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	A 90-day strike planned by ICEM affiliate Oilfields Workers&rsquo; Trade Union (OWTU) of Trinidad and Tobago against state oil company Petrotrin did not go ahead as scheduled on 18 February. OWTU and Petrotrin, in marathon talks mediated by Labour Minister Errol McLeod on 17 February, agreed to a three-year deal for 5,000 oilworkers that covers the years 2008-10.

	The agreement not only grants fair wage and allowance adjustments, but OWTU made great strides contract-wise for temporary workers, and fulfilled job safety issues by getting Petrotrin to agree to fill all job vacancies within three months.

	The settlement averted a fuel disruption on the twin-island nation during Carnival and OWTU&rsquo;s filing of strike notice had set off panic buying at the fuel pumps over the past two weeks.

	&nbsp;<img alt="" height="162" src="" width="130" />&nbsp;

	OWTU General President Ancel Roget

	The deal includes a 9% wage increase following consolidation of all cost-of-living increases, and it will be allotted with 1% in the first year, 2% the second year, and 6% for 2010. The strike notice came about after Petrotrin refused to move above 5%.

	OWTU represents five bargaining units at the company, and it also won a 10% increase on all allowances, which include working heights, shift work, and excessive heat allowance. OWTU saw to it that full-time jobs will go to temporary workers, and that payment of all severance and gratuity to temporary workers over the age of 55 will be made.

	Earlier this week, the chairman of Petrotrin said the package will cost the company TT$271 million and that was far less than losses that would have accrued because of a strike. &ldquo;It was best for the company in coming to a settlement immediately because we really don&rsquo;t want a strike at this point in time.&rdquo;

	OWTU General President Ancel Roget left the Ministry of Labour following the 17-hour talks early on 18 February and was greeted by jubilant union members. At a car park near the ministry in San Fernando, Roget told them it was their &ldquo;militancy and commitment&rdquo; that forced the deal. &ldquo;You made us crack the 5% cap,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We secured a good settlement. We have gone where others said we could not go.&rdquo;&nbsp;

OWTU Reaches Excellent Terms with Petrotrin in Trinidad and Tobago

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	The ICEM cries out in dismay that the 6 February murder of American Platinum (Amplats) employee Pinky Mosiane remains unsolved. She was raped and murdered inside a mine shaft of Amplats&rsquo; Khomanani Mine in Rustenburg, North West Province.

	The ICEM lauds affiliate National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) who insists that authorities get DNA samples from all staff working that fateful shift on 6 February.

	Meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, three days after this despicable assault and murder, the ICEM&rsquo;s Sub-Saharan African Regional Organisation (SSARO) adopted a strong statement denouncing workplace violence against women, specifically in reference to the cold-blooded murder of Mosiane inside this Amplats mine. She was crushed in the face with a heavy rock after the sexual assault.

	&nbsp;<img alt="" height="160" src="" width="221" />&nbsp;&nbsp;

	The SSARO statement follows:

	&ldquo;On the morning of 6 February, a 28- year-old female worker was violated and murdered underground at Khomanani Mine, which is owned by Amplats, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anglo American.

	&ldquo;This barbaric and neanderthal act against an innocent young worker is the most glaring case of gender-based discrimination against women and abuse of power. Sexual assault is cruel, inhuman, horrible. A mineworker underground on a daily basis has to deal with death or injury that can come from a rock fall or machines. Having to deal with death and violation against your person sexually and otherwise compounds the insecurity of a human being. A fellow worker who was supposed to act as a fellow human being acted as an animal.

	&ldquo;The National Union of Mineworkers has been fighting to enable women to work in mines. This and similar incidents should not be misconstrued to undo the progress that women have made to achieve equal employment rights.&rdquo;

	He who does not love a woman, who does not respect a woman, despises his own mother having come out of a kind womb of a woman.&nbsp;

	&ldquo;As the ICEM African Executive Committee and the ICEM African Women&#039;s Structure, we strongly condemn this atrocious act of barbarism.

	&ldquo;Mines and all workplaces must be safe environments for women and men. It is up to the employer to ensure that the workplace is safe for all. We will be holding the employer accountable for this tragedy.

	&ldquo;We call for a speedy and thorough investigation into these crimes. We are confident that the perpetrators will be brought to justice, whoever they are. We call on the police to do a thorough investigation as the mine has records of who works what shift. We call on them to use all the forensic technology at their disposal to find out who the perpetrator is. We will be following up on this case and checking that justice is done. We also call for a tough sentence for the perpetrator or perpetrators once found.

	&ldquo;This young woman was only 28 years old and had one child, and her future and dreams were destroyed by a barbaric act of violence by a male counterpart. This is the triple oppression that we need to continue to fight against to attain true liberation for African women.

	&ldquo;We call on comrades to rally around this slogan: Not Another Woman Must Be Raped, Not Another Woman Must Be Murdered.

	&ldquo;We call upon affiliates and sister organisations of ICEM to post this statement on their websites and to disseminate it widely to the press.&rdquo;

Ghastly South African Rape, Murder of Woman Miner at Amplats Unsolved

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	Swiss-based cement multinational giant Holcim continues to anger the ICEM with its illegal treatment of contract workers in India. Attempts by contract and agency workers employed at Holcim&rsquo;s subsidiaries, ACC Ltd. and Ambuja Cement Ltd., to organise and establish collective bargaining with management are being crushed with intimidation, coercion, and dismissal.

	On 12 January, the ICEM joined a complaint to the OECD submitted by the local union Pragatisheel Cement Shramik Sangh (PCSS).&nbsp; PCSS is a member of the ICEM global family and represents 1,500 contract workers in the state of Chhattisgarh.

	The complaint focuses on a number of breaches of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises at Holcim&rsquo;s cement companies. Other than the clear violation of the contract workers&rsquo; right to organise and bargain collectively, Holcim is also cited for refusing to engage in collective bargaining with PCSS, which is officially registered as the trade union representing workers at the cement installations.&nbsp; Further violations are outlined in the complaint with respect to the surrounding communities around the Holcim plants.&nbsp; The companies acquired land from local farmers and went on to destroy living conditions in local communities, namely shoddy water management and destruction of homes by blasting and mining. The subsidiaries also refuse to give permanent jobs to locals.

	&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" style="width: 245px;height: 160px" width="390" />&nbsp;

	Today in New Delhi, ICEM participated in a press conference with the Building and Woodworkers&rsquo; International (BWI) and PCSS and their national federation, New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI).&nbsp; ICEM Asia-Pacific Representative Phee Jungsun said at the press conference, &ldquo;It is through such practices as these that clearly violate workers&rsquo; basic rights to representation of their choice, as guaranteed by the UN, OECD and ILO, as well as the Indian constitution. That Holcim has doubled its profit margins through Indian operations stand as further disrepute in terms of the rights&rsquo; abuses of contract and agency workers.&rdquo;

	Holcim celebrates its 100th anniversary this week and claims &ldquo;We have placed Sustainable Development at the heart of our business strategy for many years, because we believe it contributes in adding value and ensuring continued success.&rdquo;

	Holcim is in breach of Indian legislation, namely the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act that stipulates that contract workers may only be hired to perform non-core functions, and that those who perform the same or similar kinds of work as regular workers must receive equal treatment in terms of wages and conditions.

	However, contract workers in both plants are employed to carry out tasks which are fundamental to production, but receive only one third of permanent workers&rsquo; wages.&nbsp;

	Holcim-ACC last year refused to respect a Chhattisgarh State High Court ruling that it is using &ldquo;sham and bogus&rdquo; contracts, and should regularise 27 contract workers. It was proven that contract workers at the plant do not have basic personal protective equipment, such as gloves, boots and masks, and are denied access to medical facilities, including basic first aid, in the factory.

	Between September 2010 and March 2011, 80 members of PCSS were dismissed by Holcim-Ambuja. Management of the plant repeatedly refused to participate in conciliation efforts by the Regional Labour Commissioner in Raipur.

	The Chapters and Paragraphs of the OECD Guidelines in violation are: Chapter II ( General Policies) specifically paragraphs A (1), (4),(9); Chapter IV (Human rights) specifically paragraphs 1, 2; and Chapter V specifically paragraphs 1 (a), (b), (d), (e), 3, 5.

	See the full text of the PCSS OECD complaint <a href="http://cal.icem.org/images/documents/OECD%20Complaint%207%201%202012.pdf">here</a>.

	See more information on the BWI Company Monitor webpage <a href="http://blogs.bwint.org/mnc/category/mnc-info/holcim/">here</a>.

Holcim’s Violations in India Taken to OECD

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	Schlumberger, the world&rsquo;s largest oil services company, has been scrambling to defend actions of local management in Egypt who sacked the entire leadership of a nascent trade union.&nbsp; Pressure has been exerted by the ICEM and its affiliated Norwegian and Canadian unions, IndustriEnergi (IE) and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union (CEP/SCEP), on senior management to intervene and remedy this unacceptable violation of rights in Egypt.

	Schlumberger employs around 2,500 workers in Egypt, 40% of whom are workers of subcontractors at 10 different worksites.&nbsp;

	In April 2011, the process to establish an independent company-level trade union at Schlumberger Egypt was begun, as part of the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions (EFITU), the trade union centre established during the final days of the Mubarak regime. In May 2011, signatures and required documents were collected to complete the legal process of establishing the union.

	On 11 May, local management was informed of the new union structure, at which time management responded with threats leading to the dismissal of General Secretary Mohamed Abd Elrahman. On 3 July, the day of the union&rsquo;s general congress, local management dismissed the union&rsquo;s President, Brother Essam. On 5 July, local management summoned union members to the head office and threatened them with dismissal if they did not leave the union. And then on 7 July, local management followed through on an earlier threat and dismissed the union&rsquo;s Assistant General Secretary, Ayman Abd Elmonem.

	&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" style="width: 195px;height: 161px" width="390" />&nbsp;

	ICEM&rsquo;s Jim Catterson with Sacked Union President, Brother Essam, at left

	No reason or dismissal letter was given to Abd Elmonem, he was simply blocked from entering the workplace. On 12 July, another union member was dismissed in similar circumstances, Mr. Hossam Al-deed Mostafa, again no written dismissal notice was produced.

	Under Egyptian law, workers can only be dismissed from their employment following a due legal process and a court ruling. The court procedure cannot even be initiated without justifiably serious reasons. Arbitrary unilateral decisions such as these cannot stand. Four sacked workers have been without income for several months now.

	&ldquo;I write seeking your immediate intervention to remedy shocking violations of labour rights at Schlumberger operations in Egypt. In a vicious attack on workers&rsquo; rights to organise and bargain collectively, Schlumberger employees&rsquo; nascent trade union has been illegally dismantled through the sacking of its leaders,&rdquo; stated ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda in a letter to Schlumberger.

	Register your protest to Schlumberger Chairman Andrew Gould, CEO Paal Kibsgaard, and Egypt Area Manager Amr Essawy by clicking <a href="mailto:gould1@exchange.slb.com; pkibsgaard@exchange.slb.com; AEssawi2@exchange.slb.com">here</a>.

	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" style="width: 80px;height: 107px" width="390" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

	The company has responded to ICEM and IE calls with an investigation into the sackings.&nbsp; ICEM will continue to monitor the situation closely and will mobilise the next phase of the campaign with Schlumberger&rsquo;s clients, the oil and gas multinationals that use Schlumberger&rsquo;s services, if positive action by the company is not taken soon.

	IE of Norway organises Schlumberger employees, and those workers registered their protest with Norwegian national management and local managers over the last ten days. Local Schlumberger union reps in Norway are meeting today with the ICEM.

	Egyptian activists in Paris on 18 February conducted a picket at Schlumberger headquarters and met with the manager of Schlumberger France, who has also now been mobilised to intervene into the case.

Oil Services Giant Schlumberger Pressured over Egyptian Union Busting

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	In this issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS newsletter, we report on the ICEM HIV/AIDS regional workshop in Johannesburg, developments at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and on the severe consequences arising from the funding crisis.

	<img alt="" src="" style="width: 40px;height: 40px;cursor: default" width="390" />

	Regional HIV and AIDS Workshop in Johannesburg

	A very successful sub-Saharan Africa regional workshop was organised in Johannesburg from 14-16 February. With the active participation of national coordinators from ten countries, a review of activities in 2010 and 2011, the first two years of the present three-year project cycle, was conducted. Participants also presented country plans for 2012, the last year of the current project.

	Key challenges and opportunities for the future and creative methods of addressing HIV and AIDS in the current social and economic environment were elaborated. In further group work, key elements for a possible new project cycle for 2013-2015 were developed. The outcome of this work were power point presentations from three groups which constitute valuable input for a possible new project.

	Evelyn Serima, HIV/AIDS Technical Specialist in the Decent Work Team for East and Southern Africa at the ILO Pretoria office, gave a presentation on progress in the implementation of ILO Recommendation 200 concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work and on new targets for 2015, especially the UNAIDS triple zero initiative &ndash; zero new infections, zero death and zero discrimination. Her presentation was highly relevant for the work on a project beyond 2012.

	&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" style="width: 40px;height: 40px;cursor: default" width="390" />&nbsp;&nbsp;

	The Global Fund at Ten Years &ndash; Not a Happy Anniversary

	At the end of January, the Global Fund celebrated its tenth anniversary. These past 12 months, which ended with the Board persuading the Executive Director to resign, have been the Fund&rsquo;s most difficult to date.

	The stage was set for the Global Fund&rsquo;s problem-filled 2011 when the Fund said in October 2010 that it needed well over US$13 billion to meet anticipated demand for 2011&ndash;2013 but donors pledged only US$11.7 billion.

	Then on 23 January 2011, the Associated Press published an article entitled &quot;Fraud Plagues Global Health Fund,&quot; based on public reports from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The story took off like wildfire. Alarmed, some of the Global Fund&rsquo;s donors held back on delivering their promised contributions pending clear action by the Fund to deal with fraud.

	The OIG&rsquo;s findings on fraud were obviously important and required action. But the OIG made little distinction between outright fraud and multiple lesser crimes such as documenting expenditures using photocopies rather than originals.

	The Fund set up a High Level Panel to review how the Fund identifies and manages risk in its grant-making. The panel issued a report in September that was daunting in terms of the number of things it said need fixing.

	The downhill trajectory continued when the Global Fund, having launched Round 11 in August 2011, cancelled it three months later because of inadequate funding.

	Then came a final nose-dive when the Global Fund Board, after reviewing the events of the past year and conducting an in-depth assessment of the managerial performance of Michel Kazatchkine, the Fund&rsquo;s Executive Director (ED), concluded that Dr Kazatchkine had to go. He resigned on 24 January 2012 after the Board had appointed a General Manager to whom all top management would report.

	The Global Fund performs vital work affecting millions of lives. The Fund cannot afford to have a second year like 2011, and might be permanently damaged if so.

	(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 175 of 6 February. 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>)

	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" style="width: 40px;height: 40px;cursor: default" width="390" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

	Delayed Disbursements of Grants Threatens South Africa&rsquo;s TAC

	The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), a sub-recipient (SR) for a Round 6 HIV grant in South Africa, has experienced significant delays in receiving disbursements. TAC says that because of these delays, the organisation is perilously close to having to shut its doors. TAC is known world-wide for its pioneering advocacy work in South Africa on HIV treatment.

	The South Africa National Department of Health (NDOH) is the principal recipient for the HIV grant. Under its contract with the NDOH, TAC was due to receive 6.5 million rand (US$833,000) by the start of July 2011 to cover expenses between then and the end of 2011.

	TAC has still not received any of this funding. On 1 January 2012, TAC was due to receive a further disbursement of 2.7 million rand (US$346,000) to cover expenses for January to March 2012. That funding has also not yet been received, increasing the shortfall to 9.2 million rand (US$1.2 million).

	On 23 November 2011, TAC issued a statement in which it said that the organisation faced possible closure because of the lack of funds. The statement said that TAC depended on the Global Fund grant for a large portion of its work. It added that the delays were primarily due to poor administration by the NDOH.

	(Source: Global Fund Observer, Issue 176 of 20 February)

	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" style="width: 40px;height: 40px;cursor: default" width="390" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

	Zimbabwe: Improved AIDS Levy Collections

	With global funding for HIV/AIDS on the decline, Zimbabwe&#039;s innovative AIDS levy &ndash; a three percent tax on income &ndash; has become a promising source of funding for the country, with a dramatic increase in revenue collected in the past two years.

	The levy was introduced in 1999 to compensate for declining donor support, but low salaries and the poor performance of industry meant not enough money had been collected until recently. In its 2010 report on Zimbabwe&#039;s progress in implementing the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2001, the government admitted the levy was &quot;essentially non-existent in 2007-2008 due to economic challenges the country was facing.&quot;

	According to the National AIDS Council Board, a total of US$20.5 million was collected in 2010 against US$5.7 million the previous year; non-audited figures for 2011 suggest a collection of US$25 million.

	Although 347,000 people are on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment in the country, another 600,000 need the medication. The treatment gap widened after Zimbabwe adopted the new World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines that recommend starting treatment earlier.

	The AIDS levy contributed almost a quarter of the money to purchase ARVs, while 76% of the treatment programme was financed by international donors such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the UK Department for International Development. But Zimbabwe &ndash; one of the hardest countries hit by HIV/AIDS &ndash; still needs a lot more funding to cover the worrying treatment gap.

	(Source: IRIN, Harare, 3 February)

	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" style="width: 40px;height: 40px;cursor: default" width="390" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

	South Africa to Produce Active Ingredients for ARVs

	South Africa is to build a ZAR 1.6 billion (US$ million) pharmaceutical plant to produce the ingredients for antiretroviral drugs. The plant is a joint venture between the government and Lonza, a Swiss chemicals and biotechnology company.

	So far, most antiretroviral drugs used in South Africa are manufactured locally but all the active ingredients used in them are imported. South Africa is the world&rsquo;s largest market for antiretroviral drugs. Pharmaceutical imports are one of the most important contributors to the country&rsquo;s trade deficit.

	(Source: Business Day, Johannesburg 10 February)

	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" style="width: 40px;height: 40px;cursor: default" width="390" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

	DR Congo: Alarm Bells over Poor Funding

	The lives of thousands of HIV-positive people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are at risk as the country faces declining donor funding and a severe shortage of treatment, according to M&eacute;decins sans Fronti&egrave;res (MSF).

	More than one million people are living with HIV and of the 350,000 people who qualify for antiretroviral treatment, only 44,.000 &ndash; 13% &ndash; receive it. Seventy-five percent of funding in the DRC comes from the Global Fund, 25% from UNITAID and from PEPFAR, the US President&rsquo;s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Earlier World Bank funding ended in 2011.

	As the DRC did not qualify for funding under the 9th and 10th round of Global Fund grants, it is using funds from previous rounds which will last at the most to 2014, not counting up-scaling. UNITAID funds through the Clinton Health Access Initiative are for paediatric and second-line ARVs and PEPFAR provides funds for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission.

	(Source: IRIN, Nairobi/Kinshasa, 2 February)

	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" style="width: 40px;height: 40px;cursor: default" width="390" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

	News from Global Unions

	The International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF &ndash; <a href="http://www.itfglobal.org/">www.itfglobal.org</a>), in its latest HIV/AIDS update 119 of 1 and 15 February, reports on the signing of a policy on HIV and AIDS of the Confederation of Railway Workers of Bolivia with two railway companies. It also draws attention of affiliates to the process of reviewing ILO Recommendation 200 concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work, and the importance of trade unions getting involved in this process of monitoring the implementation of Recommendation 200.

	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" style="width: 40px;height: 40px;cursor: default" width="390" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

	Five Years Ago: From the March 2007 Issue (No. 18)

	The first issue of the ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin was published in October 2005. In current issues, we refer to an article from the same month five years ago and reflect on developments.

	In the March 2007 issue, we reported on the signing of a Global Framework Agreement (GFA) with the Swedish paper multinational Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA), which included an HIV/AIDS clause. The company agreed to comply with the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work.

	We pointed out the importance of such a clause for affiliates. If a company agrees to comply with the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work, this opens a whole range of possibilities for negotiations and activities for the unions organising inside a GFA company. The ten key principles of the Code of Practice include non-discrimination, gender equality, confidentiality, prevention, care and support. A GFA applies to all operations of a company worldwide. Often, local management is not familiar with a GFA signed by their head office. Insist on implementation and compliance!

	Regrettably, only a minority of ICEM GFAs include an HIV/AIDS clause.

	We also reported on the appointment of a new Executive Director at the Global Fund, Michel Kazatchkine. He resigned recently (see e-bulletin February 2012, No. 77).

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 78, March 2012

<img alt="" src="" style="width: 100px;height: 39px" width="390">

	The third phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry&rsquo;s investigation of the Pike River mine explosions of November 2010 that killed 29 concluded in mid-February in Greymouth, New Zealand, and several experts testified to the inherent weak safety mechanisms in place by Pike River Coal Ltd.

	The latest set of hearings also reveal a company that was 18 months behind on orders to deliver &nbsp;premium metallurgical coal, and in the words of a technical services manager who resigned just days before the first explosion, &ldquo;There was no way the company would delay coal production&rdquo; because of safety concerns.

	The manager, Pieter Van Rooyen, testified that workers had given him notice of inadequate methane drainage pipes, requesting that drilling cease until rectified. Despite passing that on in writing to senior operational managers, nothing was done. Van Rooyen said the decision to begin hydro-mining deep within the shaft without constructing a second exit &ndash; and in areas of high methane gas build-up &ndash; was strictly for &ldquo;cash-flow purposes.&rdquo;

	&nbsp;<img alt="" height="159" src="" width="183" />&nbsp;

	An electrical engineer who investigated New Zealand&rsquo;s worst mining accident in 100 years said the faulty Pike River electrical systems multiplied chances for disaster since stray currents in many mechanical instruments produced sparks. Pike River&rsquo;s main exhaust fan was located underground, an anomaly to modern mining.

	In late October 2010, the company was warned by a regulatory agency that the stability of an expanded roof in an underground area was worrisome, and again nothing was done. A mine safety expert from Australia testified that the blast was caused by a roof collapse deep inside the mine, causing a massive release of gas. When the underground fan failed, the gas could have ignited from a small spark.

	For 16 months now, the bodies of the 29 have remained entombed inside the South Island mine, despite efforts by families to recover their loved ones. In this inquiry round, photos of two miners who were sighted dead near self-rescue units were shown. The photos indicate that the miners might have survived the initial blast on 19 November 2010. In the following days, five more major explosions occurred.

	Pike River Coal Ltd. killed 29 miners, including 26 New Zealanders, a miner from South Africa, one from the UK, and another miner who was an Australian national. The mother of this Australian miner named Josh Ufer is currently speaking out in Australia on the necessity to maintain full trade union involvement in all mine safety matters.

	As the Single Bargaining Unit led by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) wages a battle against BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi to retain union-mandated safety deputies and open cut examiners inside Queensland collieries, Joanne Ufer is versing the dangers inherent in unilateral management control of safety matters in union advertisements.

	The final phase of the Pike River Royal Commission of Inquiry will convene next month, with the commission&rsquo;s report and findings to be issued in September.&nbsp; See <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4681-Pike-River-s-Royal-Inquiry-Sees-Troubling-Safety-Issues-Inside-NZ-Mine-Disaster">ICEM report</a> following the commission&rsquo;s second phase hearings.

‘Disaster Waiting to Happen,’ Pike River 3rd Inquiry Told

WOMEN’S BULLETIN

<img alt="" src="" style="width: 130px;height: 63px" width="390" />

	Some 250 European trade union militants turned out today at Unilever&#039;s Rotterdam headquarters in the Netherlands to protest the world&#039;s third largest consumer products company&#039;s unrelenting shut-off of a final salary pension scheme for 5,200 UK workers. 
	 
	The manifestation, under the banner &ldquo;Unilever, Don&rsquo;t Make Workers Pay for Your Profits&rdquo;, saw representatives from no less than 23 European trade union organisations, as well as from the ICEM and the International Union of Food and Agriculture Workers&#039; Association (IUF). 
	 
	For three months now, Unilever has been trying to bully UK&#039;s Unite the Union, GMB, and the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) into conceding a final salary pension scheme, to replace it with an average career earnings pension plan effective 1 July 2012. Unilever CEO Paul Polman&rsquo;s 2010-11 salary and bonus pay-out equaled &euro;8 million, while Unilever&rsquo;s UK employees face a slash of between 20-40% on their pension earnings.

	<img alt="" src="" style="width: 208px;height: 150px" width="390" />

	At today&#039;s manifestation, led by Unilever&#039;s European Works Council (EWC), the European Mine, Chemical, Energy Federation (EMCEF), and the European Federation of Food, Agriculture, Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT), rally leaders presented Unilever executive Rupert Chatwin with a declaration. 
	 
	In part, it read: &quot;We are very concerned that Unilever has been pursuing an approach of uncompromising unilateralism in the UK, which may be indicative of a change for the worse in Unilever&#039;s corporate culture. 
	 
	&quot;We believe that Unilever workers in Europe and around the world have good reason to fear for their futures. We have noted (CEO) Paul Polman&#039;s pledge to double Unilever revenue over the next ten years while promoting &#039;sustainable living&#039; but that he says nothing about sustainable employment.&quot;

	<img alt="" src="" style="width: 200px;height: 150px" width="390" />

	Rally leaders present Declaration 
	From left, Michael Wolters, Simon Cox, Unilever&#039;s Rupert Chatwin

	Unilever EWC Chairman Hermann Soggeberg told the gathering, including scores of the company&#039;s UK staff, that on behalf of 30,000 European workers, &quot;We stand by your side in this dispute. You are on the front lines of what is just the beginning of bigger problems facing workers in Western Europe. 
	 
	&quot;The struggle you face in the UK is a struggle we must all tie into.&quot; 
	 
	Other speakers included EMCEF General Secretary Michael Wolters, EFFAT EWC and Transnational Companies&#039; Coordinator Simon Cox, as well as Unite Convenor Bill Hodgson from Unilever&#039;s Port Sunlight plant. 
	 
	Among some of the unions taking part: FNV Bondgenoten of the Netherlands, IGBCE of Germany, PRO-GE of Austria, FGA-CFDT of France, NGG of Germany, Petrol-Is of Turkey, FGTA-FO of France, FITAG-UGT of Spain, CGT of France, FLAI-CGIL, FAI-CISL and UILA-UIL, all of Italy, CNV of the Netherlands, and FGTB/ABVV of Belgium.

	&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" style="width: 95px;height: 160px" width="390" />&nbsp;&nbsp;

	The Rotterdam manifestation comes just days two weeks after Unilever posted a strong set of financial numbers in its latest results and three weeks after UK workers from several Unilever sites descended on Davos, Switzerland, where Polman served as one of the co-chairs at the World Economic Forum.

	Unilever UK management did finally agree to meet with the unions on 9 February with the assistance of UK&rsquo;s Advisory, Conciliation and Mediation Services (ACAS), but the company is still adamant on closing the final salary pension scheme effective 1 July 2012.

Spirited Rotterdam Rally Calls on Unilever to Save UK Pensions

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	At a general membership meeting and news conference today in Qu&eacute;bec, 780 union members of Syndicat des M&eacute;tallos d&rsquo;Alma were told that the lockout imposed on them &ndash; in its 11th week &ndash; by Rio Tinto&rsquo;s Alcan aluminium subsidiary now has the undivided attention of key workers&rsquo; groups connected to the mining giant.

	United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9490 President Marc Maltais and USW Deputy District Five Director Guy Farrell told a packed news conference of their two-week mission through the US West and then on to Australia and New Zealand, where the trade union Mining and Maritime Initiative brought this piece of corporate terrorism front and centre before the company&rsquo;s most militant workers and unions in Oceania.

	Maltais and Farrell also laid out plans for the mass rally in Alma, a city of 30,000 in the Saguenay-lac-Saint-Jean region of Qu&eacute;bec, a manifestation expected to draw 5,000 to 10,000. Earlier at the membership meeting, USW District Five Director Dan Roy told victimised metalworkers that they are up against one of the most egregious examples of corporate crime ever committed in Canada.

	<img alt="" src="" style="width: 320px;height: 141px" width="390" />

	&nbsp;USW&rsquo;s Guy Farrell Speaks at Brisbane Manifestation

	The lockout came ostensibly over the union&rsquo;s contract demand to stop the continual erosion of permanent jobs by establishing limits on outsourcing. And it occurred even before several other issues were tabled in bargaining.&nbsp; Alcan prematurely locked workers off their jobs on 30 December, a day before the prior five-year agreement had expired.

	With aluminium prices on the London Metal Exchange down more than 25% from spring 2011 and inventories high, the opportunity to reverse that by bringing one of the world&rsquo;s premier and low-cost smelters down to one-third operational capacity was too much to resist.

	And Syndicat des M&eacute;tallos d&rsquo;Alma learned this month what they feared had been happening since the lockout began: Rio Tinto, under an opaque agreement signed with Qu&eacute;bec in 2006 when Alcan was a stand-along Canadian company, is selling unused hydro-electric power back to the province of Qu&eacute;bec because Alma is operating only 122 of 432 electrolytic production cells. The company is pocketing C$15 million per month at taxpayer expense, while holding a community&rsquo;s top-paying jobs hostage with a lockout. Worse, the province does not need the excess power but is obligated to buy it due to the 2006 agreement.

	&ldquo;These are the people&rsquo;s resources,&rdquo; said Farrell. &ldquo;The atrocities this company is committing against Qu&eacute;bec and Quebecers is incomprehensible, yet they are happening right before our eyes.&rdquo;

	The 31 March manifestation will occur a day after the ICEM&rsquo;s North America affiliates meet in Alma in the first of two bi-annual meetings. Protestors will assemble at 13h30 at the Galeries Lac St-Jean shopping mall and march to Parc le Festiv Alma for the manifestation that begins at 15h. (See <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/RTA_CARD4ENG_high.pdf">full manifestation flyer</a> here.)

	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" style="width: 87px;height: 155px" width="390" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

	Local 9490&rsquo;s Marc Maltais at MUA Forum

	Maltais and Farrell reported today on their two-week mission that saw them get support from Rio Tinto&rsquo;s borax miners in Southern California. International Longshore &amp; Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 30 faced its own lockout from the world&rsquo;s second largest resources company, and USW Local 9490 was keen to learn their fightback strategy.

	From those late February meetings both in Boron and Los Angeles, Maltais and Farrell journeyed to the state of Utah where they met with USW local union leaders at Rio&rsquo;s Kennecott Copper mines. Some 1,000 steelworkers and members of other unions, including the International Association of Machinists (IAM), waged a bitter six-month strike there in 2002-03.

	From 4 to 9 March, the Canadians were in Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, their message was heard by hundreds of delegates at separate forums of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and the Australian Manufacturing Workers&rsquo; Union (AMWU) in Brisbane. On 5 March, Australian supporters including members of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), the MUA, AMWU and Australian Workers&rsquo; Union (AWU) joined Maltais and Farrell in a protest against Rio Tinto on Queen Street in Brisbane.

	At the mass MUA meeting there on 6 March, the two were surprised to see the MUA selling Syndicat des M&eacute;tallos d&rsquo;Alma&rsquo;s trademark orange shirts, emblazoned &ldquo;Australia and New Zealand Mining and Maritime Union Fight War on Rio Tinto&rsquo;s Workers.&rdquo; Proceeds and other donations were give the two, including from a stop at Rio Tinto&rsquo;s Bell Bay, Tasmania, aluminium smelter that was hosted by the AWU, the union fighting for a first enterprise agreement there.

	&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<img alt="" src="" style="width: 345px;height: 161px" width="390" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

	ICEM Turkish affiliate Maden-İşDisplays Long Distance Solidarity with Syndicat des M&eacute;tallos d&rsquo;Alma

	In New Zealand, the visit from 7-9 March sponsored by ICEM affiliate Engineering Printing &amp; Engineering Union (EPMU) and the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ), included a meeting with Rio Tinto aluminium producing workers at the Tiwai Point smelter in Invercargill. It also included another demonstration, this time on 9 March in front of Rio Tinto offices in Wellington.

	Throughout the western US trip and the Australia/New Zealand union-building visits, Maltais and Farrell had along a union banner to which trade unionists signed their name and pledge to join the Alma lockout fight. That banner was unfurled and hung in Local 9490&rsquo;s union hall this morning.

	While the two were concluding their trip in New Zealand, back home in Alma, on 8 March, International Women&rsquo;s Day, women&rsquo;s-only forum was held attended by 100 spouses and women workers. The event was billed as a unique chance to share experiences of the then 68-day lockout, the hardships, the loss of income and the emotional turmoil inflicted by a rich multinational on citizens of Qu&eacute;bec Saguenay-lac-Saint-Jean region.

	With a call two weeks ago by provincial Premier Jean Charest to return to bargaining still unheeded by the company, the experience of pain, sacrifice and uncertain futures is sure to continue for the 780 families and for even more in the wider community who depend on the family-supporting pay days from the Alma smelter.

	To read further information on this corporate attack on working families, click <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4908-Locked-out-Alcan-Workers-Take-Dispute-to-Business-Doorstep">here</a>, <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4875-Rio-Tinto-s-Euro-Works-Council-Irate-over-Québec-Aluminium-Lockout">here</a> and <a href="/en/78-ICEM-InBrief/4837-USW-Affiliate-in-Québec-Locked-Out-by-Rio-Tinto-at-Aluminium-Plant">here</a>.

Locked-out Canadian Steelworkers Build Global Unity as Mass Rally Nears, 31 March

<img alt="" src="" style="width: 100px;height: 39px" width="390">

	On 7 March, the US National Mediation Board (NMB) announced that the International Association of Machinists (IAM) won exclusive bargaining status for 16,720 United Airlines employees, staff who work as passenger service, gate agents and reservation workers for the Chicago-based airline.

	In a mail ballot over the preceding seven weeks, 8,305 of the airline&rsquo;s ground workers chose IAM, while 5,865 voted for no union. The ballot, conducted through the auspices of the US Rail Labor Act, became necessary following the December 2010 merger of United with Continental Airlines, the latter a predominately non-union airline.

	The IAM had represented United&rsquo;s passenger services staff since 1998 but with the Continental merger, a new certification election became necessary. The union now represents 31,500 workers at the world&rsquo;s largest airline, including ramp service, baggage handlers, and stock and store workers. The election also included passenger service employees of Continental Micronesia Airlines, which operates between the state of Hawaii and some Asia-Pacific nations and previously had another union.

	The election was marked by fierce resistance by United. Airline management tried to exclude 1,000 fleet service workers from voting but the NMB ruled that those workers have the right to join a union.

	IAM Transportation Vice President Sito Pantoja said the election &ldquo;preserves IAM representation rights for pre-merger United employees and extends that benefit to their new co-workers from Continental and Continental Micronesia.

	&ldquo;The win provides all IAM members at United with the advantages of size and strength that airlines themselves are seeking through consolidation.&rdquo;

US Machinists Win Bargaining Status for 17,000 United Airlines Workers

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