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Today is the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. To mark the day, the ICEM has issued a leaflet that can be found here. Since 1988, trade union and civil society efforts have engineered a strong response to the epidemic, and recorded results prove the engineering has solid footing, thanks to labour unions and NGOs. 
 
But more work remains. &ldquo;The fight to eliminate the scourge of the pandemic is far from finished, and more must be done,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re proud to recognise the 20th Anniversary of December 1, but even prouder to mark this day with a commitment to wage this fight until the disease is gone.&rdquo; 

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The role of trade unions is critical in the struggle against AIDS. Trade unions demonstrate leadership on the issue by pushing early testing and prevention methods in the workplace, and then in homes and communities. The issue is a priority in most governing bodies, in women&rsquo;s caucuses, on health and safety committees, and most importantly, in negotiations with companies. This impact is positive to the community, to family life, and to national level policies based on workable and achievable grass-roots principles aimed at combating the disease. 
 
Together with social 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 to take the lead. Designating leadership as the overall theme for 2007-08 provides an opportunity to highlight the political leadership needed to fulfill commitments, particularly the promise of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support by 2010. 
 
Any union member, shop steward, union official, committee member, or gender representative who takes action today on HIV/AIDS is a leader in the fight against the deadly disease. 
 
The World AIDS Campaign has developed material that can be accessed at <a href="http://www.worldaidscampaign.org">www.worldaidscampaign.org</a>.

Today, 1 December, is World AIDS Day

Tomorrow, December 1, is the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. To mark the day, the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine, and General Workers&rsquo; Unions (ICEM) has issued a leaflet that can be found here. Since 1988, trade union and civil society efforts have engineered a strong response to the epidemic, and recorded results prove the engineering has solid footing, thanks to labour unions and NGOs. 
 
But more work remains. &ldquo;The fight to eliminate the scourge of the pandemic is far from finished, and more must be done,&rdquo; said ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re proud to recognise the 20th Anniversary of December 1, but even prouder to mark this day with commitment to wage this fight until the disease is gone.&rdquo; 

<img height="276" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/ICEM_AIDSlogodark.jpg" width="200" />
The role of trade unions is critical in the struggle against AIDS. Trade unions demonstrate leadership on the issue by pushing early testing and prevention methods in the workplace, and then in homes and communities. The issue is a priority in most governing bodies, in women&rsquo;s caucuses, on health and safety committees, and most importantly; in negotiations with companies. This impact is positive to the community, to family life, and to national level policies based on workable and achievable grass-roots principles aimed at combatting the disease. 
 
Together with social 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 to take the lead. Designating leadership as the overall theme for 2007-08 provides an opportunity to highlight the political leadership needed to fulfill commitments, particularly the promise of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support by 2010. 
 
Any union member, shop steward, union official, committee member, or gender representative who takes action today on HIV/AIDS is a leader in the fight against the deadly disease. 
 
The World AIDS Campaign has developed material that can be accessed at <a href="http://www.worldaidscampaign.org">www.worldaidscampaign.org</a>. 
 
 
 
For further information, contact Dick Blin or Tom Grinter, ICEM, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;+41&nbsp;22&nbsp;304&nbsp;1840&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;; <a href="mailto:dick.blin@icem.org">dick.blin@icem.org</a> or <a href="mailto:tom.grinter@.icem.org">tom.grinter@.icem.org</a>.

ICEM Marks 20th World AIDS Day with Commitment to the Future

ICEM WOMEN’S BULLETIN 32

Whereas, the current global financial crisis was brought on by speculative anarchy of the market system and it has already created great economic hardships in the manufacturing sectors of ICEM sectors, with a fuller and deeper impact certain to come; and 
Whereas, a common fact in economic crises&rsquo; of the past is that the people least responsible in the world for an economic collapse are generally the most vulnerable, worst affected, and the least able to cope in the aftermath of such crises&rsquo;; and 
Whereas, the crisis has already resulted in reduced trade, more competition for a lesser amount of credit, and flight away from developing world projects by investors, with more emphasis on protecting financial institutions and their shareholders than on societies at large; and 
Whereas, in the United States, where the crisis had its origins, the US$700 billion bailout, as depicted by the United Steelworkers in the letter to the US Treasury Department, grants taxpayer funds to a handful of financial institutions at valuations far greater than what other investors might pay for similar stakes in these institutions, thus serving as a government means to save a sector from its own mismanagement at taxpayer expense; and 
Whereas, the global financial crisis was preceded by illogical borrowing and speculation, an unprecedented period of leveraging assets to obtain short-term and excessive profits, characterized by massive executive salaries and bonuses while wages and working conditions have become depressed; now 
Therefore, Be it Resolved, that systems of workers&rsquo; capital, namely pension funds, public funds, and other common sets of assets be used to enhance workers&rsquo; interests and defend workers&rsquo; rights, wages, and work standards; and further 
Be it Resolved, that the ICEM recognise the third quarter 2008 financial collapse as a turning point in history in which the current system of capital has not worked, and must be revamped, and which, insertion of public money into financial institutions demands greater public influence, as well as recognition by all social partners that the financial sector needs re-regulation; and further 
Be it Resolved, that the ICEM calls on the Council of Global Unions in early 2009 to adopt a policy calling on the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organisation, as well as the world&rsquo;s Group of Eight, the OECD, not to abandon existing commitments regarding project development in the countries that need it the most, or to abandon or diminish the Millennium Development Goals; and further 
Be it Resolved, that the ICEM use its structures, and its involvement in the Council of Global Unions, to call for creation of a new and fairer system of global capital, and that this system contain stringent financial oversight and governance, including a new set of global regulations, as well as inclusion of more governments, particularly those of developing countries, to the list of countries that currently control global capital.

ICEM Resolution of the Financial Crisis

Statement of Xstrata Union Leaders 
 
We as leaders of unions representing workers at Xstrata have met in Montreal, Quebec on October 15 and 16, 2008. 
 
We have exchanged information and discussed our experiences. 
 
We are concerned that Xstrata&rsquo;s actions are having a negative impact on workers and communities around the world. We expect Xstrata to operate at the highest labour and environmental standards around the world. 
 
We agreed as follows: 
&bull; To support members of CAW 599 in their struggle in Timmins, Ontario, Canada with the company. 
&bull; To find concrete ways to offer stronger support to each other during collective bargaining, especially for unions entering into bargaining in 2008 and 2009 (including among others: the Falconbridge Workers Union in the Dominican Republic; Altonorte Smelter Workers Union, in Chile, and Antamina Workers Union, in Peru). 
&bull; To promote worker exchanges to promote solidarity and build awareness on workers&rsquo; issues. 
&bull; To improve communication between us. We need fast and effective communication as the foundation of our work. We will establish a communications network through the internet. 
&bull; To consult with and educate our members in our local unions. 
&bull; To endorse the campaign of the CFMEU in Australia on workers&rsquo; right to be represented by trade unions. We will participate in that campaign through coordinated action. 
&bull; To meet again and bring together more unions representing Xstrata workers. To work with the ICEM and its affiliates. 
&bull; To develop strategies, including media strategies, to advance union campaigns. 
&bull; To establishing an International Solidarity Fund that would provide us with the resources to undertake joint projects and support each other at the appropriate times 
&bull; To work toward: 
&bull; establishing a Workers&rsquo; World Council 
&bull; engaging the company in the establishment of common international minimum standards on occupational health, safety and environment. 
 
The following unions and union federations participated in the meeting and endorse this statement. 
 
ICEM - International Federation of Chemical, Energy, and Mining and General Workers&rsquo; Unions 
 
From Australia &ndash; 
Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union (CFMEU) &ndash; Australia, including: CFMEU branches at: 
&bull; Xstrata Newlands Coal 
&bull; Xstrata Oaky North Coal 
&bull; Northern District Branches 
 
From Germany - 
IG Metal, Nordenham, Germany 
 
From Canada &ndash; 
United Steelworkers (USW), including: 
&bull; USW Local 2020 &ndash; Xstrata Nickel, Sudbury, Ontario 
&bull; USW Local 4614 - Fonderie Generale &ndash; Montreal, Quebec 
&bull; USW Local 5385 &ndash; Brunswick Mining &amp; Smelting, Bathurst, New Brunswick 
&bull; USW Local 6887 &ndash; CCR, Montreal, Quebec 
&bull; USW Local 6486 &ndash; CEZinc, Montreal, Quebec 
&bull; USW Local 9449 - Raglan, Qu&eacute;bec 
&bull; USW Local 7085 &ndash; Brunswick Mining &amp; Smelting, Bathurst, New Brunswick 
 
From Chile &ndash; 
Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Fundidora Altonorte, Antofagasta, Chile 
 
From the Dominican Republic &ndash; 
SUTRAFADO, Falconbridge Workers Union, Dominican Republic 
 
From Peru &ndash; 
FNTMMSP, National Federation of Mine and Metalworkers of Peru 
SUTRACOMASA, Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Compa&ntilde;&iacute;a Minera Antamina, Peru

XSTRATA UNIONS GLOBAL NETWORK

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For the first time, national legislation has been enacted to govern carbon capture and storage or CCS. A new Australian law creates a setting which encourages companies to invest with confidence in CCS technology and inject and sequester CO2 offshore. 
 
Tony Maher from ICEM affiliate the Construction Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), has welcomed the new legislation: &ldquo;Large scale CCS requires a regulatory framework if it is going to happen. Governments need to act quickly to put that in place &ndash; in Australia and around the world. We won&rsquo;t get investment in new power stations, or the retrofitting of existing ones, until there are pipelines and storage sites. We need appropriate laws and regulations for all three stages.&rdquo; 

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Australia also recently announced the formation of the Global CCS Institute, which it has proposed to be the coordinating body for the G8 commitment to develop 20 CCS facilities by 2020. The formation of the Institute is strongly supported by the CFMEU. 
 
At a major coal conference in India in December 2007, the ICEM along with major coal mining unions called for an international body to develop and share CCS technology, The position was strengthened at the 2008 ICEM Global Mining Conference which took place in St. Petersburg, Russia. 
 
Australia and the CFMEU have shown once again they are on the cutting edge of addressing global warming in a way that does not cut short jobs in the coal industry. The need for pooled resources and an international agency to propel the development of CCS will be one of the positions advocated by the International Trade Union Council at the December meeting of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland. The ICEM along with a number of its affiliates, including the CFMEU, will attend.

Australia and CFMEU Make Major Progress in Creating the First National Legislation on Carbon Capture

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Meeting in Aberdeen, Scotland, on 10 November, offshore oil and gas workers unions from the United Kingdom, Denmark, Netherlands, and Norway, together with representatives from the ICEM and International Transport Workers&rsquo; Federation (ITF), expressed full support to the boycott of Petro-Canada products throughout Canada. 
 
The action is in support of 260 oil refinery workers, members of Communication, Energy Paperworkers (CEP) Union Local 175, who have been locked-out at a PetroCanada refinery in Montreal, Quebec, since 17 November. 
 
Participants at the meeting were appalled to hear that the company has jeopardised safety by attempting to operate the refinery at reduced output using management and scab replacement workers. 
<img height="188" alt="" src="/sites/default/files/migration/icem/0811.Aberdeen.Offshore.Oil&amp;Gas.JPG" width="250" />
&ldquo;We call on PetroCanada to immediately end the lockout and accept the work terms and conditions contained in the CEP National Energy &amp; Chemical Bargaining Pattern Agreement. This pattern was set by PetroCanada and the CEP at an oil refinery in Edmonton, Alberta, earlier in 2007,&rdquo; said Norrie McVicar, ITF Offshore Task Force Chairman. 
 
&ldquo;Oil &amp; Gas workers around the world must be informed of this outrageous behaviour by Petro-Canada and we need to increase pressure on the company internationally as the lockout approaches its first anniversary,&rdquo; said Lars Myhre Chairperson of the ICEM-ITF Oil &amp; Gas Workers Trade Union Alliance and President of the ICEM Energy Industries Section. 
 
The meeting took place to plan a conference of North Sea oil and gas workers, slated for early 2009, and participants unanimously decided to invite CEP to this conference to share experiences in the industry.

ICEM/ITF Onshore/Offshore Task Force Pledges Support for CEP’s Petro-Canada Boycott

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Two meetings were held recently in Colombia, as organised by ICEM Project Coordinator Carlos Bustos. One meeting was held at the Bogot&aacute; headquarters of the Colombian electrical workers union, Sintralecol, to discuss the difficult circumstances facing trade unionists in the country, and to improve communication between unions in relation to protecting workers&rsquo; rights. 
 
A second meeting, a set of workshops from 27-31 October, saw 38 trade union leaders participate in an ICEM training forum where ideas were exchanged on how to push forward during dangerous times for trade unionists, as well as for local indigenous groups. 
 
Present at the Sintralecol headquarters were representatives from labour unions ISCOD, FIA-UGT, as well as union leaders from the companies Endesa, Repsol, Iberdrola, and Union Fenosa, as well as the national leadership of Sintralecol. They included: Antonio Deusa of FIA-UGT; Monserrat L&oacute;pez of FIA-UGT; Donato Palomares, a union leader at Endesa; Antonio Rodr&iacute;guez of FIA-UGT at Iberdrola; Roberto Cabal and Walter Van Battenburg, trade union leaders at Endesa in Chile; H&eacute;ctor Fajardo, representing ISCOD; Lu&iacute;s Farf&aacute;n of Sintralecol; and Bustos. 
 

<img height="165" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/0811.Colombia.TU_.Workshop.png" width="260" />
All present spoke on the political situation in Colombia, expressing their concerns over the serious situation facing workers and the exercise of their human rights in Colombia. With these challenges, the trade unions searched for ways to improve relations at national level and ways to attract international support for workers not protected by the law. The international labour representatives present called for unity in the fight for workers&rsquo; rights in Colombia, as well as for decent pay throughout Latin America. All parties present pledged to move forward in solidarity and unity. 
 
The late October training sessions took up the strike of sugar cane workers, now ended, and the conflict that members of Sintraquim, the ICEM Colombian affiliate representing chemical workers, has with management at Laboratorios Biogen. These cases illustrate blatant examples of worker persecution and trade union repression. 
 
Organisations assisting with the event included Sintraquim, Sintraelecol, Sintracarbon and Sintravidricol. Individuals present were Bustos, who coordinates ICEM in Colombia; Hernando Beltr&aacute;n Soci&oacute;logo, a regional expert: Manuel &Aacute;ngel T&eacute;llez of the CUT: Miguel &Aacute;ngel Castro, an economist; Crist&oacute;bal L&oacute;pez, who presented her concept of globalization, and Dr. Carlos Rodr&iacute;guez and Dr. Lu&iacute;s Farf&aacute;n, who both discussed leadership techniques on how to manage strikes. 
 
All those present pledged action of support and solidarity with comrades at Sintrabiogen, in their struggles for workers&rsquo; rights.

Colombian Trade Unions conduct Meetings, Workshops to Develop Solidarity in Challenging Times

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In October 2006, efforts to make the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure of the Rotterdam Convention apply to asbestos were blocked by a handful of countries, including Canada. The Rotterdam Convention is an international agreement on hazardous materials. 
 
PIC is not a ban. It is a requirement stating that information is to be made available, and adequate warning of a substance&rsquo;s hazards is to be made available when that substance is traded on global markets. However, even this mild requirement has been too much for the asbestos industry to accept. Their fear, no doubt, is that such warnings will cause developing countries &ndash; Canada is one of the biggest exporters of asbestos &ndash; to question the safety of asbestos. 

<img height="200" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/Asbestos.jpg" width="135" />
The Canadian government made the usual public excuses about scientific uncertainty but, in fact, a government memo that became public last year proves that Canada backs the asbestos industry for crass economic and political reasons. The existence, or lack of existence,&nbsp;of&nbsp;any scientific doubt about the hazards of asbestos played little role. 
 
On 31 October, at the most recent Conference of the Parties to the Rotterdam Convention, Canada once again managed to prevent the PIC procedure from applying to asbestos. Canadian delegates, aware of the embarrassing stance of their position, chose to keep a low profile, but worked behind the scenes to organise and encourage the very few remaining supporters of asbestos to block any progress. Those nations are India, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Ukraine, Pakistan, and the Philippines. 
 
It is interesting to note that the Rotterdam Convention binds signatory countries to consider only the hazard criteria. Economic and trade issues are not grounds for excluding a substance from the PIC procedure. How then were the parties able to prevent the inclusion of asbestos under PIC when no one at the October meeting was able to refute the case that all forms of asbestos &ndash; including chrysotile &ndash; meet the Rotterdam Convention&rsquo;s scientific and legal criteria?

Canada Again Serves as Roadblock at Rotterdam Convention on Asbestos

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Five hundred Canadian miners at Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. had been on strike for over three months seeking a new collective agreement, one that included a commodity-based bonus scheme. The strike ended last week, 13 November, when members of United Steelworkers Locals 7458, 7689, and 189 voted by 77.5% to ratify a new labour agreement. 
 
Miners and processing plant workers at worksites of PotashCorp in the western Canadian province of Saskatchewan are expected to be back in their jobs this week. 
 
The three-year agreement provides minimum 18% wage increases over that period, with some increases higher. Roger Falconer, USW&rsquo;s Canadian head of strategic campaign, said, &ldquo;The members are happy to go back to work.&rdquo; Included in the back-to-work agreement is retroactive pay during the strike, which began on 7 August, a supplemental market bonus of C$5,000, and shift premium increases which start at C$1.35-an-hour. 
 
<img height="101" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/0811.usw_.potash.strike.jpg" width="134" />&nbsp; <img height="87" alt="" src="/wp-content/uploads/articles/0811.usw_.potash.strike.2.jpg" width="116" /> 

Workers did not achieve commodity-based bonuses &ndash; a central issue being the strike &ndash; primarily because of the rapid economic downturn now. 
 
They did receive a C$50 increase to vacation bonuses, as well as return-to-work bonuses following layoffs of C$800 for the first two weeks of a furlough, and C$400-per-week after that. 
 
PotashCorp reported a profit increase of more than 400% in 2007 over 2006. The company is the world&rsquo;s largest fertilizer enterprise, with the operations that were struck, Cory, Allan, and Patience Lake mines and plants, accounting for 18% of all Canadian potash supply and six percent of the world&rsquo;s capacity. 
 
USW members took their campaign for a fair labour agreement to New York City and London to persuade industry analysts that they were proposals were justified, and that a prolonged strike would severely hurt the company&rsquo;s financial ledger. 

&nbsp;

USW Canadian Members End 99-Day Strike at Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan

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