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Political agreement was finally achieved at the European Parliament over the Directive on Temporary Agency Work. MEPs passed &ndash; without amendment &ndash; a second reading. Adoption by the plenary on 22 October in Strasbourg, France, now means that the Council of Europe will formally adopt the statute in the coming weeks. 
 
The directive gives agency workers equal protection and equal treatment from day one of employment as permanent workers receive. That covers the &ldquo;essential conditions&rdquo; of work and employment, such as hours, overtime, rest time, paid leave, and non-discriminatory policies. 

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The directive does grant national social partners the flexibility to set specific aspects related to temporary employment, such as equal pay and a negotiated time frame of the temporary period. This would allow collective agreements to address governance of agency work, as well as for national legislation to enact laws and work regulations. 
 
Member-states now have three years to implement the directive into their national legislations, or to ensure and enable social partners to introduce provisions through agreement. 
 
The second-reading vote took place six years after the directive had been first proposed. A first-reading vote, that included some 26 amendments, occurred in June of this year. The Council endorsed a common position on the directive in early October. 

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) welcomed the end of a long political deadlock, and gave special praise to the strong language on equality. The equal treatment principle, said ETUC General Secretary John Monks, &ldquo;will not only apply to national situations but also to cross-border agency work. This is very important in the current times of increased mobility of workers and services.&rdquo;

EU’s Directive on Temporary Agency Work Passes Final Hurdle in Strasbourg on 22 October

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ILO Starts Process to Establish HIV/AIDS Guidelines for the Mining Sector 
The ICEM has been invited by the ILO to participate in the formulation of HIV/AIDS Guidelines for the mining sector. 
 
In 2000, when the ILO established a programme on HIV/AIDS, the Director General called HIV/AIDS &ldquo;a workplace issue and a development challenge&rdquo;. 
 
&ldquo;The workplace&rdquo; is not a simple idea: it covers the informal &ndash; a small repair shop, a market stall &ndash; to the formal: a government office, a hotel, a gold mine. Similarly, the workforce may be one family or thousands of workers in plants across the world. The different nature of work in different sectors means that the working conditions and needs of workforces differ greatly. 
 
At the same time, workplaces have points in common, including a common interest in recognising and responding to the threat of HIV and AIDS. For this reason, the ILO developed the Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. 
 
To complement the Code, assist in its implementation and recognise the different situations, needs and interests in different sectors, ILOAIDS has worked on more targeted guidelines. HIV/AIDS guidelines exist for the transport sector, education and for health services, the latter elaborated jointly with the WHO. 
 
With a clear timetable, draft HIV/AIDS guidelines for the mining sector should be ready by autumn this year and tested in a tripartite workshop before the end of 2007.
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VCT Counsellors&rsquo; Training Begins in Five African Countries
Training of VCT (Voluntary Counselling and Testing) counsellors from ICEM affiliates in five countries (Botswana, Ghana, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania) has started with a financial contribution from Pfizer, the US based pharmaceutical company. 
 
The ICEM &ldquo;5 by 5&rdquo; project (five counsellors each in five countries) aims at up-scaling voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) at the workplace. 
 
The current reach of HIV testing services remains poor. The low level of VCT is an issue. HIV testing and counselling services are the entry point to HIV prevention, care and treatment. Without the knowledge of an individual&rsquo;s HIV status no timely access to care, treatment and support can be undertaken and no protection of unborn children (PMTCT) can be affected. For the community a wider knowledge of the HIV status and its links to interventions can lead to a reduction in denial, stigma and discrimination and to collective responsibility and action. 
 
The ICEM is convinced that counsellors coming from unions and being the peers of employees can better convince them to take an HIV test than medical staff employed by companies or public servants. They can reach out to families of workers and often have standing in the community to increase uptake outside the workplace. They also give a better guarantee that such testing of individuals is confidential, will be accompanied by counselling and is only to be conducted with informed consent. 
 
The training is done in line with certified curricula and ends in recognised accreditation of the VCT Counsellors.
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Canadian CEP Humanity Fund in Solidarity Action
The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers&rsquo; Union of Canada (CEP/SCEP), affiliated to the ICEM, has for the last 15 years assisted partners in the global South. Among the current projects supported by the Humanity Fund are two directly related to the response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic: fighting HIV/AIDS in the petroleum sector in Chad and HIV/AIDS education and training in Nigeria. 
 
The CEP Humanity Fund raises money with a 1-cent an hour contribution negotiated through the collective bargaining process. The Humanity Fund is building partnerships with workers&rsquo;, community and women&rsquo;s organisations, which are involved in improving living and working conditions, organising workers, defending human rights and organising health and safety courses. 
 
For more information go to <a href="http://www.cep.ca">www.cep.ca</a>. CEP is also affiliated to UNI and IFJ. 
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Brazil and Thailand Defy Big Pharmaceutical Companies
Brazil will bypass the commercial patent on a crucial anti-AIDS drug manufactured by Merck in order to ensure that those who desperately need treatment can get a cheaper, generic Indian-made version. 
 
The country will import a generic version of Efavirenz for the price of USD 0.45, less than half of the price of USD 1.10 offered by Merck. Brazil offers free AIDS treatment and Efavirenz is taken by about 75,000 of a total of 180,000 who are on antiretroviral drugs. 
 
Thailand approved generic production of two anti-AIDS drugs in November 2006. It recently announced a decision to adopt compulsory licensing for two more antiretroviral drugs. Abbot Laboratories, the licence holder of one of the drugs, Kaletra, then took a decision to withhold new drugs from Thailand in retaliation. 
 
In Canada and other countries, AIDS Action Now and churches took protest action on 26 April, on the eve of Abbott&rsquo;s annual general meeting. 
 
Under the rules of the World Trade Organisation, a compulsory licence can be granted in a health emergency or if the pharmaceutical industry abuses its pricing. 
 
In a related development, the Clinton Foundation AIDS Initiative concluded an agreement with Indian generic manufacturers Cibla and Matrix Laboratories for the procurement of second line antiretrovirals, which are very expensive and used when AIDS sufferers have developed resistance to first line drugs. The deal is financed by UNITAID. 
 
(Source: NZZ am Sonntag, Switzerland, 6 May 2007 and Newsweek, International Edition, 9 April. For further reading on compulsory licensing, go to <a href="http://www.twnside.org"></a><a href="http://www.twnside.org.sg">www.twnside.org.sg</a> for Martin Khor&rsquo;s article &ldquo;Patents, Compulsory Licensing and Access to Medicines&rdquo;) 
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South Africa: Delayed State AIDS-Fighting Body going at last
The newly constituted South African National AIDS Council (Sanac), which will be the lead agency in the fight against HIV/AIDS, was officially launched on 1 May after years of delays by the government. 
 
The council, which is chaired by Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, has endorsed the five-year national strategic plan for HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). 
 
Last year saw increased pressure from opposition parties, anti-AIDS groups and the Congress of South African Trade Unions on the government for it to be more effective in the fight against the epidemic. 
 
The main goal of the five-year plan is to reduce the rate of new HIV infections and mitigate the effect of AIDS on individuals, families and communities. Targets of the plan to be reached by 2011 include: providing treatment to 80% of adults who need it; reducing the proportion of adults starting antiretroviral treatment in hospital to 30%; increasing the number of HIV patients on treatment overseen by nurses to 70%; and reducing the rate of new infections by 50%. 
 
Sanac&rsquo;s membership includes the government at a ministerial level and leaders of business, labour and civil society. 
 
(Source: Business Day, Johannesburg, posted on the website 2 May 2007) 
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Nigeria: Federal Government Approves Workplace Policy on HIV/Aids 
Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr Hassan Lawal, announced the approval of the workplace policy on HIV/AIDS when he launched a new ILO report on discrimination in the world of work. 
 
Lawal said the policy provided guidelines to facilitate the establishment of workplace responses to HIV/AIDS in both the formal and informal sectors. He said the policy would also protect the rights of infected and affected people, while also sensitising them on options of redress. 
 
The minister stated that the policy would build the capacity of management and workers in handling HIV/AIDS issues in the workplace. 
 
(Source: This Day, Lagos, 13 May 2007) 
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News from ILOAIDS: ILO constituents renew commitment to act on AIDS
In 2001, governments, employers and workers agreed the ground-breaking Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. Translated into over 40 languages, a reference point for laws and policies in over 70 countries, the Code of Practice will now be complemented by a Recommendation on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. 
 
To take forward the workplace response to AIDS, the March 2007 session of the ILO Governing Body decided to place HIV/AIDS on the agenda of the International Labour Conference in 2009. 
 
This means that the ILO has now begun work towards the adoption of a Recommendation. A first discussion will be held during the International Labour Conference in June 2009, and the new standard is expected to be adopted as the outcome of a second discussion in June 2010. 
 
Recommendations provide guidance for states and for employers' and workers' organisations, among others, and form a basis for ILO promotional and assistance measures. 
 
(Note by the Editor: Agreement was not reached on a Convention which is the stronger instrument and which the workers&rsquo; representatives would have preferred). 
 
(Source: ILOAIDS Website)
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News from the Global Union Programme and Global Union Federations
The German Government has agreed to raise the issue of a regular HIV/AIDS review at the upcoming G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, 6 &ndash; 8 June. The German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said, in a letter to the Chair of the Global Unions AIDS Programme, Alan Leather, that the German Government would present the findings of its own review to the G8 and discuss the need for additional monitoring exercises. Global Union leaders also raised the issue during a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on 7 May. 
 
The Global AIDS Alliance, the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance and numerous other organisations have joined the call for universal access and the need for accountability by monitoring progress through a high-level permanent working group. 
 
The Global Unions representative also lobbied ministers and government delegations at the WHO World Health Assembly in Geneva in May for a G8 high-level, permanent working group, which will ensure that responding to and reporting on the epidemic takes place regularly at the G8 summits. 
 
In its most recent HIV/AIDS updates (no. 20 and 21 of 1 and 15 May) the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) reports, among others, on its work with the World Bank in the Transport Forum where workers&rsquo; rights and HIV prevention were key issues, on the HIV/AIDS situation in Kazakhstan and on a meeting in Berlin on European Employers&rsquo; and Trade Unions&rsquo; response to HIV/AIDS (see: <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>). 
 
In its most recent newsletter on EFA and HIV/AIDS Prevention at Schools, the Education International (EI) has published, among others, an article on the ban of sex education in schools in Maharashtra state, India. The Indian teachers&rsquo; union AIFTO condemned this ban, which is also in force in a number of other Indian states <a href="http://www.ei-ie.org/efaids">www.ei-ie.org/efaids</a>.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 21

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ICEM affiliate IGBCE and German paper industry employers reached a new collective agreement on 16 May, covering 44,000 workers. The 17-month labour accord calls for wage increase of 3.2%, retroactive to 1 May 2007, with a further increase of 2% to take effect on 1 May 2008. 
 
The contract runs until 30 September 2008. 
Effective next month, a single payment for each worker was won, totalling &euro;95. Apprentices will receive &euro;35. Another achievement, reached in arbitration, was an add-on to the long-term savings plan for each worker. In addition to the &euro;478.57 each year paid per worker by an employer, an extra &euro;13 will be allotted for each &euro;100 contributed by the worker to this supplemental retirement plan. 
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IGBCE Chief Negotiator Holger Nieden commended workers&rsquo; solidarity in achieving the contract. &ldquo;We obtained a fair and equitable amount after substantial pressure was applied,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The proportional increases are appropriate, they correspond with the situation of the industry, and they fit the overall economic framework.&rdquo;

Wage Pact Reached in Germany’s Paper Industry

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Anglo Coal is the target of coal strikes in central Queensland, Australia, by two unions, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) and the Construction, Forestry, Mining &amp; Energy Union (CFMEU). The unions took strike action again last week over concessionary terms that the subsidiary of Anglo American Group is attempting to impose at its massive Dawson mining complex near Moura, Queensland.
In the wake of an A$1.3 billion expansion that will lift coal output from 11 million tonnes annually to 16 million tonnes, Anglo Coal is seeking to extend 12-hour work shifts with another 45 minutes, as well as instituting further disciplinary and dispute procedures in the enterprise agreements. 
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Miners are allotted only two 30-minute breaks at the sprawling open cast set of mines, which would lead to obvious safety hazards. They also reject the company&rsquo;s plan to conduct random and compulsory health and fitness exams. 
 
Some 700 AMWU members staged a 24-hour strike on 14 May, and plan another one today. The union did four-hour stop-work actions on 27 and 30 April. At the Dawson Central mine on 13 May, 360 CFMEU miners took strike action. They had previously conducted a warning strike in mid-March. 
 
Anglo Coal is connecting three large open pit mines, spanning some 120 kilometres across central Queensland, with its minority partner, Mitsui of Japan. Miners also seek a bigger pay package from Anglo Coal in the face of huge company profits and escalating housing costs in this booming coal-export region of Australia.

Australian Miners Strike Anglo Coal in Queensland

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The Communications, Energy, and Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada has filed a petition with the country&rsquo;s National Energy Board (NEB) to block construction of TransCanada&rsquo;s 2,970-kilometre Keystone Pipeline into the US. The union, together with the Alberta Provincial Federation of Labour, the Parkland Institute, and academics, filed the motion on 15 May with Canada&rsquo;s federal energy regulatory body. 
 
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re shipping our natural resources down to the US so they can create upgraded oil products,&rdquo; said CEP President Dave Coles. &ldquo;Meanwhile, we&rsquo;re missing out on the creation of 18,000 good Canadian jobs, and putting our gas supply at risk in the process.&rdquo; 
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CEP President Dave Coles
In its filing, CEP cites a study by an independent research firm, Informetrica, showing that 18,000 jobs could be lost by the export of unprocessed bitumen to the US. 
 
The CEP seeks bitumen from the tar sands to be made into refined petroleum products inside Canada. The Alberta oil sands are currently producing millions of barrels of diluted but unprocessed bitumen each day. 
 
The CEP charges that the NEB, and federal and provincial governments in Canada, have done too little to protect the environment and the social well-being of the public interest in the booming oil sands industry of western Canada. &ldquo;Hundreds of workers in refineries and petrochemical plants have already lost their jobs because the priority of the NEB has too often been fixed on serving the needs of the US rather than Canadian consumers,&rdquo; said Coles. 
 
The US$2.1 billion Keystone Pipeline is expected to be complete in 2009, and would transport 435,000 barrels-per-day of crude oil from the province of Alberta to the US state of Illinois.

Crude Oil Pipeline Will Mean Loss of Energy Jobs in Canada, CEP Warns

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At a spirited rally at the Rotterdam portion of Unilever&rsquo;s AGM on 15 May, ICEM Dutch affiliate FNV Bondgenoten issued a stern warning to the giant food and chemicals concern: focus more on long term stability and the concerns of all stakeholders, rather than on a current call by investors to restructure for quick profits. 
 
Union members and their allies, namely the 40,000-member Association of Shareholders, a collection of institutional and individual shareholders, called on the company to resist the break-up, the closure of certain businesses, or the selling-off to private equity funds, or other market capital funds. 
<img height="199" alt="" src="" width="300" />
ICEM's presence at Rotterdam rally, including&nbsp;Chemical officer Kemal Ozkan and ICEM Vice-President Ben Roodhuizen (centre)
The rally preceded Unilever&rsquo;s general meeting at Rotterdam&rsquo;s World Trade Centre. The following day, 16 May, the company held the London portion of its annual meeting, at which time Mike Treschow was installed as Unilever chairman. Treschow is a noted master of retrenchments, having previously maximized quick profits at the expense of jobs at Ericsson telecom and Electrolux. 
 
FNV Bondgenoten warned that the strategy of creating excessive shareholder value at Unilever is now playing too large a role. &ldquo;I fear that in the short term, Unilever will become prey to activist hedge funds,&rdquo; stated Bondgenoten President Henk van der Kolk. &ldquo;In the eyes of these funds, Unilever is a company from which more profit can be squeezed.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;Unilever has always been a company with a good name, a company that has looked out for the interests of its workers,&rdquo; van der Kolk added. &ldquo;Now workers are only seen as a cost factor. The less you have, the better. That now appears to be the thinking at Unilever.&rdquo; 
<img height="232" src="" width="200" alt="" />
FNV Bondgenoten President Henk van der Kolk
On 1 June, the union will submit a work plan to senior management of Unilever. FNV Bondgenoten is asking shareholders to support that plan, which couples social responsibility with curtailment of the power of shareholders. Jobs and job security are high on its agenda, as is upcoming collective bargaining in The Netherlands. Bondgenoten said that the first part of the work plan applies to Dutch operations of the multinational, but that the plan could also be applied more broadly to the company&rsquo;s 200,000 workers worldwide. 
 
Also speaking at the rally were a member of parliament and workers from Mumbai, India, which are members of the Hindustan Lever Employees Union. Their situation depicts Unilever at its worst. In order to avoid social dialogue with that union, which is an affiliate of the International Union of Food &amp; Allied Workers&rsquo; Association (IUF), management sold the operation to a shell company in order to avoid its lawful social obligations.

FNV Bondgenoten Warns of Unilever Break Up

In the name of God the most merciful and graceful 
From: Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions&nbsp; 
 
 
His Excellency The Oil Minister, 
Subject: Entitlements 

Sincere Salutations,
It was our hope, after the fall of that statue, to witness the dawn of a new era marked by the recognition of the legitimate rights of our members in the oil sector. This sector that for so long has suffered injustice and been denied equity. 
Since the advent of this new era, we focused our efforts into effectively thwarting all attempts to exploit this sector and tamper with our resources. You have been informed of how we stalled foreign companies in their attempts to control our oil fields and refineries, and how we forced them to leave. 
In addition, we worked hand in hand with the ministries and agencies to accelerate the pace of oil production, and to safeguard the means of production, and raise awareness amongst workers of investing to boost the chances of success for the new era. 
Unfortunately, our demands for entitlements were ignored, despite four years of continued promises by ministry and government officials. In fact, we took our demands to the highest levels of the government. We kept the prime minister apprized of our demands, but were disappointed when we came to realize that our demands fell on deaf ears. 
Throughout this period we worked to defuse anger and resentment and address criticism leveled by our members who mistakenly thought of us as the ones failing to put forth their legitimate demands. Henceforth: 
 
After extensive deliberations, and based on the resolutions that came out of an Executive Board meeting with broad member representation on Thursday 26 April, 2007 at the Gas Corporation's premises in Basra, a strike was unanimously adopted, scheduled for May 10, 2007 in all the company's branches in the south and in the following provinces Basra/Missan Dhi Kar/Al Mouthnana. 
The strike will go ahead, should the following demands not be completely met: 
1. Make a determination on land allotment in the Shiite Province 52 and land distribution owned by oil companies, and the parcel in the Tannouma area, a property of the Southern Oil Company.
2.&nbsp;Make a determination on oil companies' profits margins on the basis of the amendments to which you agreed and to determine those margins according to the certification/attestation from the south region financial/tax jurisdictions, not according to the formula adopted by the Minister that has been deemed detrimental to our membership. 
3. Approval of accumulated ordinary unused vacations, and all vacations outstanding for more than 180 days. There is no justification for withholding any of these vacations. We also believe that the resolution issued by the State Advisory Council is not binding, for lack of legal foundation. We empathically insist that there be no salary deductions over the next few years for granted vacations days. 
4. Granting full time status to temporary workers, notwithstanding the length of service but rather apply a more humanistic approach with those workers who are Iraqi nationals and who deserve a life in this country. 
5. To hire new graduates of the last two classes.
6. Rescind the new unified payment schedule which benefits only a very small number in the sector.
7. Promote holders of elementary certificates to the next grade on par to their dismissed colleagues (for political reasons) and address the issue of stalled promotions for workers and others. 
8. Rescind the 20% deduction from profits paid to the army and recovery of previous years' deductions.
9. We ask that those premises become employee-run, similar to other state-owned agencies. We deem the wait and see policy inappropriate, and we are wondering why the oil sector is treated so unfairly. 
 
As we are stating the legitimate demands of our membership, it is our hope to obtain the support of those on whom we rely, and whom we supported with our blood in making the political process succeed. 
It is our hope to reinstate the rights of those who were aggrieved by Iraqi government officials, and eliminate the injustices bestowed on the southern region. 
We feel, up to the moment of this statement's drafting, that discrimination is continuing, and that the south is treated as the cash cow of Iraq. 
Our region gave so much to Iraq, but gained little in return. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that pollution in oil facilities has reached a peak, and the incidence of cancer has topped exceeded predictions. We also note, that the ministry pays little to no attention to these incidences that primarily impact the inhabitants in the southern area. 
We feel as if they are predestined to such a fate - to always give in vain. We are cautioning, that there is a limit to our tolerance. 
We ask that our demands be met. We feel that enough is enough. 

Peace and grace be upon you. 
Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions 
4/27/2007 
To: Top executives of oil companies 
CC: all media

Letter by the IFOU to Iraqi Oil Minister

The Prime Minister of Iraq, Nouri Al-Maliki, will meet in Baghdad with a delegation of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU), led by its President, Hassan Jumaa Awad Alasady, tomorrow, Wednesday, 16 May 2007. 
 
The meeting was hurriedly arranged by the Iraqi Prime Minister in a late attempt to avert threatened strike action that would involve all workers and technicians throughout the oil industry of the South, stopping production in all of the oil companies in Basra, Misan, Thi-Qar and Muthanna and affecting all domestic oil products as well as the export of crude oil. The strike may still take place. 
The trade union delegation will return to Basra on Thursday, 17 May, where the union will decide on further steps according to the outcome of the discussions with the Prime Minister. 
 
This is no idle threat. The IFOU, previously known as the GUOE-Basra, has over 26,000 members throughout the ten state oil companies in the south of Iraq and has a past history of strike action in defence of its members and the industry. 
<img height="263" alt="" src="" width="350" />
(Photo &ndash; from left to right) 
Sue Rogers, Chairperson TUC Iraq Solidarity Committee; Owen Tudor, Head of TUC European Union and International Relations Department; Hassan Jumaa Awad Alasady, President Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU); Jim Catterson, ICEM Director of Organisation; Ralf Erbel Coordinator of the Iraqi Workers Project ITUC,&nbsp;Amman Office 
The union is also at the forefront of the Iraqi trade union struggle against the proposed hydrocarbons law which, as written, would benefit the multinational oil industry far more than the Iraqi people. Indeed, one demand on the table when the meeting takes place is a call for serious consultations to take place with the trade unions on the present contents of the draft law, and that the trade unions must be able to review any proposed legislation prior to any attempted introduction. 
 
ICEM is following the situation closely and will be calling on affiliated trade unions for solidarity action in the event of a strike. 
 
The strike threat was initially made in a 27 April public letter to the Iraqi Oil Minister, following discussion at the union&rsquo;s Executive Board meeting with broad member representation the previous day in Basra. The meeting formulated a list of demands and the call for a strike was unanimously adopted if the demands were not met by 10 May 2007. 
 
The strike date was postponed from 10 May to 14 May as the union entered negotiations with a committee formed by the Iraqi Council of Ministers. No direct negotiations with the Oil Ministry took place and a second postponement of the strike was due&nbsp;to the intervention of the Prime Minister, and the ICEM hopes that his decision to meet the union delegation personally will be significant. 
<img height="115" alt="" src="" width="250" />
The strike call came after numerous demands of the union that the Iraqi government had promised to implement last year had still not been met. Some outstanding commitments are unfulfilled, after having been made several years ago. 
Many of the demands are related to wages and working conditions, including a demand for wage increases, the payment of a previously agreed bonus that is based on the distribution to workers of a proportion of oil revenues achieved by the company, no salary deductions to be made for granted vacation days, and the delivery of land parcels for housing to workers. 
 
Further demands are for the recruitment of new graduates, as well as the promotion of workers where this has been stalled. The union also calls for full time permanent status to be given to workers presently classed as temporary contract workers. 
 
Faced with increased pollution in oil facilities and evidence that there is a major increase in the incidence of cancers among the workforce the union has also tabled health and safety demands. 
 
All of these demands and the strike call were discussed by Hassan Jumaa at a meeting in Amman, Jordan, 1 May 2007 with a delegation from ICEM, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) of the United Kingdom, and the Jordan office of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). The aim of the meeting was principally to improve communication channels between Hassan Jumaa&rsquo;s union and the international trade union movement, as well as to discuss future joint work and cooperation. 
 
Discussions were detailed and wide-ranging and we look forward to increased cooperation in the future. This is already happening with Arabic speaking staff of both the ITUC and the Solidarity Center of AFL-CIO having facilitated communication between IFOU and ICEM and the TUC over recent days.&nbsp;
Read the letter by the IFOU to the Iraqi oil minister in <a href="/index.php?id=24&amp;doc=2261">English</a> or <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0705Iraq.pdf">Arabic</a>.
For more information, please contact Jim Catterson, ICEM Director of Organisation, +32-2-626.20.45 or <a href="mailto:jim.catterson@icem.org">jim.catterson@icem.org</a>.

Threatened Oil Industry Strike in Iraq

The Executive Committee of the ICEM condemns the position taken by many global multinational companies, especially those companies originating from democratic countries, which are negatively influencing the decision making process of the Chinese government concerning the new Chinese labour law for workers in China. 
 
Whereas, the current and new legal requirements by the Chinese government, in the eyes of the international trade union movement, are far below international standards as commonly accepted, 
 
Whereas, many multinational enterprises doing business in China oppose implementation of these requirements. 
<img height="67" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Whereas, ICEM is concerned about the work conditions in China, and also about the influence that Chinese labour standards have on the position and working conditions of workers world-wide. 
 
Be it Resolved, that ICEM calls upon multinational companies not to oppose these new requirements by the Chinese government, which, even though set at a level well below internationally accepted standards, can be considered progress. 
 
Be it further Resolved, that ICEM calls upon multinational companies not to oppose the struggle by workers towards free, strong and independent trade unions in China. 
 
Be it further Resolved that, multinational companies, originating from China, apply high-quality labour standards for their workers throughout their global operations.

ICEM Executive Committee - 10-11 May 2007 

ICEM Resolution on Chinese labour law in multinational companies

The ICEM Executive Committee, meeting in Brussels on 10 and 11 May 2007, deplored the fact that the strike by 82 women workers at Novamed in Antalya, Turkey, is continuing without settlement since September 2006. 
 
In 2007 we can no longer permit practices such as employers granting permission to women to become pregnant and other measures to limit women&rsquo;s rights to maternity and family. These practices no longer belong in the 21st century. 
 
Maternity is a social responsibility. Women may not be penalized by meeting their obligations as mothers. On the contrary, society must acknowledge women&rsquo;s roles as mothers and workers and provide the conditions for them to perform these roles. 
<img height="66" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The practice of restricting women&rsquo;s maternity rights is against ILO Conventions and EU directives and does not suit a country applying for membership in the European Union. 
 
ICEM urges the company to respect its obligations toward international and European law. 
 
ICEM on behalf of 20 million members worldwide expresses its wholehearted solidarity and support to the strikers at Novamed and Petrol-Is. 
 
ICEM Executive Committee 
Brussels, 10 May 2007

ICEM resolution on strike by women workers at Novamed, Antalya, Turkey

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