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ICEM UK affiliate Unite won union recognition for newspaper printing workers at a plant in Worcester, a city in west-central England in Worcestershire County. Workers, by 100%, balloted for Unite in voting conducted by UK&rsquo;s Advisory, Conciliation, and Arbitration Service (ACAS) recently. 
 
The printing plant is owned by Newsquest Plc., a subsidiary of Gannett, the big US-based media group. Gannett purchased Newsquest&rsquo;s assets in the UK in 1999 for &pound;904 million. Unite has collective agreements at other worksites of Newsquest, which publishes some 11 daily newspapers and scores of other print publications across the UK. 
 
&ldquo;This is a great achievement for all our members at Worcester who now have a framework in place to start negotiating on issues that matter to them,&rdquo; said Unite Regional Officer Ted Scott.

UK’s Unite Union Wins Recognition of Gannett Print Workers in Worcester

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Two former General Secretaries of ICEM affiliate National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in South Africa won major leadership posts in the country&rsquo;s ruling political party, the ANC. At the Polokwane conference of the ANC in December, Gwede Mantashe won a landslide vote as Secretary-General of ANC, the key day-to-day leadership position at ANC&rsquo;s Luthuli House, while Kgalema Motlanthe won the position of Deputy President, second only to newly-elected ANC President Jacob Zuma. 
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Mantashe served as General Secretary of the NUM from 1998 to 2006, while Motlanthe preceded Mantashe at NUM in the 1990s before become Secretary-General himself of the 670,000-member ANC, late in 1997. 
 
The ANC elected Zuma, Motlanthe, Mantashe, three other elected officers, and a 60-member National Executive Committee at its meetings in Polokwane. The ICEM applauds the NUM for producing social leaders that will now leave positive marks on the lives of all South Africans. The ICEM also believes the trade union backgrounds of the new leaders will serve the ANC well in the imminent healing that will occur within South Africa&rsquo;s leading party.

Past NUM GSs’ Rise High in Leadership of African National Congress

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A three-day Coal Conference for global trade unions was held in Calcutta, India, 14-16 December 2007, hosted by India&rsquo;s trade unions, including ICEM affiliate Indian National Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation (INMF). The conference had the full involvement of the ICEM, the International Energy and Mines Organisation (IEMO), the ILO, as well as several national mining unions. 
 
The conference focused on mine safety, specifically around a work plan to get more countries to ratify ILO Convention 176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention. Martin Hahn, from the ILO&rsquo;s Sectoral Activities Department, who facilitates the Committee of Experts for Mine Health and Safety, gave an excellent presentation on effective measures for organising toward ratification of Convention 176. 
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Presentations were made by MK Pandhe of the All India Coal Workers&rsquo; Federation, who spoke on an IEMO paper entitled &ldquo;Globalisation, Privatisation, Outsourcing, and the Trade Union Response.&rdquo; Other topics addressed included the trade union position on carbon emissions. The conference also explored new technologies in coal mining, privatisation, and provided an overview of the current, unprecedented growth rates in coal consumption and production. 
 
The conference produced an 11-point declaration, focusing on the fact that mining is one of the world&rsquo;s highest safety-risk occupations. That declaration called on nations to &ldquo;not only take the necessary steps to ratify ILO Convention 176, but that they also take urgent action to ensure that the commitments&rdquo; contained in the Convention &ldquo;are put into practice.&rdquo; 
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The declaration also rejected the privatisation of state mining assets, and it took note of the inequality in blame placed on coal mining and coal burning regarding climate change. The declaration, in addition, condemned the growing trend by mining employers &ldquo;to engage contract and casual labour in preference to permanent employees.&rdquo; The <a href="/en/?id=5&amp;doc=2528&amp;la=EN">declaration</a> in its entirety <a href="/en/?id=5&amp;doc=2528&amp;la=EN">can be found here</a>. 
 
Over 100 trade union leaders from 14 coal-producing countries attended last month&rsquo;s Coal Conference. Representing national trade unions included delegates from the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU), Australia; National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), South Africa; the Miners&rsquo; Independent Trade Union of Russia; National Union of Mineworkers of the UK; Mines and Energy Union (CGT), France; the Federation of Energy, Geology and Mining Workers&rsquo; Trade Unions (MEGM), Mongolia; Sintracarb&oacute;n, Colombia; as well as trade unions representing coal miners in Canada, New Zealand, Poland, and the Ukraine. 
 
The ICEM, the international organiser for the event, thanks the ILO and the trade unions of India, including the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), for their efficient hosting of the conference.

Coal Conference in India Focuses on Health/Safety, Ratification of ILO Convention 176

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An 11 January methane coal blast 500 metres inside ArcelorMittal Steel&rsquo;s Abaiskaya coal mine in central Kazakhstan has killed at least 23 miners. Seven of the miners died instantly in a blaze of fire, the company reported. 
 
Rescue attempts were halted over the weekend because of high temperatures and carbon monoxide concentration caused by the early morning, 11 January explosion.
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&ldquo;We cannot risk the lives of rescuers,&rdquo; stated Kazakh Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Bozhko. &ldquo;The situation is similar with the one in Ukraine&rsquo;s Zasyadko coal mine where rescuers died,&rdquo; a reference to the deaths of five rescuers on 2 December 2007, 13 days after 111 miners perished at Zasyadko in the Donbass region of the Ukraine. 
 
Last Friday&rsquo;s blast in Kazakhstan occurred in the same area where 41 miners of ArcelorMittal Temirtau died on 20 September 2006. A methane explosion happened then at the company&rsquo;s Lenin mine. That disaster, the worst mining mishap in Kazakh history, prompted a mass strike by upwards of 24,000 workers in September and early October 2006. It was resolved with pay increases of 30% over two years, and, more importantly, promises of improved mining equipment and safety technology.
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Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal, the world&rsquo;s largest steelmaking concern, controlled by Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, operates eight coal mines around its massive steel-producing operations in the Karaganda region, including Tentekskaya, Shakhtinskaya, Kazakhstanskaya, Kuzembayev, Kostenko, Saranskaya, as well as the Lenin and Abaiskaya mines. 
 
In December 2004, 23 miners died in a gas blast inside the Shakhtinskaya mine. The government of Kazakhstan has ordered a special commission to investigate the cause of the latest explosion. Mittal began mining and steel-making operations in Kazakhstan in 1995.

Methane Blast Kills at Least 23 at ArcelorMittal Coal Mine in Kazakhstan

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During the July-August 2007 sector-wide tyre strike by 6,000 members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), 150 contract workers defied bosses at one of the producers &ndash; Goodyear &ndash; and joined NUMSA on picket lines. The ICEM-affiliated union then successfully defended the contract workers in court cases, while their rights after the American company challenged their right to strike. 
 
Those 150 contract workers have been rewarded for making their stand during that strike. As a result of language won by NUMSA regarding labour brokers, the contract workers are now former contract workers, as of this year. That means they have job security, medical assistance, and they are covered by the Tyre Industry&rsquo;s Provident Fund.
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And they are also full-fledged union members of NUMSA. 
 
Contract workers at Goodyear&rsquo;s 800-worker Uitenhage tyre-making plant near Port Elizabeth have pressed hard for entitlement to legitimate job rights. In April 2006, a strike by 300 contract workers was narrowly averted when NUMSA members at the auto, truck, industrial tyre plant threatened to join the strike. They won concessions from Goodyear and contract employers then. 
 
NUMSA News, the union&rsquo;s monthly journal, credits the contract workers for &ldquo;their discipline over the last five years and the fact that they have appreciated all efforts that NUMSA undertook for them.&rdquo; 
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The NUMSA industry-wide strike last year achieved first-year wage gains of 8%, and 7.5% for both the second and third years. Contract workers employed by Goodyear&rsquo;s labour brokers took keen interest to know that NUMSA also won skill-based development training, five months maternity leave, 15-day annual leave, and a 10.5% contribution increase by employers to the Provident Fund.
NUMSA also reports that 21 contract workers at Dunlop-Apollo Tyre&rsquo;s production plant in Durban &ndash; another plant struck last year &ndash; won permanent job rights, effective early in 2008. The ICEM commends NUMSA for these important achievements, as well as salutes contract workers in South Africa&rsquo;s rubber industry for standing up to assert their rights.

2007 South African Tyre Strike Pays off for Contract Workers at Goodyear

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Aquarius Platinum was flagged first for breaking the trust to jointly improve safety in South Africa&rsquo;s mines. The company boasted to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange that it had won a clean bill-of-health from the nation&rsquo;s Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) at two of its South African mines. It had not. 
 
&ldquo;I would like to state categorically that the DME has not yet cleared any SA mine as part of the audit process,&rdquo; said the DME, referring to a President Mbeki-commissioned safety audit of all South African mines following the near-tragedy at Harmony Gold on 3 October 2007 when 3,200 miners were trapped for up to 38 hours. 
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&ldquo;Claims by the company that it has received a &lsquo;clean bill-of-health&rsquo; or that it has &lsquo;passed&rsquo; the &lsquo;Presidential Audit&rsquo; are thus unfounded,&rdquo; the DME said in the statement to refute Aquarius Platinum&rsquo;s claim to capital markets. 
 
In the middle of last week&rsquo;s controversy, which the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) aptly dubbed, &lsquo;Tell No Lies, Claim No Easy Victories,&rsquo; a contract worker was killed at Marikana, one of the mines in the Bushveld belt of North West Province that Aquarius claimed was DME certified. That death occurred on 8 January. A company spokesman, contacted 10 January by Mining Weekly, said the company would stand by its stock market statement.
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&nbsp;NUM Gen. Sec. Frans Baleni 
 

The NUM was quick to denounce Aquarius for the false boast, calling it &ldquo;a reflection of how playful the industry is when dealing with the lives of people.&rdquo; NUM General Secretary Frans Baleni said the company must be more sensitive and to refrain from such deviant behaviour. Baleni said NUM does not &ldquo;have the slightest doubt that the audits are going to produce something contrary&rdquo; at Aquarius mines. 
 
Aquarius Platinum operates the Kroondal, Marikana, and Everest platinum mines in South Africa, and is a joint venture partner in the Mimosa platinum mine in Zimbabwe. It also operates a chromite ore tailings treatment plant near Kroondal. Based in Australia, the 12-year-old company saw 300% income growth between 2005 and 2006, as well experiencing a sales growth of nearly 100% in that period. Impala Platinum controls a sizeable minority stake in Aquarius.

Aquarius Platinum: Integrity on Mine Safety Broken in South Africa

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Global Unions Meet Global Fund
In conjunction with the meeting of the Advisory Committee of the Global Unions AIDS Programme in Geneva, consultations were held with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM). Ezekiel Dyke, General Secretary of the United Mineworkers&rsquo; Union of Sierra Leone, participated on behalf of the ICEM, together with the Global Coordinator who gave a presentation on the ICEM&rsquo;s engagement with the Global Fund. 
 
While a few Global Union Federations had interactions with the GFATM &ndash; the ICEM even had a joint mission to Ghana in May 2006 &ndash; this was the first comprehensive meeting to boost trade union involvement in the structures and programmes of the GFATM. 
 
The Global Fund is an independent public-private partnership to raise and disburse new funds to combat the three diseases. As it operates as a financial instrument and not an implementing agency, it does not have regional or country representation. Since its formation almost six years ago, it has an ever-growing secretariat in Geneva. 
 
At national level, Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM) submit proposals which, if a proposal is approved, are implemented through Principal Recipients. 
 
By the end of 2007, grants in 136 countries with a total of US$14.5 billion had been approved, with grant agreements signed for US$8 billion and more than the US$5 billion disbursed. About 50% of funding goes towards HIV/AIDS services. 
 
The international labour movement seeks representation on the global structures of the GFATM, and for its affiliates at national level involvement in the CCMs. Workplace programmes to fight the diseases &ndash; especially HIV/AIDS &ndash; need advocates so that such programmes are included in proposals. The ILO, which signed a letter of agreement with the GFATM in 2003, has been working on the inclusion of world of work components in country proposals. 
 
In its publication &ldquo;An Evolving Partnership: The Global Fund and Civil Society,&rdquo; the GFATM clearly considers unions as vital members of civil society. There are, however, a lot of characteristics which distinguish unions from civil society organisations. 
In his opening remarks, Michel Kazatchkine, the GFATM Executive Director, acknowledged that the private sector, for which the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is the focal point, is mainly represented by management and not by representatives of the workforce. In its dealings with the GFATM, the ICEM has said that the private sector is business and unions. 
 
Working groups identified shared goals between the Global Unions and the Global Fund and they made suggestions on how to overcome obstacles and barriers, such as building capacity in the unions. One condition to make progress in future is the recognition of labour as a separate entity in the global and national structures of the GFATM. 
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World AIDS Day 2007
On the occasion of World AIDS Day on 1 December, the Bangladesh Chemical Workers&rsquo; Federation organised a seminar to increase awareness among its members. The union&rsquo;s women&rsquo;s committee published a poster based on the campaign posters of the World AIDS Campaign, which were sent out by the ICEM. 
 
In Namibia, officials, and members of the Mine Workers&rsquo; Union of Namibia attended the national event in Keetmanshoop. and activities organised by the Namibia Business Coalition on AIDS in Windhoek. 
 
During the 4th ICEM World Congress in Bangkok, hundreds of union leaders reconfirmed their commitment by signing the pledge &ldquo;Stop AIDS &ndash; Keep the Promise&rdquo;. See that story <a href="/en/72-HIV-AIDS/2487-ICEM-Reconfirms-Commitment-to-Fight-HIV-AIDS-Pandemic">here</a>. 
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Global Fund Round 8 Proposals
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is scheduled to issue its call for proposals for Round 8 on 1 March 2008. From that date, applicants will have 120 days to prepare and submit their proposals. 
 
Although this seems a fair amount of time, the demanding proposal form and complicated procedures may require more time. There is no reason not to start the process now. For unions, that means getting membership on CCM in order to ensure that workplace projects are included in proposals to the Global Fund. At the consultations between Global Unions and the Global Fund (see &quot;Global Unions Meet&quot;, above), an adaptation of the proposal form and of the GFATM Guidelines for Round 8 to include workers organisations as eligible organisations was discussed. 
 
Aidspan, the publisher of the Global Fund Observer, has released, Volume 1: &ldquo;Getting a Head Start.&rdquo; its guide for Round 8 applications to the Global Fund. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer Issue 84, 29 January 2008. 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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Business Coalitions Tackling AIDS
On the occasion of the annual meeting in January of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the Forum&rsquo;s Global Health Initiative published an in-depth study of the activities of business coalitions on AIDS, entitled, &ldquo;Business Coalitions Tackle AIDS: A Worldwide Review.&rdquo; 
 
By the end of 2007, four regional and 47 national business coalitions were in existence with a further ten to be established in 2008. They have emerged as an effective platform for the private sector response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. 
 
Business Coalitions provide private sector companies with the tools and training to address HIV and AIDS at the workplace. Too often, however, they do not include unions in the design and implementation of workplace programmes which address the workforce of a company. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS and WEF website) 
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Haiti: Poverty and Injustice the Biggest Hurdle 
Years of political turmoil and deep poverty have allowed HIV and AIDS to flourish in Haiti, which has the highest prevalence rate in the world outside sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS is the leading cause of death in Haitian women aged between 15 and 49. 
 
Progressio&rsquo;s latest report argues that HIV and AIDS cannot be tackled without addressing the endemic poverty and injustice that exists in Haiti. The government is failing to take the situation seriously, but must tackle the increase in sexual assaults and rape which put women at risk of infection. 
 
(Souce: <a href="http://www.ciir.org">Progressio</a>&nbsp;-&nbsp;Progressio is an international organisation working for the eradication of poverty) 
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Peru: Companies are Fined 
New Peruvian labour inspection regulations provide fines on companies which dismiss workers solely for their HIV/AIDS status. Workers can submit complaints to Peru&rsquo;s Ministry of Labour and appeal to the courts for reinstatement. 
 
Peru has a relatively low infection rate; in the last 20 years, about 20,000 people have died of AIDS and some 30,000 are presently infected. 
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Soccer and Condoms 
The Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) has launched a condom-distribution programme for the African Cup of Nations, currently taking place in Ghana. 
 
With the support from the UN Fund for Population Activities, the commission distributes condoms at no cost to hotels in Ghana to help reduce the spread of HIV during the tournament. More than one million people are expected to visit the country. 
 
GAC Director General, Prof S.A. Amoa, said that more than 300,000 cases of HIV/AIDS are recorded in the country. While more than 30,000 people need treatment, only some 12,000 presently receive it. 
 
(Source: Vanguard, 10 January) 
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News from the Global Union Programme and Global Unions
In its most recent newsletter of 21 January on Education For All and HIV/AIDS Prevention at Schools, the Education International (EI) reported on the launch of its new initiative, called &ldquo;One Hour on AIDS.&rdquo; Learners around the world benefited from lessons on HIV and AIDS on the same day, 30 November. EI has put together a kit specially designed for teachers - <a href="http://www.ei-ie.org/efaids">www.ei-ie.org/efaids</a>.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin

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The ICEM encourages trade unionists to apply early for the Winter 2008-2009 Global Labour University&rsquo;s masters degree programmes, to be held in Brazil, Germany, India, and South Africa. The degree and curriculum is called Labour and Globalisation. Deadline for application is 1 April 2008 for the classes in Germany and India, 15 September 2008 for South Africa, and 1 October for the programme in Brazil. 
 
Courses are offered in English. Prospective students can choose one or two locations. 
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The programme offered at University of Kassel and the Berlin School of Economics in Germany concentrates on global governance and macroeconomics; the programme at the University of Witwaterstrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, centers on the politics of development; the programme at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp), S&atilde;o Paulo State, centers on analyzing transnational companies; and the programme at the Tata Institute, Mumbai, India, deals with the informal economy.
ACTRAV, the ILO Bureau for Workers' Activities, offers study-related internships which help to bridge the gap between the academic world and trade union reality. Guest instructors from partner universities and international organisations complement the course offerings at the individual school. 
 
Further information and details about the application process, as well as possible scholarships, can be obtaining by clicking <a href="http://www.global-labour-university.org">here</a>.&nbsp;

Applications Open for Global Labour University’s 2008 Programmes in Brazil, Germany, India, South Af

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The three-day Coal Conference for global trade unions, held in Calcutta, India, 14-16 December 2007, produced a report presenting an overview of the current, unprecedented growth rates in coal consumption and production, and how that relates to safety and health and trade unionism. That report can be found <a href="/index.php?id=5&amp;doc=2552&amp;la=EN">here</a>. 
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The ICEM is grateful to its affiliated trade union, the Indian National Mineworkers&rsquo; Federation (INMF), as well as to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), for hosting the conference, and to the ILO for its generous support.

Report Available from December’s Coal Conference in India

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A fresh report entitled &ldquo;Can Transnational Corporations Legally Apply Conditions to Companies That Supply Contract and Agency Labour?&rdquo; is now available on the ICEM web-site. The report, written as part of ICEM&rsquo;s ongoing campaign on Contract and Agency Labour, is a research effort that originated from the question whether or not a multinational company can impose social standards on its suppliers. 
 
The first of the three sections of the document deals with the international legal framework, examining existing language in labour law, commercial, trade and contract law. Issues dealt with include ILO Convention 181 on Private Employment Agencies and the ILO Recommendation 198, on the Employment Relationship. Other topics include the link between labour standards and global and regional trade agreements, and between contract law and labour standards. 
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The second section deals with corporate codes of conduct. The third section looks at national legal frameworks, both in labour and commercial law. Prominently focused in this last section is the question: what criteria determine the real employment relationship between a company and a worker, regardless of the contractual terms between them? 
 
Different countries are looked at in this respect, with examples, citing case law, from Canada, South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, the Philippines, UK, France, and US. The full report can be found <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0801BMCALreport.pdf">here</a>.

Transnationals and Agency Labour: ICEM Research Report Available

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