaging, and converting trade union leaders also heard from H.M. Mansyur, chairman of the Indonesian Pulp and Paper Association (AKLI). He told delegates that 50% of Indonesian pulp production is exported, while that figure for paper products is 40%. 
 
He also told of a massive new development coming &ndash; American-based International Paper Co.&rsquo;s decision to build a 1.5 million tonne-per-year pulp mill, and development of 500,000 hectares of timberlands. The US$4 billion project will be undertaken in central Kalimantan on Bornea Island, Indonesia. 
 
The conference included FSP2KI union activists from Indonesian mills of Asia&rsquo;s biggest forest companies, including PT Riau Andalan mills, owned by Singapore-based holding group Asia Pacific Resources International (APRIL) and PT Lontar Papyrus&rsquo; Jambi Mill, owned by Pinto Deli Pulp and Paper. Potential affiliates consisted of workplace leaders from PT Indah Kiat&rsquo;s three mills, which are 60% owned by Asia Pulp and Pacific (APP); and PT Kertas Nusantar, owned by Anugera Investment, an Indonesian company. Leaders from several other mills, packaging plants, and tissue operations also took part. 
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The trade unionists forged an agenda that includes insistence that employers negotiate with the respective workers&rsquo; representatives over any negative impact from the current global economic crisis; that FSP2KI study any ambiguities in its constitution; and that the union begin an aggressive reach-out at all Indonesian pulp and paper mills. FSP2KI also will seek paper industry data from the ICEM, including information on the use of hazardous chemicals and materials used in the paper industry. 
 
Even with a global slowdown in pulp and paper, Indonesia&rsquo;s pulp and paper industry is expected to grow by 4.1% in 2009. Exports of pulp and paper from the country expanded in the first half of 2008 to US$1.9 billion, compared to US$1.6 billion for the first six months of 2007.

Indonesian Paper Union Identifies Organising Targets with Help from Sweden’s Pappers Union

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Early in 2009, collective agreements will expire for 30,000 downstream oil workers in the US. In a 45-day period from mid-September to 27 October, local branches of the United Steelworkers &ndash; representing those production workers &ndash; ratified a 12-point national pattern bargaining programme, in addition to granting the union strike authorisation. 
 
That bargaining agenda will aim to gain a share of oil industry&rsquo;s vast profits, which would help ease a US recession by putting money in the pockets of working families. It also is intended to address health, safety, and environmental requirements, grant adequate pensions, and give sufficient medical coverage to workers, their families, and retirees. 
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USW Vice President Gary Beevers 
&ldquo;This strong ratification of the oil policy and strike ratification shows how united and determined the membership is in getting a fair contract,&rdquo; stated USW Vice President Gary Beevers, who heads the union&rsquo;s oil bargaining programme. &ldquo;By adopting the policy, the local unions agree that their contracts will not conflict with it.&rdquo; 
 
Most of the collective agreements between the USW and oil companies expire 1 February 2009. With last month&rsquo;s overwhelming ratification, both national and local branch bargaining will begin in December with an exchange of proposals. The USW will negotiate with the industry to set a national pattern on wages, benefits, and working conditions.
The union is seeking term limits of three years, until 2012, and substantial wages increases, in addition to cost-of-living adjustments. It also seeks increases in shift differential, two added holidays, and no regression on previously agreed terms and conditions. 
 
USW will also be negotiating for union neutrality at non-union worksites, renewal and expansion of successorship language regarding new companies taking over enterprises, and additional occupational death coverage. In mid-September, the union&rsquo;s National Oil Bargaining Conference was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and shaped the agenda, which then went to branch unions for ratification, and granting of the strike sanction. 
 
The union represents workers at scores of US and Caribbean refineries, as well as pipeline, transportation, and marketing staff in the downstream sector. Employers include Shell, ChevronTexaco, ConocoPhillips, BP, ExxonMobil, and other refiners us Tosco, Tesoro, Sunoco, and LyondellBasell.

US Steelworkers Ratify Oil Bargaining Platform

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ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin No. 37 November 2008

Indonesian Paper Union Identifies Organising Targets with Help from Sweden’s Pappers Union

US Steelworkers Ratify Oil Bargaining Platform

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