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The 30,000 technical and professional employees of PEMEX, Mexico&rsquo;s state-owned petroleum company, finally won the right to unionize on their third attempt. The new union, Uni&oacute;n Nacional de T&eacute;cnicos y Profesionistas Petroleros (UNTyPP), received its registration on 16 December 2009, and its leadership was officially recognized for the period 18 March 2008 to 17 March 2012. 
 
The first two attempts at unionization, with union acronyms of ONTCIP and UNTCIP, were denied registration by the government and the leaders fired. 
 
Following the successful court battle, culminating in registration from the Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare&rsquo;s office for the Registration of Associations (STPS), members of the new union were informed by company management that in order to retain their jobs, they would be required to sign two documents: one calling for the cancellation of the registration, the other a resignation from the union. 

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Those who refused, along with organisers of the UNTyPP, were fired and violently removed from their workstations by paramilitaries, including the entire National Executive Committee of the union. These workers must be immediately reinstated, and their rights respected under both Mexican and international law. PEMEX is also being urged by the international labour movement to accept union calls to come to the bargaining table and establish a working relationship with them. 
 
UNTyPP organisers have faced continued intimidation and threats throughout their campaign for registration. 
 
PEMEX is the 10th largest oil company in the world, and is the sole supplier of all commercial petrol and diesel stations in Mexico. Annual company revenue is US$78 billion. 
 
Visit the Labourstart campaign website <a href="http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=654 ">here</a> to write to President Calder&oacute;n and PEMEX management, condemning these violations of labour and human rights against the new UNTyPP trade union.

Despite Winning Recognition, Mexico’s White-Collar Pemex Workers Still Repressed

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ICEM&rsquo;s 14 Turkish affiliates have launched into an organising campaign called &ldquo;Organising and Social Dialogue,&rdquo; which is being undertaken as a project with support from Dutch national labour centre FNV and its international solidarity arm, FNV Mondiaal. ICEM and its affiliate on The Netherlands, FNV Bondgenoten, are coordinating the effort. 
 
Approved by the ICEM Turkish Coordinating Committee in November 2008, the project started with an initial conference on 15-16 June in Ankara. Attended by more than 100 union officials, representatives, and experts, the conference examined different tools and instruments with a view to facilitate recruitment drives within unions. The conference also heard the experiences in other countries regarding organising and social dialogue. 

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FNV Bondgenoten President Henk Van der Kolk
At the opening session Henk Van der Kolk, President of FNV Bondgenoten, gave special attention to the importance of international cooperation for trade union success. &ldquo;Trade unions all over the world are losing their strength,&rdquo; he said. 
 
&ldquo;It is no longer a natural thing to join a trade union when you start work. A social Europe, a social world, cannot exist without respect for fundamental human and workers&rsquo; rights, as stated in ILO conventions,&rdquo; added Van der Kolk. &ldquo;The right to freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively on job conditions are basic. The right to a living wage, safe work, and social protections are also basic.&rdquo; 
 
Thanking FNV and Dutch trade unions with active involvement of the Turkish unions, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda underlined the significance of international work in new member recruitment. &ldquo;There are several examples, and one only needs to look within Turkey,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The case of Novamed and the global support received by the courageous women of this company in the Antalya free trade zone is an excellent example. We need to build on such cases, and grow the labour movement both in Turkey and globally,&rdquo; Warda said. 
 
The mechanisms of the ILO, tools provided under the Guidelines of Multinational Companies of the OECD and the UN&rsquo;s Global Compact, and performance standards of the World Bank&rsquo;s International Finance Corporation were discussed. Also, the notion of trade union networks among multinational companies and Global Framework Agreements were also discussed. 
 
The conference also saw active participation from trade union delegates from the Asia/Pacific Region, and from Germany, France, Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark, and the US. All shared their experiences on organising and social dialogue with leaders from the Turkish unions. 
 
At the final session on 16 June, a panel composed of Turkish union representatives made an evaluation on the Turkish situation that was in line with the presentations and discussions during the two-day conference. 
 
Following this initial conference in Turkey&rsquo;s capital city of Ankara, the FNV Mondiaal project will continue with regional seminars with local union officers and shop-floor representatives. A first seminar will occur in the city of Izmit on 8-9 October, while a second one is scheduled for Izmir on 5-6 November. 
For the programme and presentations, please click <a href="/index.php?id=22&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3292">here</a>.

Dutch FNV Supporting Organising, Social Dialogue Project with ICEM in Turkey

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One of the ICEM&rsquo;s long-standing mining union affiliates, T&uuml;rkiye Maden-İş, lost its president last week, and the entire family of ICEM mourns his passing. Ekrem Fedai had been valiantly fighting lung cancer for some time, but the disease claimed his life on 26 June. He was 58. 

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Ekrem Fedai
Brother Fedai was a substitute member of the ICEM Executive Committee. He started his trade union career in the state-owned lignite company in the city of Tavşanli, and in 1986 was first elected as regional secretary-treasurer of the union in that city. He won election as regional chairman in 1996, and then was elected to the post of Secretary of Collective Bargaining and Legal Affairs for Maden-İş at union headquarters in Ankara. At an extraordinary congress in 2008, he was unanimously elected President of Maden-İş. 
 
In a letter to Maden-İş Vice President Murat Bekem today, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, &ldquo;We know his many contributions to your union and his many achievements across Turkey on behalf of miners.&rdquo; The ICEM extends its condolences to Ekrem Fedai&rsquo;s family and to all the union members of T&uuml;rkiye Maden-İş.

ICEM Mourns Death of Turkish Mines Leader, Maden-İş President Ekrem Fedai

The ICEM calls serious attention to activities on Friday, 26 June, as Day of Action against the Islamic Republic of Iran for the repressive and tyrannical means it uses to suppress the people of Iran. Specifically, ICEM stands with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Global Union Federations (GUFs), and Amnesty International in denouncing the illegal arrests of trade union leaders and others in Iran. 
 
As witnessed by the regime&rsquo;s conduct before and after the sham 12 June elections, global pressure must be steadfast against Iran&rsquo;s ruling zealots who commit untold human rights violations. The ICEM stands with the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), the International Union of Food and Agricultural Workers (IUF), and Education International (EI), as they call for this Day of Action together with the ITUC and Amnesty International. 
 
These GUFs have worked tirelessly to end trade union rights abuses in specific cases in Iran. More details on 26 June Day of Action, and on specific cases can be found at <a href="http://www.justiceforiranianworkers.org">www.justiceforiranianworkers.org</a>.
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In brief, the ITF champions the cases of Mansour Osanloo and Ebrahim Madadi, leaders of the Syndicate of Workers&rsquo; of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, who are serving unjust jail terms. The IUF has sharply criticised the one-year jail terms of five union leaders and forced dissolution of their union, Haft Tapeh Sugar Workers&rsquo; Union, and EI has taken up the case of Farzad Kamangar, who was handed a death sentence last year. 
 
He is a leader of the banned Iranian Teachers&rsquo; Trade Association, an affiliate of EI, and has been convicted of &ldquo;endangering national security&rdquo; for his advocacy of teachers&rsquo; unions. The 26 June Day of Action also is aimed at freeing four activists who remain locked up from a 1 May manifestation at Laleh Park in Tehran. There, secret police violently attacked peaceful workers celebrating May Day, arresting between 100 and 150. 
 
Demonstrations tomorrow (26 June) will occur at Iranian embassies and missions include Belgium, France, Netherlands, Switzerland Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Nigeria, the UK, and in several other countries. The ICEM encourages trade unionists and others to take part. 
 
&ldquo;ICEM is in full support and will assist in every effort to free trade unionists and others who have been locked up because they dared to exercise free speech or free association in Iran,&rdquo; said General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;This brutal regime cannot be allowed immunity in its continuing escalation of human rights violations.&rdquo;

26 June: Day of Action Against Iran

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K&uuml;resel sekt&ouml;r federasyonu ICEM, Uluslararası Sendikalar Konfederasyonu'nun 26 Haziran'ı İran'da yaşanan iş&ccedil;i hakları ihlallerine karşı k&uuml;resel eylem g&uuml;n&uuml; ilan etmesini destekliyor, &uuml;yelerini bu bağlamda yapılacak etkinliklere katılmaya &ccedil;ağırıyor. K&uuml;resel eylem g&uuml;n&uuml;nde İran'da yaşanan iş&ccedil;i hakları ihlallerine dikkat &ccedil;ekilecek. 
 
K&uuml;resel eylem g&uuml;n&uuml; faaliyetlerinin &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenmesini Uluslararası Tarım, Gıda, Lokanta, Yiyecek, T&uuml;t&uuml;n ve İlgili İşkolları Federasyonu IUF, Uluslararası Taşımacılık İş&ccedil;ileri Federasyonu ITF ve Eğitim Enternasyonali EI Uluslararası Sendikalar Konfederasyonu ile birlikte yapıyor. 
<img alt="" src="" width="90" height="90" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" width="90" height="90" /><img alt="" src="" width="100" height="100" />
Iranlı sendikacılar bir &ccedil;ok kez sendikal hak ihlalleri ve yasa dışı tutuklamalarla karşı karşıya kaldılar. K&uuml;resel eylem g&uuml;n&uuml; sendikayı desteklediklerinden dolayı işini kaybeden iş&ccedil;ilerin işlerine iade edilmeleri i&ccedil;in bir &ccedil;ağrı niteliği taşıyor. K&uuml;resel eylem g&uuml;n&uuml; aynı zamanda İran y&ouml;netimi &uuml;zerinde İLO'nun 87 Nolu &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenme &ouml;zg&uuml;rl&uuml;ğ&uuml; s&ouml;zleşmesi ve 98 Nolu toplu pazarlık yapma s&ouml;zleşmesini imzalanması i&ccedil;in baskı oluşturacaktır. K&uuml;resel eylem g&uuml;n&uuml; etkinlikleri İran iş&ccedil;ilerinin meşru temsilcileri ile işverenleri arasında toplu s&ouml;zleşme g&ouml;r&uuml;şmelerini başlamasına da yardımcı olacak. 
 
Bu &ccedil;er&ccedil;evede 26 Haziran'da b&uuml;t&uuml;n d&uuml;nyadaki İran b&uuml;y&uuml;k el&ccedil;ilikleri ve konsoloslukları &ouml;n&uuml;nde protesto g&ouml;sterileri yapılması planlanıyor. &Uuml;lkedeki iş&ccedil;i hakları ihlallerinin son &ouml;rneği Tahran'da yapılan son 1 Mayıs g&ouml;sterisinde yaşandı. Barış&ccedil;ıl bir şekilde g&ouml;steri yapmak isteyen iş&ccedil;ilere gaz bombaları ile saldırıldı, iş&ccedil;iler yaralandı, hakkını arayan 100 kadar iş&ccedil;i tutuklandı. 
 
26 Haziran k&uuml;resel eylem g&uuml;n&uuml; İran y&ouml;netiminin sendikaya sempati duyan iş&ccedil;ilere y&ouml;nelik ayrımcılığa son vermesi, İLO s&ouml;zleşmelerini onaylaması, bağımsız iş&ccedil;i &ouml;rg&uuml;tlerini tanıması ve hapsedilen sendikacıların tamamını serbest bırakılması bağlamında uluslararası iş&ccedil;i hareketini bir araya getirecek.

GUF ve ITUC 26 Haziran&#039;ı İran Küresel Eylem Günü ilan etti

Sappi: pulp &amp; paper/p&acirc;te et de papier/pulp y papel 
Urgent Alert, Sappi/South Africa: Voice Opposition, Support CEPPWAWU 
 
ICEM is calling for immediate action to a union-smashing affront by Sappi at its Enstra mill in Springs, South Africa. Sappi suspended 19 shop stewards and 23 other workers due to their union affiliation with Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood, and Allied Workers Union (CEPPWAWU), a longtime ICEM affiliate. 
Starting on 6 May, SAPPI systematically and maliciously began taking disciplinary actions against CEPPWAWU leaders inside the 650-worker Enstra sulfate pulp and printing papers mill. The allegations: inciting workers (90% of whom are CEPPWAWU members), harassment, and use of company property for union purposes. At a 28 May meeting, SAPPI said it would start disciplinary hearings on them, hearings that will be one-sided and unfair. The ICEM urges that messages get sent and that this posting gets wide attention: union bashing will not be tolerated in South Africa! 
 
ICEM finds it reprehensible that SAPPI refuses meeting participation by CEPPWAWU&rsquo;s National Coordinator for Sappi branches, and called it &ldquo;a blight on Sappi everywhere,&rdquo; in a letter to SAPPI house in South Africa. The ICEM calls it a blatant violation of basic trade union rights and this union-bashing merits immediate condemnation. Respond! 
 
Take the message below, and send to Enstra manager Dave Glazebrook at <a href="mailto:dave.glazebrook@sappi.com">dave.glazebrook@sappi.com</a> and <a href="mailto:Wikus.van.Zyl@sappi.com">Wikus.van.Zyl@sappi.com</a>, <a href="mailto:Jan.labuschagne@sappi.com">Jan.labuschagne@sappi.com</a>, and then pass it to others to do the same: 
 
Sappi: Hands Off Union at Enstra. 
 
NO!!! &hellip; Union Bashing in South Africa! 
No &hellip; no suspending Union Rights in South Africa! This is malicious, anti-democratic, and anti-people &hellip; there is no room for it in economic recovery. Sappi cannot afford disrepute now or ever in its paper businesses. Reinstate the workers&rsquo; representatives and others at Enstra Now. These trade union members have been incriminated because they represent Sappi&rsquo;s biggest trade union in South Africa. It is deplorable labour-relations and employment conduct &hellip; and a cancer inside South Africa. Trade union rights at Enstra &ndash; anywhere at Sappi &hellip; Europe, North America, or in South Africa &ndash; are guaranteed and will never be denied! 
 
 
Please send solidarity messages to CEPPWAWU: <a href="mailto:secretariat@ceppwawu.org.za">secretariat@ceppwawu.org.za</a>

SAPPI: Act Now!!

Sappi: pulp &amp; paper/pâte et de papier/pulp y papel

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Seven sit-ins at rural offices of three MPs and four Ministers &ndash; including Canada&rsquo;s Finance, Treasury, and Inter-Governmental Affairs Ministries &ndash; got Stephen Harper&rsquo;s attention and the question now is will his government listen. Tomorrow, Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union will stage another manifestation on the crisis facing the forest sector, this time a protest and march that will lead to direct face-to-face talks with the Harper team in Ottawa. 
The sit-ins were carried out early last week in an escalating strategy by the CEP to spotlight the mass job and social loss that has overtaken forest-based communities across Canada. CEP is adamant that it is Harper&rsquo;s responsibility to find the answers. And CEP is ready to work with government to ensure the correct measures are found. 
<img src="" width="200" height="148" alt="" />
March and Rally 
Tuesday, June 2
The sit-ins follow mid-May strategy meetings and a protest at AbitibiBowater&rsquo;s headquarters in Montr&eacute;al. That protest was directed more at the Harper government than at the bankrupt newsprint company. Last week&rsquo;s sit-ins at the rural offices of key lawmakers mean this issue will stay focused on rural Canada&rsquo;s very survival and way-of-life. 
Tomorrow, 2 June, at 11h30 in Ottawa, the CEP will rally first at the offices of Natural Resources Minister Lisa Riatt and then march to Prime Minister Stephen Harper&rsquo;s building. They then will meet with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, whose Ontario offices in Whitby-Oshawa were the only CEP-occupied offices not in a rural area. 
Six of the seven sit-ins across four of Canada&rsquo;s provinces produced immediate results. Three sit-ins occurred in rural government offices in Qu&eacute;bec, two in British Colombia, and one each in New Brunswick and Ontario. In British Colombia, an MP, Jay Hill, a lead Tory whip in Ottawa from Prince George/Peace River riding, was the only legislator refusing CEP&rsquo;s invitation to discuss the crisis. At the other occupation in British Colombia, inside the offices of John Duncan, Vancouver Island North riding, the CEP spokesman for the occupying team, promised, &ldquo;We plan to keep on making noise and do whatever we have to do&rdquo; to move this government to action. 
<img src="" width="180" height="109" alt="" />
The CEP is demanding financial support for the industry at the federal level. The union is also demanding iron-clad protections on pensions, something that will not be compromised. And CEP will insist tomorrow that the Harper government must enact industry tax relief for companies&rsquo; converting black-liquor from the wood-pulp process to energy. That set of tax breaks exists for pulp and paper firms in the US and the CEP insists on a level playing field. 
The CEP is also demanding a national summit on the forestry crisis in which key stakeholders will decide on strict guidelines aimed at employment stabilisation and forest regeneration measures. The sit-ins made one targeted politician jump on that idea quickly. In Qu&eacute;bec, the Minister for Inter-Governmental Affairs, said she will convene such a summit. 
ICEM affiliate CEP calculates that 55,000 jobs in the forestry sector have been lost over the past two years alone. Far more were lost in earlier years. The impact of these good-paying jobs on others in rural communities &ndash; when those jobs disappear &ndash; is immense and the ripple effects must be multiplied to get the real economic picture.

Canadian Ministry Sit-ins Awaken Stephen Harper to Jobs Crisis

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In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on, among other items, the progress made in Nigeria on Canadian CEP&rsquo;s donor work, on the work of a new ILO instrument on HIV/AIDS and the world of work, and on PEPFAR, the US President&rsquo;s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. 
 
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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Progress in Nigeria 
 
In the May issue of the e-bulletin, we gave a summary of programmes planned in 2009 in target countries. We will continue to inform you on the progress and report on implemented activities in selected countries. 
 
In Nigeria, ICEM oil and gas workers&rsquo; affiliates NUPENG and PENGASSAN have continued their successful HIV/AIDS work, which started more than two years ago. The project has seen a tremendous boost in the uptake of voluntary and confidential counselling and testing in major worksites. The project is co-sponsored by the Humanity Fund of the ICEM&rsquo;s Canadian affiliate Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union, the Nigerian affiliates themselves, and the ICEM&rsquo;s HIV/AIDS project. Additional support was received from the Nigeria branch of the international NGO, SMARTWork of the US Academy for Educational Development. 

<img src="" width="220" height="147" alt="" />
More than 150 workers attended sensitisation meetings and advocacy for voluntary counselling and testing at Engine Lubricant Dealers in Lagos and at the KRPC Depot in Kaduna in April. The meetings were conducted by peer educators and counsellors trained in the ICEM project in Nigeria. 
 
A major new activity was practical training exercises for peer educators and counsellors, an activity first conducted in May at the NNPC/PPMC Satellite Petroleum Product Depot in Ejigbo, Lagos State. Professional counsellors assisted eight unionists in counselling services and close to 300 people went for testing. The activity was carried out in close cooperation with the Nigeria Business Coalition against AIDS. 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
International Labour Conference Discusses New HIV/AIDS Instrument 
 
Discussions have commenced at the 98th session of the International Labour Conference (ILC), the annual conference of the ILO, with a view to adopt a new instrument on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. 
 
According to Sophia Kisting, Director of ILO/AIDS, the new instrument should help to establish a basis for an institutional tripartite presence within national AIDS authorities; better coordinate ILO action on HIV/AIDS in the world of work and combat discrimination; improve monitoring and reporting and strengthen the contribution of the workplace to universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support. 
 
While the ILO Governing Body, in March 2007, put the item on the agenda of the ILC with a view to the adoption of an Autonomous Recommendation, workers&rsquo; delegates and some governments are strongly in favour of adopting a more binding instrument &ndash; a Convention. 
 
Discussions in the HIV/AIDS Committee of the ILC take place on the basis of a report reflecting the views of the constituents. Based on these discussions and further consultations, a draft text will be prepared for consideration and final adoption at the 99th session of the ILC in June 2010. 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
PEPFAR Head Nominated 
 
US President Barrack Obama&rsquo;s choice of Eric Goosby as Global AIDS Coordinator for the President&rsquo;s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was welcomed by a number of organisations. Goosby has more than 25 years of experience working on HIV/AIDS issues and served in leading positions during the Clinton administration. 
 
The US AIDS Healthcare Foundation has, however, chided Obama that he proposed only US$6.6 billion in 2010, while just last year &ndash; as a US Senator from Illinois &ndash; he had voted for US$9.6 billion in annual funding for PEPFAR. The President&rsquo;s Global Health Initiative foresees investments of US$63 billion cumulative over six years to 2014 of which 70 percent or US$44 billion are earmarked for PEPFAR. 
 
(Source: Lab Law Weekly, 15 May, South African Broadcasting Corporation - Reuters, 28 April and White House Press Release, 5 May) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
India: Sexuality Minorities Organising 
 
Sexuality minorities in India are planning to mobilise themselves in a trade union to ask for fair wages for their work in HIV/AIDS awareness programmes that are funded by the government and various supporting agencies across the states. 
 
A public meeting organised by the Karnataka Sexuality Minority Forum in Bangalore discussed the need for fair wages and benefits for peer educators in accordance with the labour laws of the country. A representative of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) urged them to organise a trade union for their cause. There is a big gap in wages between those in the top rungs of the HIV/AIDS programmes and volunteers who earn as little as INR 1,500 (about US$30). 
 
(Source: The Hindu, 4 June) 
<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Sex Workers in Pakistan on HIV Prevention 
 
Although the recorded HIV prevalence in Pakistan is relatively low, health officials are concerned that a concentrated epidemic of the virus among injection drug users could carry over to commercial sex workers and other high risk groups in the country. To address the issue, the National AIDS Control Program and the United Nations Population Fund recently held a meeting, called the National Consultation on HIV and Sex Work, in an effort to improve HIV prevention efforts targeted at sex workers by consulting with workers in the field. 
 
Sex workers at the meeting made various recommendations, including HIV testing, referrals, and increased efforts to decrease stigma. Pakistan&rsquo;s Ministry of Health reports that female sex workers were at a high risk of HIV. A survey of 4,639 female sex workers found that less than 25% reported condom use. A female sex worker at the meeting said, &quot;It is very hard for us to convince partners to put on a condom, but I feel that a female condom would put us in a position where we can protect ourselves against HIV and sexually transmitted infections.&quot; 
 
She added that female condoms are not widely available. Legalizing sex work would make it easier for sex workers to protect their rights, another female sex worker at the conference said. 
 
(Source: IRIN/PlusNews, 19 May, reprinted from <a href="http://www.kaisernetwork.org">www.kaisernetwork.org</a>) 

<img alt="" src="" width="40" height="40" />
Women at Risk in the Caribbean 
 
An increasing number of women living with HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean face stigma, discrimination, and gender-based violence that is linked to the spread of the disease. UNAIDS reports that women overall now account for half of the population living with HIV in the Caribbean, compared with 30% in 1999. Women, ages 15 to 24, account for 62% of the entire HIV-positive population in the Caribbean. 
 
The Dominican Republic and Haiti, which make up the island of Hispaniola, have some of the highest HIV/AIDS rates in the region, according to UNAIDS. Women account for 51% of the 60,000 HIV-positive people in the Dominican Republic, while they account for 60% of the 120,000 HIV-positive people in Haiti. Myrna Flores Chian &ndash; head of the gender rights program of Profamilia, a nongovernmental organization involved in reproductive rights efforts in the Dominican Republic &ndash; stated, &quot;There are physiological factors that put women and girls at greater risk of infection in unprotected sexual relations.&quot; 
 
She added that &quot;the feminization of AIDS is due above all to social discrimination, gender inequality, and lack of empowerment for women.&quot; She went on to say that gender violence and women's inability to negotiate condom use with partners or other conditions are directly linked to the spread of HIV. 
 
(Source: Inter Press Service, 11 May) 

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News from the Global Union Federations 
 
The fortnightly HIV/AIDS update of the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) of 15 April reports, among other items, on a new partnership project, designed to put HIV awareness on the seafaring agenda. The group &ndash; called the Global Partnership on HIV and Mobile Workers in the Maritime Sector &ndash; brings together representatives from eight organisations, including the United Nations, non-governmental organisations, unions, and employers (<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? 
 
To subscribe to the e-bulletin, send an email to <a href="mailto:press@icem.org">press@icem.org</a>. Please put &ldquo;subscribe ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin&rdquo; in the subject line. 
Unfortunately, the e-bulletin can only be published in English. 
For a free automated (non-ICEM) translation of this HIV-AIDS bulletin into other languages, you may want to try http://www.google.com/language_tools and insert the following URL into the window &ldquo;Translate a Web page&ldquo;: 
<a href="/index.php?id=72&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3265">/index.php?id=72&amp;la=EN&amp;doc=3265</a>
Or click directly on the links below: 
<a href="http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.icem.org%2Findex.php%3Fid%3D72%26la%3DEN%26doc%3D3265&amp;sl=en&amp;tl=fr&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF-8">Cliquez ici pour une traduction automatique en fran&ccedil;ais.</a> 
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ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin No. 45 June 2009

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The issue of forced labour in Burma was prominent during the opening days of the 98th session of ILO&rsquo;s International Labour Congress, with a general session held on the issue on 6 June. The debate centered on what the Burmese military junta has done to eradicate forced labour, and how the ruling regime conspires to block any meaningful reform on forced labour in the southern Asian country. 
 
The session provided grim evidence that Burma is nowhere near fulfilling progress toward ratification of ILO Conventions 29 and 87, the Forced and Compulsory Labour Convention (1930) and the Freedom of Association Convention (1948). The debate also proved the regime is doing too little to bring the issue into effect through local statutes in towns and villages. The 6 June ILO debate was the ninth time the ILO has taken up the despicable Burmese work practice of forced labour in special session. 

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FTUB President Maung Maung has been in exile in Thailand
Representatives from the ILO workers&rsquo; group, Actrav, presented several examples aside horrid statistics to prove the illegitimate government has failed to adequately address the issue. The employers&rsquo; representative, despite few employer delegates being present at the general session, said &ldquo;words are not enough&rdquo; in giving failing marks on the junta&rsquo;s progress on the issue. 
 
The governments of China and other Asian nations claimed progress is being made. For example, the re-signing earlier this year of a &ldquo;supplementary understanding&rdquo; between the ILO and the military rulers was cited. But the employer representative&rsquo;s remarks and the facts prove differently. 
 
One such fact, cited by Chihiro Ikusawa of Japanese trade union federation JTUC-Rengo, is that despite the common opinion that international divestment from Burma must occur, direct investment in 2008 over 2007 increased 93%. She said a good portion of this is Chinese investment, and most specifically in mining. 

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The Korean workers&rsquo; delegate, C.K. Lee of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), called attention to specific Korean investments in Burma and said his government &ldquo;has betrayed our confidence&rdquo; in endorsing such business ventures. A Brazilian workers&rsquo; delegate said forced labour violations are too numerous, and banking and financial ties with Burma must be broken. 
 
A vivid connection between labour and agriculture was also mentioned by one speaker, who said government decrees mandating a portion of a farmer&rsquo;s lands for a specific state purpose is, in and of itself, forced labour. The issue of child conscription into military duty was addressed. And the EU representative present &ndash; from the current EU chair, the Czech Republic &ndash; said Burma&rsquo;s rulers &ldquo;lack any credibility&rdquo; until they release some 2,000 political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi. Other speakers noted the timing of the Nobel peace laureate&rsquo;s current incarceration with upcoming 2010 elections. 
 
In a report issued by a panel of ILO experts, a recommendation is offered to the ruling government to amend part of its new constitution giving it power to conscript Burmese citizens into captive labour jobs. That will likely be ignored, and the political and financial windfall that has driven forced labour will continue.

ILO: Burmese Junta Hammered Again on Forced Labour

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ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin No. 45 June 2009

ILO: Burmese Junta Hammered Again on Forced Labour

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