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African trade unions affiliated with the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM), meeting yesterday, 15 September, in Lagos, Nigeria, passed a unanimous resolution criticizing Brazilian-based global mining giant, Vale, for its &ldquo;anti-worker, anti-union practices&rdquo; in Canada, and called on African governments to stop Vale from developing mines and exporting such practices to the continent. 
 
Rayford Mbulu, Chairman of ICEM&rsquo;s Sub-Sahara African Regional Organization (SSARO), and President of the Mineworkers' Union of Zambia (MUZ), said, &ldquo;The time has come to challenge these global mining giants, and Vale will be a test case for us.&rdquo; African trade unions will be contacting their respective governments about not granting permits to Vale and its partners for exploration and mine development. 
 
Vale forced a strike in mid-July by 3,500 miners and smelter workers in Canada, members of the United Steelworkers (USW), by demanding unnecessary cuts in pensions and other areas. The company, which earned vast profits from its Canadian operations since its purchase of Inco Mining in 2006, has recently announced it will use replacement workers to break the strike. 
 
The African unions are also protesting Vale&rsquo;s practices in Brazil where the company routinely terminates staff without cause, denies workers the right to union representation, and forces workers to sign individual contracts to circumvent collective bargaining agreements. 
 
&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t want Vale to come here and export its anti-union practices to our countries,&rdquo; said Mbulu. &ldquo;So either Vale improves its labour practices or stays out of Africa.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;Vale&rsquo;s strategy is to gut its best collective bargaining agreements and to set a precedent for deep cuts in wages, pensions, and worker rights worldwide,&rdquo; said Ken Neumann, Canadian National Director for the USW, and an ICEM Vice President for the North American Region. &ldquo;Vale will use the savings extracted from workers to finance the company&rsquo;s ambitious plans for expansion and further its campaign to weaken trade unions throughout the world.&rdquo; 
 
Vale has opened offices in South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and recently signed an agreement with South African-based African Rainbow Minerals Ltd. to conduct exploration and participate in joint ventures. It is targeting numerous Africa countries for expansion. 
 
Vale earned US$13.2 billion in net profit in 2008 and paid its six top executives US$33 million in 2008 compensation. 
 
The USW is working with trade unions in Europe, Asia, and South America, as well as with the ICEM and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), which together represent over 45 million workers, in a widening campaign. 
 
The ICEM is a Geneva, Switzerland-based Global Union Federation consisting of 467 affiliated trade unions in 132 countries. 
 
For further information, contact, Joe Drexler, ICEM, at +41 22 304 1845, or <a href="mailto:joe.drexler@icem.org">joe.drexler@icem.org</a>, or Bob Gallagher, USW-Canada, at +1 416 487 1571, or <a href="mailto:bgallagher@usw.ca">bgallagher@usw.ca</a>.

ICEM’s African Trade Unions Tell Vale: Improve Labour Practices or Stay Off Continent

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
In Mexico on 25 August, an appellate court overturned the government&rsquo;s freeze on bank accounts of the National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (SNTMMSRM), or Los Mineros. But a week later, on 2 September, Mexico&rsquo;s Attorney General reissued an order freezing those accounts. 
 
The appeals court ruled that the government&rsquo;s asset freeze on union accounts could only be imposed on specific evidence, not on a general suspicion of money laundering. The court thus ruled against a decree from late last year that continued a freeze on the union&rsquo;s funds, now tied up for nearly three years. 
 
The Attorney General&rsquo;s office again used Article 181 of Mexico&rsquo;s penal code to freeze the union&rsquo;s assets.
<img src="" width="180" height="214" alt="" />
 
Los Mineros will continue to appeal this order, despite not having the necessary information from the government in order to wage its legal fight. 
 
Meanwhile, a special working group of the Mexican Senate has agreed to accept videotape testimony from the union&rsquo;s leader in exile, Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez Urrutia, over the Cananea mine strike. Napole&oacute;n G&oacute;mez, who is in exile in Canada, will be allowed to testify on Grupo M&eacute;xico&rsquo;s complicity in alleged human rights abuses at the mine where SNTMMSRM members have now been on strike for 25 months. 
 
The Mexican Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union was approved for ICEM affiliation during the 23-24 June Executive Committee meetings.

Los Mineros Bank Assets Unfrozen, Then Frozen Again

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United Steelworker (USW) members at Goodyear Tire &amp; Rubber Co. in the US will begin voting later this week on a four-year labour agreement, covering over 10,000 workers at seven American factories. A tentative agreement between the USW and Goodyear, America&rsquo;s biggest tyre manufacturer, was reached late in the evening on 29 August, just hours before a second contract extension was due to expire. 
 
Collective agreements between North America&rsquo;s largest industrial union and the US&rsquo;s three major tyre-makers &ndash; Goodyear, Bridgestone Americas LLC, and Michelin&rsquo;s BF Goodrich subsidiary &ndash; expired on 18 July, but the USW and Goodyear and Michelin North America twice extended negotiation deadlines. 
 
On 15 August, the union and Michelin reached accord on a three-year contract covering 2,500 workers. Workers at two of the company&rsquo;s plants, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, ratified the agreement some eight days later by an 83% affirmative vote. A third Michelin plant, in Opelika, Alabama, that employs 1,000 is set to close on 31 October, and the union and North American management of Michelin negotiated a satisfactory plant-closing pact several months ago.
<img src="" width="300" height="132" alt="" />
&nbsp; 
 
Talks with Bridgestone, covering 4,500 workers at seven of nine of the Japanese company&rsquo;s US plants, are still ongoing. Workers covered under that master agreement are employed now under day-by-day extensions, with each side required to give a five-day notice before contract termination. 
 
The USW&rsquo;s chief goals in US tyre talks this summer have been job security, investment in facilities, and improvements in worker and retiree benefits, specifically related to company-sponsored health care coverage. 
 
At the Goodyear manufacturing plants, USW members are now involved in informational sessions spelling out the terms of the proposed accord, with site-by-site voting to follow. The Goodyear plant sites include: Union City, Tennessee, where auto and light truck tyres are made; Topeka, Kansas, a plant manufacturing commercial truck, bus, and off-road equipment tyres; Gadsden, Alabama, auto and light truck; Fayetteville, North Carolina, auto and light truck; Danville, Virginia, commercial truck and bus tyres, and aircraft tyres; and Akron, Ohio, race-car tyres. 
 
Meanwhile, the USW is bracing for a 17 September deadline in which President Barack Obama must decide on a US International Trade Commission (ITC) recommendation to impose higher tariffs on low-end Chinese tyres entering the American marketplace. The USW petitioned the ITC for relief because of a 215% increase between 2004 and 2008 in Chinese tyre exports to the US. The case is seen as a litmus test for Obama on whether or not he keeps a campaign pledge to protect US-based jobs.

US Tyre Talks Near Complete

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The Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) of Australia has launched a campaign against global mining giant Xstrata to preserve coal mining jobs in New South Wales (NSW). The Swiss-based company, on 31 July, announced it was cutting 122 of 550 jobs at its Ulan Mine in western NSW, and 158 more jobs at its Tahmoor colliery in southern NSW. 
 
The CFMEU disputes Xstrata&rsquo;s claim that the scheduled redundancies are intended to improve efficiencies by &ldquo;realigning employee numbers with the current operating environment.&rdquo; To Xstrata, that means reduced pricing on thermal coal brought by the global financial crisis.
<img alt="" src="" width="240" height="76" />
 
The union claims Xstrata&rsquo;s real intent is to hire more contractors at Ulan, specifically as the company prepares development of major new coal deposits at Ulan West. 
 
CFMEU National President Tony Maher called the cuts callous and offensive. &ldquo;We highlight this as corporate greed, as this is a very profitable mine,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;There are times when retrenchments are unavoidable. This is not one of those times.&rdquo;
<img alt="" src="" width="90" height="135" />
&nbsp;CFMEU&rsquo;s Tony Maher 
 

The Ulan mine is forecast to post an A$140 million profit this year, down from A$330 million in 2008, but still extremely healthy profits considering the global recession. The CFMEU has brought forced dismissal cases before the Australian Industrial Relations Commissions, but a 24 August hearing to block the Ulan redundancies failed. 
 
Some 500 people marched last week in Mudgee, NSW, near Ulan as the first wave of layoffs was to begin. The mayor of Mudgee, a community of 7,000 some 260 kilometres west of Sydney, said the cuts will have a serious knock-on effect to other jobs in the town. The CFMEU says for every high-paid mining job that is lost, another four service or retail jobs will be affected. 
 
The union has started a website on Xstrata&rsquo;s job cuts at Ulan. It can be found <a href="http://www.xstratafacts.com">here</a>. 
 
Xstrata bought majority control of Ulan in 2001 and controls a 90% stake in the mine. Mitsubishi Development owns the other 10%. At Tahmoor, a mine producing coking coal that Xstrata bought from Centennial Coal in 2007, the company used the same excuse for issuing redundancy notices: market prices are not strong enough to support the current level of 493 jobs. 
 
Xstrata&rsquo;s job curtailments at the two collieries are not the only sites in Australia where the company is forcing redundancies. In June, the tightly held mining concern said it was terminating thermal coal mining at its United Colliery in the Hunter Valley region of NSW. That colliery is to cease operating by March 2010. And in January 2009, Xstrata announced job cutbacks at the Oaky Creek No. 1 mine in central Queensland. 

&nbsp;

CFMEU Seeks to Protect Xstrata Coal Mining Jobs in Australia

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on, among other items, the HIV/AIDS seminar in Mongolia and how the economic crisis affects prevention and treatment.
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 HIV/AIDS Consultant
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
HIV/AIDS Workshop in Mongolia 
 
With funding from ICEM-JAF, Japan, the Taiwan Petroleum Workers&rsquo; Union, and the ICEM HIV/AIDS Project, the ICEM affiliate, the Mongolian Energy, Geology and Mine Workers&rsquo; Trade Unions (MEGMTU) organised an HIV/AIDS seminar in Ulaanbaatar from 10 to 12 August. Forty-five participants, of whom 17 were women, attended the seminar. The opening was also attended by representatives from the ILO and the Asian Development Bank, which has recently started an HIV/AIDS prevention project, focusing on infrastructure and the mining sector. 
 
Following up on the Tripartite Declaration on the prevention of HIV/AIDS at workplaces, signed in October 2007 by the Ministry of Social Welfare and Labour, the Confederation of Mongolian Trade Unions (CMTU) and the Mongolian Employers&rsquo; Federation (MONEF), the seminar had the title &ldquo;Development of Social Partner Cooperation to Prevent HIV/AIDS in the Mineral and Energy Sectors&rdquo;. In line with the objectives of the seminar, representatives from government agencies and from MONEF also attended. 
 
As an outcome of working groups, participants made detailed recommendations concerning the improvement of legislation and HIV/AIDS interventions at national, industry and workplace level. The final declaration calls for tripartite cooperation at national level and bipartite cooperation at the workplace level with action-oriented programmes to be implemented. 
 
The prevalence rate in Mongolia is still low; UNAIDS estimates 820 cases. The objective is to keep it at this low rate, or push it to zero. Prevention is therefore the focus of HIV/AIDS work in Mongolia. Mining areas and also some energy projects are in remote areas. Workers are often separated from their families for a long time; they earn wages above the national industrial average and commercial sex workers are attracted to these areas. Foreign migrant workers are also employed. The present low prevalence rate therefore hides a potentially explosive situation. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Disruption of Treatment Threatened by Global Economic Crisis 
 
In 22 countries, disruption of HIV prevention and treatment programmes is expected over the course of this year, as a result of the global economic crisis, according to a report by UNAIDS and the World Bank, released on 6 July. 
 
According to the report &ldquo;The Global Economic Crisis and HIV Prevention and Treatment Programmes: Vulnerabilities and Impact&rdquo;, eight countries are already facing shortages of antiretroviral drugs. Together, these countries are home to more than 60% of people receiving AIDS treatment. 
 
In 34 countries, representing 75% of people living with HIV, there is already an impact on HIV prevention programmes, focusing on high-risk groups. Furthermore, the report suggests that poor nutrition because of reduced incomes and rising unemployment could also influence the effectiveness of ARV drugs. Community networks, which often are the only social safety net for the poor, are also being crippled by the financial crisis. 
 
While there are no reports of substantial cuts in donor assistance for 2009, there is concern that financial sustainability of antiretroviral treatment programmes that depend mainly on external aid is uncertain. 
 
(Source: Press Release UNIADS, 6 July. The report can be accessed at <a href="http://www.unaids.org">www.unaids.org</a>) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
SWHAP Network Meets on Economic Crisis 
 
The economic crisis was also the focus of the South Africa Network workshop of the Swedish Workplace HIV and AIDS Programme (SWHAP). Twenty-eight coordinators from 11 workplaces discussed the implications of the economic crisis and how workplace programmes on HIV and AIDS, as well as wellness programmes, could cope with the financial stress they are currently experiencing. 
 
Participants also discussed how health workers and lay counsellors in the programme can be empowered with the necessary skills and knowledge needed to ensure effective adherence to treatment by workers. ICEM HIV/AIDS Project Management Assistant, Paule Ndessomin, attended the meeting in Johannesburg. 
 
(Source: Information on the SWHAP website <a href="http://www.swhap.org">www.swhap.org</a>) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Ethiopia: Nurses are Empowered to Boost ARV Treatment 
 
Facing mounting difficulties in bringing antiretroviral drugs to people living with HIV and AIDS who need them, the Ethiopian Government has given nurses the authority to prescribe and supervise ARV therapy. This will expand access to treatment, especially in rural areas where there are few doctors. The number of clinics staffed by nurses trained to dispense the drugs will increase from 400 to 1,300 over the next three years with help from the Global Fund. 
 
About 370,000 of the 1.1 million Ethiopians with HIV/AIDS need ARVs but only 120,000 are getting the medication. Ethiopia hopes to more than double that number to meet the United Nations Millennium Goal of having 80 percent receiving treatment by 2010. 
 
The target is ambitious. Half the children under five years old are chronically malnourished and almost 40 percent of the 85 million population live below the poverty line, but the biggest hurdles are training and keeping enough doctors to distribute the drugs, bringing health services to the 80 percent of the population who live in the countryside, and making the programme self-supporting, should money from the donors dry up. Poor pay and difficult working conditions have driven many health professionals to seek higher-paid jobs abroad. 
 
(Source: IRIN PlusNews, 7 August) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Namibia: Court Case Highlights Workers&rsquo; Rights 
 
An out-of-court settlement was reached in the case of the Namibian hotel workers (see <a href="/en/72-HIV-AIDS/3322-ICEM-HIV-AIDS-e-bulletin-No.-46-July-2009">HIV/AIDS e-bulletin no. 46, July 2009</a>). The workers had fought a nine-year legal battle after being tested without their consent, and for having their confidentiality breached by their employer, the Oshakati Country Lodge. They settled for monetary compensation before the case was heard in court. 
 
While a court case would have set precedents, the Legal Assistance Centre in Namibia nevertheless managed to re-emphasise fundamental principles during the drawn-out case, such as: no testing without informed consent, and maintenance of confidentiality. 
 
(Source: Additional information provided by Robert E. Lovelace, Washington) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
AIDSPAN Releases Beginners&rsquo; Guide to the Global Fund 
 
Aidspan has released a new guide, designed to provide a broad introduction to the Global Fund for people who have little or no prior experience of the Fund. A Beginner&rsquo;s Guide to the Global Fund will be of interest to a wide range of people. 
 
A Beginner&rsquo;s Guide to the Global Fund comes in three versions: the full guide (about 60 pages), an eight-page summary and a two-page summary. All three versions are available in English at <a href="http://www.aidspan.org/guides">www.aidspan.org/guides</a>. French-, Spanish- and Russian-language editions of all three versions will be available by early September 2009 at the same site. The full version of the guide contains numerous links to the websites of the Global Fund and Aidspan, for people who need in-depth information. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 105, 28 July. 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>. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
News from the Global Union Federations 
 
The fortnightly HIV/AIDS updates of 1 and 15 July of the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation report, among others, on the integration of HIV/AIDS in ITF Inspectors&rsquo; seminars, and the progress of the US Government to end its longstanding ban on HIV positive visitors and migrants. (<a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>). 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe or Translate? 
 
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ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 47 August/September 2009

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The ICEM conducted regional meetings in both Central Europe and Eastern Europe/Caucuses of late in line with the statutory obligations of the two regions. On 12 September, the Central European meeting was held in Sibenik, Croatia. 
 
Trade union representatives attending came from Bosnia/Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia. Juraj Blah&aacute;k, President of OZ Ch&eacute;mia of the Slovak Republic, chaired the meeting, and he was re-elected to continue his role as ICEM Vice President for the region. Blah&aacute;k was also re-elected chairman of the regional committee structure for Central Europe.
<img alt="" src="" width="300" height="225" />
&nbsp;Delegates from eight countries at the Central Europe meeting
Delegates gave country reports, deliberated on regional activities, and compared the economic situations country by country, while discussing the harsh effects of the global economic crisis. ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda also discussed ICEM&rsquo;s global activities and reviewed actions taken &ndash; including debate on that economic crisis &ndash; from the ICEM&rsquo;s June Executive Committee meetings in Geneva. 
 
In Kiev, Ukraine, on 16 September, trade unionists from Azerbaijan, Belorussia, Russia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan gathered for the day-long Eastern Europe/Caucuses regional meeting. ICEM Vice President and Regional Chairman Ivan Mokhnachuk of the Russian miners&rsquo; union Rusugleprof convened the meeting.
<img alt="" src="" width="280" height="210" />
Ivan Mokhnachuk (left) chairing the Eastern Europe/Caucuses Region, with interpreter Eugene Kuprin and ICEM&rsquo;s Manfred Warda&nbsp;
A discussion occurred over affiliated unions&rsquo; membership fees to the ICEM, with a recommendation on this issue to be submitted to next month&rsquo;s ICEM Presidium meeting. Country reports also were heard and the ICEM&rsquo;s Warda delivered a Secretariat report that contained highlights from the Executive. 
 
A Women&rsquo;s Committee report was also given by Mavjuda Khalilova of the Fuel, Energy, Chemicals, and Geology Union of Uzbekistan. 

&nbsp;

ICEM Regional Meetings Held in Central Europe, Eastern Europe/Caucuses

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
Meeting in S&atilde;o Paulo, Brazil, on 16-17 September, the Executive Committee of Confedera&ccedil;&atilde;o Nacional do Ramo Qu&iacute;mico (CNQ/CUT) elected ICEM Vice President S&eacute;rgio Novais the National Coordinator of the 350,000-member national industrial federation. 
 
Novais, the Chairman of ICEM&rsquo;s Latin America/Caribbean Region since 2003, replaces Donizeti da Silva, who will take up a position at CUT, as well as serve as President of CUT&rsquo;s research arm, the Instituto Observat&oacute;rio Social. His three-year term as leader of CNQ-CUT was set to expire in 2010 and it is expected that Novais will seek a full term next year. 
 
The former BASF chemical worker served as National Coordinator previously, in 2003-04. He has been on the leadership team of ABC Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union, the S&atilde;o Paulo state organization of CUT since 1991, and served as President of that trade union grouping from 1996 to 2003.
<img src="" width="186" height="49" alt="" />
&nbsp; 
 
Last week&rsquo;s Executive Committee also saw Rosano Sousa de Deus give up her seat as a director of CNQ/CUT in order to take the position of Youth Director of CUT. She was replaced by Carlos de Brito. The two-day meeting produced serious discussion on the possible merger of Brazil&rsquo;s petrochemical companies, Braskem and Quattor Participacoes SA. 
 
Such a merger would radically change the sector both inside and outside of Brazil. The country&rsquo;s state petroleum company, Petrobras, owns 40% of Quattor and 25% of Braskem. CNQ/CUT&rsquo;s board also discussed biodiesel initiatives by Petrobras in northeast Brazil, and took action on the current pension debate in Brazil. In other business, the Oil Workers&rsquo; Union, FUP, brought forward progress on new petroleum legislation introduced in Brazil&rsquo;s Parliament. 
 
CNQ/CUT is the largest industrial trade union federation in Brazil, representing workers in chemicals, pharmaceuticals, rubber, glass, ceramics, and other process manufacturing sectors.

ICEM Vice President Sérgio Novais Elected National Coordinator of CNQ/CUT in Brazil

<img src="" width="100" height="39" alt="" />
During this week&rsquo;s G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, USA, ICEM affiliate United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers&rsquo; Union (UE) is spearheading, together with a citizens&rsquo; group called Pittsburgh United, a series of events that will depict how global finance ministers and economic institutions place the neoliberal agenda of &ldquo;seed-for-greed&rdquo; above that of a &ldquo;people-first&rdquo; agenda. 
 
Called &ldquo;People&rsquo;s Voices: Challenging the G20&rsquo;s Agenda of Corporate Globalization,&rdquo; a broad US network of civil society groups, including trade unions, will join with their counterparts from Central and South America to conduct four sessions across three days, 23-25 September. The forums will highlight a G20 agenda that has brought poverty, inequality, job and wage loss, and environmental destruction to many parts of the world.
<img src="" width="149" height="87" alt="" />
The first event will occur on 23 September and includes a panel that will discuss G20 policies and how they affect community life. The panel will feature Untied Steelworkers (USW) President Leo Gerard and Nobel Laureate Economist Joseph Stiglitz. 
 
Another panel, to be held in the afternoon of 24 September, is entitled &ldquo;People&rsquo;s Voices: a Global/Local Exchange,&rdquo; while that evening, a &ldquo;People&rsquo;s Tribunal&rdquo; will take place, in which the economic development priorities of the G20 will be put on trial. On 25 September, in the morning, a session on &ldquo;Voices from Latin America&rdquo; will include labour, community, indigenous people, and environmental activists from Bolivia, Honduras, Mexico, and Peru. 
 
The complete three-day programme, including times and places in Pittsburgh, and featured panelists, can be found <a href="http://www.pittsburghunited.org/g20">here</a>.

US-based Community Groups Hold Alternative G20 Forums this Week in Pittsburgh

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Three Global Union Federations (GUFs), representing 55 million industrial workers, call on G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Pittsburgh, USA, this week to prioritise the global jobs crisis in their deliberations, and to create real measures that stop the epidemic of job losses throughout the world. 
 
The GUFs, the International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF), the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM), and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), stress the immediate need for economic ministers to recognise that true recovery can only happen if job retention and job creation become the priorities.
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="100" />
The three workers&rsquo; federations join to state that the full ripple effect of the year-old crisis is only now being felt as tens of millions of jobs are cut, with a forecast of more job losses to occur in 2010 and 2011. The ITGLWF, ICEM, and IMF stand staunchly behind the International Trade Union Confederation&rsquo;s (ITUC) statement last week that &ldquo;any talk of recovery has little meaning until people are getting back to work.&rdquo; 
 
The federations call attention to the &ldquo;Pittsburgh Declaration,&rdquo; a statement by the ITUC, the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the OECD, and all GUFs that demands a changed mindset by international financial institutions regarding jobs, human and trade union rights, and more stringent financial governance and market regulation.
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="86" />
The declaration, found <a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/0909t_g20_Pittsburgh_en_2_.pdf">here</a>, calls on the G20 to implement the International Labour Organisation&rsquo;s (ILO) Jobs Pact, developed in June 2009, as well as adding the ILO&rsquo;s Decent Work Agenda to the G20&rsquo;s Charter for Sustainable Economic Activity. Such adoption would effectively incorporate workers&rsquo; rights, social protections, and meaningful social dialogue between business, labour, and government to economic and social decision making. 
 
The &ldquo;Pittsburgh Declaration&rdquo; also calls for the G20 to prioritise the creation of green jobs and protecting workers who are unfairly affected by actions related to climate change. 
 
Stated Neil Kearney, General Secretary of ITGLWF, &ldquo;For workers in textiles, where nearly 13 million jobs have been lost in the past year, the global crisis is deepening, not bottoming out. Stimulus packages must be continued and extended to promote sustainable manufacturing that provides decent work and a living wage, leading to a consumer-demand recovery.&rdquo; 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda added, &ldquo;Talk of recovery now is not only premature, but inhumane in view of unemployment rates rising into double digits in many countries. A new social model must take hold, starting with this G20 meeting, and it must begin with serious reforms to the neoliberal financial model, as well as a sustainable social plan that addresses the needs of millions of people that have been negatively impacted by this crisis.&rdquo;
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="97" />
&ldquo;What has occurred thus far,&rdquo; said IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina, &ldquo;is that huge sums have been poured into financial institutions, while these same institutions have failed to manage their fundamental task &ndash; to finance a viable industrial economy. We demand that governments address the critical issue of employment, particularly the human adversity brought on by precarious labour, a form of work that undermines the industrial structures of the global north and destroys equitable development opportunities in the south.&rdquo; 
 
The G20 meeting in Pittsburgh is scheduled for 24-25 September. The ITGLWF is the global voice for 217 trade unions in 110 countries; the ICEM represents 467 trade unions in 132 countries; and the IMF covers over 200 trade unions in 100 countries.

Industrial GUFs, ITGLWF, ICEM, IMF, Demand Jobs Focus from G20 Meeting

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="100" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="100" height="86" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="100" height="97" />
Three Global Union Federations (GUFs), representing 55 million industrial workers, call on G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Pittsburgh, USA, this week to prioritise the global jobs crisis in their deliberations, and to create real measures that stop the epidemic of job losses throughout the world. 
 
The GUFs, the International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITGLWF), the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM), and the International Metalworkers&rsquo; Federation (IMF), stress the immediate need for economic ministers to recognise that true recovery can only happen if job retention and job creation become the priorities. 
 
The three workers&rsquo; federations join to state that the full ripple effect of the year-old crisis is only now being felt as tens of millions of jobs are cut, with a forecast of more job losses to occur in 2010 and 2011. The ITGLWF, ICEM, and IMF stand staunchly behind the International Trade Union Confederation&rsquo;s (ITUC) statement last week that &ldquo;any talk of recovery has little meaning until people are getting back to work.&rdquo; 
 
The federations call attention to the &ldquo;Pittsburgh Declaration,&rdquo; a statement by the ITUC, the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the OECD, and all GUFs that demands a changed mindset by international financial institutions regarding jobs, human and trade union rights, and more stringent financial governance and market regulation. 
 
The declaration, found <a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/0909t_g20_Pittsburgh_en_2_.pdf">here</a>, calls on the G20 to implement the International Labour Organisation&rsquo;s (ILO) Jobs Pact, developed in June 2009, as well as adding the ILO&rsquo;s Decent Work Agenda to the G20&rsquo;s Charter for Sustainable Economic Activity. Such adoption would effectively incorporate workers&rsquo; rights, social protections, and meaningful social dialogue between business, labour, and government to economic and social decision making. 
 
The &ldquo;Pittsburgh Declaration&rdquo; also calls for the G20 to prioritise the creation of green jobs and protecting workers who are unfairly affected by actions related to climate change. 
 
Stated Neil Kearney, General Secretary of ITGLWF, &ldquo;For workers in textiles, where nearly 13 million jobs have been lost in the past year, the global crisis is deepening, not bottoming out. Stimulus packages must be continued and extended to promote sustainable manufacturing that provides decent work and a living wage, leading to a consumer-demand recovery.&rdquo; 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda added, &ldquo;Talk of recovery now is not only premature, but inhumane in view of unemployment rates rising into double digits in many countries. A new social model must take hold, starting with this G20 meeting, and it must begin with serious reforms to the neoliberal financial model, as well as a sustainable social plan that addresses the needs of millions of people that have been negatively impacted by this crisis.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;What has occurred thus far,&rdquo; said IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina, &ldquo;is that huge sums have been poured into financial institutions, while these same institutions have failed to manage their fundamental task &ndash; to finance a viable industrial economy. We demand that governments address the critical issue of employment, particularly the human adversity brought on by precarious labour, a form of work that undermines the industrial structures of the global north and destroys equitable development opportunities in the south.&rdquo; 
 
The G20 meeting in Pittsburgh is scheduled for 24-25 September. The ITGLWF is the global voice for 217 trade unions in 110 countries; the ICEM represents 467 trade unions in 132 countries; and the IMF covers over 200 trade unions in 100 countries. 
 
For more information, contact: Neil Kearney, ITGLWF, +32 2 512 2606; Dick Blin, ICEM, +41 22 304 1842; Anita Gardner, IMF, +41 22 308 5032.

Industrial GUFs, ITGLWF, ICEM, IMF, Demand Jobs Focus from This Week’s G20 Meeting

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