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Some 65,000 miners at Europe&rsquo;s largest coal company, Poland&rsquo;s Kompania Weglowa, will not take a 24-hour strike action tomorrow, 7 April, following an agreement on wages last week, 2 April. State-owned Kompania Weglowa and most of the 12 unions representing miners, led by ICEM affiliates NSZZ Solidarność and Kadra, as well as the Polish Miners&rsquo; Trade Union, reached accord for significant 2009 wage increases. 
The settlement came just before Poland&rsquo;s Minister of Economy froze the salaries of board members of all state-owned and operated coal concerns, as well as cutting the salaries of top executives at Kompania Weglowa. Reportedly, the decision freed up money to increase miners&rsquo; salaries. 
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Miners at Kompania Weglowa voted by a 92% margin to launch a day-long strike during the week of 23 March, after government ministry mediators failed to bring the two sides together. On 12 March, workers at Kompania Weglowa&rsquo;s 16 mines staged a two-hour protest strike over their wage demands. 
But last week, just prior to the Economy Ministry&rsquo;s 3 April decision, the company&rsquo;s supervisory board agreed to increase salaries by PLN 900 per month (&euro;200), or about 5%. Kompania Weglowa mining unions had been seeking an 8% increase, but had lowered demands to 6% in mid-March mediation efforts. 
Meanwhile, a total of 40,000 other coal miners at two other state-operated coal production and servicing concerns, Jastrzebska Spolka Weglowa (JSW) and Katowicki Holding Weglowy (KHW), are still seeking fair wage settlements. Both companies say they will stick to a wage freeze for 2009, while Polish miners at JSW and KHW seek parity with Kompania Weglowa miners. Both JSW and KHW have planned extraction investments in coal mining that will come on line in the next several months. 
 
At the country&rsquo;s multinational copper company, KGHM, a breakthrough appears imminent following management&rsquo;s initial proposal for a 2009 wage freeze. Trade unions Solidarność and the Association of Copper Industry Employees (ZZPPM) expect 2009 wage increases to be on the bargaining table later in April. Publicly-listed KGHM is 41.8% held by the Polish state.

Polish Miners at Kompania Weglowa Agree to Wage Terms

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ICEM affiliate the United Steelworkers (USW) hosted the North American ICEM meeting in Burnaby, British Colombia, last month. Among central topics discussed were the conflict with LaFarge, concrete efforts around the energy issue in Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, responses to the financial crisis, climate change, and solidarity with Mexico&rsquo;s National Miners&rsquo; and Metalworkers&rsquo; Union (SNTMMSRM). 
 
Ken Neumann of USW-Canada and Dave Coles of the Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada serve as ICEM Vice Presidents for North America. 
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Ken Neumann &amp; Dave Coles
Napoleon Gomez, the exiled leader of SNTMMSRM, attended the meeting and provided new insights into the trade union situation in Mexico. ICEM North America affiliates unanimously voted to recommend to the ICEM Executive Committee acceptance&nbsp;of the union, also called Los Mineros, as an ICEM affiliate. The union has 250,000 members. 
 
Following this regional meeting, the third Tri-National Meeting of Energy Workers of North America was held from 16-18 March in Mexico City. Several unions, along with networks and social movement organizations, sought solutions to the major challenges facing the sector throughout the region. Workers in the energy sector in the three countries have been hard hit by the global financial crisis, with the loss of jobs en masse and the disappearance of social support. 
 
ICEM affiliates CEP of Canada, the USW, and the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) all attended, showing clear intent to reach out to Mexican energy workers. The ICEM coordinated a meeting between Los Mineros and Fellesforbundet of Norway as well. This meeting saw the message passed to the highest level of government in Mexico that repression of labour rights has a negative impact on potential trade. Important elements of the delegation were the Prince of Norway, Fellesforbundet, and representatives from StatoilHydro of Norway. 
 
Los Mineros General Secretary Napoleon Gomez is forced to conduct his union&rsquo;s negotiations from Canada.&nbsp; His success in achieving better wages and working conditions for Los Mineros members makes him a targeted figure by the mining concern Grupo Mex&iacute;co and the Mexican government. 
 
The ICEM thanks Atle H&oslash;ie, International Secretary of Fellesforbundet, for his work in facilitating the meetings with Los Mineros and the Mexican government. 
 
The ICEM calls on its North American affiliates in particular to publicise the repression of trade union rights in Mexico and the efforts made to destroy Los Mineros. 
 
An example last week of the anti-union alliance between Grupo Mex&iacute;co and the Mexican government was the announced closure of the Cananea copper mine, one of the largest copper mines in the world. The company sought government approval to fire the miners who have been on strike since July 2007 over contracts and safety issues at the mine. 
 
&quot;The cause is force majeure (due to) the damage caused to the mine ... Federal labor legislation includes the possibility that the company can terminate labour relations when this occurs,&quot; claimed Grupo Mex&iacute;co spokesman Juan Rebolledo. The case against the workers was bolstered last month when the government published a report stating that the mine was inoperable, due to the damage caused by the striking workers.

North American ICEM Meeting Leads to Solidarity for Mexican Miners

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From the American Solidarity Center Website 
 
The 12 Iraqi union women arrived in Istanbul on 7 March for a four-day visit. They hailed from Erbil, Baghdad, Dohuk, and Basra, and represented oil, chemical, electrical, and petrochemical unions from all of the Iraqi labour federations. The visit was supported by the Solidarity Center and hosted by ICEM&rsquo;s 13 Turkish union affiliates, led by Petrol-İş, whose headquarters are in Istanbul. 

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On their first day, the Iraqi women attended a special union cultural festival featuring music, songs, and dance. A special theatrical presentation depicted workplace violations and demonstrated how unions can be the best worker rights monitors. On their second day, the delegation marched in a glorious 10,000-person-strong parade to mark International Women&rsquo;s Day 2009. The women held banners lettered with greetings from Iraqi working women and their unions. 
 
During the remaining two days, Turkish and Iraqi union women participated in a workshop focusing on working women&rsquo;s situations in Turkey and Iraq, gender concepts and health concerns, introduction to collective bargaining, and the Turkish experience from the case study of Novamed &ndash; a good example of successful women&rsquo;s organising. 

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&ldquo;This was a truly historic meeting,&rdquo; said Solidarity Center Middle East and North Africa Director Heba El-Shazli. &ldquo;It was the first time Iraqi women unionists visited Turkey to exchange views and share experiences with their Turkish sisters.&rdquo; 
 
The Solidarity Center was honoured to support this programme, which could not have happened without the strong support and efforts led by ICEM officers and senior staff: Women&rsquo;s Officer Carol Bruce; Rubber Industry Officer Kemal &Ouml;zkan; Director and Regional Contact Person, Middle East and North Africa, and Energy Officer, Jim Catterson; and General Secretary Manfred Warda.

Iraqi Women Join Their Turkish Sisters for Historic International Women’s Day

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The ICEM has intervened in a retaliatory dispute by French-based Michelin at a large tyre factory called Laem Chabang in Chonburi Province, Thailand. The Global Union Federation, together with French trade union affiliate CFDT, brought the matter before Michelin&rsquo;s European Works Council (EWC) and Michelin Group Manager Jean-Dominique Senard at a EWC meeting in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, on 31 March. 
 
The situation in Thailand is serious. On 25 March, local management locked 383 workers off their jobs after they refused to withdraw their names from a petition submitted two weeks earlier. The petition called on management not to unilaterally impose 13% wage cuts, and to engage in consultation with workers&rsquo; representatives over effects of a downturn in the tyre market. 
 
The petition also called on the company to jointly identify solutions with workers, not to unilaterally dictate terms and conditions. It also asked Michelin&rsquo;s Laem Chabang managers to stop forcing workers to sign acceptance forms on the wage cuts, and to quit victimising workers who did not sign the forms. 
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Thai Michelin Unions in Protest 
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Michelin managers responded by suspending eight worker representatives, and imposing a 35% pay cut on workers who refused to disavow the petition. They also reduced their yearly allotment of holidays to six. They then &ndash; on 25 March &ndash; locked out 383 of 458 workers who signed the petition. 
 
&ldquo;This is extreme and harsh behaviour against loyal workers from a company that expects to recover from the global economic crisis,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We have no choice but to demand that the EWC take action. We also call on rubber workers worldwide to take notice, and demand that Michelin rescind this retaliatory punishment.&rdquo; 
 
The tyre workers have been trying to organise with ICEM affiliate Petroleum and Chemical Workers&rsquo; Federation (PCFT) since February, the second time in ten years that staff at Laem Chabang have attempted to unionise. 
 
The plant employs 1,500 staff and produces auto and light truck tyres. Michelin has two other tyre manufacturing plants in Thailand, the Nong Khae plant in Saraburi, employing 1,300 workers, and the Phra Padaeng factory in Samut Prakarn, where 1,500 Thai workers are employed. The latter is unionised by PCFT, with strong union membership. The three plants are 90% owned by Michelin, with the Siam Cement Group holding the remaining 10% stake.

Lockout: Thai Michelin Workers Victimised for Unionising

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The Joint Offshore Task Force of the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), in cooperation with the ICEM, met in London on 25-26 March and deliberated on many issues related to the oil and gas industry, including the recent spate of helicopter crashes in the offshore sector. 
 
Representatives from the UK, Norway, Denmark, France, The Netherlands, Russia, and Australia attended, and the work saw a plenary session break into work groups for detailed discussions on drilling, diving, maritime issues, well services, and catering. The central focus in all groups was safety, with ICEM Energy Chairman Lars Myhre of Norway&rsquo;s Industri-Energi (IE) emphatically stating the situation regarding offshore transport is nearing a crisis. 
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Myhre said a recent decision by servicing companies to reduce the number of pilots by 30% can only worsen the critical situation in offshore work, increasing both the hours and fatigue of remaining pilots. The ICEM/ITF meetings came following two major helicopter crashes, one killing 17 Canadian oil workers on 12 March, and a helicopter ditch on 18 February in the North Sea, in which 18 workers were miraculously rescued. 
 
(On 1 April, 16 North Sea workers died when a Super Puma L2 helicopter operated by Bond Offshore Helicopters of Aberdeen, Scotland, went down in the North Sea. That has caused other North Sea oil workers, as well as members of ICEM affiliated Brazilian Oil Workers&rsquo; Federation, FUP, at Petrobras to boycott the carriers made by the manufacturer Eurocopter.) 
 
The ICEM/ITF Task Force meeting sent condolences to the Canadian union, Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP), while Myhre&rsquo;s details on flight safety resulted in a unanimous resolution adopted by attendees. 
 
Other business included a report by Australian trade unionist Mick Dolman on organizing cooperation between the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and the Australian Workers&rsquo; Union (AWU) in offshore work in Asia-Pacific areas; the background and work of both the ICEM and ITF in Iraq; and discussions related to an upcoming ILO meeting. 
 
The ITF&rsquo;s Offshore Task Force Chairman, Norrie McVicar, called the two-day event &ldquo;a groundbreaking meeting, which identified the need to examine and work on all aspects, good and bad, of workers&rsquo; experiences in the offshore field, from health and safety to wages and conditions.&rdquo;

ICEM/ITF Oil Workers’ Task Force Takes Up Safety Issues at London Meeting

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Three and a half thousand workers took to the streets on 23 April, in Hanover,&nbsp;Germany, to demonstrate for site preservation. Continental AG&nbsp;workers from across Germany, France, and Mexico turned out in solidarity for their IGBCE, IG Metall, and Verdi colleagues. The 3,500 demonstrated in front of the Conti-Shareholders' Annual General Meeting, for the preservation of the nearly 2000 jobs threatened. 
Several delegations of the European Forum of Continental AG (European Works Council), from Regensburg, Frankfurt, and Berlin, demonstrated alongside trade unionists. 
Werner Bischoff, a senior leader of the ICEM affiliate IGBCE, announced that the Corporate Executive Board can not make decisions alone, on matters of site closure. 
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Werner Bischoff 
As reported in InBrief No. 128, both factories recorded excellent financial figures for the year 2008. The ICEM supports the common declaration of the 2-3 April meeting of Continental AG workers&rsquo; representatives, in describing the proposed job cuts as &ldquo;morally despicable.&rdquo; 
 
One German trade unionist at the protest stated, &ldquo;It's the first time that French union members and German members of the BCE union have come together against the shareholders, who, as we have already said, are talking just about money, whereas we are talking about our families and our hearts&rdquo; 

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German labour representatives read a statement to shareholders that said &quot;we do not accept that the life of thousands of families, when suppliers are included, are sacrificed to your boundless appetite.&quot; 
Continental management has said that no definitive decision has yet been taken on the closure of the Clairoix plant. French workers have staged repeated protests over previous weeks, including the ransacking of administrative offices at the plant. The company had previously pledged to keep the French factory open until 2012 at least. 
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Workers are unanimous that if closure does occur, Continental will have to guarantee solid compensation packages for its employees. 
 
Continental slashed around 8,000 jobs worldwide last year, and 6,000 more in the first three months of 2009.

Hanover Demonstration to Preserve Continental Jobs

&ldquo;We, the representatives of coalmine workers from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Columbia, France, Germany, Mongolia, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine, United Kingdom and India, having met in Kolkata India, 14th &ndash; 16th December 2007 make the following declaration: 
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1. We note from the proud history of militant and long drawn struggle by coalminers&rsquo; unions throughout the world, that when coalminers stand strong and determined significant gains have been made in the areas of safety and health, in conditions of employment and, in many cases, within the political structures of Countries. We, the attendees of this Conference, pledge to do all in our power, to strengthen and continue that proud tradition. 
2. While we recognize that our members work in one of the most hazardous industries on earth, we refuse to accept that the appalling toll of death, injury and disease that prevails in the coal mining industry can be permitted to continue. 
3. As a first step, we demand that all countries not only take the necessary steps to ratify ILO Convention C176, but that they also take urgent action to ensure that the commitments continued in the Convention are put into practice. 
4. Acknowledging that ratification of the Convention alone will not make mines safer we call on the ILO and the United Nations, to further strengthen the regime in place to ensure that ratifying Countries are in fact complying with the commitments contained in the Convention, and to seriously consider a programme of audits and inspections. 
5. This Conference rejects the siren song of the privatization of State assets where it is nothing more than an excuse to replace the secure employment of workers engaged in those State enterprises, with the insecurity of employment by companies whose only interest is that of maximizing profit and investor returns. 
 
To allow the exploitation of a State&rsquo;s non-renewable resources for the sole purpose of profit by coal companies and major corporations, and to leave the employment of workers and the welfare of their families to the vagaries of the so-called &ldquo;free market&rdquo; is inexcusable, unwarranted and unacceptable. Conference particularly offers common cause to the Indian coal mining unions in their struggle to stop the privatization of the Indian coal industry. 
6. This Conference notes the disproportionate blame being laid at the feet of the Coal Industry and the burning of coal as a contributor to the current climate change crisis confronting the planet. It is convenient for many to single out coal for strident criticism, while neglecting other significant sources of global greenhouse gas emissions. Any skepticism concerning the validity of the genesis of climate change must be tempered by the reality of the threat that exists to the continuation of large sections of the international coal mining industry, as the industry is targeted by its critics. 
7. The coal industry must respond to this challenge, and conference calls on both Governments and Companies &ndash; in particular those that operate in the rich developed nations (Companies whose principal purpose for exploiting coal reserves is the generation of profit) &ndash; to properly fund research into and establish practical applications of clean coal technology. 
8. This funding must be significant, not merely token, and can easily be afforded by Companies which are making record profits as a consequence of the current unprecedented resources boom being fuelled by the rapid expansion of the economies of developing nations. 
9. This Conference notes the growing trend in almost every Country represented here, of coal industry employers, both State owned and private to engage contract and casual labour in preference to permanent employees, and we express our strident condemnation of this practice. &ldquo;Outsourcing&rdquo; &ldquo;Contracting&rdquo; and &ldquo;Casualisation&rdquo; not only pose a direct threat to the secure employment of permanent employees, but exposes the outsourced and causal workers to reduced wages and conditions lower safety standards, diminished employment security and serious difficulties in accessing basic trade union rights to organize and collectively bargain. 
10. We the delegates, declare this, the first International Coalminers&rsquo; Conference, to have been an outstanding success. We express our sincere appreciation to our Indian Trade Union colleagues for their hospitality and professionalism in hosting and staging this event. 
11. We have been afforded a remarkable opportunity to share the experiences, the knowledge, the comradeship and the solidarity of coalminers from around the World. We call on our National Unions and our International Organisations to support an ongoing role for this Conference. 
 
Irrespective of our politics, our race, creed, colour, or our international affiliations, we are all coalminers and we wish to be afforded the chance to meet and discuss coalminer&rsquo;s issues and to seek solutions to coalminer&rsquo;s problems and concerns. Conference respectfully requests that national and international unions represented here, give serious and favourable consideration to the continued operation of the original preparatory committee to oversee progress on the matters raised in this Declaration, and to be responsible for convening a second International Coalminers&rsquo; Conference at an appropriate time in the future.&rdquo;

Coal Conference Declaration, Kolkata, India

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Global Union/World Bank Consultations
The ITUC and four Global Union Federations (EI, ICEM, ITF and PSI) were invited to consultations on HIV/AIDS with the World Bank on 10 and 11 December. 
 
The objectives of the consultations were to identify complementarities between worker organisations and World Bank involvement in HIV/AIDS in Africa and to draft sector-specific action plans. 
 
The World Bank Group consists of the IBRD (middle-income countries loan facility), IDA (soft loan and grant facility for low-income countries) and IFC (commercial loan window, which has its own AIDS programme &ndash; IFC Against AIDS, Protecting People and Profitability and which published the HIV/AIDS Guide for the Mining Sector). 
 
Since 1986, and with the operation of the Africa Multi-Country AIDS Program (MAP) from 2000, about USD 2.6 billion have been committed. MAP alone committed some 1.5 billion since 2000 in 30 countries and five sub-regional projects. World Bank funds are usually channelled through the national HIV/AIDS coordinating body. 
 
50% of MAP funds were earmarked for NGOs. According to the MAP 2000-2006 publication The Africa Multi-Country AIDS Program 2000-2006, available at <a href="http://www.worldbank.org">www.worldbank.org</a>, 41,000 organisations in 25 countries benefited. More than 2.2 million workers were reached with workplace programmes. 
 
The World Bank continues its commitment to fight HIV/AIDS and has developed a new Agenda for Action 2007-2011. One of the objectives is to scale-up targeted multi-sectoral responses. Thus, the sector-specific meetings focused on mainstreaming HIV/AIDS in key sectors which include mining and energy &ndash; also ICEM key sectors. The ICEM will continue its work with the World Bank and include capacity building and knowledge sharing and generation for unions in infrastructure projects financed by the World Bank. 
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
VCT Counsellors&rsquo; Training for ICEM Affiliates 
The low uptake of voluntary counselling and testing was a reason for the ICEM to focus on the training of counsellors from its own affiliates. With a grant from a major pharmaceutical company, training courses were held in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania with participants from all ICEM affiliates in these countries. 
 
In cooperation with professional service providers 40 VCT counsellors were trained in the course of 2007. The ICEM will monitor their deployment and work in 2008 in order to assess the impact of unionists in the up-scaling of VCT.
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Global Fund Round 8 Proposals 
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is scheduled to issue its call for proposals for Round 8 on 1 March 2008. From that date, applicants will have 120 days to prepare and submit their proposals. 
 
Although this seems a fair amount of time, the demanding proposal form and complicated procedures may require more time. There is no reason to start the process now. For unions that means getting membership on Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM) to make sure that workplace projects are included in proposals to the Global Fund. 
 
(Source: Global Fund Observer Issue 82, 7 December 2007. GFO is a free service of Aidspan <a href="http://www.aidspan.org">www.aidspan.org</a>. To receive GFO, send an email to <a href="mailto:receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org">receive-gfo-newsletter@aidspan.org</a>) 
<img height="35" alt="" src="" width="25" />
Zambia: Women and AIDS
Domestic violence and poverty are preventing many Zambian women from accessing AIDS drugs, thus undermining the government&rsquo;s ambitious treatment programme. 
 
About 16% of adults in Zambia are HIV-positive and, in urban areas, the prevalence rate exceeds 20%, with infection rates higher among women. The government provides antiretroviral drugs free of charge. 
 
A report by New York-based Human Rights Watch attributes the inadequate treatment of women to fear of violence from husbands which prevents women from getting tested. In other cases, women are left without financial means for transportation and a proper diet after divorce or death of their husbands leaves them destitute as property is seized by the husband&rsquo;s family. 
 
(Source: Associated Press, 18 December 2007) 
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Nigerian Ministry Develops HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy
The Nigerian Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development recently developed a policy that provides a framework for addressing HIV/AIDS in the workplace. The policy seeks to protect the rights of HIV-positive workers, as well as to foster a safe and healthy work environment for employees with a zero tolerance to psychological abuse, stigma and discrimination. 
 
HIV/AIDS should be treated as any other chronic illness in the workplace in terms of employee benefits, including health and life insurance, disability benefits and leave of absence. 
 
(Source: Daily Trust, 17 December 2007) 
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Bono&rsquo;s Brand
In January 2006, Bono, the Irish rock star, launched Product Red, to raise money for HIV/AIDS work in Africa. So far Red, which licenses its logo to brands including Apple, Motorola, Armani, Gap, Converse and American Express, has donated USD 50 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. 
 
While this is more than a lot of countries have contributed to the Global Fund, growth of Red has slowed down as few new companies have signed up and as the products are only available in a limited number of countries. 
 
(Source: Financial Times, 1-2 December 2007)
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News from the Global Union Programme and Global Unions
In its most recent HIV/AIDS updates (nos. 34 and 35 of 1 and 15 December) the International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF) <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org">www.itfglobal.org</a> reports, among others, on its Latin American regional HIV/AIDS workshop, which focused on developing a prevention culture to control the epidemic; on the implementation of a workplace HIV/AIDS programme by the Namibia Transport and Allied Workers&rsquo; Union and on programmes in India.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin

The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) commends Turkish trade union affiliate Petrol-Is and management Fresenius Medical Care for signing a collective bargaining agreement today, 18 December, for workers at Novamed. The ICEM salutes the 300 workers of Novamed, a manufacturer of bloodline and kidney dialysis equipment, for their stand in becoming the first unionised workforce within the Antalya Free Trade Zone of Turkey. 
 
A three-year initial labour agreement was signed today in Istanbul between Petrol-Is and Novamed that ends a historic strike by 84 of the workers in Mersin, Antalya. The strike, which will stand as a test of courage for fairness and dignity on the job, began on 26 September 2006. 
<img height="215" alt="" src="" width="300" />
The (no longer) striking workers at Novamed
&quot;The ICEM is extremely proud to have played a major role in bringing a negotiated settlement that ends this long struggle,&quot; said General Secretary Manfred Warda. &quot;We especially commend the workers of Novamed, union leaders of Petrol-Is, and management of Fresenius in Germany and Novamed in Turkey for bringing resolve to issues that caused the strike. 
 
The settlement will bring the 84 strikers, 82 of whom are women, back to the job, and will grant all workers a wage increase of 5% for the first year, and of 4% for the second and third year of the agreement. It also brings a social package that includes a payment for each of two religious holidays in Turkey, as well as productivity and attendance bonuses for workers. All the striking workers will return to work on the 2nd of January 2008. 
<img height="174" alt="" src="" width="232" />
The ICEM recognises the work and cooperation done by the European Mine, Chemical, Energy Workers' Federation (EMCEF) and by ICEM&rsquo;s German affiliate IGBCE in helping to bring about the settlement. The ICEM also recognises the important role played by other trade unions, as well as by many women's groups, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and others inside Turkey who shared steadfast support with the strikers. Warda paid special tribute to Petrol-Is President Mustafa Oztaskin and other leaders of the union for their efforts. 
 
&quot;This is a victory that the entire family of ICEM unions globally can be proud of,&quot; he said. &quot;The solidarity and support by many made it happen. We now extend to workers and managers alike at Novamed for a long and mutually beneficial relationship in this workplace.&quot; 
 
The strike drew worldwide interest following concerted action by the ICEM on 8 March 2007, International Women's Day, in which hundreds of trade unions and individuals rallied to the defence of workers. Following a meeting in Germany by ICEM, EMCEF, and IGBCE with corporate officials in late September 2007, negotiations began in Turkey, and after two sessions in October and November, the negotiations were concluded with an agreement on 18 December 2007.

447-Day Long Strike Ends with First Trade Union Inside Turkey&#039;s Antalya Free Trade Zone

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Many of the ICEM affiliated trade unions, in different countries, play important roles in their national trade union movements. One obvious example is Turkey, where Brother Mustafa Kumlu has been elected as President of the country&rsquo;s largest national confederation TURK-IS, at their Congress held in Ankara on December 6-9. 
 
Brother Kumlu, a titular Executive Committee member of the ICEM, where he represents Turkey, is the current President of the Turkish Electricity, Water and Gas Workers Union (TES-IS). He also is the Chairman of the ICEM Turkish Coordinating Committee.
<img height="96" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The President of another ICEM member union, Belediye-Is, Brother Nihat Yurdakul, got the confidence of the Congress delegates as one of the member in the 5-member Management Committee of the confederation. 
 
&ldquo;I congratulate you for being elected to this important duty. It is a great honour for the ICEM to see our long-standing colleagues in higher positions, serving members. I am sure you will continue to give more support to the ICEM activities with your new capacity in your country.&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda in his messages to Kumlu and Yurdakul.

ICEM Executive Committee member to Lead the Largest National Union Centre in Turkey

Archive

Polish Miners at Kompania Weglowa Agree to Wage Terms

North American ICEM Meeting Leads to Solidarity for Mexican Miners

Iraqi Women Join Their Turkish Sisters for Historic International Women’s Day

Lockout: Thai Michelin Workers Victimised for Unionising

ICEM/ITF Oil Workers’ Task Force Takes Up Safety Issues at London Meeting

Hanover Demonstration to Preserve Continental Jobs

Coal Conference Declaration, Kolkata, India

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin

447-Day Long Strike Ends with First Trade Union Inside Turkey's Antalya Free Trade Zone

ICEM Executive Committee member to Lead the Largest National Union Centre in Turkey

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