Below is a non-exhaustive overview of ICEM projects for 2011 (programmes through extra-budgetary, i.e. donor, funding). For general guiding principles on the ICEM's project work, please have a look at the ICEM Motion on Project Work, adopted at the ICEM's Executive Committee in 2008.

1. Global projects 
2. Sub-Saharan Africa projects
3. Asia/Pacific projects
4. Central and Eastern European projects
5. Latin America and Caribbean projects
6. Middle East and Northern Africa projects

1. Global Projects

ICEM Contract and Agency Labour Project (CAL) 

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The Global ICEM Contract and Agency Labour project is in the middle of a 3-year cycle (2010-2012), continuing to provide day-to-day assistance and practical solidarity to unions facing CAL problems, as well as organising meetings, seminars, workshops, conferences and other activities on the subject, both at national and international level, bringing trade unionists from different countries, regions and continents in contact with one another. In addition to this, the project also aims to concentrate on organising CAL workers, and on exchanging best practise examples. Among the more recent priorities of the project are the efforts to work with other GUFs in the area of “precarious work”.

Solidarity Support Organisation: LO/TCO Sweden and LO Norway, ICEM Swedish (IFMetall and Pappers) and Norwegian affiliates (Fellesforbundet)

Project coordinators: Aranya Pakapath (Bangkok, Thailand – Asia coordinator), Rosane Sasse and Elias Pintado (Sao Paulo, Brazil - Latin America coordination), Ashling Seely (global project consultant, Newcastle, UK)

ICEM HIV/AIDS Project

The ICEM HIV/AIDS Project entered a new 3-year phase last year in 2010 in a slightly revised format, partly after a change in donors. After the transition year 2009, the programme continues its work at regional and national level, mainly - but not exclusively - through national programmes in various Sub-Saharan Africa countries, while also still maintaining a global angle. Awareness and prevention campaigns, Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) and the need to include the issue in collective bargaining all continue to be emphasised. 

The ICEM is also involved in a Danish sponsored HIV/AIDS project in Ethiopia and support continues to be received in 2011 from the Canadian ICEM affiliate CEP’s Humanity Fund for ICEM HIV/AIDS projects in Nigeria and in Trinidad and Tobago. Funds are also received from German Boehringer Ingelheim for an HIV/AIDS programme in India.

Project coordinators: Paule France Ndessomin (Johannesburg, South Africa - Project coordinator for Africa), Hans Schwass (Geneva, Switzerland - Global consultant), Cho Charlotte N’Guessan (Abidjan, Ivory Coast - Sub-regional coordinator, Francophone West Africa)

Solidarity Support Organisation: FNV Mondiaal and SASK Finland; ICEM Finnish (Kemianliitto), Dutch (FNV Bondgenoten) and Canadian (CEP) affiliates and IGBCE women (Germany)

2. Sub-Saharan Africa

ICEM Organisational Growth Project Africa
(OD programme)

Following an independent external evaluation in 2009 - which praised the work done by the project so far - the previously called SSDP project (Shop Steward Development Project) changed into the OD (Organisational Development) project. Emphasis, also in 2011, is now more on Organisational Development planning, mainly through the adoption and implementation of OD strategic plans by the individual unions that participate in the project.

These OD plans will contain - and implement - several sub-sections, dealing with different areas of union work, ranging from leadership skills and education and training to gender and financial management. The project operates in 7 countries in the Sub-Saharan region. 

Solidarity Support Organisation: LO-TCO Sweden and FNV Mondiaal, ICEM Swedish affiliates (IFMetall and Pappers) and FNV Bondgenoten

Project coordinators: Kenny Mogane (Johannesburg, South Africa - Project coordinator), Fabian Nkomo (Johannesburg, South Africa - Project coordinator), Cho Charlotte N’Guessan (Abidjan, Ivory Coast - Sub-regional coordinator, Francophone African countries), Paule France Ndessomin (Johannesburg, South Africa - Project Management Assistant)

ICEM Contract and Agency Labour Project for Sub-Saharan Africa

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This Sub-Saharan CAL project is an essential and integrated, yet administratively separate, element of the global CAL campaign, aiming to provide technical support and practical solidarity to those Sub-Saharan African unions that are, or could become, active in the campaign. 

The project aims to provide coordination and an exchange of information on a regional basis, while also directly linking the region to the global campaign, as well as providing direct training for negotiators in those countries where the campaign is proving most successful.

Solidarity Support Organisation: SASK Finland, together with Finnish ICEM affiliates (Kemianliitto, Toimihenkilöunioni, Paperiliitto and Sähköalojen ammattiliitto)

Project coordinator: Joseph Toe

 

3. Asia/Pacific

ICEM Asia Social Dialogue Project 

This sub-regional project (2010-2012), which is facilitating a constructive dialogue between the different ICEM affiliates in 6 South-East Asian countries, was broadened out in early 2010 as the LO-TCO also stepped in as a donor.

Whereas the earlier work – on MNEs and social dialogue, promoting agreements and joint action on key trade union issues, including in cooperation and discussion with employers, on such topics as OHSE, HIV/AIDS, contract & agency labour, gender, productivity & competitiveness and CSR/international standards – was continued, the new project also works on trade union development.

Another novelty is that the project is also operating in India. And there are 2 additional country coordinators (one for India, one for Indonesia).

Solidarity Support Organisation: LO/TCO Sweden and FNV Mondiaal, ICEM affiliates in Sweden and FNV Bondgenoten

Project coordination: Yoon Hyowon (Seoul, South-Korea – central coordinator), Ashutosh Bhattacharya (Nagpur, India – India country coordinator) and Indah Saptorini (Jakarta, Indonesia – Indonesia country coordinator)

ICEM Nepal Rights Project

After several project cycles, the LO-TCO sponsored ICEM Nepal Rights Project ended at the end of 2008. An ICEM mission to Nepal in early 2009 evaluated very positively the work of the project, as it led to some excellent results. However, the mission also had to acknowledge the need for more work done, given the precarious situation of the country’s political system, as well of the Nepalese trade unions themselves.

So, possibilities were looked into to continue the project and, thanks to the assistance of the FNV Mondiaal, a new programme was written and accepted, meaning that the project restarted in mid 2009. It is this programme that now also continues throughout the period 2010-2012.

Solidarity Support Organisation: FNV Mondiaal

Project coordinator: Jeni Jain (Kathmandu, Nepal)

 

4. Central and Eastern Europe

Joint ICEM/EMCEF-IUF/EFFAT-IMF/EMF South-East Europe Trade Union Organisational Development Project

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This joint project (July 2010 - June 2012) is a follow-up project on a joint ICEM/IUF programme, which had been running for quite a few years when it ended in June 2010. The primary objective is - and has always been - a modernisation of trade unions, and of trade union structures, in the region, coupled to efforts to provide assistance to unions with their struggles to cope with new challenges.

Activities, of which some are organised on a sectoral basis, are concentrating on a wide range of subjects and methods, including leadership skills training, social dialogue, general trade union education, union transformation, research, affiliation fee structures, gender issues and outsourcing. A specific objective is the technique of “twinning” (having one trade union “guide” another). 

Solidarity Support Organisation: FES, FNV Mondiaal/FNV Bondgenoten, IGBCE and NGG (German ICEM and IUF affiliates)

Project coordination: Mato Lalic (Zagreb, Croatia), Jacim Milunovic (Belgrade, Serbia), Teuta Krilic (Zagreb, Croatia)

Multi-GUF International Project on Organising and Union Modernisation

Following an earlier stage of this project, which ended in February 2008, a new revised proposal was forwarded by the ICEM (as the lead-GUF) to the donor. A new cycle (2009-2011) started with a completely revised format, offering unions from 6 different GUFs the opportunity to participate in different courses, all concentrating on modernisation of trade unions and organising of new members.

Regional affiliates of the ICEM, IUF, UNI, IMF, BWI and ITF participate in training courses for a 3-year period, among other things on modernisation issues, legal issues, gender and working with multinational companies.

Solidarity Support Organisation: FNV Mondiaal/FNV Bondgenoten

Project coordination: Marina Guliy (Moscow, Russia)

 

5. Latin America and the Caribbean

ICEM Colombia Social Dialogue Project

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The ICEM Colombia project continues its formal process of social dialogue - a process successfully set up by this project - with the joint participation of representatives from the target companies and ICEM affiliates in Colombia.

Through various meetings, training sessions and other activities, with trade unions, but also jointly with management, the project aims to assist Colombian unions with their negotiations with companies, concentrating on particular social dialogue issues, including OHSE, HIV/AIDS, contract & agency labour, productivity & competitiveness, CSR, international labour standards, global framework agreements and sustainable development.

In addition to that, it is also concentrating on union leadership training.

Solidarity Support Organisation: LO-TCO, ICEM Swedish affiliates (IFMetall and Pappers)

Project coordinators: Carlos Bustos and Felipe Díaz

Colombia Contract and Agency Labour and Trade Union Unity Project

The ICEM Colombia CAL and Trade Union Unity Project will work on 2 different, but related, issues: bringing a number of ICEM affiliates closer together - i.e. working towards a merger - and start more activities that concentrate on contract and agency labour. Having a larger multi-sectoral ICEM affiliate would, given the problems faced by many CAL workers in Colombia to get unionised, facilitate organising CAL workers, as these could then all become part of the larger union.

The project started in January 2011 and runs until the end of 2012 - possibly to be prolonged also in 2013.

Solidarity Support Organisation: FNV Mondiaal

Project coordinators: Carlos Bustos and Felipe Díaz

ICEM Brazil Social Dialogue Project

This project, which is loosely modeled after the successful Colombian version, started in mid-2008, organising activities to not only educate trade union members from 4 key Brazilian ICEM affiliates, but also to bring them in contact with each other, as well as with the managers of the target companies, all operating in the Brazilian chemical, petrochemical, mining, materials and electricity sectors.

The effort, currently in its 2010-2012 phase, concentrates on developing an efficient and effective social dialogue that strengthens trade unions and their members’ position.

Solidarity Support Organisation: LO/TCO Sweden and ICEM Swedish affiliates (IFMetall and Pappers)

Project administrator: Elias Soares (Sao Paulo, Brazil)

Strengthening the organisational capacity of ICEM affiliated trade unions in Brazil

As a result of the 2009 Latin America Trade Union Consolidation Pre-project, a 2nd ICEM project was prepared – and adopted in early 2010 – for Brazil. This new 2010-2011 project concentrating on working on, among other, gender, youth and trade union networking.

It is partly an effort to work on a number of ICEM priorities - as established in 2008 by the ICEM for its Latin American region – that have not been dealt with yet through the Brazil Social Dialogue project.

Solidarity Support Organisation: SASK and Finnish ICEM affiliates 

Project administrator: Patricio Sambonino (Quito, Ecuador)

ICEM Mercosur Pulp and Paper Project

This 3.5 year project (Mid-2009 to 2012), which was written after a planning phase in early 2009, during which the ideas were sought of all actors involved, aims to bring together the different paper sector unions in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, in an effort towards continuous cooperation and communication. Activities not only concentrate on trade unity, but also on information gathering and collective bargaining.

Solidarity Support Organisation: SASK, together with Finnish ICEM affiliates

Project coordination: Patricio Sambonino (Quito, Ecuador)

Latin America Energy Project

This project aims to improve the collective bargaining situation of unions in the energy sector in Latin American countries, both at national as well as at regional level. Focal points of the project include designing strategies and work plans. A particular objective of the programme is to encourage unions to exchange information with each other on this issue.

Solidarity Support: FITEQA-CC.OO, Spain

Trade Union Capacity Building Project in Latin America

As part of its cooperation with ISCOD, ICEM runs a two-year project on collective bargaining for women in Latin America. Events take place on a sub-regional basis, so that all ICEM affiliates can take part. Different national needs are also taken into consideration. The expectation is to create more women leaders in trade unions in this way.

ICEM also has a partnership with UNI in a project with ISCOD on observing Spanish multinationals in Latin America. For ICEM, the multinationals are Repsol, Endesa and Union Fenosa. 

Solidarity Support Organisation: FIA-UGT and ISCOD, Spain 

 

6. Middle East / North Africa

Work in progress...