Encl.: doc. 4EB/3(b)(iii); Purposes of the Solidarity Fund

Transcription

1 ITUC INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION CSI CONFÉDÉRATION SYNDICALE INTERNATIONALE CSI CONFEDERACIÓN SINDICAL INTERNACIONAL IGB INTERNATIONALER GEWERKSCHAFTSBUND Bd. du Roi Albert II, 5, Bte 1, B 1210 Bruxelles Belgique Tel. +32 (0) Fax +32 (0) info@ituc-csi.org SHARAN BURROW PRESIDENT PRÉSIDENTE PRÄSIDENTIN PRESIDENTA GUY RYDER GENERAL SECRETARY SECRÉTAIRE GÉNÉRAL GENERALSEKRETÄR SECRETARIO GENERAL In reply please quote: Circular N 27(2009) To all affiliated organisations FIN/RCS 15 May 2009 Solidarity Fund Year 2009 Dear Friends, Please find enclosed the ITUC budget and programmes for the Solidarity Fund in the year 2009, as approved by the Executive Bureau and endorsed by the General Council. Both committees recommended that all ITUC affiliates be invited to contribute to the Solidarity Fund. As you know, a Management Board of the Solidarity Fund, composed of the General Secretary, the Deputy Presidents, a representative of the Internal Auditors and representatives of organisations contributing to the Fund, was set up to oversee its operations. The Management Board approved the budget and programmes for 2009 and defined the purposes of the fund. The purposes of the fund approved by the 1 st meeting of the Executive Bureau (Brussels, 20 June 2007) are attached. We are now seeking your contribution for 2009, and we would highly appreciate it if you could give this matter your earliest attention. Your contribution should be received to the ITUC-CSI account n with the ING Bank, Business Branch Institutionals, rue du Trône 14-16, 1000 Brussels (IBAN BE ; BIC/SWIFT: BBRUBEBB). Any contribution will be appreciated. We sincerely hope that this matter will receive favourable consideration. With your cooperation and support, it will be possible for us to improve and strengthen the functioning of the ITUC Solidarity Fund. Yours sincerely, General Secretary Encl.: doc. 4EB/3(b)(iii); Purposes of the Solidarity Fund

2 Purposes of the ITUC Solidarity Fund The purpose of the Solidarity Fund is to mobilise resources and to channel them promptly and effectively to trade union organisations and trade unionists in need of the protective support and solidarity of the international movement. As a priority, SF resources should be used: - To assist organisations and individuals facing situations of hardship or repression. Such assistance should be short term and targeted to overcome specific circumstances; - To assist organisations in well-defined and time-limited campaigns; organising drives, and other activities aimed at increasing membership and strengthening capacities and structures. The SF may also be used to meet the costs of certain international activities, where these can be shown to have a direct impact upon the strength and development of national level trade union work and structures. The SF is not intended to meet recurrent costs associated with the maintenance of permanent offices, or payment of salaries. Where the SF is used for such institutional support purposes, it should be for limited and defined periods of time. The SF is not intended for large scale human relief in cases of natural disaster.

3 INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION EXECUTIVE BUREAU Brussels, 16 December 2008 Agenda item 3: ITUC Budget and Programmes for 2009 (b) Solidarity Fund (iii) Budget and Programmes for The Solidarity Fund Management Board met five times since the creation of the ITUC and the reports of its 4 th and 5 th meetings are presented to this Executive Bureau meeting. 2. The proposals presented are budgetary indications of allocation requirements. The Secretariat will base itself on this budget indication and will review each allocation when specific activity and budget proposals are submitted for approval of the Management Board during the course of the year. It is to be noted also that, in case of emergencies, the Management Board agreed to a lighter mechanism of approval, authorising the General Secretary, in close consultation with the Chairperson of the Board, to approve urgent requests for funds to be released. 3. This system of allocating funds has been reviewed in 2008 and further procedures for implementation on processing of applications, monitoring and reporting are being developed for the 2009 budgetary allocation. Under-spending or lack of proper narrative and financial reporting by certain departments in the Secretariat or by Regions could also influence the decisions to be taken next year, when the aim should be to move to a more satisfactory and final budgeting process. 4. Estimated SF income for 2009 amounts to EUR 974,226 and is listed in document Appendix I 5. The proposals for 2009 are budgeted with an excess of expenditure over income, taking into account the balance forwarded from previous year. 6. The Executive Bureau is therefore requested: - to note the estimated contributions to the Solidarity Fund for the year 2009 amounting to 974,226; - to approve the proposed budgetary indications for the Solidarity Fund 2009 expenditure amounting to 1,321,000. 4EB/FIN -12 December 2008

4 2EB/E/3(b)(iii)-Appendix I Country and Organisation ITUC SOLIDARITY FUND - GENERAL Estimated income 2009 Voluntary contributions - Affiliated organisations Estimated Income received income 2008 as of 20 November 2008 Estimated income 2009 Austria Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund (ÖGB) , Canada Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) 0 CA$ ,54 CA$ Confédération des Syndicats Nationaux (CSN) CA$ ,00 0 Denmark Landsorganisationen i Danmark (LO) US$ US$ ,65 US$ Funktionaerernes og Tjenestemaendenes Faellesrad (FTF) 0 0 Dominica Dominica Trade Union (DTU) 150 0,00 0 Finland Suomen Ammattiliittojen Keskusjärjestö (SAK) , Germany Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB) , Japan Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC-Rengo) JPY JPY ,86 JPY Luxembourg Confédération Générale du Travail du Luxembourg (CGT-L) , Netherlands Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging (FNV) ,00 EUR

5 2EB/E/3(b)(iii)-Appendix I ITUC SOLIDARITY FUND - GENERAL Estimated income 2009 Voluntary contributions - Affiliated organisations Country and Organisation Norway Estimated Income received income 2008 as of 20 November 2008 Estimated income 2009 Landsorganisasjonen i Norge (LO) NOK ,00 NOK Poland NSZZ "Solidarnosc" US$ ,00 0 Russia Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR) , Spain Unión Sindical Obrera (USO) , Sweden Landsorganisationen i Sverige (LO) SEK ,00 SEK Tjänstemännens Centralorganisation (TCO) SEK ,00 SEK Tunisia Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail (UGTT) US$ ,00 US$ TOTAL (in Euros) , EC Infor EUR 11/08 Commitments to be confirmed *: Rates: EUR 1 = US$ 1,50 1,30 JPY 170,00 128,73 NOK 8,10 8,52 SEK 9,60 9,81 CA$ 1,45 1,57 The estimated balance in the ITUC Solidarity Fund as of 20 November 2008 is EUR 2,181,302 SFMB4/E/FIN - 9 December 2008

6 - Solidarity Fund Expenditure Budgetary Budgetary Indications Indications Item EUR EUR EQ Equality/Youth/Discrimination 1 Small Scale activities for Youth Support of Youth Activities on the 2009 World Day for decent work Youth Campaign on Organising (incl. meetings) Viral video on young workers Viral video on child labour Plan of Action for Equality in trade union organisations Plan of Action against racism & xenophobia Sub-total Equality/Youth/Discrimination TUR Human and Trade Union Rights 1 Human and Trade Union Rights: related meetings and activities Legal and Relief Assistance Legal Research Forced Labour and Trafficking Country Campaigns PERC: TUR Support for the Countries of NIS and SEE GLO Sub-total Human and Trade Union Rights Globalisation 1 Development & Adjustment: the IMF and the World Bank Globalisation and the WTO Social Dimension of Asia-Pacific Integration Climate Change and Sustainable Development Corporate Social Responsibility and Multinational Companies Decent Work at the United Nations World Social Forum Global Economic & Financial Crisis Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) Sub-total Globalisation CAM Campaigns 1 Global Unions HIV/AIDS Programme Support for organizing in Export Processing Zones (EPZ) Special campaign activities International Day of Action Implementation of the ITUC Communication Strategy Promoting of the Solidarity Fund Informal Economy Sub-total Campaigns

7 - Expenditure Budgetary Budgetary Indications Indications Item EUR EUR ORG Organisational assistance 1 Affiliated organisations in Mauritania PERC - Bosnia-Herzegovina: support to the KSBiH Legal Network PERC: Central Asia and Caucasus PERC - Ukraine PERC - Belarus: support to the BKDP PERC - Education Systems Sub-total Organisational assistance NET ITUC Networks of assistance 1 PERC: Implementation of the PERC programme ME/NA: Strengthening of the ITUC s co-operation and activities in Arab countries (incl. Euro-Mediterranean TU Forum) International Trade Union Cooperation Network Sub-total Networks of assistance RO Regional Organisations 1 ITUC - Africa ITUC - Americas ITUC - Asia/Pacific Sub-total Regional Organisations IA IMMEDIATE ACTIONS ,7%

8 - 3 - EQ Equality/Youth/Discrimination 115, Small-scale assistance for youth - 4,000 Materials and Activities: This allocation will also support activities of affiliated organisations and key initiatives of the Youth Committee, particularly in the production of information and training material for young workers in developing and transition countries. Youth Blog: The ITUC Youth blog was successfully launched in October The allocation will help to support development and promotion of it in developing and transition countries, in order to keep providing a youth perspective from affiliates in these countries to the ITUC areas of work and to maintain a space for young people s voices on trade union issues. 2. Support of Youth Activities on the 2009 World Day for Decent Work - 5,000 Following the successful youth involvement, through special activities, in the 1 st World Day for Decent Work in particular because of the ITUC support to the different youth activities - and to ensure that special attention is still given to reaching out to young people on October 7, it is proposed to continue to support the development of specific youth activities during the next World Day for Decent Work. 3. Youth Campaign on Organising and Meetings - 40,000 Agenda item 4GC/18 describes the proposal to develop, in 2009, a specific youthoriented ITUC campaign, focusing on union membership and organising, for launching at the 2 nd ITUC World Congress. This support is requested in order to ensure an appropriate level of developing and transition country involvement in the meetings and activities to decide on the campaign theme and strategies. Preparatory activities will commence early in 2009, to prepare inputs for the Youth Committee discussion on the issue, and further events will be held after the Committee meets, to refine the campaign strategies. 4. Viral video (awareness material) on young workers - 9,000 Internet videos are rapidly becoming a main means of awareness raising amongst young people, including increasingly in developing and transition countries. Young people are the main target group in seeking viral effect (rapid and widespread video dissemination). This allocation would be used to develop a high-quality video viral aimed at young workers, and to tailor the video for maximum thematic relevance to developing and transition countries, as well as ensuring the most appropriate technical aspects to maximise uptake in areas where internet infrastructure is less than optimal. 5. Viral video (awareness material) on child labour - 5,000 Co-financing of the production of a viral video product on child labour. This video would target young people in particular, to profile trade union action to stop child labour, and attract support to trade union initiatives by generating traffic to ITUC web-pages on child labour.

9 Plan of Action for Equality in trade union organisations 40,000 We would recall that the ITUC Programme adopted by its Founding Congress (Vienna, 1-3 November 2006), recommended that gender perspectives be mainstreamed within all its policies, activities and programmes at all levels. Recognising that the future strength and vitality of the trade union movement depends on women joining its ranks and becoming leaders, it urged the ITUC to adopt an action programme for promoting gender parity in trade union structures and mainstreaming gender issues within trade union policies, whilst combating all discrimination, harassment or abuse against women and any obstacles to their progress within the union movement. The Congress also urged the ITUC to redouble its efforts at organising women in the sectors in which women are predominant, working under precarious conditions, or in which trade unions are still poorly represented (informal work, export processing zones, migrant workers and atypical jobs). To enable us to continue our work in this area, we are requesting the sum of 40,000 for That allocation is vital for meeting the requests for assistance from the national trade union centres in developing countries. It will enable the following activities, amongst others, to be carried out: Organisation - Education Training - 20,000 Establishment of structures/special bodies for women at all levels of trade unions committees, commissions, departments and/or units and strengthening of existing ones. Seminars/training activities on integration of gender and equality issues. Solidarity mission to support women in the Democratic Republic of Congo and awareness-raising activities in various countries in conjunction with the campaign for the elimination of violence against women. Launching of a campaign to obtain governments support for developing an international instrument to protect domestic workers. The ITUC has already managed to get this question included on the agenda of the International Labour Conference in Production of materials 15,000 Translation into Russian and printing of the Charter of Rights of Working Women, the Action Programme for achieving gender equality in the unions and Stopping sexual harassment at work: a trade union guide. Production of documents for the 1 st ITUC Women s Conference (Brussels, October 2009). Participation various activities- 5,000 Participation by members of the ITUC Women s Committee in trade union delegations, particularly those to the IFIs and to the Commission on the Status of Women Workers (CSW).

10 Plan of Action against Racism and Xenophobia 12,000 At a conference in Geneva from 20 to 24 April 2009, the action plan and final declaration adopted at the Durban Conference in South Africa in 2001 will be evaluated. Given the worrying developments worldwide in recent years, with cases of racism and xenophobia on the rise, it is very important for the voice of workers to be heard in policy-making circles. Our aim is to get a maximum number of organisations involved, whilst focusing in particular on organisations from developing countries, which owing to lack of resources are unable to take part in this type of event, even if it affects them directly. The ITUC will organise an activity in the run-up to the Durban II Conference, on 18 and/or 20 April, to work out our political and trade union stance for the discussions to be held at the conference, and to ensure that the concerns of the world of work are heard. In order to carry out the above-mentioned activities we would request an allocation of 12,000 for This will help us provide for the participation of 6 trade unionists from two organisations per region. The sum will cover the travel and accommodation expenses for the ITUC pre-conference activity and the Conference itself. We have 15,000$ available thanks to an allocation from ACTRAV for covering the other costs (interpretation, meeting room, etc.). We will clearly be working with the GUFs and the other organisations most closely involved in this policy area. Migrants: CGTM-Mauritania and CNTS-Senegal have signed a cooperation agreement on migrant workers rights. A mission to the two countries has been planned together with a publication on migrant workers. Those activities will be carried out in the first quarter of TUR Human and Trade Union Rights 175, Human and Trade Union Rights: related meetings and activities - 15,000 This allocation is needed to ensure adequate representation of trade unions and their leaders on international human and trade union rights fora and to enable trade union representatives under political and financial pressure to advocate their cause to the relevant authorities. Testimonies from and consultations with local trade unionists are essential to the work of the human and trade union rights department as it increases visibility and impact of HTUR advocacy work. The trade union rights department assesses justification of use of this budget line based on severity of violations of human and trade union rights and on the need for assistance of the applicant. In exceptional circumstances this allocation offers a possibility for expert HTUR officers (from ITUC, regional organisations, GUFs or national affiliates) to speak out in name of trade unions under attack. In 2008 the allocation has enabled Djibrine Assali, General Secretary of Union des Syndicats du Tchad to travel to Brussels to highlight the harassment he suffered and to discuss a further strategy to approach the ILO.

11 Legal and Relief Assistance - 60,000 Legal and relief assistance funding is used for direct help to victims of violations of human and trade union rights, based on the principle of international trade union solidarity. Often this involves legal assistance for their defence in a court of law and in even more extreme cases direct and financial relief is needed to safeguard physical and psychological integrity and safety. In 2008 the budget has been used to cover amongst others: a new passport for Va Sopheak, widow of the assassinated Hy Vuthy, a leader of the Free Trade Union of the Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia facilitating her application for political asylum in a third country; to covering costs of Zar Ni Thwe of the Federation of Free Trade Unions - Burma for his prolonged stay in the Czech Republic in an asylum procedure and the same for Djibrine Assali, who could not return from France while the French affiliates needed to pressure President Deby of Chad to take the necessary measures to guarantee his safety. ITUC covered legal costs of the president of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, Mr Takafira Zhou of Great Zimbabwe University, in the case Takafira Zhou vs Great Zimbabwe University, where he was dismissed for engaging in trade union activities. Financial help was sent to workers of a bottling plant in Guatemala, laid off by the national enterprise Agua Pura Salvavidas, when they created the union SITRAPETEN. Also in Latin America, financial assistance has been sent to 120 sugarcane cutters in Colombia s Valle del Cauca to cover life-essential needs as they were on a strike for more than 80 days. Additionally, a substantial amount of this allocation supported a rehabilitation programme for Burmese citizens & workers. The Federation of Trade Unions Burma (FTUB), together with other democratic organisations (like Buddhist monks' networks), have joined their forces towards the establishment of democracy in Burma to identify corruption and human rights abuses by the dictatorship through FTUB networks inside Burmese territory. A separate allocation is proposed to ensure proper follow-up of this initiative in (6.2.) The ITUC is extremely selective and cautious in disbursing funds from this allocation to ensure that requests are properly motivated by duly authorised leaders or representatives of receiving union organisations and that proper accounting and reporting procedures are fully implemented. These strict criteria will continue to apply in Legal Research - 10,000 This modest allocation provides a fund to assist affiliated organisations, upon request, to engage on a short term in legal research to address pressing legislative issues endangering human and trade union rights in a national context. Especially when it concerns countries and organisations which do not work in the official ITUC languages, additional and external legal research is sometimes crucial to properly assist affiliates to safeguard their rights and preserve their position or even assets. Since there has been no request in this context coming from affiliates, the allocations remained unused in It is anticipated that such requests will recur in 2009.

12 Forced Labour and Human Trafficking - 30,000 At the very least 12.3 million people are still victims of forced labour and the current global economic turmoil is likely to aggravate the situation. Poor people are likely to be driven further into poverty, making them more vulnerable to slavery-like practices, Ban Ki-moon said on the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery Those who consciously exploit them will have to extract even more to profit, and consumers who may not be aware of the consequences will be more likely to purchase products whose labour costs are kept unreasonably low. Following the 2007 ITUC General Council Decision (3GC_E_15_a), the International Trade Union Alliance to Combat Forced Labour and Human Trafficking has gradually been taking shape and consolidated its role and position. In the course of 2008, the allocated 20,000 was used to finance two activities. Firstly, as a result of consultations in an African regional seminar on strategies and priorities to combat forced labour, a pilot project in Ethiopia was developed, which supports the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU) and its transport federation in an awareness raising campaign to inform future migrant workers abot their rights and transport workers of the benefits of trade union affiliation. The project targets Ethiopian air-, bus- and ferry lines on the way from Eastern Africa towards the Gulf and the Middle East. A project amount of 15,000 was agreed. The ITUC opted to pay in tranches upon satisfactory reporting on spending during project phases. To this date, only a third has been transferred to CETU for an initial seminar and awareness raising campaign. Discussions on continuation of the project with CETU and/or its transport federation are ongoing but unlikely to be concluded before the end of the financial year, leaving two thirds of the agreed 15,000 tagged but unused. This is the main reason for the increased amount requested for The remaining 5,000 has enabled trade union representatives from Brazil, Mauritania and Nepal to testify about experiences and realities in their home country on an important international high level meeting on forced labour and human trafficking organised by the ITUC/PERC/ETUC and the Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE) in Athens in November Similar to the financial constructions explained in 4., additional external funding has been secured to fund activities to reinforce this alliance and to increase its linkages with other stakeholders. As part of these programmes, this SF allocation will be used as ITUC s own contribution. Additionally, after political discourse and increased awareness of trade union officers, the alliance is expected to have more of an impact on grassroots level in the following year. E.g. through integration of the issue of human trafficking in trade union migrant workers helpdesks around the world, more workers in forced labour conditions are likely to be identified by trade unionists. This allocation wants to offer assistance to both trade unions in supporting workers in forced labour as well as to exploited workers directly. The requested allocation will be used to increase outreach of trade unions towards vulnerable areas, sectors and groups of people through local or national pilot projects (including the continuation of the pilot project in Ethiopia) and for direct assistance and relief to identified victims of forced labour and their families.

13 Country Campaigns - 50,000 In years past, the ITUC has contributed to several action programmes and country campaigns including Guatemala, Burma and Iran. This work needs to be continued and other countries like Honduras and Zimbabwe are requiring more attention in Action Programme on Iran - 10,000 The campaign on Iran has gathered momentum in 2008, and the ITUC has strengthened the cooperation with the ITF and Amnesty International on this campaign. Mahmoud Salehi, former president of the Baker s Union in Saqez was released in April, just a month after our 6 March global action day on Iran. However, Mansour Osanloo, leader of the Sherkat-e Vahed Bus Union, remains in prison. Meanwhile Mansour Osanloo and his union have also won prestigious awards from FNV and SOLIDAR, proving that, far from diminishing, the global attention from trade unionists and human rights activists continues. Additionally, the ITUC and the GUFs are supporting the sugar production workers at Haft Tapeh, who have finally formed an independent trade union in 2008, as well as the teachers unions, which are also suffering severe repression. Funds have been used to support unions that are struggling on the ground for humanitarian purposes and to enable them to maintain their activities. Such funds are needed in order to support and sustain the growing but still vulnerable trade union activism on the ground in Iran Action Programme on Burma - 10,000 Cyclone Nargis caused a real disaster. Approximately 138,000 are dead and countless people are now still in need of urgent emergency relief. The junta's refusal to let in foreign aid caused international outrage and made the media focus on the country and its vast problems for a while, but this faded quickly. The September/October 2007 popular uprising was violently repressed and in May 2008 the junta went ahead with its farcical referendum on a new "constitution" (a sham aimed at embedding its own power), amidst the wretchedness of the cyclone aftermath. Meanwhile, the junta still fails to implement any of the numerous ILO decisions which followed the 1998 Commission of Inquiry. Forced labour persists on a massive scale. The FTUB, which has the status of "associated organisation" within the ITUC, continues to be outlawed. There is no freedom of association in Burma. While it is virtually impossible to undertake any action aimed at the establishment of freedom of association or at fighting forced labour inside the country, there are a number of levels on which the ITUC can contribute. For its reports on forced labour to the ILO CEACR, the ITUC has frequently relied on reports by a friendly NGO named The Arakan Project (run from neighbouring Bangladesh by a Belgian citizen). The FTUB, while not being able to operate inside Burma itself, has been getting cyclone relief to the victims on the spot through its network of Buddhist monks. Any kind of ad hoc help, as well as long term support to the FTUB, could be useful in the longstanding struggle against forced labour and for freedom of association in Burma. A proposal to guarantee the personal safety of the FTUB's General Secretary is one issue to allocate money to in the near future, other needs in the strengthening of this union will become apparent further on.

14 Action Programme on Zimbabwe - 10,000 Following the national election, the violence that ensued and the political stalemate that still exist in Zimbabwe, the situation for trade unions remain grim. Despite a growing humanitarian crisis in the country and the lack of food, trade unionists are arrested when trying to protest. A Commission of Inquiry has been established in 2008 and funds are needed to support the union prepare for the Commission of Inquiry. The need for a conference on the impact of the heavy state-sponsored repression on the trade union and other activities are being discussed for 2009 and an allocation is requested for such activities Action programme on Guatemala - 10,000 It is clear that the near-total impunity in Guatemala for those who kill trade union and other social activists, human rights workers, journalists and other targeted victims has not abated with the new Government of President Colom. From 29 to 31 January 2008 the ITUC organised in Guatemala City an international Conference on The role of trade union organisations in combating impunity where around 170 people from the national, regional and international trade union movement, GUFs and Human Rights NGOs participated and which resulted, among other things, in the creation of a unified Guatemalan trade union, peasant and indigenous movement. One of the decisions taken at the Conference was to organise a Guatemalan mission to 7 European Member countries and the ILO in Geneva to ask national and European authorities to put pressure on the Guatemalan President to fulfil the commitments he made when he opened the Conference such as to fight impunity, respect ILO core labour standards and strengthen the Rule of Law and access t o justice. During the mission, commitments were made for different types of follow up activities: missions to verify on the spot if the situation is improving and to show support to the Guatemalan trade union movement; visits from an ITUC/European affiliates delegation to the country, financial help for Central American trade unionists to come to the 6th round of the Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union that will take place in Brussels at the end of January 2009 and other rounds that may follow, trade union campaigns with affiliates in Guatemala and Europe in relation to the Association Agreement, among others. An allocation will be needed to carry out these activities. The Solidarity Fund was used in 2007 to give legal assistance to defend seven community leaders accused by the mining multinational Montana, Guatemalan subsidiary of the Canadian Multinational Goldcorp, of blocking roads when confronted with the outright rejection of their requests Action programme on Honduras - 10,000 Honduras faces significant challenges in the areas of crime and human and trade union rights. In 2007 there were 1134 homicides and 125 feminicidios, with an increase of 56 homicides compared to the previous year. A number of private companies continue to maintain solidarity associations which are employer dominated and meant to get rid of genuine, independent trade unions.

15 On an ITUC/TUCA mission to Honduras in July this year, a promise was made to our Honduran affiliates to give them international solidarity support, such as visits, trade union campaigns on organizing in maquilas and activities around the Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union and perhaps a Central American campaign to raise awareness about the need to integrate a fourth pillar on social/labour issues and full respect of ILO core labour standards, specifically Conventions 87 and 98 with verification and control mechanisms. An allocation will be needed to carry out these activities. 6. PERC: TUR support for the countries of NIS and SEE - 10,000 The allocation is intended to cover all necessary expenditure to maintain the ITUC support to the enforcement of trade union rights in the countries where TUR violations are widespread. This includes the follow-up of the ILO complaints, as well as organizing all necessary solidarity activities to support trade union rights in these countries. Particular attention shall be put on ongoing campaigns to promote trade union rights in Belarus and Georgia (and potentially, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan) and building expertise of NIS-SEE legal officers on the mechanisms of trade union rights protection those of the ILO or of the Council of Europe, as well as to assisting affiliates in the process of setting up or revising of national legislative and normative frameworks, i.e. Kosovo, Montenegro or Bosnia and Herzegovina. GLO Globalisation 122, Development & Adjustment: the IMF and the World Bank - 10,000 In 2009 (following the high-level meeting in January that was postponed from 2008),we will continue working to translate the openings we have made in recent years at the IMF and WB, UN and ILO into concrete achievements for our affiliates. This entails a cost in terms of participation of developing and transition countries in meetings, and to train affiliates and to enable them to convey their specific national and regional concerns to a large number of decision-makers at these institutions. In 2009, this will include the organisation of: Technical meetings with the IFIs on World Bank pension reforms (especially in Latin America & CEE) and on labour market policies; further training activities, jointly with respective regional organisations and GUFs, on how to interact successfully with the IMF and World Bank at national level using the newly updated ITUC booklet Practical Information And Strategies For Trade Union Engagement With International Financial Institutions, and on core labour standards in the lending requirements of specific World Bank loans, building on the initial activities in all parts of the world in 2007 and Carrying out the above events will require substantial resources and so, in addition to seeking donor support wherever feasible, we would need the sum of 10,000.

16 Globalisation and the WTO - 12,000 The WTO is expected to hold its 7 th Ministerial Conference in 2009, postponed from , with a view to completing its Doha Round. We will need to maintain our pressure on the WTO through: Large-scale developing country participation in the 7 th WTO Ministerial; sub-regional and national meetings and other actions around the world; funding for capacity-building in developing countries through training activities at sub-regional and/or national levels. LO-Norway is giving us a contribution towards these events through their project on workers rights and trade and other donors will certainly be asked to provide further contributions; however, in view of the scale of the work and the importance of the WTO to the whole constituency of the ITUC at the present time, we would require an SF allocation of 12, Social Dimension of Asia-Pacific Integration - 8,000 Next year, APEC holds its annual Leaders Meeting in Singapore. The ITUC Asia Pacific Labour Network (ITUC/APLN) must build on its former work to introduce labour consultation and social concerns to the APEC process and to enable APLN members to deepen their process of coordination with regard to regional and bilateral integration processes among APEC countries. While we hope that donors will assist us towards the costs of this event, that will be far from sufficient to cover all the costs. Therefore we would require 8,000 to bring developing country participants to the Singapore trade union conference and to provide for interpretation and other costs. 4. Climate Change and Sustainable Development - 16,000 Further to the Special Action Programme initiated at the June 2007 General Council and emphasised by the December 2007 General Council in Washington, the ITUC needs to undertake follow-up in 2009 in multiple fora including at the UN Commission for Sustainable Development in New York, and at the meetings of the Commission on Climate Change leading up to its major conference in Copenhagen on 30 Nov.-11 Dec 2009 to conclude negotiations on a post-2012 framework for curbing GHG emissions. The ITUC needs to ensure adequate developing country trade union participation in such meetings, in order to lobby governments to achieve a successful outcome in terms of effective global action to tackle climate change, and to be involved in the overall programmes of events and give trade unions a high profile. To ensure we meet the expectations of the union movement, we need SF assistance to these activities, which are very much in line with the purposes of the SF and the longstanding goals of the ITUC and its affiliates. To meet the costs of those events, we would request an SF allocation of 16,000.

17 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Multinational Companies - 8,000 The process of developing a social responsibility standard at the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) is coming to a head in 2009 and trade unions need to get deeply involved in such work, as they will be doing at the first regional meeting on ISO that we would be holding in Sao Paulo, Brazil on January (postponed from 2008). Subsequently, this will entail: Support for meetings of trade unionists from developing countries in connection with ISO; campaign related-work in developing countries on ISO Furthermore, in 2009 it will be six years since the last major international trade union conference on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Much has changed in the international CSR arena and in terms of trade union perceptions of the situation; we need to hold a follow-up further international trade union conference on corporate social responsibility to take stock of the situation and ensure a solid basis for further trade union action. We also need support for activities in specific areas including the Global Compact. Therefore, we need: Support for meetings on CSR Support for Global Compact work including the Global Compact "Local networks. In all these cases, participation of developing country participants is largely dependent on payment of assisted passages, without which they are unlikely to be present. Therefore, we would need to allocate 8,000 from the SF to contribute towards the costs of the above meetings. 6. World Social Forum (WSF) - 42,400 The ITUC is organising participation of a significant number of affiliates in the World Social Forum in Belem, Brazil (see circular no. 47 (2008)). We face other organisational costs including interpretation as well. A few donors have responded favourably to our request for assistance, but not enough to cover our minimum costs. Therefore, we would request 42,400 from the SF for the WSF it being understood that If ACTRAV provide further assistance, this amount could be reduced accordingly. 7. Global Economic & Financial Crisis - 10,000 The ITUC General Council will be holding a major debate on the Crisis and the ITUC s necessary responses. This is certain to include further high-level meetings such as that held in Washington on 14 November 2008, including one already scheduled to take place in London on 1 April While we will do our utmost to achieve financing from donors, we must be sure that we ensure sufficient representation from developing and transition countries in that event. Accordingly, we are submitting this request for 10,000 as a contribution to such work.

18 Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) - 15,600 This is a major priority area for affiliates in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) who are deeply concerned as to their countries future economic prospects after signing EPA agreements with the European Union, if they do so. We began a series of national meetings supported with the FES and ACTRAV in In 2009, we would aim to cover a number of new countries, such as Burundi, and to engage in various follow-up activities in other countries where meetings were held in 2008 and there is a particularly urgent and productive case for additional work to achieve a useful conclusion in At this time, we are still finalising the list of countries, but in principle we would propose some 8-10 such national and 5 sub-regional events (one sub-regional event for each of the 5 EPA regions in Africa ESA, ECA, ECOWAS, SADC and Central Africa). The national meetings could be run for about EUR 7,000 and the sub-regional ones at around a minimum of EUR 25,000-35,000 each time (depending on numbers; higher costs explained by interpretation). We will again be seeking help from the FES, in particular, but in addition will need some assistance from the Solidarity Fund and we would request 15,600 from the SF accordingly. CAM Campaigns 107, Global Unions HIV/AIDS Programme - 12,000 In 2008 two important developments have taken place in this policy area: - The ITUC took on the coordination of the Global Unions Aids Programme (as from July 2007) and - The ITUC presented its own action programme to stimulate and strengthen the action taken by national centres in this area, in close cooperation with the regions. Consolidation of these programmes is planned for 2009, in particular by promotion closer association and cooperation of the ITUC regions. A number of key challenges and possibilities will exist in 2009, including an International Labour Conference discussion on a new instrument on HIV AIDS, an Aids conference in Latin America, the launch of the ITUC HIV-AIDS programme and the renewed approach to the GUAP programme. This will require more frequent participation and closer involvement of the regional focal points in GUAP and ITUC steering committees and preparatory meetings. The requested allocation would be used towards meeting these needs.

19 Support for organizing in Export Processing Zones (EPZ) - 10,000 Workshops with trade union organisations active in EPZ organising are foreseen for Morocco, Nicaragua and Sri Lanka in These will set out the basis for the international support to their organising efforts, in conjunction with the relevant GUFs. 3. Special Campaign Activities - 15,000 Special campaign activities in support of anti-poverty action, migrant workers, workers in the global sporting goods and events sectors, country-oriented activities and other campaign initiatives. 4. International Day of Action - 40,000 In the event that the Council decides to make the World Day for Decent Work on October 7 an annual event (see agenda item 4GC/12), support to developing and transition country affiliates would assist in ensuring the global impact of the Day. This allocation is proposed preparation and distribution of information materials and graphics to affiliates, to support costs associated with their involvement in the planning of the event, and for support towards the actual costs of organizing and reporting on events taking place at the national level on the Day itself. 5. Implementation of the ITUC Communications Strategy - 7,500 As set out under agenda item 4GC/11, progress has been made on implementing the ITUC communications strategy in certain areas, and further work is needed on other elements of the strategy. Financial assistance will be needed to support the participation of affiliates from developing and transition countries in the implementation of these elements, in particular the development of information technology applications appropriate to their circumstances, capacity building for press and communications staff, and preparation and dissemination of information and education materials. 6. Promoting the Solidarity Fund - 7,500 Production, publication and dissemination of reports on specific examples of the impact of projects supported by the Solidarity Fund, as a means to promote public awareness of and interest in the Fund, and to attract additional funding for programmes funded by it in the future. The ITUC regular Union View publication, as well as short videos, have been used to promote the Fund on the special ITUC Solidarity Fund webpages, where these information products focus on themes, events or countries which are directly or indirectly in receipt of Solidarity Fund support. Along with complementary funding from other sources, this support would enable continued use of these products to support the promotion of the Fund.

20 Special action programme for organising workers in the informal economy - 15,000 The implementation of the special action programme for organising workers in the informal economy approved by the General Council in Washington in December 2007 has begun and a series of regional meetings are underway in Asia, Africa and the Americas. The meeting covering Central and Eastern Europe will be held in early This phase of the programme will be followed up by the implementation of pilot projects at national level in each continent. The allocation requested will enable participants to attend the various follow-up/evaluation meetings that are planned at grass roots level for all of the activities linked to the main programme. ORG Organisational Assistance 60, Affiliated Organisations in Mauritania - 15,000 The military coup carried out on 6 August in Mauritania led to the formation of a united trade union front supporting a return to a Constitutional system. Since then, the new authorities have continually tried to thwart the trade unions right of expression. On 7 October, for instance, during the commemoration of the World Day for Decent Work, the trade union marches were banned and met by violent army repression. The repression against these 3 ITUC affiliated organisations was repeated on 17 October in Nouadhibou, and is continuing to take place all over the country. As part of its solidarity mission, the ITUC will be requested to provide some material assistance to its Mauritanian affiliates in 2009, to strengthen their capacity to organise information campaigns at national and international level. The estimated needs amount to 15, SEE: Bosnia and Herzegovina: KSBiH 4,000 This allocation continues support to the roof organisation of Bosnia and Herzegovina KSBiH affiliated to ITUC in a view to finalise the gradual transfer of the ITUC/PERC coordinated activities (Legal Advice Network, women, youth networks, educational activities) to the KSBiH. The SF allocation will also be supported by different projects implemented in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the support of solidarity support organisations. 3. N.I.S.: Central Asia and Caucasus 8,000 The requested allocation continues collaboration with the trade union organisations from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Armenia in a view of bringing them to the international trade union movement by the means of assisting them in the reform processes and by initiating sub-regional discussions on the areas of common interest (IFIs, WTO, migration, child labour etc.) 4. N.I.S: Ukraine 3,000 The allocation further follows the ITUC activities aimed at assisting the three ITUC affiliates of Ukraine (the FPU, the KVPU and the VOST) in achieving a consolidated position on trade union property and for engaging an independent opinion for arbitrating this process, which could lead to mutually accepted distribution of the property concerned. This process might include facilitation of discussion regarding

21 issues of representativity and expertise can be provided on the matter if such has been requested by the affiliates. 5. NIS: Belarus 10,000 The allocation continues ITUC support to structural costs of the affiliated BKDP, ensuring uninterrupted work of the central office of the BKDP and its activities on legal protection of workers, campaigning for implementation of the ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations and against short-term contract system and cooperation with other independent trade unions of Belarus. While the SF allocation contributes to structural costs and aims at keeping the BKDP afloat, the LO-TCO on-going programme would balance this support with funding directed on implementation of trade union activities of the BKDP and its affiliates. 6. CEE-NIS: assisting in building efficient education systems - 20,000 The allocation is directed on supporting organisations that expressed interest and necessity in building sustainable systems of trade union education (i.e. KSSH and BSPSH, Albania, SSS, Serbia, LPSK-LDF-Solidarumas, Lithuania, SSCG, Montenegro) by expertise building of local educators through participation in education activities of ETUI, Ruskin college and other educational institutions and by assisting the organisations in analysing educational needs and priorities and building educational strategies. NET ITUC Networks of Assistance 85, Implementation of the PERC work programme and supporting its task forces and networks 30,000 The above-mentioned sum will contribute to the development of cooperation inside the region, between ITUC affiliates, on various priorities defined in the PERC programme document. The allowance should assist affiliates in implementation of PERC programme, build and strengthen the work of the PERC task forces, encourage and support regional cooperation and exchanges, of different networks. Resources from extra-budgetary programmes should be able to supplement this allocation. The main directions of the assistance will include: - Meeting of organising task force - Meeting of migration task force - Meeting of energy task force - Contribution for the press/communication task force - Setting up Health and Safety task force - Contribution to PERC Youth Conference - Assistance to affiliates in participating in ITUC, ETUC, ETUI thematic activities. - Engagement of expertise for building capacities of the affiliated organisations - Contribution for the meetings of the CEE/NIS Women's networks 2. ME/NA: Strengthening of the ITUC s co-operation and activities in Arab countries (incl. Euro-Mediterranean Trade Union Forum)- 30,000