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Asya-Pasifik Goodyear Lastik ve Kau&ccedil;uk İş&ccedil;ileri Ağı'nın d&ouml;rd&uuml;nc&uuml; b&ouml;lge toplantısı beş Asya &uuml;lkesinden 20 delegenin katılımıyla 28 Ekim g&uuml;n&uuml; Endonezya'nın Cakarta kentinde yapıldı. Ağın &ouml;nceki toplantıları 2005'te Manila'da (Filipinler), 2002'de Singapur'da ve 2000'de Kuala Lumpur'da (Malezya) yapılmıştı. 
 
Japon sendikasının başkanı Toshiaki Hojo toplantıda yaptığı konuşmada şunları vurguladı: &ldquo;B&ouml;lge ağımızın &ccedil;alışmalarının 2000'den bu yana s&uuml;r&uuml;yor olması, katılan sendikaların uluslararası dayanışma ve işbirliğine bağlılığını g&ouml;steriyor. Bu bizleri gelecek adına umutlandırıyor. &Ccedil;alışmalarımızın ICEM'in Goodyear K&uuml;resel Sendika Ağı'na paralel y&uuml;r&uuml;mesi &ccedil;ok &ouml;nemli.&rdquo; 
Hojo şirketin Asya-Pasifik Ağı'nın iş sağlığı ve g&uuml;venliği konularında başarılı bir &ccedil;alışma y&uuml;r&uuml;tt&uuml;ğ&uuml;n&uuml; ekleyerek bu alanda daha fazla şey yapma s&ouml;z&uuml; verdi. 
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Toshiaki Hojo, GOMU-RENGO
Delegeler Goodyear K&uuml;resel ve Asya-Pasifik B&ouml;lge ağlarının ge&ccedil;miş faaliyetlerini değerlendirdiler. Toplantıya 25 &uuml;lkedeki 60 fabrikada 70.000 iş&ccedil;iyi istihdam eden Goodyear'ın mali durumu ve &ccedil;alışma ilişkileri konusunda ayrıntılı bir rapor sunuldu. Delegeler &ccedil;alışma toplantısında işyerlerindeki &uuml;cretler, &ccedil;alışma saatleri ve toplu s&ouml;zleşmelerle ilgili somut sayısal bilgiler verdiler. 
 
İş sağlığı ve g&uuml;venliği konusunun ele alındığı oturumda ise ICEM Kimya ve Kau&ccedil;uk Sorumlusu Kemal &Ouml;zkan ge&ccedil;mişten bug&uuml;ne kadar olan gelişmeyi &ouml;zetledi. Daha sonra, iş sağlığı ve g&uuml;venliğiyle ilgili somut sorunlar ele alındı ve bilgi alışverişinin &ouml;nemi vurgulandı. ICEM'in &ouml;zellikle sıcaklık limitleri ve g&uuml;venlik g&ouml;zl&uuml;kleriyle ilgili k&uuml;resel standartlar konusunda bilgi vermesi istendi. 
 
ICEM'in 2009 Kau&ccedil;uk İşkolu D&uuml;nya Konferansı ve gelecek yıl yapılacak diğer işkolu konferanslarının g&ouml;r&uuml;ş&uuml;lmesinden sonra, toplantıda kabul edilen eylem planı &ccedil;er&ccedil;evesinde, ortak &ouml;rg&uuml;tlenme &ccedil;alışmalarının artırılması, eğitim programlarına ağırlık verilmesi, elektronik ortamda d&uuml;zenli ve ayrıntılı bilgi alışverişi yapılması kararlaştırıldı. 
B&ouml;lge ağı toplantısında, ayrıca, şirketin haksız olarak işten &ccedil;ıkardığı Taylandlı ve Malezyalı arkadaşlarımızın işe iadesine y&ouml;nelik eylemin s&uuml;rd&uuml;r&uuml;lmesi konusunda &ouml;zel bir &ccedil;ağrı kabul edildi.

Asya-Pasifik Goodyear Kauçuk İşçileri Ağı&#039;nın Cakarta&#039;daki Dördüncü Toplantısı Sonuçlandı

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In this issue, we call on ICEM affiliates to get involved in activities on World AIDS Day which occurs on 1 December. We report on the engagement of women of ICEM German affiliate of the German IGBCE in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the situation of women in Asia, and the fight of women in Nepal for better HIV/AIDS services. 

 
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 Global HIV/AIDS Coordinator 
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World AIDS Day 2008, 1 December &ndash; Get Ready! 
 
The ICEM calls on its affiliates to take the lead in campaigning on World AIDS Day, 1 December 
 
The first of December marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. There is no time to celebrate. Since 1988, efforts made to respond to the epidemic have produced positive results, however the latest UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic (see e-bulletin 35/36, August/September <a href="/en/72-HIV-AIDS/2745-ICEM-HIV-AIDS-e-bulletin">here</a>) indicates that the epidemic is not yet over in any part of the world. 
 
Together with its partners, the World AIDS Campaign set this year&rsquo;s theme for World AIDS Day as &ldquo;Lead &ndash; Empower &ndash; Deliver,&rdquo; building on last year&rsquo;s theme of &ldquo;Take the Lead.&rdquo; Designating leadership as the overall theme for 2007 &ndash; 2008 provides an opportunity to highlight the political leadership needed to fulfil commitments &ndash; particularly the promise of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support by 2010. 
 
Unions can demonstrate leadership at every level &ndash; in the workplace, in their own governing bodies, in women&rsquo;s committees, in health and safety committees, in negotiations with companies, in the community and at the national policy level. 
 
Any union member, shop steward, union official, committee member, gender representative who takes action on HIV/AIDS is a leader in the fight against the deadly disease. 
 
(Source: UNAIDS press release, 27 October) 
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IGBCE Women&rsquo;s Conference 
 
The Women&rsquo;s Conference of the ICEM affiliate IGBCE (mining, chemicals, and energy) in Germany made a strong commitment to help in the fight against HIV/AIDS. 
 
Meeting in Hanover in early October, funds were collected at the conference for an HIV/AIDS project in Tanzania in partnership with ICEM affiliates TUICO and TAMICO, and the ICEM HIV/AIDS project. In numerous discussions with delegates, ICEM Women&rsquo;s Officer Carol Bruce and HIV/AIDS Coordinator Hans J Schwass explained the project in Tanzania which focuses on women and their stronger involvement in HIV/AIDS work, training as counsellors and advocacy for voluntary counselling and testing. 
 
Delegates will continue the appeal in their regional and local structures to raise the funds necessary to sustain the project in 2009 and 2010. 
 

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Global Fund Launches Round 9 
 
(For more details, see the ICEM HIV/AIDS special e-bulletin in October <a href="-Global-Fund-Calls-for-Round-9-Proposals">here</a>) 
 
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria launched Round 9 on 1 October, just seven months after the launch of Round 8. The proposal form and guidelines for Round 9 are substantially unchanged from Round 8. They are available in six languages at <a href="http://www.theglobalfund.org">www.theglobalfund.org</a>. 
 
Applicants must submit their Round 9 proposals by 21 January 2009. All proposals submitted by the deadline will be reviewed by the Global Fund Secretariat to ensure that they meet the Fund&rsquo;s eligibility criteria. Those that do meet the criteria will then be sent to the Technical Review Panel. The Global Fund Board will decide which proposals to approve at its meeting on 7-8 May 2009. 
 
In light of the fact that the Round 9 application form and procedures have hardly changed since Round 8, Aidspan has not updated its guides for applications which are accessible at <a href="http://www.aidspan.org/guides ">http://www.aidspan.org/guides </a>in English, French and Spanish. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer, GFO, Issue 96, 24 October 2008. The GFO is a free service of Aidspan <a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>, a Kenya-based NGO that serves as an independent watchdog of the Global Fund. To receive the GFO send an email to <a href="mailto:receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>)
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Caribbean Needs to Increase Efforts against HIV/AIDS 
 
Increased efforts are needed to bolster HIV/AIDS prevention, care, treatment and education in the Caribbean, Karen Sealy, head of the UNAIDS Caribbean office, said recently. &ldquo;High-risk groups include commercial sex workers and men who have sex with men. An increase in HIV/AIDS cases is also being recorded among drug users,&rdquo; said Sealy, adding, &quot;We know that the spread of HIV in the Caribbean is in fact being fuelled by serious gaps in gender equality.&quot; 
 
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning said that &quot;one of the true successes&quot; of the country's efforts to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS is the decrease in mother-to-child transmissions because of the no-cost antiretroviral drugs provided to all pregnant women who receive treatment at government clinics. Manning said that many of the people living with HIV/AIDS in Trinidad and Tobago are able to live &quot;a high quality of life&quot; because of the country's health care program but added that more work needs to be done to address the spread of HIV. 
 
The Caribbean has the second highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate worldwide, after sub-Saharan Africa. UNAIDS figures show that an estimated 230,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS in the region and that 14,000 AIDS-related deaths were recorded last year. 
 
(Source: Medical News Today, 27 October, reprinted with kind permission from <a href="http://www.kaisernetwork.org">www.kaisernetwork.org</a>) 
 

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Assessment Missions to Botswana and Namibia 
 
In the last year of the project cycle, the ICEM conducts an internal assessment of the impact of the HIV/AIDS project at national level. In September, Project Management Assistant Paule Ndessomin went to Botswana and Namibia and met with national coordinators, peer educators trained by the programme and national NGOs. Visits of mining sites completed the mission. 
 
Overall the project had a very positive impact in both countries. Awareness has increased considerably. In Botswana, most large companies organised by ICEM affiliates such as Botswana Power Corporation, Botswana Copper and Nickel (BCL), and diamond miner Debswana have HIV/AIDS workplace policies. Affiliates have cooperated with BONELA, an NGO that deals with issues of ethics, legislation, and advocacy in the field of HIV/AIDS. 
 
Employment legislation stipulates that every employee who enters into a contract of employment shall be examined by a medical officer. As this section in the Employment Act stands, it may include pre-employment HIV testing. The Public Service Code, however, prohibits such testing. Another inhibiting factor is the fact that living on the proceeds of commercial sex is illegal thus making it difficult for sex workers to have access to medical care. 
 
In Namibia, ICEM&rsquo;s only affiliate, the Mineworkers&rsquo; Union of Namibia (MUN), has been engaged in HIV/AIDS activities for some time. Large mines such as R&ouml;ssing Uranium, which is two-thirds owned by mining giant Rio Tinto, have workplace policies in place and provide treatment and care. More recently, MUN has also been involved with the country&rsquo;s employer group, the Chamber of Mines. The Chamber&rsquo;s Occupational Health Education and Awareness Programme (OHEAP) is currently being evaluated in cooperation with the Labour Resource and Research Institute. 
 

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Women need empowerment in fight against AIDS 
 
Women must be more involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS and men must also be encouraged to respect women more. Nafis Sadik, U.N. special envoy for HIV/AIDS in the Asia-Pacific region, told a poverty alleviation conference in Beijing that lack of respect for women was helping drive the spread of the virus. 
 
&quot;Gender-based violence and discrimination on grounds of gender drive the HIV and AIDS epidemic among women. Empowerment of women - equipping them with self-esteem, the knowledge, and the ability to protect themselves &hellip; will be of critical importance in winning the battle,&quot; Sadik said. 
 
&quot;Women suffer doubly. First, from HIV and AIDS itself, and secondly from the stigma associated with the disease. Women are routinely blamed for infecting their husbands, though it is almost always the men who infect their wives,&quot; she said. 
 
In Asia, at least 75 million men regularly buy sex from about ten million female sex workers, she added. &quot;The results of male behaviour can be seen in changing patterns of infection. Today, about one-third of all people living with HIV in China are women, compared with one in ten in 1995,&quot; Sadik said. 
 
(Source: Reuters, 17 October) 
 

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HIV-positive Women in Nepal Call for Greater Assistance 
 
Nepal's HIV/AIDS policies and programs have failed to address the problems of women living with HIV/AIDS in the country, stated HIV-positive women of Shakti Milan Samaj, a social organisation working on behalf of women living with HIV/AIDS. 
 
The women also called on the government to guarantee access to no-cost treatment, care, resettlement, social security and jobs, as well as a special programme to help them maintain a living. They added that the government &quot;should make arrangements for free education to our children and announce legal action against all violence against us regarding it as a crime against the state.&quot; 
 
The women said that although the country has received significant funding for efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, the government still does not address the issues they face. Women in the country are vulnerable to HIV because of cultural and economic factors, as well as domestic violence. 
 
(Source: News Medical Net, 5 October with permission from <a href="http://kaisernetwork.org">kaisernetwork.org</a>) 
 

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How Obama and McCain Differed on HIV/AIDS 
 
With Barack Obama winning the US presidential election, it might be useful to look back to see how he and opponent John McCain compared on HIV/AIDS policy. For starters, they both fully support President Bush&rsquo;s PEPFAR programme, the President&rsquo;s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which was re-authorised with increased funding. 
 
While this is focused on the epidemic overseas, activists have criticised neglect of the US domestic epidemic. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that 5% of the people living in Washington, DC, have the infection. That is a rate two-and-a-half times higher than in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, one of the poorest nations in the world. 
 
Barack Obama calls for a more effective AIDS policy and says that studies have shown that the incidence of HIV and AIDS may have been undercounted. Obama&rsquo;s plan begins with his promise to sign universal health care legislation by the end of his first term as president. He wants to prevent HIV through sex education and by promoting HIV testing. The cornerstone of Obama&rsquo;s plan calls for a national HIV/AIDS strategy involving all federal agencies. 
 
While John McCain also called for a domestic plan, his main prescription to prevent HIV is abstinence programmes. For those with pre-existing conditions such as AIDS, he campaigned on a plan to establish &ldquo;guaranteed access plans&rdquo; for affordable insurance. His prescription for rising drug costs was to create greater competition among drug companies. The centrepiece of a McCain campaign blueprint is a US$2,500 tax credit for individuals to purchase health coverage of their choice. 
 
(Source: CBS News, from 14 October) 
 

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New Vigour in Fighting the Epidemic in South Africa 
 
AIDS organisations and activists welcomed the nomination of Barbara Hogan as new health minister of South Africa. Unlike her predecessor, Hogan has made it clear that the HI-Virus causes AIDS and that the only way to treat it is with anti-retroviral drugs. Hogan announced better access to such drugs and an expansion of the programme to fight mother to child transmission. 
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ICMM Launches Guide on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria 
 
The International Council on Mining and Metal (ICMM) launched its new guide, &ldquo;Good Practice Guidance on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria,&rdquo; in London on 15 October. Among the panellists was ICEM HIV/AIDS Coordinator Hans J Schwass who welcomed the initiative of the ICMM to publish this guide but criticised that very little reference is made to organised labour or workers&rsquo; organisations or unions as potential partners in the fight against the diseases. Schwass said, &ldquo;There is no reason not to collaborate on life and death issues with organisations with which companies are at times in dispute over pay and working conditions, especially when these organisations can add value to HIV/AIDS interventions. Of course, to cooperate with trade unions, means recognising them in the first place.&rdquo; 
 
The guide provides a systematic framework and practical advice on the management of the three diseases that will enable mining and metal operations worldwide to address key challenges, both among workers and neighbouring communities. 
 
The guide can be accessed at the ICMM website <a href="http://www.icmm.com">www.icmm.com</a>. 
<img height="57" alt="" src="" width="40" />
News from the Global Union Programme and Global Unions 
 
The Global Union AIDS Programme is planning a series of coordinating and capacity building workshops in sub-Saharan Africa, and is coordinating the union input in the International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (ICASA), as well as the Global Fund Partnership Forum, both in Dakar, Senegal, in December. 
 
In its latest Newsletter on Education for All and HIV &amp; AIDS Prevention at Schools (EFAIDS) of 2 October, Education International reports on the launch of its programme in Nepal. It also addresses World AIDS Day. The EI EFAIDS programme has prepared an activity kit which teachers around the world can use to share knowledge and encourage discussion on HIV/AIDS issues in the campaign for World AIDS Day &ldquo;One Hour on AIDS&rdquo; &ndash; <a href="http://www.ei-ie.org/efaids">www.ei-ie.org/efaids</a>.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin No. 37 November 2008

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One of ICEM&rsquo;s newest affiliates held a workshop in Bandung, Indonesia, 24-26 October, and keenly identified areas of growth for the dynamic trade union. Federasi Serikat Pekerja Pulp Dan Kertas Indonesia (FSP2KI) had 30 participants from 14 mill-level trade unions attend. Six of those unions are branches of FSP2KI, with the potential great for the union to increase its membership due to unions enthusiastic attendance by the others. 
 
The workshop was sponsored by Svenska Pappers, the Swedish Pulp and Paper Workers&rsquo; Union, which has been working closely with the union. The conference heard presentations on the work of the ICEM, as well as work being done by Pappers by Bala Somahsundram, a leader in the Paper and Paper Products Manufacturing Employees&rsquo; Union of Malaysia. 
<img height="186" alt="" src="" width="230" />
From left, Malaysian Union&nbsp;Leader Bala Somahsundram; FSP2KI President Irzan Zulpakar; H.M. Mansyur; and&nbsp;FSP2KI Gen. Sec. Etin Rodiana 
Indonesian paper, packaging, and converting trade union leaders also heard from H.M. Mansyur, chairman of the Indonesian Pulp and Paper Association (AKLI). He told delegates that 50% of Indonesian pulp production is exported, while that figure for paper products is 40%. 
 
He also told of a massive new development coming &ndash; American-based International Paper Co.&rsquo;s decision to build a 1.5 million tonne-per-year pulp mill, and development of 500,000 hectares of timberlands. The US$4 billion project will be undertaken in central Kalimantan on Bornea Island, Indonesia. 
 
The conference included FSP2KI union activists from Indonesian mills of Asia&rsquo;s biggest forest companies, including PT Riau Andalan mills, owned by Singapore-based holding group Asia Pacific Resources International (APRIL) and PT Lontar Papyrus&rsquo; Jambi Mill, owned by Pinto Deli Pulp and Paper. Potential affiliates consisted of workplace leaders from PT Indah Kiat&rsquo;s three mills, which are 60% owned by Asia Pulp and Pacific (APP); and PT Kertas Nusantar, owned by Anugera Investment, an Indonesian company. Leaders from several other mills, packaging plants, and tissue operations also took part. 
<img height="140" alt="" src="" width="260" />
The trade unionists forged an agenda that includes insistence that employers negotiate with the respective workers&rsquo; representatives over any negative impact from the current global economic crisis; that FSP2KI study any ambiguities in its constitution; and that the union begin an aggressive reach-out at all Indonesian pulp and paper mills. FSP2KI also will seek paper industry data from the ICEM, including information on the use of hazardous chemicals and materials used in the paper industry. 
 
Even with a global slowdown in pulp and paper, Indonesia&rsquo;s pulp and paper industry is expected to grow by 4.1% in 2009. Exports of pulp and paper from the country expanded in the first half of 2008 to US$1.9 billion, compared to US$1.6 billion for the first six months of 2007.

Indonesian Paper Union Identifies Organising Targets with Help from Sweden’s Pappers Union

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Early in 2009, collective agreements will expire for 30,000 downstream oil workers in the US. In a 45-day period from mid-September to 27 October, local branches of the United Steelworkers &ndash; representing those production workers &ndash; ratified a 12-point national pattern bargaining programme, in addition to granting the union strike authorisation. 
 
That bargaining agenda will aim to gain a share of oil industry&rsquo;s vast profits, which would help ease a US recession by putting money in the pockets of working families. It also is intended to address health, safety, and environmental requirements, grant adequate pensions, and give sufficient medical coverage to workers, their families, and retirees. 
<img height="202" alt="" src="" width="140" />
USW Vice President Gary Beevers 
&ldquo;This strong ratification of the oil policy and strike ratification shows how united and determined the membership is in getting a fair contract,&rdquo; stated USW Vice President Gary Beevers, who heads the union&rsquo;s oil bargaining programme. &ldquo;By adopting the policy, the local unions agree that their contracts will not conflict with it.&rdquo; 
 
Most of the collective agreements between the USW and oil companies expire 1 February 2009. With last month&rsquo;s overwhelming ratification, both national and local branch bargaining will begin in December with an exchange of proposals. The USW will negotiate with the industry to set a national pattern on wages, benefits, and working conditions.
The union is seeking term limits of three years, until 2012, and substantial wages increases, in addition to cost-of-living adjustments. It also seeks increases in shift differential, two added holidays, and no regression on previously agreed terms and conditions. 
 
USW will also be negotiating for union neutrality at non-union worksites, renewal and expansion of successorship language regarding new companies taking over enterprises, and additional occupational death coverage. In mid-September, the union&rsquo;s National Oil Bargaining Conference was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and shaped the agenda, which then went to branch unions for ratification, and granting of the strike sanction. 
 
The union represents workers at scores of US and Caribbean refineries, as well as pipeline, transportation, and marketing staff in the downstream sector. Employers include Shell, ChevronTexaco, ConocoPhillips, BP, ExxonMobil, and other refiners us Tosco, Tesoro, Sunoco, and LyondellBasell.

US Steelworkers Ratify Oil Bargaining Platform

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Political agreement was finally achieved at the European Parliament over the Directive on Temporary Agency Work. MEPs passed &ndash; without amendment &ndash; a second reading. Adoption by the plenary on 22 October in Strasbourg, France, now means that the Council of Europe will formally adopt the statute in the coming weeks. 
 
The directive gives agency workers equal protection and equal treatment from day one of employment as permanent workers receive. That covers the &ldquo;essential conditions&rdquo; of work and employment, such as hours, overtime, rest time, paid leave, and non-discriminatory policies. 

<img height="73" alt="" src="" width="110" />
The directive does grant national social partners the flexibility to set specific aspects related to temporary employment, such as equal pay and a negotiated time frame of the temporary period. This would allow collective agreements to address governance of agency work, as well as for national legislation to enact laws and work regulations. 
 
Member-states now have three years to implement the directive into their national legislations, or to ensure and enable social partners to introduce provisions through agreement. 
 
The second-reading vote took place six years after the directive had been first proposed. A first-reading vote, that included some 26 amendments, occurred in June of this year. The Council endorsed a common position on the directive in early October. 

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) welcomed the end of a long political deadlock, and gave special praise to the strong language on equality. The equal treatment principle, said ETUC General Secretary John Monks, &ldquo;will not only apply to national situations but also to cross-border agency work. This is very important in the current times of increased mobility of workers and services.&rdquo;

EU’s Directive on Temporary Agency Work Passes Final Hurdle in Strasbourg on 22 October

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The ICEM and Paris-based International Energy and Mines Organisation (IEMO) were both observers at a trade union conference last week on natural gas in Haugesund, Norway. The conference, 12-14 October, was organised by trade unions from five countries that are important to the gas industry, both in terms of supply and production in Europe and the Mediterranean. 
 
Unions affiliated to both ICEM and IEMO in Norway, as well as ICEM-affiliated Russian Oil and Gas Workers&rsquo; Union (ROGWU), the FNME-CGT of France, and one union from Algeria invited other delegations. Organisers of the conference also included delegations form Belgium, Spain, and Germany.
<img height="261" alt="" src="" width="390" />
Participants at the Natural Gas Conference in Norway&nbsp;
The discussions were chaired by Lars Myhre of Norway&rsquo;s Industri Energi Union, also the Chairperson of the ICEM Energy Industry Section. 
 
The conference was opened by Leif Sande, President of Industri Energi. Each of the organising trade unions made major interventions covering gas production and consumption, including forecasts for the future, safety, health, and environmental issues, social questions such as job security, social discrimination, and wages and working conditions. 
 
ICEM, represented by Energy Officer Jim Catterson, gave a presentation on ICEM activities in that sector in a joint session with IEMO&rsquo;s Alain Simon. Both organisations expressed a wish that future discussions and conferences should be open to all relevant member trade unions of the two international organisations. 
 
Following detailed discussions in an editorial board, which included representatives of each of the organising trade unions, a proposed charter of Transnational Social Standards for the Gas Sector, and a Declaration on International Trade Union Solidarity, were considered. Both were accepted as working documents that still need further work before adoption can come.
<img height="87" alt="" src="" width="160" />
Delegates saw the conference as an important beginning to an increased focus on this crucial sector. ROGWU was asked to coordinate follow up and future work. 
 
Outside the formal discussions, conference participants were welcomed by the mayor of Haugesund at a reception, and made a visit to the head office and control centre of Gassco, the Norwegian state-owned gas transport company. The company is responsible for gas transportation on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and through export pipelines to mainland Europe and the UK.

ICEM Participates in Natural Gas Trade Union Conference in Norway

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A bitter and pronounced lock-out by a big Canadian stevedoring company against 18 members of the ICEM North American affiliate, United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), continues following failed mediation last week. The mediation session, by province of Nova Scotia labour ministry officials, was held on 15 October. 
 
Montreal-based Logistec Stevedoring locked the 18 union members off their jobs on 15 September, nine months after a previous collective agreement expired. UMWA Local 2268 was in a position to strike in June, but continued working in hopes that a new labour agreement could be negotiated.
<img height="60" src="" width="120" border="1" alt="" />
Three days after last month&rsquo;s lock-out, the company sought and gained an injunction from the Nova Scotia provincial Supreme Court restricting UMWA picket-line activity. Since, Logistec has been unloading thermal coal and hauling it to Nova Scotia Power&rsquo;s generating facilities using replacement workers. 
 
The lock-out is over workers&rsquo; refusal to accept concessionary contract language, as well as dockworkers&rsquo; refusal to accept an inferior company&rsquo;s pay offer. UMWA members employed by Logistec in Nova Scotia earn about 45% less than the company pays for similar port-handling work in Halifax and Saint John, Newfoundland. 
 
Logistec operates a coal-handling import facility at Sydney, Nova Scotia, a facility that is leased from the Cape Breton Development Corp. (Devco). At one time, Devco operated a large coal mine in the maritime province, but closed it some ten years ago. Hundreds of UMWA Local 2268 members lost their jobs then, with only a small workforce remaining at the port-handling facility of Sydney.

Lock-Out of 18 Mine Workers at Coal Port in Canada Continues

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The 200,000-member ICEM Swiss affiliated union UNIA held its first Congress since the October 2004 merger of five unions. The Congress, held in Lugano from 9-12 October, saw issuance of an important paper entitled &ldquo;Collective Contracts for All.&rdquo; 
 
Switzerland&rsquo;s largest union also declared itself &ldquo;The Trade Union for Hard Times&rdquo; at the Congress, and pledged to organise 5,000 workers per year until the next Congress in 2012. 
 
The 400 delegates present adopted resolutions calling for a better economic order, integration of immigrants into Swiss work life, and support for a late November federal initiative regarding flexible retirement. The &ldquo;Collective Contracts for All&rdquo; paper includes a call for a higher minimum wage in Switzerland, and states that UNIA would consider calling for a Swiss federal initiative to make that increase happen.
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The paper also calls for a short work week, a standard 13th month pay-check, or an automatic offset to such an increase, and better compatibility between the work-life environment. 
 
The Swiss general workers&rsquo; union re-elected Co-Presidents Renzo Ambrosetti and Andreas Rieger, and pared an 11-member Executive Committee to nine. With that, the union elected, following a resolution adopted on 10 October, a strict call for a 33% gender balance in all its activities. That then occurred the next day in elections to the 38-member Central Committee. 
 
In his remarks to the Congress, Rieger called for halt to an economic culture of enterprises maximizing profits to the detriment of an equitable socio-economic system. Ambrosetti, in referring to the Congress&rsquo;s centrepiece paper, said UNIA, over the next four years, will &ldquo;negotiate when possible but fight when necessary.&rdquo; 
 
Besides Ambrosetti and Rieger, the Central Committee now consists of newly-elected members Vania Alleva and Corrado Pardini; and Fabienne Blanc-K&uuml;hn, Jean-Claude Rennwald, Hansueli Scheidegger, Rita Schiavi, and Michael von Felten were re-elected. 
 
ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda, attending the Congress, congratulated the new team on their elections, as well as UNIA&rsquo;s commitment inside the ICEM to further workers&rsquo; interests globally in the pharmaceutical, chemicals, and cement industries. He credited UNIA&rsquo;s Roland Conus with leading those efforts. 
 
The Congress also was marked by a half-day workshop entitled &ldquo;UNIA: International Solidarity.&rdquo; It focused on the union&rsquo;s &ldquo;Fair Play &ndash; Fair Games&rdquo; pressure on the Swiss-based International Olympic Committee, the need for fair play and safe construction standards as South Africa prepares to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and ongoing cooperation projects in Central and Eastern Europe.

Swiss UNIA Holds First Ordinary Congress Since 2004 Merger

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ICEM&rsquo;s Sub-Saharan African Affiliate, the National Union of Metalworkers&rsquo; of South Africa (NUMSA), held its Eighth National Congress in Vanderbijlpark near Johannesburg from 13-16 October, and elected former rubber worker Irvin Jim as General Secretary. The Congress marked the 21st year of 264,000-member NUMSA in South Africa, and over 800 delegates attended. 
 
Second Deputy President Cedric Gina was elected President, following the retirement of Mthuthozeli Tom, who has been the union&rsquo;s longest serving President. Phil Bokamba was elected First Vice President, while Christine Oliver won elected as Second Deputy President. Gina is from NUMSA&rsquo;s KwaZulu-Natal Region, and was a key figure in protests against high electric costs by Eskom this past summer.
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NUMSA President Cedric Gina&nbsp;
Irvin Jim, 40, has been NUMSA&rsquo;s Eastern Cape Regional Secretary since the year 2000. He had been active in the Youth League of the African National Congress (ANC) in Port Elizabeth, and began his employment at Firestone Tyre there at age 23 in 1991. Three months after becoming employed at Firestone, he was elected as a full-time shop steward. 
 
In 1994, he became the Eastern Cape Region&rsquo;s provincial chairman, and served in that post for six years. He has proven to be a strong and outspoken regional leader, as evidenced by recent leadership on behalf of striking NUMSA members at Shatterprufe Glass and Schnellecke SA, an auto-parts logistics provider. At the auto-glass plant, a major supplier to Volkswagen in Uithenhage, workers have been striking since September, mainly over wages and the fact that 60% of the workforce is comprised of employees supplied by labour brokers. 
 
Jim has demanded, at the bargaining table, that Shatterprufe abolish labour brokers, because workers of such agencies &ldquo;do not enjoy all benefits as stipulated in the Labour Relations Act and Basic Condition of Employment Act.&rdquo; 
 
Following his election on 15 October, Jim told a South African publication, &ldquo;We will not compromise when it comes to the overall well-being of our members, because we are tired of seeing capital reaping the sweat of our labour.&rdquo; 
 
He won election over incumbent General Secretary Silumko Nondwangu by gaining a 58% vote of delegates. Karl Cloete won election as Deputy General Secretary, and Philemon Shiburi was re-elected National Treasurer. 
 
The Congress saw an address by Jacob Zuma, the ANC president, on 14 October. Zuma said the ANC&rsquo;s election platform next year would focus on accelerated land reform. &ldquo;We will work to intensify our land reform programme to ensure that 30% of the land is on the hands of the rural poor by 1014,&rdquo; Zuma said.

Former Shop-Floor Leader at Firestone in South Africa Elected General Secretary of NUMSA

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Just as ICEM UK affiliate Unite&rsquo;s Graphical, Print, and Media Sector closed a longstanding employer wrongful death claim, another fatality occurred in this sector in Peterborough. The union mourned and promised to press for a full investigation into the 6 October fatality at a St. Ives Ltd. magazine printing plant near Cambridge. 
 
There, a father of two, 43-year-old Ian Ebbs, a maintenance engineer from Lincolnshire, died from injuries sustained when he was trapped inside a paper-folding machine. He died in a hospital following the tragic workplace occurrence.
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This death occurred within days of a UK High Court ruling that declared another company and its insurer, Zurich of Switzerland, is liable in a 2003 death inside a paper plant. A justice ruled that the family of Dean Thomas was entitled to &pound;335,000 in compensation from a 3 May 2003 tragedy at a paper plant in Gloucestershire. 
 
Thomas, 42 and also a father of two, was crushed to death when another worker at JR Crompton Ltd. lowered a hydraulic slitter rewinder in a paper machine that produces perforated tea-bag paper while the victim was inside the machine. That co-worker had not been trained by the company in proper operating procedures. 
 
A judge, in 2006, ordered JR Crompton to pay a mere &pound;200 fine, rationalising that it was &ldquo;fruitless&rdquo; to order the firm to pay more since it was bankrupt. But Unite predecessor union Amicus pushed the case forward, stating that the wrong message was being sent to companies guilty of workplace deaths, and that Zurich must be held liable. 
 
&ldquo;This case has been a grotesque dance by Zurich to reduce the amount of compensation that (an) innocent family should receive,&rdquo; stated United Regional organiser David Lewis. &ldquo;We all have a right to go to work and not be injured or killed.&rdquo; 
 
In this month&rsquo;s print-shop death at St. Ives, Unite has pledged to push the Health and Safety Executive for a full investigation, and will vigorously monitor developments.

UK’s Unite Heralds Wrongful Death Award, But Mourns as Another Occurs in Print Sector

Archive

Asya-Pasifik Goodyear Kauçuk İşçileri Ağı'nın Cakarta'daki Dördüncü Toplantısı Sonuçlandı

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin No. 37 November 2008

Indonesian Paper Union Identifies Organising Targets with Help from Sweden’s Pappers Union

US Steelworkers Ratify Oil Bargaining Platform

EU’s Directive on Temporary Agency Work Passes Final Hurdle in Strasbourg on 22 October

ICEM Participates in Natural Gas Trade Union Conference in Norway

Lock-Out of 18 Mine Workers at Coal Port in Canada Continues

Swiss UNIA Holds First Ordinary Congress Since 2004 Merger

Former Shop-Floor Leader at Firestone in South Africa Elected General Secretary of NUMSA

UK’s Unite Heralds Wrongful Death Award, But Mourns as Another Occurs in Print Sector

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