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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report, among other items, on the VCT campaign in Tanzania sponsored by the IG BCE&rsquo;s Women Department, the efforts to include people living with HIV/AIDS in the health insurance scheme in India, and how the 2010 Soccer World Cup can score goals of another kind.
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 

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IG BCE Women Support Project in Tanzania 
 
Since their Congress in October 2008, the Women&rsquo;s Department of the German ICEM affiliate IG BCE (mining, chemical and energy workers) has collected funds for an HIV/AIDS project in Tanzania, in cooperation with ICEM affiliates TUICO (industry) and TAMICO (mining). 
 
After extensive preparatory work, which included a workshop for the TAMICO and TUICO Women&rsquo;s Committees, and a refresher course for male and female peer educators and lay counsellors, activities culminated in a &lsquo;Know-your-Status&rsquo; Campaign in Dar es Salam on 13 June. 

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Workers and their families were mobilised through union structures and at the workplaces and by pre-campaign radio announcements. With the technical support from the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF), facilities for voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) were set up. 
 
From early morning on 13 June, the Mnazi Mmoja grounds were crowded with people wearing white T-shirts, emblazoned with the four logos of the IG BCE, ICEM, TAMICO, and TUICO, and the slogan of the campaign &ldquo;Know Your HIV Status &ndash; Get Tested&rdquo;, in Swahili. People living with HIV/AIDS gave their testimonies and urged participants to get tested. Condoms and femidoms, as well as leaflets and educational brochures were distributed. 
 
More than 600 people turned up at the grounds and well over half of them queued up in front of the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF), tents to be tested. 
 
In this outstanding example of international solidarity, EUR 14,000 has been collected so far by the women of IG BCE. This was the first VCT campaign organised by the trade union movement and as donations are still coming in from IG BCE regional and local structures, it is expected to continue the work in 2010. 
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India: Health Insurance for People with HIV/AIDS? 
 
The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) is set to make a case for a social security safety net for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA). It is exploring the options of getting the Union Labour Ministry's health insurance scheme (RSBY) extended to PLHAs. This health insurance related policy proposal, along with an anti-discrimination Bill protecting PLHAs, and another Bill seeking to protect consumers from being exploited when they procure blood for transfusion, are among the priorities of NACO. 
 
The RSBY scheme was introduced by the Labour Ministry for families below the poverty line in April last year. The Centre or State pays the premium, while the individual pays INR 30 (about USD 0.60) as a registration fee and receives INR 30,000 coverage for hospitalisation for a five-member family. NACO supports PLHAs for HIV-related illnesses, but they are also susceptible to other illnesses such as malaria, appendicitis and heart-attacks, illustrating the need for a social security net. 
 
The anti-discrimination HIV/AIDS Bill, seeking among other things to protect PLHAs at their workplace, has been with the Union Law Ministry for some time. 
 
(Source: Business Line, The Hindu, 3 June) 
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Soccer World Cup Campaign 
 
Authorities in South Africa have begun construction of one of the 20 planned Football for Hope centres in Africa -- part of a 2010 World Cup campaign called &quot;20 Centres for 2010&quot; aimed at reducing the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, poverty and crime in local communities. The centre, under construction in South Africa's Khayelitsha Township, will include a soccer field, community centre and after-school programs that will focus on sex education and HIV/AIDS education. 
 
The International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) is providing the campaign with $10 million in funding. Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Namibia, Rwanda and other African countries will be home to the remaining 19 centres. According to FIFA President Joseph Blatter, the centres will &quot;provide a platform for communities to address social issues such as children's rights, education, health, HIV/AIDS prevention and will leave a legacy for Africa that will last long after the final whistle of the 2010 FIFA World Cup has been blown.&quot; 
 
(Source: Medical News Today, 28 May) 
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South Africa: President Addresses Increased Access to ARVs 
 
In his first state-of-the-nation address, South African President Jacob Zuma said he wants to have 80 percent of HIV-positive South Africans who need antiretrovirals (ARVs) on them by 2011. The government would strive to step up measures to improve health care in Africa's strongest economy. &quot;We have set ourselves the goals of reducing inequalities in health care ... and step up the fight against the scourge of HIV and AIDS, TB and other diseases,&quot; Zuma said. 
 
Over 630,000 people are on the government's ARV programme currently and provisions are in place to increase that number to 1.4 million by 2011. During his address Zuma also discussed the need for the government to collaborate with stakeholders on a comprehensive plan which aims to reduce the rate of new HIV infections by 50 per cent by the year 2011. 
 
According to the third national &lsquo;HIV prevalence, incidence and communication survey&rsquo;, conducted in 2008 by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), the percentage of people living with HIV in South Africa has barely changed in the last six years, but the survey revealed that between 2002 and 2008 there were many changes in HIV knowledge, risk behaviour and testing habits. 
 
The findings, based on interviews with about 21,000 individuals, 15,000 of whom agreed to anonymous HIV tests, give a fairly detailed picture of South Africa's mixed success in fighting the largest HIV epidemic in the world. Prevalence appears to have stabilized at about 11 per cent, and infection rates among children and teenagers have decreased, not least because of a significant increase in the use of condoms. 
 
HIV infection in the country's nine provinces still varies widely. KwaZulu-Natal, which has consistently carried the highest burden, now has a prevalence of 26 percent in the 15 to 49 age group, up from 22 percent in 2005; in Western Cape, levels increased slightly from 3 percent in 2005 to 5 percent in 2008, but are still the lowest in the country. 
 
(Source: Medical News Today, 9 June and IRIN PlusNews, 9 June) 

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Namibia: Court Case Highlights Workers&rsquo; Rights 
 
In a landmark case in Namibia, 22 hotel workers are taking their employer and a doctor to court for allegedly testing them for HIV without their informed consent. According to the allegations, the owner of the Oshakati Country Lodge hired a doctor to conduct HIV tests on all the lodge&rsquo;s employees. 
 
The Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) in the capital Windhoek, which is handling the case, said that the test results were displayed on notice boards in the lodge. The LAC is seeking monetary compensation on the basis that the lodge owner and the doctor violated the workers&rsquo; rights to privacy and dignity, as guaranteed by the country&rsquo;s constitution. The case will be heard by the High Court in Windhoek at the end of July. 
 
(Source: IRIN PlusNews, 3 July) 

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Joint Action for Results &ndash; UNAIDS Outcome Framework 2009-2011 
 
UNAIDS recently launched its outcome framework for 2009-2011 called Joint Action for Results. This Outcome Framework, which builds upon the UNAIDS Strategic Framework (2007&ndash;2011), will guide future investment and hold the Secretariat and the Cosponsors accountable for making the resources of the UN work for results in countries. 
 
Under the Outcome Framework for the period 2009&ndash;2011, UNAIDS will focus its efforts on achieving results in eight priority areas. These priority areas have been selected, based on a series of consultations with the cosponsors, communities, civil society, and a broad range of other stakeholders, their realization will accelerate the achievement of universal access. 
 
The eight priority areas include: the prevention of mothers from dying and babies from becoming infected with HIV; treatment of people living with HIV; the prevention of people living with HIV from dying of tuberculosis; the protection of drug users from becoming infected with HIV; the removal of punitive laws, policies, practices, stigma and discrimination that block effective responses to AIDS; stopping violence against women and girls; empower young people to protect themselves from HIV; and enhancing social protection for people affected by HIV. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS website <a href="http://www.unaids.org">www.unaids.org</a>) 
The full document can be downloaded&nbsp;<a href="http://data.unaids.org/pub/BaseDocument/2009/JC1713_Joint_Action_en.pdf ">here</a>. 

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News from the Global Union Federations 
 
The fortnightly HIV/AIDS updates of the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) report on, among other things, the UNAIDS Outcome Framework 2009-2011, the inclusion of the Guyana Clerical and Commercial Workers&rsquo; Union in the country&rsquo;s Global Fund Coordinating mechanism, and on increased efforts in Ghana to create HIV/AIDS workplace policies (<a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>). 
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This ICEM HIV-AIDS Newsletter &ndash; How to Subscribe or Translate? 
 
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For a free automated (non-ICEM) translation of this HIV-AIDS bulletin into other languages, you may want to try <a href="http://www.google.com/language_tools">http://www.google.com/language_tools</a> and insert the following URL into the window &ldquo;Translate a Web page&ldquo;: 
 
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<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3322&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=sv&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">Klicka h&auml;r f&ouml;r en maskin&ouml;vers&auml;ttning till svenska.</a> 
 
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ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin No. 46 July 2009

pulp and paper/pâte et de papier/pulpa y papel

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The ICEM lodged strong protest a week ago, demanding Turkey President Abdullah G&uuml;l veto a bill giving &ldquo;Private Labour Offices&rdquo; broad rights to place temporary workers in enterprises. On 9 July, President G&uuml;l did veto the bill, and now the ICEM demands the Turkish Parliament not bring it back. 
 
The bill was submitted by Parliament to G&uuml;l in late June after it cleared the legislative body without hearings or direct input from the country&rsquo;s labour federations. The ICEM calls attention to this anti-social fact because global unions are targeting actions in Turkey and Thailand on Day of Decent Work, 7 October 2009, specifically over the precarious labour issue. 
 
The legislation, as written, would have given fees to labour brokers and it would have created a slave market composed of short-term contract workers. The proposal read that any person or entity could establish a private labour hire agency with a modest investment of TL 20,000, or &euro;9,250. 

<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="115" />
&ldquo;We applaud President G&uuml;l and his administration for doing the right thing to veto this,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We now call on the global community to assist our Turkish comrades to make sure this bill does not surface again.&rdquo; 
 
The ICEM credits Turkey&rsquo;s three trade union federations for immediate and effective opposition to the legislation. The ICEM now calls on the Turkish Parliament to abandon this anti-people measure. 
 
Mustafa Kumlu, President of the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (T&uuml;rk-İş), said accurately it would render existing mechanisms between unions and government useless. Kumlu, an ICEM Executive Committee member, said &ldquo;social rights, social security, and other benefits&rdquo; would disappear under this legislation. 

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="161" />
Mustafa Kumlu
In the 7 July letter to G&uuml;l, Warda said creating such a labour system in a society is equivalent to &ldquo;placing dynamite under the social structures.&rdquo; He called it a &ldquo;21st century employment relationship based on slavery.&rdquo; 
 
ICEM work leading up to 7 October and after will partly focus on Turkish failure &ndash; in the eyes of the ILO &ndash; to implement Labour Conventions that the country has already ratified. A focus will also ensure that transparency and fairness become full partners in all social discussions leading to possible Turkish ratification of ILO Convention 181, the Private Employment Agencies Convention. 
 
The ICEM said in the letter to the Turkish government that the proposed law is not in compliance with the EU Directive on Temporary Agency Work, a standard passed in October 2008 that the ICEM insists must be adhered to by Turkey. The ICEM also labels the legislation a misguided response to the economic crisis, and an inhumane practice to even pronounce it as a measure to reduce operating costs.

Turkey: Labour Hire Veto Applauded, More Work Demanded

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With 95% and 85% strike votes over the weekend, 3,500 Canadian miners of two United Steelworkers (USW) branch unions voted to take joint strike action beginning early today against Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (Vale-Inco). 
 
The strike started in northern Ontario province and at a southern Ontario refinery and port. Production from Ontario accounts for 10% of the world&rsquo;s nickel supply, and the Vale-Inco assets in Ontario are considered among the world&rsquo;s richest nickel and plating resources in the world. 
 
The strike came after the USW, in late May, gave the Brazilian-based company a ten-week extension to complete talks. Management continued pressing for a concession-ridden collective agreement in that period, and Canadian miners spoke with one voice and multiple strike lines in total response to the company&rsquo;s social cuts. 
 
Picket lines went up at midnight on 13 July at mines, a smelter, and processing plants in the copper-nickel belt surrounding Sudbury, Ontario, and at Port Colborne, some 400 kilometres south on Lake Erie. USW represents some 3,300 miners in northern Ontario, while USW Local 6200 represents 200 workers at Port Colborne. A strike website has been created, and is <a href="http://www.fairdealnow.ca">here</a>. 
 
&ldquo;We have spoken to all the unions that work in the global operations of Vale and we have their unanimous support as well,&rdquo; said USW President Leo Gerard, himself a native of Sudbury and a member of Local 6500. 

<img height="140" alt="" src="" width="120" />
Leo Gerard
&ldquo;This is a global fight and we are a global union and we will use our global power to fight these concessions.&rdquo; 
 
Vale-Inco&rsquo;s concessionary proposals are many, including a new and reduced pension scheme for new hires, reductions to production bonuses, loss of value in cost-of-living increases, and amendments to contracting-out provisions, which will decrease job security for Vale-Inco workers. 
 
The company is attempting to supplant a defined benefit pension plan with a defined contribution plan for new hires. Other concessions proposed to the pension benefit include removal of the indexing provision and deep cuts to the disability pension. Regarding outsourcing, Vale-Inco seeks to give outside contractors&rsquo; use of the company&rsquo;s moving equipment, a serious threat in mining to full-time, permanent jobs. 

<img height="115" alt="" src="" width="250" />
In a solidarity letter to nickel miners and smelting and port workers of USW Locals 6500 and 6200 in Canada, the ICEM wrote, &ldquo; &hellip; the fact that young workers and old workers at Inco are standing tall and standing together to preserve future incomes&rdquo; is highly commendable. 
 
&ldquo;We must not let corporate greed and a rush to the bottom stop us from choosing the correct path out of financial malaise,&rdquo; said the ICEM letter. &ldquo;In this fight, in a strategic nickel-processing area of the world, union members of Locals 6500 and 6200 have chosen the correct road.&rdquo; 
 
Vale is the world&rsquo;s second biggest mining company. It bought Canadian-based Inco late in 2006. Also in Canada, at Vale-Inco NL, members of another USW branch local&nbsp;are braced to strike on 1 August at Voisey&rsquo;s Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador province. The company takes nickel, copper, and cobalt reserves from northern Labrador. Similar to Ontario, USW Local 9580 had given Vale-Inco a temporary contract extension to resolve bargaining issues, but little positive movement has come from Inco.

Miners of USW Strike Vale’s Nickel Riches in Canada

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The International Union of Food and Agricultural Workers' Association (IUF) scored a victory in its ongoing struggle for the rights of workers at Unilever in June, by reaching a settlement with the multinational to permanently employ members of a union Action Committee at the Rahim Yar Khan plant in Pakistan. 
 
Permanent positions were created for workers, who had previously been employed precariously. Unilever dismissed those workers after they protested against status as fixed-term contract workers. 
 
In October 2007, the IUF began a concerted campaign against the mass dismissals, supported by the National Federation of Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Workers of Pakistan, which was conducted in the country&rsquo;s courtrooms, as well as on streets. The Action Committee was then formed to fight for rights for permanent jobs. 
 
Last month&rsquo;s negotiated settlement was agreed to through mechanisms of the OECD, including applying standards of its Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, which require companies to ensure that all its subsidiaries conform to global labour standards, including ILO Conventions 87 and 98. 

<img alt="" src="" width="300" height="158" />
The 120 new positions were created at the Rahim Yar Khan plant as of 24 June 2009. All Action Committee members were appointed to these posts. Under the terms of the agreement, these workers are to suffer no discrimination or victimization, and will be free to organize and bargain collectively. 
 
Implementation of the agreement will be continuously monitored by the IUF and Unilever. 
 
Despite this positive settlement, Unilever continues its policy to employ large numbers of CAL workers. There has been no improvement to the rights of workers at the Lipton tea factory in Khanewal, Pakistan, which was reported <a href="/en/77-All-ICEM-News-Releases/3015-Support-Needed-for-Contract-Agency-Workers-Forming-Union-at-Unilever-Tea-Factory-in-Pakistan">here</a> by the ICEM in January 2009.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;I am encouraged by the news of a just settlement at the Rahim Yar Khan plant,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;This is a step in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go before we succeed in ending the anti-union employment strategies of Unilever.&rdquo; 
 
The Khanewal factory employs just 22 permanent workers, with another 723 hired through six labour agency companies.

Victory Noted for IUF in Unilever Contract Labour Struggle in Pakistan

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At ICEM&rsquo;s Executive Committee in late June, the body acted on a 2007 Congress resolution to develop a mandate for an ICEM policy on sustainable development. That policy was adopted, following a presentation by Sustainability Work Group Chairman Lars Myhre and ICEM&rsquo;s Health, Safety, and Sustainability Officer Brian Kohler. 
 
The working document can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/EN%20ICEMsustainability090518.pdf">here</a>.&nbsp; It establishes parameters for ICEM positions and &ldquo;a good, balanced, sensible, and intelligent industrial policy&rdquo; to go forward with, in the words of Tony Maher of the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) of Australia. 
 
The challenge now, according to Executive members, is to bring this balanced industrial plan to senior-level policymakers at UN climate change forums. 

<img alt="" src="" width="305" height="163" />
ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana gave special tribute to long-time Executive members Michel Decayeux of France and Errol McLeod of Trinidad/Tobago
The ICEM policy calls for a new focus and new dialogue between governments, employers, and unions. The policy calls for an energy future that includes cleaner use of fossil fuels (including carbon capture and storage/sequestration), nuclear, and renewable energy sources. The future of energy must consider questions about access to energy and price fairness and stability. 
 
Pulp and paper, chemicals, rubber, and materials sectors all have their particular sustainability challenges, which the ICEM acknowledges. Most importantly, the notion of sustainable jobs must be decent jobs and inherent in those jobs is the recognition and practice of principles of human rights, labour rights, and particularly respect for the rights of women and other disadvantaged groups. 
 
Also during the June Executive meetings, the body endorsed a resolution submitted by the Asia-Pacific Region of the ICEM. That resolution calls on all affiliates of the ICEM to lend support to Thai labour unions. They are battling hostile work environments imposed by multinational companies, including rubber manufacturers Goodyear and Michelin and industrial gases company Linde, to name just a few.

ICEM’s Executive Formally Adopts Sustainability Policy

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The 2009 annual meeting of ICEM&rsquo;s International Nuclear Workers&rsquo; Union Network, (INWUN) took place in Geneva 25-26. INWUN covers all nuclear workers and not just those involved in electric power generation, but also unionised workers producing medical or industrial isotopes, and workers involved in the reprocessing and enrichment of uranium and uranium mining. 
 
The ICEM&rsquo;s Joe Drexler gave a presentation on the increased investment taking place in uranium mining, as well as a programme on radiological hazards in uranium that began in May in South Africa. 
 
A number of unions attended the network meeting for the first time, showing an increased interest in nuclear power from many countries as a possible contributor to reduced carbon emissions and a &ldquo;nuclear renaissance&rdquo; that is clearly linked to climate change discussions. 

<img src="" width="363" height="130" alt="" />
Indeed, interest was shown by a number of unions in the work ICEM has done following the appointment of Brian Kohler late last year as Safety, Health, Sustainability Officer, and in preparations for the UN&rsquo;s COP 15 Climate Change Conference, scheduled for December 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark. 
 
A presentation on the sustainability work of ICEM was made by Lars Myhre, chair of the ICEM Energy Industries Section who has also chaired the ICEM sustainable development discussions. 
 
A detailed presentation by Roland Schneider of TUAC on their work at the OECD in Paris and the work of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the OECD led to discussions on how ICEM and INWUN can link to the work of these agencies. 
 
The ICEM&rsquo;s Energy Officer, Jim Catterson, is in contact with TUAC to take this further. ICEM made a presentation on the present state of the Energy Industries and the future role foreseen for nuclear power. That was followed by an industry viewpoint from an official of the World Nuclear Association. 
 
Next year&rsquo;s INWUN meeting will be held in connection with the ICEM World Energy Conference, planned for the second half of 2010. This will maximise attendance and increase the input of unions from ICEM&rsquo;s energy sector attending the world conference. 
 
Unions present made detailed presentations of their own national situations, and these presentations will shortly be loaded to the Energy Industry section of the ICEM website. INWUN is presided over by David Shier of the Canadian Power Workers&rsquo; Union (PWU).

Nuclear Workers’ Network Holds Annual Meeting in Geneva

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As part of the cooperation and alliance between ICEM and the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) in the oil and gas industry, the two Global Union Federations (GUFs) cooperated in an ILO tripartite sector meeting called &ldquo;Promoting Social Dialogue and Good Industrial Relations from Oil and Gas Exploration and Production to Oil and Gas Distribution.&rdquo; 
 
Lars Myhre, from Norway&rsquo;s Industri-Energi (IE) Union and the ICEM Energy Industries Chairman, was elected chairperson of the Workers&rsquo; Group, while spokesperson Mick Dolman from the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) was elected as Workers&rsquo; Group vice chairman. Dolman chaired one of the plenary sessions of the meeting. 
 
ICEM Energy Officer Jim Catterson was elected secretary of the Workers&rsquo;Group. Ingo Marowski of the ITF closely followed all the discussions and worker delegates from both GUFs participated in both the plenary sessions and the working party, which produced tripartite conclusions following extensive negotiations. 

<img src="" width="330" height="186" alt="" />
The Workers&rsquo; Group ensured that as well as a strong focus on trade union rights and the ILO Core Conventions, there was detailed discussion of health and safety issues, especially the adverse long-term health effects of diving on workers. Helicopter safety to and from offshore rigs, given a recent spate of accidents in the Brazil, Canada, and UK, also was a prominent agenda item. 
 
A special solidarity message was sent by the Workers&rsquo; Group to the Offshore Divers&rsquo; Union in Norway, an organisation that includes many IE-organised divers. The organisation is presently engaged in compensation litigation. Other issues debated at length included the situation of contract and sub-contract workers, the respective responsibilities of operators and contract companies, and the specific problems of contract workers in the Mexican oil industry. The latter was a major issue for ITF, which had nominated both a worker delegate and an advisor from their Mexican affiliates. 
 
The agreed conclusions and report of the meeting&rsquo;s deliberations, as well as the detailed background report provided at the meeting are available from the ICEM Secretariat. However, it should be noted that the conclusions and report need to be approved at the next meeting of the ILO Governing Body before becoming official documents. 
 
ICEM has begun discussions with the ILO regarding follow-up work from the meeting.

ILO’s Oil and Gas Meeting Promotes Social Dialogue

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ICEM Indonesian affiliate, Federasi Serikat Pekerja Pulp Dan Kertas (FSP2KI), conducted training on collective bargaining and labour law from 4-5 July in Karawang with 30 participants. The union represents workers across the country&rsquo;s pulp and paper sector. 
 
The training was attended by workplace leaders of Asia Pulp &amp; Paper&rsquo;s PT Indo Deli, PT Graha Cemerlang, Asia Pacific Resources International&rsquo;s (APRIL) Riau Andalan paper and power operations, and DSS Karawang. 

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The workshops had the expertise of Akhirnya Asfinawati, the leader of the legal aid service LBH Jakarta; Khamid Istakhori from the Congress States Labour Congress of Indonesia (KSBI); and Odie Hudaya from the Labour Working Group, an Indonesian workers&rsquo; training institute. FSP2KI shop-floor leaders were instructed on bargaining techniques and legal procedures as outlined under Peneltian Hukum Indonesia, the country&rsquo;s legal information guide. 
 
The union intends to provide follow-up training to the 30 participants in order to give maximum protections to trade union members. 
 
Etin Rodiana serves as General Secretary of FSP2KI and Irzan Zulpakar is the President.

Indonesian Pulp, Paper Union, FSP2KI, Conducts Training for Mill-Level Leaders

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The members of ICEM affiliate, the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers' Union (CEPPWAWU) have engaged in a protected strike in companies around the country. The strike began on 20 July. The Union&rsquo;s 40,000 striking workers are demanding wage increases of between 13-15%, while employers are willing to pay between 8-10%. The negotiations have taken over two months and a dispute was officially declared last month, Skhumbuzo Phakathi, CEPPWAWU&rsquo;s International Coordinator, informed the ICEM. 
 
A countrywide march is planned for today. Thabane Mdlalose, the deputy general secretary of CEPPWAWU says the pulp and paper section met with employers at the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration last Monday, without agreement. &ldquo;All our members are still picketing,&rdquo; he added. The labour union also wants six months paid maternity leave and temporary employees to be made permanent staff members. 

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The union&rsquo;s Bargaining Council for the Wood and Paper Sector (NBCWPS), oversees the strike in the country&rsquo;s Pulp and Paper industry, focused at SAPPI and Mondi. The wage demand is 13% and the offer from the employer is 7.5%. 
 
CEPPWAWU&rsquo;s National Bargaining Council for Chemical Industries (NBCCI) has the following sectors currently on strike; Pharmaceutical, where the demand of 13.6% is countered with an offer of 7%, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), where the demand is 10% and offer is 8%, Industrial Chemicals, with a demand of 11% versus an offer of 8%. 
 
CEPPWAWU&rsquo;s compromise position is a rise of 10% across all sectors, for settlement. Employers have offered 8 percent, which was the rate of inflation in May. 

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The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has come out in support of the CEPPWAWU mass action, warning that if employers do not better their wage offer, the federation's 2 million members will come out in support of its affiliate. 
 
In the petroleum sector, employers have settled for an acceptable offer covering a two year period, with 40% for maternity leave. 
 
Some of the major companies currently facing strikes are; Adcock Ingram, Air Liquide, Aspen Pharmacare, Barloworld Decorative, Umicore Autocat. Others are Afrox, Johnson and Johnson, Plascon paints, Dulux Paints, Unilever, Colgate/Palmolive, Lake International, Mondi, Sappi, and&nbsp;others across the different&nbsp;sectors. 
 
The ICEM will report developments as&nbsp;strikes continue.

South African Wage Strikes Continue

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