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UNI-Europa, the European section of the Global Union Federation UNI, signed an agreement in May 2008 with Euriciett, Europe&rsquo;s only association of temporary work agencies. UNI-Europa and Eurociett agreed on a joint declaration related to the draft EU Directive on Agency Work, while UNI also made improvements in a renewed Global Framework Agreement with ISS, a Danish-based company that provides property services worldwide. 
 
UNI-Europa&rsquo;s accord with the umbrella association of temp work agencies &ldquo;recognises the principle of equal treatment from day 1 for temporary agency workers,&rdquo; the same language as contained in the draft EU Directive.
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The text of the document improves on the draft Directive by providing two definitions for the comparability of workers, &ldquo;extending the comparison of the working and employment conditions to those workers doing the same or similar job in the user company.&rdquo; 
 
The agreement also enjoins both parties to a commitment that temporary agency workers should not replace workers who are on strike. 
 
These issues are viewed as sensitive within the industry, as they are important for its public image. Larger agencies like Adecco, Manpower, Randstad, and Vedior are concerned that smaller and mid-size agencies will not follow the rules. 
 
Most agency workers do not work for companies with which UNI is dealing. UNI therefore hopes to first reach an agreement with employers on workers&rsquo; whose interests are directly represented by UNI. After this is signed, possibly in September 2008, it is hoped to extend this to all temporary agency workers, perhaps early next year.
<img height="99" src="" width="70" alt="" />
&nbsp;UNI-Europa Gen. Sec. Bernadette S&eacute;gol 
 

UNI-Europa General Secretary Bernadette S&eacute;gol said, &ldquo;It is now urgent that the EU institutions finally agree on a Directive on (temporary agency work) to protect the interest of workers.&rdquo; UNI-Europa has lobbied the European Commission for the past ten years for a Directive on agency work. 
 
The renewal agreement between UNI and ISS, which employs 440,000 workers 
worldwide, was signed in June and gives staff the right to join unions and to bargain collectively.

UNI-Europa Signs Accord with Temp Work Association; UNI Renews Global Agreement with Danish Firm

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In early 2008, with support from the ICEM CAL Project, workers at German-owned Thai Industrial Gases (TIG), a subsidiary of Linde, and their union TIGLU, signed a milestone agreement with the company. The accord secured their rights to organise TIG workers across Thailand. 
 
TIG/Linde is Thailand&rsquo;s biggest provider of industrial gases. The agreement came only after a struggle, including a month-long protest at all of the company&rsquo;s 13 work sites. It also saw support and pressure by the ICEM and its global affiliates, including ones in Germany, Netherlands, and Belgium.
<img height="181" src="" width="240" alt="" />
This was a remarkable achievement for the TIGLU, which was established only three years ago. 
 
In one situation, jobs had been contracted out first to Adecco. That temporary agency firm was then replaced by an unknown agency, whose address turned out to be a building under construction. This made the agency seem a sham, making it appear that this was an attempt by TIG/Linde to circumvent the union. 
 
Most workers signed the new work agreements, but nine refused and were fired. Reportedly, some who did sign were threatened with dismissal if they got involved in union activities. 
 
In the end, TIG/Linde agreed to reinstate the nine dismissed workers, who were all truck drivers. The company also agreed not to victimise workers by transferring them, a common tactic used by the company. TIG/Linde also agreed to give the 19 agency workers the same conditions as TIG&rsquo;s regular employees.
<img height="77" src="" width="115" alt="" />
TIGLU has also used the Thai labour inspection service to counter bad employment practices at TIG&rsquo;s branch in Saraburi province, a worksite where agency workers had received lower overtime pay, no sick leave payments, and were issued inadequate safety equipment. After the inspection, the employment agency paid the workers in full, but then retaliated by giving them contracts which had to be renewed every three months. 
 
A national campaign in Thailand calling for recognition of workers&rsquo; rights for temporary or agency workers, and their right to unionise and join the same union as permanent workers, has now been started through support of the ICEM campaign. Union networks have been formed to organise and protect agency and contract workers throughout Thailand.

Positive Developments for Agency Workers in Thailand

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Manpower, the second largest employment agency in the world, has announced the creation of a &ldquo;Manpower Equaltreatment&rdquo; subsidiary in Germany. 
 
Thomas Reitz, the head of Manpower-Germany explains: &ldquo;We have recently set up this new subsidiary, Manpower Equaltreatment Gmbh, in which temporary workers will be paid at the same level as the permanent workers of the companies where they work. Other conditions and benefits will also be similar.&rdquo;
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&nbsp; 
 
In doing this, Manpower has given a powerful signal to employers everywhere that the climate regarding temporary work is changing. 
 
&ldquo;We want to remain attractive as an agency, and there is a demand for these kinds of solutions,&rdquo; continued Reitz. 
 
Some collective work agreements within Germany&rsquo;s major industrial enterprises like Audi, BMW, and Airbus already call for temporary and permanent staff to have similar pay and conditions. 
 
Calls for the &ldquo;equal pay for equal work&rdquo; motto in all German enterprises are reinforced by a recent campaign by ICEM affiliate IGBCE and other major trade unions in Germany, which is putting pressure on companies to grant equal pay to temporary workers.
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Manpower estimates that its new Manpower Equaltreatment subsidiary will employ several thousands of temp agency workers in the next few years. It will provide both high-skilled specialty staff and also less-skilled workers. &ldquo;Companies prefer good agency workers,&rdquo; concluded Thomas Reitz, (because) they hope they later become permanent staff, so they need a good pool of workers to choose from.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Equal Pay for All Workers Gains Ground in Germany

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General President Jack O&rsquo;Connor of Ireland&rsquo;s Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU) welcomed the new EU Directive on Agency Work. 
 
In a statement, he said, &ldquo;It will improve people&rsquo;s rights at work in Ireland. Indeed, in the absence of the EU, working conditions in Ireland would still be very primitive. This decision will begin the process of alleviating the plight of tens of thousands of our most vulnerable workers.&rdquo;
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Legislation in Ireland to regulate the use of temporary agency workers has been opposed for years by employers. Although not yet fully adopted, once ratified by the European Parliament, the Directive must be implemented through national legislation within three years. It has thus given a considerable push to people&rsquo;s rights at work in Ireland. 
 
The recent Irish referendum rejecting the Lisbon Treaty would appear to have no effect on the Directive, since existing treaties already cover the details of implementation.

Irish Labour Movement Welcomes EU Directive on Agency Work

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Despite earlier opposition by Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Poland, and the UK, which have stubbornly opposed any compromise agreement for the past five years, the EU&rsquo;s Employment and Social Affairs Council agreed on 10 June 2008 to a draft Directive on Temporary Agency Workers. 
 
Temporary agency work has continued to swell, there can be no denying that. In Denmark, Italy, Spain, and Sweden, for example, it has increased five fold over the past 20 years. In most other EU nations, it has at least doubled in recent years. Each year, some six million workers in the EU are newly registered with agencies. 
 
And in the new member states, it is crucial that minimum employment regulations are established to avoid undercutting already set standards in pay and working conditions.
<img height="76" alt="" src="" width="115" />
More and more, companies are utilising temporary agency workers to cut costs and to increase flexibility, such as allowing them to adjust staffing needs at short notice. 

Employers can find workers with specific skills, when and as needed, without recruitment expenses, or when restructurings or downsizing occurs. 
 
In general, agency workers tend to be less satisfied with their jobs and work conditions than permanent staff. They also tend to have less control over their work, receive less training, have higher accident rates, and perform more shift work than permanent workers. Mostly, they get lower wages for similar work, and are excluded from bonuses and benefits. They also have less job security. 
 
The EU Directive would set minimum European-wide standards that create a level playing field for all companies in all member-states. The Directive is also aimed at stimulating the EU as a knowledge-based economy. 
 
The draft Directive currently states that temporary agency workers must not be treated less favourably regarding basic work conditions (pay, working time, rest periods, holidays, etc.) than permanent workers doing &ldquo;comparable&rdquo; work, a principle that would apply as of day 1. 
 
Exceptions would be permitted to this principle where the social partners come to an agreement at the national level, as recently happened in the UK, for example, where agency workes are to get equal treatment after 12 weeks, six more than what is proposed in the EU Directive.

European Directive on Agency Work Gets Closer to Passage

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HIV/AIDS Project in India Launched 
 
The ICEM HIV/AIDS Project, in cooperation with affiliates in India and sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, a German world leader in pharmaceuticals, was launched with a planning workshop in Delhi on 3-4 July. 
 
The workshop was attended by 16 participants from ICEM affiliates in the cement, diamond, chemicals, and coal mining sectors. The workshop benefited from the participation of SM Afsar, Technical Specialist, HIV/AIDS South Asia, and National Programme Coordinator, HIV/AIDS and the World of Work, and his assistant, Joshila. Coal India Limited was represented by the Deputy Chief Medical Officer of a regional coal mine, Dr Anurag Verma. The talk by Ms. Bhagwati, an HIV+ person invited by the ILO, was exceptional. She radiated will-power and confidence. 
 
At the beginning of the implementation phase of the project, the ILO will do the initial training of a select group of master trainers from coal mining, chemicals, diamonds, and the cement sectors as technical support. This will be based on their trainers&rsquo; manual for HIV/AIDS peer educators. These master trainers will, in turn, train the peer educators. 
 
The course for master trainers will be held in Kolkata, 18-20 August. In September 2008, the training of peer educators/lay counsellors by the master trainers will commence. It is envisaged that 500 peer educators will be trained (400 mining, 50 cement, and 25 each for chemicals and diamonds). 
 
With the conclusion of the training of the peer educators, they will carry it to workers, family members, and members of the community. In the period to December 2009, each peer educator should reach 1,000 people. This is ambitious, but participants were enthusiastic and confident that this goal can be achieved. 
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CEP Humanity Fund Supports HIV/AIDS Project in Nigeria 
 
The Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada agreed to support a joint project in cooperation with the ICEM HIV/AIDS Project and affiliates in Nigeria. Through the union&rsquo;s Humanity Fund, CEP is contributing to train HIV/AIDS counsellors within ICEM&rsquo;s two oil and gas union affiliates, NUPENG and PENGASSAN. 
 
The project will extend ICEM&rsquo;s work in Nigeria in training peer counsellors to provide HIV and AIDS awareness, education, and testing for workers and their families. 
 
CEP&rsquo;s Humanity Fund is unique in that funding comes through negotiated agreements with Canadian employers. To date, some 100 CEP locals, numbering 30,000 workers, have successfully negotiated payments into the Humanity Fund with employers. In 2007, contributions to the Humanity Fund increased by 30%. The CEP currently is also funding a project in partnership with the F&eacute;d&eacute;ration des Travailleurs de Qu&eacute;bec on HIV/AIDS awareness with an oil workers&rsquo; union in Chad. 
 
CEP heralds the fund as not charity, but rather solidarity in &ldquo;building partnerships with workers&rsquo;, community, and women&rsquo;s organisations in developing countries.&rdquo; 
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News from Affiliates 
 
ICEM affiliates in Nepal have mainstreamed HIV/AIDS in Occupational Safety and Health training. In a workshop, attended by 31 participants and resource persons, information on transmission and prevention was given. Participants resolved to intensify awareness campaigns at the grass-root level. 
 
NUPENG and PENGASSAN, ICEM affiliates in Nigeria, continued their successful HIV/AIDS activities with a training workshop for peer educators/lay counsellors in Ibadan on 4-6 June 2008. The workshop was organised by national HIV/AIDS coordinator Olawale Afolabi. Twelve unionists received intensive training on peer education and counselling skills. Resource persons from SMARTWork facilitated technical sessions of the workshop. 
 
The United Mineworkers&rsquo; Union (UMU) of Sierra Leone organised two workshops at the end of May. The workshops were aimed at building capacity for shop stewards, grassroots diggers, and community members, and to promote behaviour change and advocacy of VCT. 
 
In Zambia, ICEM affiliates Mineworkers&rsquo; Union of Zambia (MUZ) and the National Union of Commercial and Industry Workers (NUCIW) have started on a series of follow-up workshops for peer educators to ascertain the achievements and difficulties faced by peer educators trained in previous years. Long working hours and the unwillingness of management to allow time for talks on HIV/AIDS were cited as the main difficulties. 
 
In C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire, national coordinator Charlotte Nguessan organised a training course for VCT counsellors from the unions. The course was spread over five weekends and included pre- and post-test counselling and practical cases at CIRBA, a medical centre which also facilitated the training. 
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ICEM Sub-Saharan Women Draft Women&rsquo;s Charter; Global Women&rsquo;s Committee Adopts Action Plan on Zimbabwe 
 
The Women&rsquo;s Committee of ICEM&rsquo;s Sub-Saharan Africa Region met in Accra, Ghana, on 5-7June to draft a women&rsquo;s charter for Africa. After a brainstorming session, three major issues were identified: decent work, gender justice, and HIV/AIDS. 
 
In relation to HIV/AIDS, the women unionists from ten Sub-Saharan African countries discussed cultural features, such as polygamy and female genital mutilation, which present particular challenges to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. 
 
The ICEM Women&rsquo;s Committee, meeting in Geneva on 19 June, adopted an Action Plan on Zimbabwe. The violence by the bankrupt ZANU-PF government has hit women particularly hard. Those affected by HIV/AIDS are most vulnerable. Proper treatment to prevent spread from mother to child is not available. In their desperation, women have become commercial sex workers and hence, add to the spread of the virus. 
 
Operations of all NGOs, which have been a major conduit for HIV/AIDS services, have been suspended. Although it was reported that more than 400 organisations working in the HIV/AIDS sector would be allowed to operate again, war veterans and ZANU-PF militants have prevented them doing their valuable work in areas of dire need. 
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UN High-level Meeting on HIV/AIDS &ndash; Union Leader Speaks up on Workplace Interventions 
 
The UN General Assembly organised a high-level meeting on 10-11 June to review progress on the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the 2006 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS. 
 
While progress has been made on reducing infections, bringing down the death rate, and increasing the number of people on anti-retroviral treatment (ART), the number of people newly infected still outnumber the number of people who have been treated in 2007 by five-to-two, i.e. 2.5 million newly infected as compared to one million on ART (see article below). 
 
During the civil society hearing, workplace responses were addressed by Romano Ojiambo Ochieng, General Secretary of the Ugandan Amalgamated Transport and General Workers&rsquo; Union. He emphasised that HIV/AIDS is a workplace issue, linked to the broader issues of economic growth and sustainable development. 
 
The potential of the workplace as a vital entry point for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programmes continues to be overlooked. Many national plans to fight the pandemic still lack a strategy for the world of work. 
 
Many companies began to act when they realised that HIV/AIDS programmes were not only good for corporate social responsibility, but also essential for corporate self-interest, evening some cases, the company&rsquo;s survival. The position of labour unions in the workplace makes them ideally placed to help workers who are reluctant to submit to testing for fear of discrimination. 
 
Ochieng came out with a number of recommendations, including companies seeking new co-investment opportunities must collaborate with unions to strengthen the impact of interventions; to increase investment in training for union activists; to introduce policies keeping with the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work; and representation of unions and employers on national HIV/AIDS consultative and policy-making bodies. 
 
(Sources: UN Press Releases and ITF HIV/AIDS Update 46 of 1 July) 
&nbsp;<img height="35" src="" width="25" alt="" />
Three Million Now Receiving Life-saving Drugs 
 
The close of 2007 marks an important step in the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Nearly three million people are now receiving anti-retroviral treatment (ART) in low- and middle-income countries, according to a new report jointly launched on 2 June by WHO, UNAIDS, and UNICEF. 
 
The report, Towards Universal Access: Scaling Up Priority Interventions in the Health Sector, also points to other gains. These include improved access to interventions aimed at preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT), and expanding testing and counselling. 
 
According to the authors of the report, the close of 2007 saw nearly one million more people receiving ART, bringing the total to almost three million. This figure was the target of the 3x5 initiative that sought to have three million HIV-positive people on treatment by the end of 2005. Although that target was not achieved until two years later, it is widely credited with jump-starting the push towards ART scale-up. 
 
(Source: WHO press release, 2 June) 
&nbsp;<img height="35" src="" width="25" alt="" />
Risk Factors for Spread of HIV in Afghanistan High 
 
Although the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is relatively low in Afghanistan, the country&rsquo;s Ministry of Public Health recently said that the potential risk factors for the spread of the virus are high. These include war, poverty, illiteracy, massive internal and external displacement, the existence of commercial and unsafe sex, and unsafe injection practices and blood transfusions. 
 
There is widespread stigma and a lack of awareness about the disease in Afghanistan. The World Bank has granted US$10 million to the country&rsquo;s Health Ministry for identifying and creating public awareness among groups most at risk of HIV/AIDS. 
 
(Source: <a href="http://www.news–medical.net">www.news&ndash;medical.net</a>, published 28 May and based on a report by Reuters) 
&nbsp;<img height="35" src="" width="25" alt="" />
News from the Global Union Programme and Global Unions 
 
In its most recent HIV/AIDS Updates, the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) (<a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>) reports, among other things, on the publication of the ILO report entitled &ldquo;Saving Lives, Protecting Jobs&rdquo; on the SHARE project. According to the report, workplace attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS and acceptance of condom use and other preventive measures have increased in the countries covered by the SHARE project. 
 
It further reports on inroads made against the epidemic in Cambodia and the dangers of a potential increase of infections in Sri Lanka because of the large number of commercial sex workers, internally displaced people and migrant workers. In Kiev, the ITF organised an Eastern European sub-regional HIV/AIDS workshop.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin

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Salaried Workers&rsquo; Union of Finland Wins Bonuses for Stora Enso in Court Decision 
 
Toimihenkil&ouml;unioni TU, the ICEM Salaried Workers&rsquo; Union in Finland, won a key court case on 19 June in a district court in Oulu. A judge has ordered pulp and paper company Stora Enso to pay &euro;100,000 to 90 workers who were denied bonuses because of a non-transparent clause in their work agreements. 
 
The clause cited &ldquo;certain conditions&rdquo; as a precursor in denying workers profit-related bonuses. The company enacted the language when workers participated in a strike last year. The company was ordered to pay the sum, plus interest, to the 90 salaried workers.
<img height="68" alt="" src="" width="120" border="1" />
&nbsp; 
&ldquo;The decision to hide this condition reflects the recklessness of Stora Enso&rsquo;s personnel policy,&rdquo; stated TU President Antti Rinne. &ldquo;The company was not acting in a way that is likely to instill commitment from its employees.&rdquo; 
 
Added TU Legal Unit Director Else-Mai Kirvesniemi, &ldquo;To punish (these workers) because of their trade union activity does not correspond to the Finnish idea and practice of justice.&rdquo; 
 
TU is now pursuing legal remedies in court for 1,000 other Stora Enso salaried workers at 12 locations. The union claims the company owes those workers &euro;1 million.

Salaried Workers’ Union of Finland Wins Bonuses for Stora Enso Workers in Court Decision

<img width="100" height="39" src="" alt="" />
ICEM&rsquo;s Central European Regional Council was held in Katowice, Poland, on 29 April, and leaders of affiliates from eight Central European countries discussed trends and developments within the ICEM region, as well as global matters. 
 
The problems mentioned by ICEM&rsquo;s trade union leaders of the region often mirrored those from neighbouring countries. Workers in most countries face problems with stagnant wages &ndash; and extremely low minimum wages &ndash; as well as high inflation rates. In Croatia, many workers do not earn more than &euro;8 per day.
<img width="160" height="85" src="" alt="" />
The ICEM Central European Regional meeting was hosted by Polish trade union sentre Solidarnosc
Unions in Croatia are calling for a minimum wage to be set at the level of 50% of the average wage. Unions in other countries are setting that bar at 60%. In several Central European nations, the current minimum wage is often lower &ndash; 40% of the average wage, or even lower.
<img width="120" height="60" src="" alt="" />
Croatia&nbsp;
Progress is slow on that front, but it is being made. In Slovakia, for example, union and employers are now jointly negotiating a new minimum wage through social dialogue. In Romania, the minimum wage was raised last year from &euro;100 to &euro;150 per month. 
 
Standard wages do differ between countries. An average wage in Bosnia stands at around &euro;300, whereas the average salary in Poland, before taxes, is around &euro;800. The wage differences between sectors inside some countries are oftentimes wide. Some Polish workers barely earn &euro;300 per month, while others make &euro;1,700.
<img width="120" height="60" src="" alt="" />
&nbsp;Bosnia-Herzegovina
Overall, unions in Central Europe are generally reporting progress. One such area that is progressing is negotiations with multinational companies. In nearly all countries, privatisation exercises continue and that does cause serious hardship for many trade union members. Unions do report that fair dismissal packages are now being won, a welcome change from previous years. Another positive aspect is that relations with incoming multinational companies are improving. 
 
Engagement in social dialogue is a key priority for most unions, including with several non-European multinational investors. This phenomenon has grown rapidly over the last few years. Multinational companies from Russia, Turkey, India, and South Korea are no longer the exception. Regrettably, industrial relations with some of these firms (for example, Korean Hankook Tire in Hungary) are acrimonious, since some of these newly-arrived companies lack relevant experience with the European social dialogue system. 
 
Nearly all trade union leaders attending the regional meeting also mentioned the positive, and growing, international cooperation between unions in the region. Trade unions and their members are increasingly attending each other&rsquo;s demonstrations, across borders, and are sharing more and more information. 
 
Also reported was the vastly improved trade union cooperation inside countries. This is occurring between unions that often belong to different national confederations. One clear example came from Poland, where a joint ICEM-EMCEF office is being set up, allowing six industrial unions to speak with one voice. 
 
As a result of this increased cooperation, there also appears to be a growing political will to do away with the problem of having too many unions inside one country. Leaders spoke of the need for consolidation and mergers, in order to avoid situations where unions compete with each other. 
 
Unions in Serbia, for example, spoke of improvements in their own operations, as they manage, frequently after changing internal structures, to halt the drop in union membership and boost affiliation fees.
<img width="120" height="71" src="" alt="" />
Serbia
Related to these efforts was an overview by Mato Lalic on the South-East European Education Project for ICEM and IUF affiliates. He reported on a number of successes from this project, which is expected to enter its last two-year cycle this year. For over ten years, Lalic has organised over 300 seminars, workshops, and seminars, with over 6,000 trade unionists attending. And some 30-to- 40% of these participants have been women. 
 
Some problems, however, remain country-specific, such as the after-war issue of the non-payment of pensions in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Also, austerity measures were cited as a measure to offset the GDP deficit in Hungary. 
 
Other problems appear simultaneously in all countries. Many spoke, for example, of anticipated difficulties &ndash; and possible long and hard struggles &ndash; in relation to the expected increases of the statutory pension age in their respective country. The issue of green jobs, and the need to have an ecological balance, but also the possible difficulties that industries may face as a result of a more stringent emissions rights system, were equally mentioned by many.

Reports from Central Europe Regional Meeting Point to Cautious Optimism

<img width="100" height="39" alt="" src="" />
Rather than negotiate in good faith with print shop members of UK union Unite, a book producer did the unthinkable: it suddenly sacked 287 workers and took the company into liquidation. 
 
Butler and Tanner, a 170-year-old printer in Frome, Somerset, that was bought last year by Media and Print Investments (MPI), had informed UK&rsquo;s Advisory, Conciliation, and Mediation Service (ACAS) that it was prepared for further talks with Unite over the weekend of 25-27 April in order to avert a planned 30 April industrial action.
<img width="120" height="60" alt="" src="" />
Instead, Butler and Tanner&rsquo;s chairman issued a terse letter to all 287 union members, received on 26 April, that the prestigious colour book printer was closing immediately. Unite then learned that the company had deployed labour agency staff to continue operations. 
 
Union members last Tuesday, 29 April, voted to take legal action to recover &pound;12,000 per worker in lost wages and &pound;44,000 in total pension contributions for the workforce. The union also organised a mass rally at the locked plant gates on 2 May. 
 
United National Officer Ann Field called it a &ldquo;despicable act,&rdquo; and said the union will demand full recompense. The union&rsquo;s Assistant General Secretary, Tony Burke, said staff had given their working lives to make Butler and Tanner one of UK&rsquo;s quality book printers, &ldquo;but they decided enough was enough when the goalposts for an agreement were constantly moved.&rdquo; 
 
Print workers had conceded pay cuts and other economic items when private equity company MPI took over in August 2007. The company was currently seeking another &pound;1 million in cost reductions, including radical shift changes, as well as a clause in a proposed new contract that would restrict Unite&rsquo;s ability to negotiate for workers.

Book Printer Suddenly Closes in UK, Leaving 287 Jobless

<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Global Fund Launches Round 8 
The special issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin, issued on 17 March, gives details of the Round 8 announcement by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Please contact <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a> or <a href="mailto:schwass@bluewin.ch">schwass@bluewin.ch</a> to receive a copy of that e-bulletin. 
 
The application form and support documentation are available in six languages at <a href="http://www.theglobalfund.org">www.theglobalfund.org</a>. Proposals have to reach the Global Fund by 1 July 2008. Access the website <a href="http://www.aidspan.org/guides">www.aidspan.org/guides</a>, on which a guide to Round 8 applications is available. 
&nbsp;<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Colombia: Affiliates and Companies Renew Commitment to Fight HIV/AIDS
Representatives of affiliates and companies met with ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana and General Secretary Manfred Warda in Bogot&aacute;, Colombia, on 11 March for the National Conference on the Social Dialogue. 
 
HIV/AIDS is one of the topics in the Social Dialogue Project in Colombia. Delegates expressed the view that concrete action should be developed on HIV/AIDS, and that progress should be reported back to the next meeting. 
 
The ICEM Global HIV/AIDS Coordinator, who took part in the meeting, also visited the coal mining region in the north of the country. Carbones del Cerrej&oacute;n, which is owned in equal parts by Anglo American, BHP Billiton, and Xstrata, runs one of the world&rsquo;s largest set of open-pit coal mines in the world with some 5,000 direct employees and an almost equal number of contract workers. 
 
The company has co-financed a number of hospitals in the communities surrounding Cerrej&oacute;n and local management works with a foundation which runs awareness and prevention campaigns. A new healthy lifestyle programme for employees and their families includes HIV/AIDS. The programme is administered by COPASO, the joint committee for occupational health, on which ICEM&rsquo;s affiliate Sintracarb&oacute;n is represented. 
 
With a national prevalence rate of 0.6% and 160,000 adults aged 15 to 49 living with HIV (of a total population of 45 million), treatment is not a major problem. The challenge is to keep the infection rate low and the solution is prevention. 
&nbsp;<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
AIDS is Top Killer of 15-to-44 year-olds in Asia 
AIDS is the most likely cause of death for Asians aged 15-44, and could kill almost 500,000 people per year across the continent by 2020. The UN-backed Independent Commission on AIDS in Asia warned that in addition to the nearly five million people across Asia who are currently living with the HIV virus, another eight million could become infected if governments do not take drastic action to curb the epidemic. 
 
(Source: <a href="http://www.earthtimes.org">www.earthtimes.org</a>, posted on 26 March) 
&nbsp;<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
COSATU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi Speaks to Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa 
In his address to the 4th National Congress of the South African Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), COSATU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi deplored the many years wasted in courts and on the streets fighting denial and inaction by the government. 
 
Vavi acknowledged the role of the TAC in transforming the national response to HIV/AIDS, from denial and foot-dragging, to a united national strategic programme to drive back the pandemic. Thanks to the TAC, thousands of people now get the treatment they need to stay alive, and thousands of babies are born free of the virus. 
 
He pledged COSATU&rsquo;s support for the national strategic programme by setting up support systems at workplaces, and strengthening education and treatment components of the campaign. The aim is to train 20,000 peer educators a year. In his words, peer education remains central to any successful struggle to support people with HIV and AIDS and to reduce infection rates. 
 
(Source: COSATU website) 
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Annie Lennox and Amnesty International Highlight Fate of Rural Women 
Rural women living with HIV in circumstances of poverty in South Africa face discrimination in relationships and in communities because of their gender, HIV status, and economic marginalisation. 
 
This is the main conclusion of a report released on 18 March by Amnesty International. Many women interviewed by Amnesty said that they were often unable to protect themselves against HIV infection because they felt at risk of violence when they suggested condom use. Male partners refused to be tested for HIV. 
 
Effective treatment for HIV and AIDS requires regular visits to accredited clinics and adequate nutrition. Even if medication is free, rural women living in abject poverty can often not afford transportation. 
 
Singer Annie Lennox is highlighting the issue with her new charity song &ldquo;Sing&rdquo;. 
 
The report can be downloaded from the Amnesty International website, <a href="http://www.amnesty.org">www.amnesty.org</a>. 
&nbsp;<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Product Red: Contributions to the Global Fund 
Product Red was created by rock singer Bono and Bobby Shriver in 2006 to engage the private sector in the fight against AIDS and to deliver a sustainable flow of funds to the Global Fund. 
 
Recently Dell and Microsoft joined Product Red, Bono&rsquo;s enterprise, by supplying Dell computers powered by Windows Vista. Companies, which are partners of Product Red, are committed to channel a percentage of profits to the Global Fund. 
 
On Valentine&rsquo;s Day 2008, an auction of donated and specially created art works at Sotheby&rsquo;s in New York raised US$42.6 million. The auction brought the total amount raised by Product Red to more than US$100 million since its launch. 
 
Lesotho became the fourth country to receive funds from Product Red through the Global Fund, joining Rwanda, Swaziland, and Ghana. 
 
(Source: Global Fund website) 
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News from the Global Union Programme and Global Unions 
In its most recent HIV/AIDS Update (No. 38, 1 March) the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) (<a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a>) reports, among other items, on the HIV/AIDS awareness and support programme implemented by the Forward Seamen Union of India, and the increasing risk of infection of Indonesian fishermen.

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