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International Development Matters

Issue Number 50 - August 2006

 

 

 

 

Articles for inclusion in International Development Matters should be sent to Tanya Warlock at twarlock@tuc.org.uk

• TUC Response to Suspension of World Trade Talks, July 2006
• St. Petersburg G8 Union response: question of follow-up remains paramount
• TUC Congress 2006
• Re-launch of TUC Aid
• Rebuilding lives and livelihoods in Tsunami-affected Asia
• Massive EPZ workers' rights violations in Nicaragua, ICFTU report shows
• Core labour Standards in Togo: new ICFTU report
• United Arab Emirates: Trade union rights online campaign launched
• Labour Forum on HIV and AIDS
• EI Report: HIV/AIDS Training for Teachers
• WHO launches new plan to confront HIV-related health worker shortages: more than 4 million health workers needed to fill gaps in 57 countries
• World Teachers' Day: 5 October
• World Bank support for primary education: assessment report
• World Bank's anti-corruption policy: new draft policy
• Two papers on impact of debt relief from Jubilee USA
• The great corporate tax break: having their cake and eating it too
• Stand Up Against Poverty: Month of Action
• Announcement of a new TUC International Development Learning Fund
• Johannesburg Declaration: a common roadmap adopted by African Unions on Labour and Environment
• Trade Unions Launch Sustainable Development Unit
• Netherlands does more to improve lives in developing countries says new report; UK is 12th out of 21
• Ethical Trading Initiative: guidelines for homeworkers
• ACTSA Update on Zimbabwe "Dignity! Period Campaign
• AFL CIO Solidarity Center newsletter: Summer 2006
• Globalisation and Labour Rights: 6-week certificate course for trade unionists at ISS, The Hague, Netherlands
• Events
• Week of solidarity with Iraqi people: message from the General Federation of Iraqi Workers
• Photo exhibition: Colombia - caught in the crossfire
• China Blue: a portrait of migrant workers in China, 28 September
• Launch of ETI Impact Assessment Study: 19 October
• ACTSA Crisis in Zimbabwe Conference: 4 November
• Useful websites

TUC Response to Suspension of World Trade Talks, July 2006

The World Trade Organisation negotiating process was suspended on Monday 24 July. This suspension followed the failure of talks amongst the G6 group of countries (USA, EU, India, Brazil, Japan and Australia) to break the deadlock that has been afflicting the so called, 'Doha Development Round' almost since its inception. The breakdown is not a great surprise; however, it is a sad reflection on the lack of vision and political will on the part of many of the governments involved. The TUC statement is here

http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-12215-f0.cfm

St. Petersburg G8 Union response: question of follow-up remains paramount

In the face of stiff competition from rival agendas of sovereign member governments, the St. Petersburg commitment to develop human resource policies in concert with business, higher education and labour together with the agreement to track progress on defeating worldwide HIV/AIDS, must count as not insignificant victories by trade unions.

With energy security, infectious disease, and education declared as paramount issues by the G8 summit's host President Putin, inclusion of labour as an integral component of the education agenda did not satisfy the ambitions of international trade union representatives but was seen definitely as positive.

'Our governments will promote dialogue and synergies ' the G8 Education document stated, ' with business, higher education and labour, to develop sound higher education and human resource policies.'

http://www.en.g8russia.ru/docs/

At the pre-summit trade union leaders meeting with the Russian leader on July 6, the trade unions fought to get three key aspects of concern introduced on the summit agenda as transversal issues: creation of decent work, workers rights and the delivery on past G8 promises. The G8 web site published the trade union statement and President Putin undertook to submit proposals to fellow leaders.

http://www.en.g8russia.ru/page_work/24.html

John Evans, General Secretary of TUAC, cited the G8 text on Education for Innovative Societies in the 21st century (see paragraph 3 above), adding that ' The issue is follow-up and implementation as President Putin accepted in the Kremlin meeting with trade union leaders before the summit itself.'

To read the TUAC Evaluation of the St. Petersburg summit, click here:

http://www.tuac.org/statemen/communiq/St%20PetersburgG8-2006eWhp.pdf

TUC Congress 2006

The TUC Congress will take place in Brighton from 11 - 14 September 2006. You can find lots more information on

http://www.tuc.org.uk/congress/index.cfm?mins=445

The motions that have been submitted on Global Solidarity are here

http://www.tuc.org.uk/congress/tuc-12294-f5.cfm#tuc-12294-5

Re-launch of TUC Aid

Plans are underway to re-launch TUC Aid - British trade union development arm - on Tuesday 12 September 2006 with a reception at the Grand Hotel in Brighton hosted by Ed Sweeney, Joint Deputy General Secretary of Amicus and Chair of the TUC International Development Group. Rt. Hon. Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for International Development, will also attend.

TUC Aid, set up in 1988 by the TUC General Council with a view to supporting long-term development, training and education and humanitarian relief, relies mainly on British trade unionists for its funds and has assisted trade unions in developing countries in their efforts to strengthen their institutions and structures through provision of technical expertise. It has, in recent years, raised substantial funds in the wake of natural disasters to facilitate the long-term rehabilitation of victims. It is currently supporting a relief programme in three countries in Tsunami-affected South Asia.

Rebuilding lives and livelihoods in Tsunami-affected Asia

TUC Aid, the development arm of the TUC, has been supporting people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand in their efforts to rebuild lives and livelihoods following the devastation caused by Tsunami waves in December 2004.

In Indonesia, TUC Aid, in collaboration with Australian People for Health, Education and Development Abroad (APHEDA) of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), is building the capacity of independent and democratic trade unions in Aceh. In addition, it is, in co-operation with the ILO Office in Jakarta, contributing to the development of effective trade unions in the informal sector in the Tsunami-affected regions in Indonesia. Read Progress Report for more information;

http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-12240-f0.cfm

In Sri Lanka, TUC Aid has collaborated with the American Centre for International Labour Solidarity (ACILS) in Colombo, in an initiative designed to facilitate the long-term rehabilitation of victims and enhance sustainability of livelihoods through vocational training.

Read Progress Report for more information;

http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-12241-f0.cfm

In Thailand, the Charity, together with the Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB), is supporting a project designed to facilitate the integration of Burmese migrant workers and their families into Thai society. Read Progress Report for more information;

http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-12242-f0.cfm

TUC Aid has committed some £275,000 to the four Projects, three of which are due to be completed towards the end of this year. In addition, it made a donation of £25,000 to the British Red Cross in January 2005 to be used for emergency relief. Moreover, TUC Aid supported a conference organised by Tourism Concern on the reconstruction of the tourist industry in the countries concerned.

TUC Aid, established in 1988 by the TUC General Council with a view to raising funds for humanitarian relief, trade union education and training activities and long-term development, is a charity registered in the UK.

Massive EPZ workers' rights violations in Nicaragua, ICFTU report shows

The ICFTU has just published a new report on core labour standards in Nicaragua, to coincide with the WTO's review of the country's trade policy. The ICFTU report highlights the numerous barriers to the effective application of fundamental workers' rights in the country.

The report points to the serious problems taking place in the country's export processing zones, which employ about 60,000 workers, the overwhelming majority being women. "The massive violations of workers' rights in Export Processing Zones are a source of great concern. It is urgent to put an end to the practices of some maquilas, which seek systematically to sack, repress and threaten unionists. The widespread use of blacklists should not be tolerated.

The report demonstrates that trade unionists are not adequately protected by the law. It denounces the situation of workers in public state enterprises, universities and higher technical education institutions, whose fundamental rights are not explicitly recognised by law. In addition, either in law or in practice, trade unionists are not sufficiently protected against employers' anti-union strategies: it is extremely easy for employers to dismiss trade unionists.

http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991224848&Language=EN

Core labour Standards in Togo: new ICFTU report

The ICFTU has just published a new report on core labour standards in Togo, to coincide with the WTO's review of the country's trade policy. The ICFTU report denounces the numerous barriers to the effective application of fundamental workers' rights in Togo.

It explains that although Togo has ratified all eight Core Labour Standards of the ILO, serious restrictions on workers' rights, discrimination, child labour and forced labour continue to exist on a massive scale. It is, therefore, essential that Togo take decisive steps to ensure compliance with the commitments it accepted in Singapore, Geneva and Doha, in the WTO Ministerial Declarations over 1996-2001,and in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

The worst violations relate to the two ILO Conventions on freedom of association and the right to organise and collective bargaining. Restrictions on these rights exist in the national legislation, and despite Togo's ratification of the ILO Conventions, they are not applied in practice.

As regards equal pay and discrimination, the report points to the existence of widespread gender inequalities on the labour market. Women tend to work in agriculture and the informal economy, in jobs without social protection, and are largely underrepresented in the formal public and private sectors.

To read the full text of the report:

http://www.icftu.org/www/PDF/Togoreport19-6-06.pdf

United Arab Emirates: Trade union rights online campaign launched

If Australia under the Howard government (or the USA under Bush) is not an entirely congenial environment for trade unions, those countries are absolute paradises compared to the United Arab Emirates. There, a workforce that is 95% consisting of migrant labour is building glittering skyscrapers and an ultra-modern city under horrendous conditions of heat and humidity, without any unions at all. Unions are not legal in the UAE, an authoritarian country that has gotten an undeserved good public image despite how it treats its workers.

A new website aims to change that public perception and will soon launch an online protest campaign. It's called the "Campaign for UAE

Construction Workers' Rights" and can be found here:

http://www.dubaiworkers.org/

Labour Forum on HIV and AIDS

A Labour Forum hosted by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) brought together some hundred trade union activists from around the world on the eve of the International Conference on AIDS held in Toronto, Canada, and provided an opportunity to discuss the effectiveness of the trade union contribution to the fight against the pandemic, exchange views and experiences and develop workplace strategies to deal with the consequences of HIV/AIDS.

A number of senior trade unionists addressed the two-day Forum held on 12-13 August 2006, which concluded with a passionate plea for more resources and greater collaboration and co-ordination in the trade union response to the pandemic. For the Report on the Labour Forum see

http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-12315-f0.pdf

EI Report: HIV/AIDS Training for Teachers

The record of national governments across the world in providing proper training on HIV/AIDS for teachers is an altogether mixed one. However in the majority of African countries national administrations have failed to mount a long-term and systematic education sector response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

In 2005 EI sent a survey to all unions involved in the 'HIV/AIDS Prevention through Schools Programme' to gather information on the positioning of HIV and AIDS within pre- and in-service training. Their responses are now contained in the EI Report 'Training For Life:

Teacher Training on HIV/AIDS'.

The document is essentially an analysis of the performance of Ministries of Education in eight countries on a crucial element in the fight against HIV: making sure that teachers have the knowledge and the skills to address HIV in their schools. The feedback from affiliates largely confirms EI's concerns regarding training i.e. that it is limited or non-existent. To download a copy of the report, please see:

http://www.ei-ie.org/efaids/en/publications.htm

WHO launches new plan to confront HIV-related health worker shortages: more than 4 million health workers needed to fill gaps in 57 countries

The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the International Labour Organization and the International Organization for Migration, has announced the launch of a coordinated global plan to address a major and often overlooked barrier to preventing and treating HIV/AIDS: the severe shortage of health workers, particularly in developing nations.

Called 'Treat, Train, Retain', the plan is an important component of WHO's overall efforts to strengthen human resources for health and to promote comprehensive national strategies for human resource development across different disease programmes. The plan is also part of WHO's work to promote universal access to HIV/AIDS services. Through its HIV/AIDS Programme, WHO is playing a central role in making the goal of universal access a reality. Fifty-seven countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia (particularly Bangladesh, India, and Indonesia) face crippling shortages of health workers. WHO estimates that more than four million health workers are needed to fill the gap. Sub-Saharan Africa faces the greatest challenges. With 11 percent of the world's population and almost 64 percent of all people living with HIV, the region has only 3 percent of the world's health workers. Globally, health workers are also concentrated in urban areas, leaving shortages in rural areas.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2006/pr37/en/

World Teachers' Day: 5 October

On October 5 each year, teachers' organisations worldwide mobilise to ensure that the needs of future generations are taken into consideration.

UNESCO inaugurated October 5 as World Teachers' Day in 1994 to commemorate the joint signing of the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers on 5 October 1966. World Teachers' Day also highlights the UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher Education Teaching Personnel adopted in 1997.

According to UNESCO, World Teachers' Day represents a significant token of the awareness, understanding and appreciation displayed for the vital contribution that teachers make to education and development. Education International strongly believes that this Teachers' Day should be internationally recognized and celebrated around the world. EI also believes that, on this anniversary date, the principles of the 1966 and 1997 Recommendations should be considered for implementation in all nations.

Over 100 countries observe World Teachers' Day. The efforts of Education International and its 348 member organisations have contributed to this widely spread recognition. Every year, EI launches a public awareness campaign to highlight the contributions of the teaching profession. You can read the EI statement here

http://www.eiie.org/worldteachersday/en/resources_statement.php

World Bank support for primary education: assessment report

The World Bank's Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) issued an assessment yesterday of the Bank's support for primary education. The report finds that the tripling of Bank spending for primary education in the past fifteen years has succeeded in increasing enrolment rates but that the results in terms of "learning outcomes" have been mixed. The IEG is supposed to operate independently from Bank staff and management and delivers its reports directly to the board of executive directors. However Bank management is given an opportunity to respond to the IEG's reports.

The IEG reviewed over 700 Bank-funded primary education projects in preparing its extensive assessment. It recommends that one of the core objectives of the Bank's interventions should be the quality of education, which would require additional investments in areas such as teacher training. In its communiqué accompanying the report, the IEG states that the Bank and client countries "will need to resist the persistent temptation to increase access first and improve learning outcomes later, since experience has shown that it is difficult to retrofit quality onto a system that is operating at a low level of performance".

It should be noted that Education International has frequently advised the World Bank that its policies have not sufficiently underscored the necessity of improving the quality of education. In its determination to contribute to the attainment at lowest cost of MDG 2 of universal primary education, the Bank has sometimes encouraged governments to cut corners in their efforts to increase school attendance, including through the hiring of under-qualified "volunteer teachers" in several West African countries.

In its response to the IEG report, World Bank management disputes some of the findings and, citing projects approved in 2006, claims that the Bank's education sector "has been increasing its support for quality-enhancing inputs".

A two-page press release issued by the IEG is available:

http://www.worldbank.org/ieg/education/documents/pr_education.pdf

World Bank's anti-corruption policy: new draft policy

The World Bank has posted a draft policy paper entitled "Strengthening Bank Group Engagement on Governance and Anticorruption", which will be discussed by the Bank's executive directors at a board meeting scheduled for Thursday 31 August. The paper was prepared by Bank management following a mandate granted to president Paul Wolfowitz at last April's IFI spring meetings. A finalized version will be submitted to the ministerial-level Development Committee at next month's IFI annual meetings (19-20 September, Singapore).

The paper announces the Bank's intention to work "hand-in-glove with the country's own champions of reform in government and in collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders". The latter are said to include "parliament, civil society, nongovernmental organizations, media and local communities". Trade unions are not specifically referred to and no mention is made of increasing protection for workers that divulge incidences of corruption in private firms or government agencies, or within the World Bank itself.

The web link for the Bank's 75-page draft anti-corruption policy paper is:

http://www.worldbank.org/html/extdr/comments/governancefeedback/gacpaper.pdf

Two papers on impact of debt relief from Jubilee USA

The first paper discusses the gains achieved since the IMF and World Bank agreed last year to cancel 100 per cent of the debts owed to them by 21 countries (two IMF debt only), and the unfinished agenda for extending debt cancellation to a greater number of countries and eliminating harmful conditionality attached to debt relief:

http://www.jubileeusa.org/take_action/unfinished_agenda.pdf

The second paper explains how high international oil prices have undermined the positive impact of debt relief for poor oil-importing countries:

http://www.jubileeusa.org/take_action/global_warning.pdf

The great corporate tax break: having their cake and eating it too

A major report released by the ICFTU in July uncovers the disturbing extent of corporate tax avoidance and evasion and warns that unless governments cease engaging in the race to lower corporate taxes, both industrialized and developing countries will face a major public funding crisis.

The figures in the report show that:

• Average corporate tax rates in industrialized countries have fallen from 45 per cent to 30 per cent in two decades due to tax competition;
• if corporate taxation keeps receding at the current rate, corporate tax rates will hit 0 per cent by the middle of the century,
• conservative estimates show that developing countries lose US$50 billion annually due to tax havens;
• out of the 275 largest corporations in the US, 82 paid no tax in or received a tax refund in at least one of the years between 2001 and 2003;
• the number of Export Processing Zones has risen from 850 in 1998 to more than 5,000 in 2004, despite their generally bad track record on labour rights;
• in 2001, the amount of income estimated to be lost in the US due to the abuse of transfer pricing alone was US$53.1 billion;
• as a share of total taxation, corporate taxes have dropped by 15 per cent in the UK and by 22 per cent in Italy since the 1980s, by 41 per cent in Germany and by 43 per cent in Japan since the 1970s and by 53 per cent in the US since the late 1960s.

The report documents the many innovative ways in which companies are escaping their tax obligations, either through exploiting legal loopholes or by simply engaging in illegal behaviour. These innovative accounting practices, enabled by the exponential rise in multinational companies, include transfer pricing, income stripping and the parking of intellectual property.

Companies as large as Boeing, Halliburton, Morgan Stanley, Pepsi, Citigroup and Xerox are either incorporated in tax havens or have a large number of subsidiaries there. This allows them to under-report their profits for the purposes of paying tax whilst at the same time benefiting from taxpayer money through government contracts.

The full report can be read at http://www.icftu.org/www/pdf/taxbreak/tax_break_EN.pdf

Stand Up Against Poverty: Month of Action

The Global Call to Action Against Poverty (the umbrella coalition of all 84 coalitions working on global economic justice) has called for a month of action between 14 September 2006 and 17 October 2006. The global theme for the month is 'Stand Up Against Poverty' when we will be asking world leaders to keep their promises made in 2005 and to do more. In particular, the TUC is asking its affiliates to lend their membership weight from 10am on Sunday 15 - 10am on Monday 16 October which will see a world-wide attempt to set an official Guinness World Record for the biggest number of people ever to 'stand up' against poverty. To make this an event that world leaders take notice of, we need thousands and thousands of trade unionists to add to the numbers by joining in with the global 'Stand Up Against Poverty' world record attempt, which will be held in a 24 hour period.

http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/index.cfm?mins=498&minors=465

Announcement of a new TUC International Development Learning Fund

The new three year DFID/TUC Strategic Framework Partnership Arrangement (SFPA) began last month. One objective within the partnership is to build TUC affiliated trade union capacity to work on international development: to raise development awareness amongst their membership and/or to work in partnership with developing country trade unions. To achieve this, the TUC is setting up an International Development Learning Fund.

http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-12318-f0.cfm

Joint IFC-ILO programme to monitor compliance with labour standards

The ILO and the IFC have announced that they will work together in a "Better Work Programme" which will develop tools for labour standards monitoring and remediation systems. The joint communiqué issued on 25 August, states that the programme will involve pilot projects in three regions and intends to build on the success of the ILO's involvement in the Better Factories Cambodia programme, which worked to improve compliance with international labour standards in Cambodian garment factories. As well as the apparel industry, the projects will take place in plantations, electronics and light manufacturing. Since 1 May 2006, all new IFC loans include the requirement that the borrowing company must abide by the ILO's core labour standards.

IFC's partnership with the ILO will focus on creating global tools for labour standards monitoring and remediation systems; tools will include training, self assessment, information packages, and global Internet access. The second phase will involve pilot rollouts in selected countries of the Middle East, Southern Africa, and East Asia, where the global tools will be implemented in close consultation with labour authorities and supplemented by capacity building services for official labour inspectors, as well as training on best labour practices.

Johannesburg Declaration: a common roadmap adopted by African Unions on Labour and Environment

The First Trade Union African Conference on Labour and the Environment took place in Johannesburg the 28th and 29th July. The Conference, organized by ICFTU African Regional Organisation (AFRO) , COSATU and Sustain labour Foundation brought together 24 national trade union centres from AFRO and OATUU and global union federations (BWI, ITGLWF, ITF, IUF, PSI and UNI).

The Conference adopted the Johannesburg Declaration, which incorporates African concerns and challenges to the Global Resolution agreed by the Trade Unions in the Global Trade Union Assembly in Nairobi, last 14-16th January 2006. The Declaration is now available at:

In English: http://www.sustainlabour.org/documents/africa/declaration.en.pdf

Debates focused on climate change, with special attention to the implications of vulnerability for Labour and Environment, hazardous substances in the workplace & the communities, equal and sustainable access to resources and services: water and energy, and companies' accountability. Decent work and trade union participation in environmental policy as indispensable requirements for sustainable development were the common ground for discussions.

All the working documents and the list of participants are now available at:

http://www.sustainlabour.org/documents.php#africa

Trade Unions Launch Sustainable Development Unit

A new trade union Sustainable Development Unit has been launched by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), Global Unions Research Network (GURN), Sustainlabour and Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC).

The Unit website makes available the Trade Union 'country by country' profiles on a wide range of sustainable development issues: energy, climate change, occupational health & safety, 28 April International Commemoration Day (ICD) for Dead and Injured Workers, asbestos, HIV/AIDS, trade union rights, as well as corporate accountability.

The web site is accessible at: http://www.tradeunionsdunit.org/profiles/

Netherlands does more to improve lives in developing countries says new report; UK is 12th out of 21

The Netherlands does more than any other rich nation to improve lives in developing countries, a report says. The Centre for Global Development's (CGD) Commitment to Development Index of the world's 21 richest nations puts the UK 12th - and ranks Japan last.

CGD President Nancy Birdsall welcomed a "steady" improvement in commitment to poverty reduction in recent years. But, she added, help had fallen far short of promises made by world leaders in 2005 - the "Year of Development".

The CGD's measures a broad number of factors for the index, rather than merely the amount of aid countries provide. It also examines several policy areas - such as trade investment migration and environment - while aid is measured not only in terms of quantity but as a share of its income and the quality of aid given.

http://www.cgdev.org/section/initiatives/_active/cdi

Ethical Trading Initiative: guidelines for homeworkers

Over the past four years, the Ethical Trading Initiative has brought key retailers and brands - including the Body Shop International, Boots the Chemist, Gap Inc, Monsoon, Next plc and Sainsburys Supermarkets - together with trade unions and non-government organisations to produce the ETI homeworker guidelines. The guidelines are the first ever attempt to promote and guide responsible corporate practice in the area of homeworking. They reflect ETI members´ collective experience that the entire industry - not just retailers but also suppliers, trade unions and NGOs - must play a part in safeguarding and improving the conditions of these workers. The guidelines therefore provide tailored recommendations, guidance and tools for each of these groups.

You can download the guidelines at www.ethicaltrade.org/d/homeworkers

ACTSA Update on Zimbabwe "Dignity! Period Campaign

Early in August, a further 400,000 sanitary pads were delivered via the ZCTU structures across Zimbabwe to women most in need. This is all thanks to the ongoing support you and you organisations have given to the Dignity Period Campaign.

We need to make sure that these can become regular distributions, as expectations have now been set quite high by the success of this campaign so far.

We will send out a full and more detailed update soon, but to date we have provided 1.5 million sanitary products to the women of Zimbabwe since the campaign was launched late last year.

We are now using a local producer in Zimbabwe rather than trying to source the products outside the country, and thus are able to buy more products for the money we raise.

We look forward to your ongoing support for this campaign and for the work of Action for Southern Africa in solidarity with the people of southern Africa.

For more information on this campaign and how you can help visit:

http://www.actsa.org/Get_involved/zimbabwe_sanitary_campaign.htm

AFL CIO Solidarity Center newsletter: Summer 2006

In the latest Solidarity Center's newsletter, you will meet truck drivers who are preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS in Eastern Africa, Indonesian youth fighting human trafficking, Colombian unionists targeted for death threats for their union activism, and Nepali union members leading their country toward democracy. With the support of the Solidarity Center, workers in 55 countries are developing innovative strategies to protect their rights. You are invited to meet these workers and to learn more about global programs to protect worker rights.

http://www.solidaritycenter.org/content.asp?contentid=602

Globalisation and Labour Rights: 6-week certificate course for trade unionists at ISS, The Hague, Netherlands

(18 April - 1 June 2007)

Economic globalisation poses major challenges for trade unions with different categories of labour facing cutbacks, unemployment and reduction of social security and protection. There is a felt need to address these different processes and concerns and to ensure that globalisation respects and integrates labour concerns and rights. The Certificate course is a response to this need. In the relatively short and intensive period, it exposes the participants to the main issues and concerns on globalisation and develop possibilities for action within a human/labour rights framework. The curriculum has been developed on the basis of extensive discussions with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

Target Group

Primarily mid-career trade union members, trade union researchers and policy makers and advisors, and other individuals involved in the promotion of human/worker/labour rights.

Admission and application:

A relevant bachelor's degree is normally required for Diploma programmes. This requirement can in special cases be waived for this programme (and more likely for the Certificate than the Diploma) in cases of special compensating work experience and relevant other educational qualifications. To apply for the programme you must submit an application form to the Student Office - submission can also be done via e-mail. You can download this form from the website at www.iss.nl (check the left-hand column, and click on 'Studying at the ISS', and then on 'How to apply'). We can also send you an application form if you contact the ISS. Application Deadline: 1 February 2007. Fees: Certificate E 3,500; plus registration fee of E 115. Estimated Costs of living for 6 weeks in The Hague: E 1580.

Events

Week of solidarity with Iraqi people: message from the General Federation of Iraqi Workers

We are honoured to invite you to participate in a week of Solidarity with the Iraqi People against terrorism, political sectarianism, administrative and financial corruption, and to support the disbanding of civilian militias, national reconciliation and the unity of Iraqi people in order to build a united, pluralist, federal and democratic Iraq.

Participating in a seminar in the British parliament, 7 September

2.00 - 4.00 pm

Atlee Suite, Portcullis House, Embankment

House of Commons,

London SW 1A 0AA

Cultural festival, Sunday 10 September

7.00 -10.00 pm Premier Travel Inn

Second floor

255 King Street

London W6 9LU

Photo exhibition: Colombia - caught in the crossfire

War on Want invite you to a photographic exhibition charting the journey of displaced Afro-Colombian communities from their homes to the slums of Buenaventura and Cali.

4 - 17 September

The Spitz Gallery

109 Commercial Street, London E.1

www.waronwant.org/?lid=12775

China Blue: a portrait of migrant workers in China, 28 September

Labour Behind the Label and partners invite you to join Chinese human rights activists and trade unionists for an award-winning film and discussion.

Thursday 28th September, 7.00pm

Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA (Tube: Old Street)

CHINA BLUE A unique and intimate portrayal of the lives of a group of migrant workers inside and outside a Chinese garment factory.

* Winner of the IDFA Amnesty Human Rights Award

* Official selection of the Toronto Film Festival

DISCUSSION With activists from prominent Chinese labour rights groups:

- Vikki Chan, Labour Action China

- Jenny Chan, Students and Scholars Against Corporate misbehaviour

- Lai Ha Cheung, Hong Kong Garment Workers' Federation

- Patrick Poon, China Labour Bulletin

Please register with Martin Hearson, Campaign Coordinator, Labour Behind the Label

martin@labourbehindthelabel.org

www.labourbehindthelabel.org

Launch of ETI Impact Assessment Study: 19 October

THE ETI CODE OF LABOUR PRACTICE: DO WORKERS REALLY

BENEFIT?

This event will take place on Thursday 19 October at the Victory Services Club, near Marble Arch, central London

www.vsc.co.uk/events.

Attend this event to hear the findings and recommendations from the most comprehensive impact assessment of labour codes to date, and to obtain free copies of the report.

The event will also include a preview of the new edition of the ETI Workbook,"Ethical trade: a comprehensive guide for companies", which includes guidance and case studies on how to address many of the recommendations from the ETI Impact Assessment.

Further details about the event will follow in early September.

To book a place please email Adil Rehman, ETI Communications and Events Co-ordinator, adil@eti.org.uk

ACTSA Crisis in Zimbabwe Conference: 4 November

ACTSA has great pleasure in giving you advance notice of a conference on the current crisis in Zimbabwe to be held on Saturday 4th November 2006 from 2pm in central London. (Immediately after ACTSA's AGM).

The keynote speaker will be Comrade Lovemore Matombo, President of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, with other speakers yet to be confirmed. We hope that you will be able to come along and participate in lively discussion and debate about the state of Zimbabwe and understand more fully the context of the current crisis and its possible solutions.

More details will be available over the coming weeks, but to register your interest please email euan.wilmshurst@actsa.org

We will send you a registration form and more information as we have it.

Useful websites

There are a number of websites with useful information for trade unionists, policy makers and campaigners. Details here.

Newsletter (5,300 words) issued 1 Sep 2006