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Elections for Germany&rsquo;s Works Councils occur every four years, with votes cast in May and June 2010. The ICEM-affiliated IGBCE received strong backing in these elections. With some results still to be analysed, around 81.2% of newly-elected council members in the union&rsquo;s industrial sectors are IGBCE members. 
 
IGBCE is present in approximately 3,450 companies in Germany. The 2010 results show a stabilisation of the turnout (74.3%) and of IGBCE&rsquo;s strong position, with very little change from the 2006 and 2002 elections. The number of council chair-people who are members of IGBCE has risen slightly, to 92%, as did the number of women who were elected &ndash; 26.2%. 
 
The IGBCE is now running a support project for newly-elected Works Councils in small companies, with less than 200 employees. The coaching lasts 14 weeks, and includes an online password protected forum, where views and guidance can be exchanged for newly elected council members. 
 
IGBCE also recently won a legal case, entitling Works Council members to have internet access in the workplace. Employers are now obliged to supply council members with a computer connected to the internet, in addition to an office. 
 
Works councils are employee representative bodies with a range of co-determination, information, and consultation rights with respective companies. 
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IGBCE Deputy Chairman Ulrich Freese
The recent results are seen as a clear indication of trust and confidence in the IGBCE. &ldquo;We have played a major role in ensuring that the financial crisis did not break through on jobs. Strong unions and strong works councils have prevented redundancies and ensured stability,&rdquo; stated IGBCE Deputy Chairman Ulrich Freese.

German Works Council Elections Cement IGBCE’s Strong Mandate

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The 14-year exchange and engagement between ICEM and the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) took a major step forward recently when a 13-member ICEM delegation, led by President Senzeni Zokwana, visiting Beijing for top level meetings with several leading ACFTU officials. 
 
The 15-16 July meetings, attended by 45 people, found discussions centering on the theme &ldquo;The Global Crisis and Job Protection.&rdquo; The meetings mark a new crest in ICEM-ACFTU relations, following participation by ACFTU representatives in ICEM Asia-Pacific activities this year. The activities include the regional committee meetings in Sydney, Australia, in April, and an electricity network meeting in Korea. 
 
In the near future, ACFTU representatives will take part in an oil and gas workers&rsquo; workshop in Vietnam in August and a pharmaceutical unions&rsquo; workshop in Indonesia in September. 
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The mid-July Beijing forum opened with presentations by Zokwana and Jiang Guangping, ACFTU&rsquo;s Director-General of the International Department, who welcomed the ICEM by stating engagement with an active industry-based Global Union Federation is crucial to the ACFTU. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda gave reports related to Contract and Agency Labour, ILO Convention 176 (the Health and Safety in Mines Convention), Sustainable Development and Just Transition efforts, Global Framework Agreements, and Social Dialogue initiatives. Chinese industry sector leaders then reported on coal, electric power, petroleum, petrochemical, chemicals, pharmaceutical, and land resource matters in China. 
 
Other ACFTU officials that lead structures within the Chinese Defense Industry, Postal and Telecommunications Workers&rsquo; Union, the Chinese Finance, Commerce, Light Industry, Textile and Tobacco Workers&rsquo; Union, and the Machinery, Metallurgical and Building Materials Workers&rsquo; Unions also gave reports. 
 
Participants shared country experiences on trade union actions, and also discussed plant-level responses and solutions regarding for job protection. Germany&rsquo;s Petra Kronen, for instance, the head of the Works Council and a supervisory board member of Bayer, explained flexible work-time arrangements taken between her union, IGBCE, and Bayer in order to avoid layoffs during the financial crisis. 
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Besides Zokwana and Warda, the ICEM delegation consisted of ICEM leaders from several affiliated unions, including: Per S&ouml;rensen of 3F Union, Denmark; Mats Svensson of IF Metall, Sweden; Michael Mersmann and Petro Kronen of IGBCE, Germany; Isidor Boix of FITEQA-CC.OO, Spain; Fran&ccedil;ois Laurent, CSC B&acirc;timent, Industrie &amp; Energie, Belgium; Yoshio Sato of ICEM-JAF, Japan; Ian Murray of Construction, Forestry, Mining, Energy Union (CFMEU), Australia; and Robert Reid of the National Distribution Union (NDU), New Zealand. Also in attendance were Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM Chemical and Rubber Industries&rsquo; Officer, and Phee Jung-sun, ICEM Materials Industries&rsquo; Officer and Regional Contact Person for Asia-Pacific Region. 
 
The ACFTU officials participating included Zheng Chengfu, President of the Chinese Energy and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union; Fang Dan, Vice President of Chinese Defense Industry, Postal and Telecommunications Workers&rsquo; Union; Cai Ruixia, Vice President of Chinese Finance, Commerce, Light Industry, Textile and Tobacco Workers&rsquo; Union; Ma Hua, Director of Chinese Machinery, Metallurgical and Building Materials Workers&rsquo; Union; Zhang Jianguo, Director General of the Collective Bargaining Department of the ACFTU; Enyi Xu, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Energy &amp; Chemical Worker&rsquo;s Union; Guo Wencai, Director General of ACFTU&rsquo;s Organizing Department; Xie Liangmin, Deputy Director General of the Law Department of the ACFTU; and Chen Jieping, Deputy Director of ACFTU&rsquo;s Social Security Department. 
 
A full and detailed report on the mission, prepared by the ICEM&rsquo;s &Ouml;zkan, can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/ACFTU%20Edited.pdf">here</a>.

ICEM, ACFTU Complete High Level Mission in China

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New England Teamsters Union members, 400 strong including trade unionists of another American union, are effectively blockading 20 cement plants and terminals of Swiss-based Holcim subsidiary Aggregate Industries in the US states of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. 
 
The strike, and subsequent sympathy strikes by other branch Teamster locals and Operating Engineer locals, started 16 August when Holcim&rsquo;s American and UK subsidiary implemented work terms making drivers and plant operators part-time workers. The ICEM intervened late last week, stating this in a letter to Holcim CEO Markus Akermann: 
 
&ldquo;ICEM affiliates, together with BWI, represent hundreds of thousands of workers at Holcim and other cement plants throughout the world. We will expose your actions and make this a truly global campaign, starting right here in Switzerland.&rdquo; 
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Last week&rsquo;s strike actions find global justification because Aggregate Industries unilaterally implemented part-time work status at one facility while legally engaged with the union in negotiations at the same time. Truck drivers and operators of Teamsters Local 170 diligently had worked for Aggregate Industries for five months past expiration of a prior labour agreement. Holcim rewarded that loyalty by taking the decision that it could and would reduce work-day time to four hours without negotiating with the union. 
 
Following the walk-out by Local 170 teamsters, supportive trade unionists from Teamsters Locals 25 and 379 in New England downed tools at other Aggregate Industries plants, as did members of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE). A few of these local branch unions have upcoming contract expirations with the national cement-products producer, and workers across Holcim&rsquo;s New England operations clearly recognize that such a one-sided work rule is tantamount to social dumping. The ICEM applauds the actions of cement drivers and workers in New England, and pledges all necessary support. 
 
The ICEM reiterates its demand that Holcim in Switzerland take responsibility for this labour breach and immediately rescind the unilateral implementation of reduced working hours. To negate social dialogue over an economic issue of this depth is counter to the principles that Holcim supposedly adheres to. 
 
Holcim bought Aggregate Industries, active in several US and UK regional markets, in 2005. Early in 2010, Zurich-based Holcim merged Aggregate Industries US fully with Holcim US to create a single business unit.

American Teamsters Union Strikes Holcim Cement Subsidiary

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we inform about the union action for universal access in the run-up to the G8/G20 summits in Canada and give an overview of the activities planned in sub-Saharan Africa in 2010. 
 
The ICEM Calls on its Affiliates to Contribute to this e-bulletin 
 
ICEM affiliates are engaged in a wide range of HIV/AIDS activities. To spread the information on new agreements, awareness, and prevention campaigns, and educational activities, affiliates and project coordinators are invited to send news and information to <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a>. Any feedback on the format and contents of the e-bulletin is also welcome. 
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G8/G20: Union Action for Universal Access to HIV/AIDS Services 
 
Trade unions in Africa and all over the world have joined forces to lobby the G8 and G20 for the provision of universal access to HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support. The lobbying is spearheaded by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the Africa Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). 
 
National trade union centres in Africa and elsewhere have delivered messages to the Canadian embassies in their country calling on Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to play a leading role in convincing his fellow leaders to take quick and decisive action on HIV and AIDS. As the host country, Canada will preside over the G8 Summit in June and will co-host with South Korea the G20 Summit. 
 
The Global Union AIDS Programme has called on its membership to participate in this global campaign. The ICEM has delivered a letter to the Canadian mission in Geneva strongly urging that the G8 put forward an action plan to achieve its promises regarding universal access and calling on the Summits to support the ILO Decent Work Agenda and its Global Jobs Pact. 
 
It may be recalled that 2010 is the target year for the G8 commitment to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support made at the 2005 Summit in Gleneagles. The failure to achieve this is evident; not even half of the ten million people who need treatment are actually on it. 

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ICEM HIV/AIDS Project in Sub-Saharan Africa 
 
Planning was completed last month for the HIV/AIDS project in Sub-Saharan Africa with the sponsorship of SASK Finland and FNV Mondiaal of the Netherlands. 
 
Activities in 2010 will include two sub-regional workshops to strengthen the workplace response to HIV and AIDS in Anglophone and Francophone West Africa and in Southern Africa in September and October. A further workshop in May will be exclusively for women from the Southern African sub-region. 
 
At the national level, countries have submitted programmes which put emphasis on campaigns for voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) and include further training of peer educators and counselors. In Guinea (Conakry) and C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire, training will be completed in new target companies and HIV/AIDS workplace policies are expected to be concluded. VCT campaigns will be initiated in Guinea and continue in C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire. 
 
Ghana has drawn lessons from the regional workshop in November 2009 and included a VCT campaign and a workshop on collective bargaining in its programme. As a new project country, Mauritius will concentrate its efforts on widespread awareness campaigns at the workplace and address the issue of migrant workers and local and foreign sex workers. 
 
The well-established programme in Nigeria will expand its scope to training women as peer educators. Sierra Leone will draw on trained workers and its collaboration with the National AIDS Secretariat to run VCT campaigns in mining areas. 
 
A well-designed programme in Zambia will deal with peer education, VCT campaigns and collective bargaining issues. Uganda will undertake, among others, a revision of existing collective bargaining agreements to include HIV/AIDS clauses. In Tanzania, workshops will prepare a VCT campaign sponsored by the Women&rsquo;s Department of the German IGBCE. 

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AIDS a Key Cause of Female Death 
 
HIV and AIDS have become the leading causes of disease and death among women of reproductive age worldwide, UNAIDS said at the launch of a five-year action plan addressing the gender issues which put women at risk. 
 
Nearly 30 years from the beginning of the epidemic, HIV services still do not respond to the specific needs of women and girls. Up to 70% of women worldwide encounter violence. Experiencing violence hampers their ability to negotiate safe sex. 
 
UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidib&eacute; pointed out that &ldquo;by robbing women of their dignity we are losing the opportunity to tap half the potential of mankind to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Women and girls are not victims; they are the driving force that brings about social transformation.&rdquo; 
 
Of the 33.4 million people living with HIV worldwide, 15.7 million &ndash; or almost half &ndash; are women. The proportion of women infected with HIV has risen in many regions; in Sub-Saharan Africa, it has reached 60%. In Southern Africa, HIV prevalence among young women aged 15 to 24 years is almost three times higher than among men of the same age group. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS website and BBC News, 3 March) 

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South Africa: Launches Massive HIV Testing Campaign 
 
From 15 April, everyone attending a clinic or hospital in South Africa will be offered an HIV test, regardless of whether they have symptoms of the disease or not. Patients have the option to refuse the test. 
 
Dubbed the HIV Counselling and Testing Campaign, or HCT, this is the most ambitious HIV testing campaign in the world, according to the SA National AIDS Council (SANAC). The target is to have 15 million South Africans tested for HIV by June 2011. 
 
The campaign has four objectives: to increase health-seeking behaviour; to encourage people to know their status; to equip those who test HIV-negative with ways to ensuring that they do not get infected; and to create an entry point to accessing wellness and treatment services for those who test HIV-positive. 
 
(Source: <a href="http://www.health-e.org.za">www.health-e.org.za</a>, 18 March) 
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Malawi: Ambitious Plan to Prolong Life 
 
Malawi&rsquo;s government announced plans to more than double the number of people receiving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to half a million by the end of 2010. 
 
The country recently adopted new World Health Organisation guidelines that raise the threshold for starting ARV therapy from a CD4 count (a measure of the immune system strength) of less than 200 to a CD4 count of 350, regardless of whether the patient is displaying symptoms. 
 
Although implementing the changes will be expensive, some experts argue that starting patients on ARVs earlier could actually save money in the long term by reducing the need to treat them for opportunistic infections such as tuberculosis. 
 
Malawi successfully utilised its Global Fund Round 1 grant and was awarded a grant under the rolling continuation channel, which extends funding for six years and which can be used for the expansion of treatment. 
 
(Source: IRIN plusnews, 19 March) 

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Global Funds Seeks $17-20 Billion from Donors for 2011-2013 
 
Mother-to-child HIV transmission may be eliminated by 2015; malaria may be eliminated as a public health problem within a decade; TB prevalence could be halved by 2015. However, these health targets can only be achieved if current rates of scaling up expenditure on the three diseases are maintained and, ideally, further accelerated. And that, in turn, requires donors to give the Global Fund between $17 billion and $20 billion during 2011-2013. 
 
This is what the Global Fund announced in a news release and in several documents released in preparation for upcoming &quot;replenishment&quot; meetings with donors. The Global Fund says that demand for donor support has more than doubled since the last replenishment in 2007 (which raised $10 billion for the period 2008-2010). 
 
An initial replenishment meeting was held on 24-25 March at The Hague, Netherlands. This meeting provided an opportunity for donors to discuss the Fund's financial needs for 2011-2013 and the results achieved by the Global Fund to date. The meeting laid the foundation for the pledging conference that will take place at the UN Headquarters in New York on 4-5 October 2010. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 117 of 18 March. GFO is a free service of Aidspan, <a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>; to receive GFO send an email to 
<a href="mailto:receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>) 
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News from Global Union AIDS Programme 
 
At the meeting of the Steering Committee of the Global Union AIDS Programme (GUAP) in Brussels on 17 March, Jan Eastman was appointed Chair of the Programme. Jan is the Deputy General Secretary of Education International (EI), a Global Union Federation. She took over from Alan Leather who had been the Chair since the inception of the Programme. 
 
The Steering Committee reviewed its activities, received reports from Global Unions, and charted its input for major campaigns and events in 2010, such as ILO&rsquo;s International Labour Conference in June, with the second discussion of a new instrument on HIV/AIDS and the world of work, and the International AIDS Conference in Vienna in July. 
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This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe 
 
To subscribe to the e-bulletin, send an email to <a href="mailto:press@icem.org">press@icem.org</a>. Please put &ldquo;subscribe ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin&rdquo; in the subject line.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 55, April 2010

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Started in 2009 with the support of the Dutch national labour centre FNV, ICEM&rsquo;s Organising and Social Dialogue Project in Turkey continued regional seminars last month in the city of Adana in the Cukurova region, where important trade union representation exists, particularly in ICEM sectors. 
 
Adana is an industrialized city in Turkey&rsquo;s south that has large-scale industries such as textiles, leather, oil and gas, electricity, chemicals, automotive, and food processing. In recent years, Adana&rsquo;s importance has increased due largely to the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil and gas pipeline from the Caspian region in Azerbaijan. Adana claims to be the future &ldquo;Rotterdam&rdquo; of Turkey, particularly since another new pipeline will come on line, this one from the Black Sea port city Samsun, which will move oil from Russia. ICEM&rsquo;s intensive trade union energy activities in the Caspian and the Middle East region are closely connected to Adana and the surrounding Mediterranean area. 

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With the overall objective to build Turkish unions&rsquo; ability to recruit new members, as well as to discuss the establishment of a base to create a functioning industrial relations system, prioritizing human and trade union rights, and to promote healthy social dialogue, this seminar of the FNV project was attended by more than 60 local trade union leaders, shop stewards, and militants from the ICEM affiliated unions. 
 
The seminar also welcomed several international trade union leaders from the Netherlands, France, and Belgium. Celil &Ccedil;oban and Mail &Uuml;rker of FNV Bondgenoten in the Netherlands, Marc Blanc of French FCE-CFDT, and Chris Vanmol of Belgium&rsquo;s CSC-Chimie Energie exchanged experiences and knowledge from their countries. ICEM Energy Officer Jim Catterson, who was on an oil and gas fact-finding mission in southeast Turkey prior to the seminar, shared his experiences from the UK, where he worked in the trade union movement prior to joining the ICEF/ICEM. 
 
The seminar also heard a presentation from the Turkish trade union expert &Uuml;zeyir Ataman, Director of Education and Collective Bargaining of Lastik-İş, on union history and the current labour relations situation in Turkey. Later, the seminar focused on Power and Weak Points, Challenges and Opportunities, and Concrete Organising Targets inside Turkey, with contributions and inputs by participants from the different regions, namely Adana, Mersin, Adiyaman, Batman, and Elazig. 

<img alt="" src="" width="153" height="204" />
&Uuml;zeyir Ataman
&ldquo;This seminar in Adana has given great happiness and hope for the future,&rdquo; said ICEM Rubber and Chemicals Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan, who coordinates the two-year project and did a workshop on globalisation and labour relations. &ldquo;The active involvement and enthusiasm of participants clearly shows that Turkish unions have an important role to play in shaping a society moving towards a real democracy based on fundamental human rights, which, of course, includes trade union rights.&rdquo; 
 
The FNV project will continue with further regional seminars in the Thrace region in April, and in Gebze in May. The Adana seminar was held 11-12 March.

ICEM’s Organising and Social Dialogue Project Continues in Turkey

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ICEM affiliates FCE-CFDT of France, FIA-UGT of Spain, and FEMCA-CISL of Italy established a joint entity called Association Pour L&rsquo;Europe Solidaire et Pour la Coop&eacute;ration Mediterranean, or the Association of Solidarity Europe and Mediterranean Cooperation (AESCOOMED). The new organization has an aim to develop a common European vision, and an information exchange between trade unions regarding economic, social issues, environmental matters, collective bargaining, industrial relations, and common social dialogue platforms. 
 
AESCOOMED&rsquo;s vision is to develop common work on European Works Councils, and promote the consultation and participation of workers within the member unions, as well as enhance cooperation with countries in the Mediterranean region. 
<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="93" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="100" height="85" />&nbsp;&nbsp; <img alt="" src="" width="90" height="90" />
The newly-formed organization held its first conference in Barcelona on 8-9 March 2010 under the banner &ldquo;Energy, Industrial Policy, and Social Dialogue in the Mediterranean Region.&rdquo; Trade unions from seven countries, including Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, and Turkey, together with the presence of the ICEM, debated industrial and energy issues in the region during the initial meetings. 
 
Issues of energy supply security, energy conditions in industrial development, and the environmental impact in Mediterranean countries were discussed. Acknowledging the fact that the environment is fragile and deteriorating, protecting and improving eco-systems has become a key issue in the Euro-Mediterranean region, especially in view of new industrial dynamics. This Euro-Mediterranean cooperation includes issues of water scarcity and water quality, the reform of environmental standards, improving infrastructure, and preserving the environment. 
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The place and role of social dialogue in all countries of the Mediterranean was also highlighted. Common challenges were defined as population growth, aging population, job creation, modernization of labor markets, maintaining high levels of social protection, and dissemination of knowledge and innovation. All participants were convinced of the need to strengthen cooperation between the union organisations from countries bordering the Mediterranean basin. 
 
The ICEM was invited to the two-day conference and was represented by Rubber and Chemicals Kemal &Ouml;zkan. He made a presentation on ICEM&rsquo;s activities regarding social dialogue on the global level and union building and union-support activities in the Middle East/North African Region (MENA). 
In conclusion, all participants welcomed the AESCOOMED initiative and measured the importance of international solidarity between workers.

Trade Unions Form Euro-Mediterranean Cooperative Organisation

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Peruvian mineworkers at the US-owned Doe Run mine operations at Cobriza have settled a strike dispute by accepting a deal that gives all workers at the copper mine a one-time productivity bonus of 3,500 soles (US$1,232). The bonus will be paid to workers in two installments; the first 1,500 soles will be paid on 9 April, with the remainder paid on 20 August. 
 
The work stoppage was started on 23 March by the ICEM-affiliated National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (FNTMMSP), the country&rsquo;s largest mining union federation. FNTMMSP General Secretary Luis Castillo has personally led the negotiations for the miners of Doe Run. Castillo argued that the collective agreement had not been fulfilled by management a year into the five-year agreement in 2008. 

<img alt="" src="" width="160" height="120" />
FNTMMSP General Secretary, Luis Castillo Carlos
It took a strike by the 890 workers at Doe Run&rsquo;s Cobriza copper mine to bring management to the bargaining table. Company officials immediately began tripartite negotiations with FNTMMSP and the Labour Ministry, following a two-day stoppage that initially started on 28 February. 
 
As repeatedly reported recently by ICEM, the Peruvian Ministry of Labour typically sides with the company and declares mineworkers&rsquo; strikes &ldquo;inadmissible,&rdquo; moving trade unions to respond with short, rolling strikes to avoid losing their jobs. 
 
Production at the Cobriza copper mine in the Huancavelica Province affects operations at Doe Run Per&uacute;&rsquo;s polymetallic smelter in La Oroya, in Jun&iacute;n Province. The Cobriza mine produces around 30% of the copper concentrates processed by the smelter, which has been operating sporadically since creditors halted their support in March 2009. Doe Run Per&uacute;, a unit of the US-based Renco Group, has been hard hit by the recession. Cobriza was Peru's sixth largest copper mine last year, producing 18,519 metric tonnes. 

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Elsewhere in Peru, 1,500 workers at the Marcona mine, owned by China's Shougang state steel company, went on strike on 29 March, seeking better wages and conditions. &quot;The strike is total and of indefinite length,&quot; said Julio Ortiz of FNTMMSP. &quot;The factory has already cut salaries and has proposed a ridiculously low offer after already having cut workers' pay by 8% across the board.&rdquo; 
 
The mine, located in the city of Marcona, 350 kilometers south of Lima, has a history of poor industrial relations. ICEM sided with Shougang workers&rsquo; and backed their strikes last July and September, also in protest to low wages and poor labour conditions. Shougang Hierro Peru SAA is Peru's only iron producer. Iron production at Shougang, reached 4.4 million tons in 2009. 
 
A national strike in Peru&rsquo;s mining sector involving 50,000 unionized workers at 18 mines is taking shape for 30 June 30. The FNTMMSP took that decision on 27 March during the union's annual meeting. 
 
The FNTMMSP is demanding that Peru's government implement two laws. A pension law, which was approved by Peru&rsquo;s Congress on 27 October 2009, has yet to be implemented, and a second law, which increases profit-sharing at mining companies, also has not gone into effect.

Peru’s Doe Run Miners Reach Agreement, Ending Strike

ICEM Women’s Bulletin No. 36/Boletín de noticias de las mujeres de ICEM No. 36

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ICEM participated in the 4th Congress of the Industrial Workers Union of Albania (FSPISH) on 14 November. The Congress took place in the Museum of History of Albania. The ICEM affiliate represents 22,000 members in the mining, oil, communication, metallurgy, and energy industries. It was the first time the ICEM had been involved with a Congress of the union. 

<img src="" width="250" height="115" alt="" />
The ICEM affiliate used the Congress to illustrate its increased focus on international work and solidarity. The FSPISH President, Br. Taf Koleci, outlined the current challenges and activities of the union and explained the main priorities of the union, moving forward. These include: increased priority given to relationship-building with other trade unions in Europe; increased cooperation especially with Mediterranean and Balkan trade unions through higher contributions to regional trade union bodies in energy, mining, chemicals, gas and petro-chemicals; continued solidarity work with foreign unions where cooperation already exists, through bipartite relationships and through the union&rsquo;s membership in ICEM, EMCEF, PSI, EPSU, ETUC, and RETUNSEE; FSPISH will &lsquo;fight&rsquo; for further development of its relationship with the ILO, seeking to build the foundations for strong tripartite social dialogue in Albania.

Albania’s FSPISH Congress Places Emphasis on International Solidarity

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ICEM will be closely monitoring the discussions at the climate change talks COP-15 (15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in Copenhagen from 7-18 December. On 16 December at 2pm, we will be presenting the views of industrial unions at an event at the &ldquo;World of Work&rdquo; pavilion, in collaboration with the IMF, EMCEF, and EMF. 
 
Read the documents <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/3452-Cut-Emissions-Transform-Jobs ">here</a> for further information on ICEM&rsquo;s positions on climate change. 
 
 
ICEM&rsquo;s sustainability policy can be found <a href="/?id=204$">here</a>.&nbsp; 
 
Watch for frequent reports of the discussions on the ICEM website.

ICEM Prepares for Copenhagen Climate Change Talks

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