Welcome to The International Trade-Unionist, Issue 1, September 2009

THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE-UNIONIST
Issue 1, September 2009

Welcome to the first issue of The International Trade-Unionist, an online publication aiming to raise various issues of interest to the international trade-union community.
I hope that this publication will become a forum for a healthy debate on a number of issues. Let us share our thoughts, our concerns and our proposals for the building of a stronger international trade-union community.
Long live trade-unionism, long live The International Trade-Unionist.

Charalampos Xekoukoulotakis
Publisher & Editor of The International Trade-Unionist
International Officer of UNISON’s branch at the University of Brighton (U.K.)


Please note that the viewpoints expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of UNISON or UNISON’s branch at the University of Brighton.

Your comments and contributions are more than welcome.
E-mail: theinternationaltradeunionist@yahoo.co.uk


Deadline for inclusion of contributions in the next issue:
Friday 23 October 2009

Anti-trade-union attacks on the rise

Violent attacks on fellow trade union members are increasing according to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
Seventy-six trade unionists worldwide were killed in 2008. ITUC also has said that many countries were passing legislation undermining a worker's ability to go on strike.
In Europe, it said there were 2,400 cases of anti-union dismissals this year. The vast majority were in Turkey .
ITUC said there were a total of 7,500 cases of dismissal of workers involved in trade union activity in 68 countries last year.
"This denial wreaks havoc on their lives, as they work extremely long hours in hazardous or unhealthy situations with incomes so low that they are unable to support themselves and their households properly," said ITUC general secretary Guy Ryder.
After Turkey , ITUC said Indonesia was the least tolerant of unions, followed by countries such as Malawi , Pakistan , Tanzania and Argentina .

UNI's Warning to G20: Enough bank bailouts,governments must save jobs

UNI Global Union is going to tell global leaders at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh this week that they must take concrete action to boost employment. While governments spent billion bailing out banks, not enough is being done to save jobs and unemployment is spiraling out of control.A report out from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warns that unemployment will rise in 2010 and could remain high for even longer. The OECD is calling for concerted government action to adapt social and labour market policies to fight the possibility of long-term unemployment for millions of workers.“Unemployment is not an acceptable price for the financial abuse we have seen,” said UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings. “The G20 must get aggressive on bonuses and promote the common good. This must be the jobs summit.”A report in UK newspaper the Guardian claims that the pay gap between company executives and their staff continues to widen as pay for top-level managers is climbing higher and higher even in the midst of the global economic recession. Unemployment meanwhile has skyrocketed and workers are clearly feeling the pain of the financial crisis.The OECD report says the unemployment rate has already reached a post-war record high at 8.5 percent in the OECD area, which means more than 15 million more people are unemployed that at the end of 2007. The report says that without a recovery in the job market the OECD unemployment rate could hit a new post-war high of 10 percent, or 57 million people out of work.Among its warnings, the reports says that while most OECD countries have introduced measures to support labour demand that have worked in the short-term they may not be long-term fixes. It says ensuring employment for young people, strengthening social safety nets for the unemployed and job search and training assistance are vital to fight high levels of unemployment in the long term.“Now is the time for governments to act,” Jennings said. “As bad as unemployment levels are now, lack of decisive action from governments to train people and create jobs could lead to even more devastation for the world’s workers.”

In Zimbabwe: Three Trade Unionists Arrested During a Peaceful March

Three trade unionists were arrested in Zimbabwe during a commemoration march which took place on 12 September 2009. According to the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), the peaceful march was organised to commemorate 13 September 2006, when ZCTU leadership and activists were brutally assaulted while in police custody, including the President Lovemore Matombo, Secretary General Wellington Chibebe, 1st Vice President Lucia Matibenga and 2nd Vice President George Nkiwane. The High Court had issued an order allowing the commemoration The police, however, went ahead to disrupt the proceedings. According to the police, they did not have enough human resources to control the crowd. However, hundreds of armed riot police were present on Saturday 12 September 2009. The three activists were arrested but were later released without charge. “The repression of peaceful gatherings in Zimbabwe is unacceptable,” pointed out Guy Ryder, ITUC general secretary. “ Zimbabwe has ratified key ILO Conventions on freedom of association and the right to organise, so it has a clear obligation under international law to allow trade unions the right to freedom of assembly. Trade unionists were arrested and prevented from carrying out their activities peacefully, even as the ILO Commission of Inquiry into violations of fundamental workers rights there is ongoing.” he added.

Expropriation of Albanian Trade Unions' Property

On 19 August 2009 the Albanian President Sali Berisha announced to the national media, that the government will pass a bill in parliament to sequester all properties of Albanian trade unions. Mr. Berisha promised that he would push the Bill through within three months.Let us bear in mind that this is not the first time that trade unionism suffers discrimination. Trade unions in Albania have suffered continued discrimination from the national government in recent years. On 1 August 2007, both of Albania ’s Trade Union Confederations, the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Albania (BSPSH) and the Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania (KSSH), were expelled from their headquarters and prohibited from exercising their normal activity. All property and documents inside the offices were destroyed by the Albanian police. The threat of expropriation and police occupation of trade union premises has been continuous for many years. Since July 2006, the Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) has called on the prime minister to start a dialogue with the Albanian trade union movement, in order to find a solution safeguarding the continuity of the social dialogue in Albania .

Two Haft Tapeh Sugar Leaders Still Facing Lengthy Prison Terms in Iran

Three of the leaders of the Haft Tapeh sugarworkers' union in Iran sentenced to prison earlier this year have had their sentences overturned on appeal. However, Union president Ali Nejati and communications officer Reza Rekhshan still face prison sentences while their appeal process drags on. The charges against Rekhshan include providing information to foreign trade unionists on the working conditions at Haft Tapeh. Ali Nejati has been denied work at Haft Tapeh since his April release from over a month's solitary confinement in an Intelligence detention center. Nejati has been generally blacklisted from all work in the city of Shush and the situation for him and his family is becoming increasingly desperate. Thousands of trade union rights supporters around the world have protested the repression against the Haft Tapeh union and its leaders. Ali Nejati was adopted as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International following the Haft Tapeh court convictions. International protests presumably played a role in influencing the decision of the appeals court to dismiss the ludicrous charges including "undermining national security." Since 9 September 2009 over 500 workers have been on strike at Haft Tapeh demanding the restoration of the monthly overtime which management has cut from 120 to 40 hours. So low is the base wage that workers have to put in up to 120 additional hours per month to ensure minimal survival for themselves and their families. Cutters harvesting cane by hand in blistering heat work 6 months out of the year alternating with 6 months unemployment without compensation.

In Iran: Mansour Osanloo's health deteriorating

UNISON is supporting Amnesty International’s urgent action calling for trade union leader, Mansour Osanloo, an Amnesty prisoner of conscience, to receive emergency medical treatment. So far the Iranian authorities are denying him this urgently needed treatment. Mansour Osanloo is the leader of the Vahed Bus Company workers’ union in Tehran , Iran , an independent trade union in a country with an official trade union movement and a track record of persecuting independent trade unionists, etc.Mansour has been in jail since July 2007, and his health is deteriorating in part because of the brutal beatings he has received from the security services.

Iran: ITUC's submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review

The International Trade Union Council (ITUC) has lodged a submission detailing Iran ’s violations of fundamental workers’ rights to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review, a high-level UN procedure on human rights. Iran will be discussed at the 7th session of the UPR Working Group from 2 - 10 February 2010. The ITUC and Global Union Federations have been calling for years for full democratic rights for all Iranians, including freedom of association and freedom of assembly; a halt to all violent repression; the release of all imprisoned trade unionists; recognition of all independent workers’ organizations in Iran; ratification of and respect for all the core labour standards; a halt to all anti-union repression; and the reinstatement of unfairly dismissed workers. Along with the international trade union movement’s actions at the International Labour Organisation to press Iran to respect fundamental labour standards, the ITUC submission to the UPR sets out a catalogue of serious violations of these standards, and calls for Iran to respect its international obligations, both with respect to the ILO and under the UN’s International Covenant on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights, Article 8 of which provides for the right to form and join unions, and the right to strike.

One more 'show trial' in Turkey

A first court hearing in Erzurum, Turkey, has released a trade unionist on bail but decided that he will still have to face charges for ‘terrorist offences’ that have been widely rejected worldwide. Nejat Sezginer, Sivas branch president of the BTS transport trade union, which is affiliated to the ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation), had been detained since February 2009 before being released on 17 September 2009 on condition that he returns to court on 5th November. He faces trumped-up charges of ‘assisting and supporting a terrorist organisation’, and was arrested with Onder Dogan, a branch president of the Egitim-Sen teachers’ union. In total, 14 trade unionists have been indicted and Onder Dogan remains in prison. The men, along with their trade unions, are certain that the authorities are using false accusations of terrorism to block normal, democratic trade union activities. In the early morning of Thursday 28 May 2009 the Turkish gendarmerie and police raided the headquarters of KESK (Turkish confederation of public employees’ unions) in Ankara and KESK local branch offices in Izmir , Istanbul , Van and Manisa. The president of KESK attended today’s hearing and stressed that it is part of an attack on progressive trade unions in Turkey . In May 2009 more than 30 trade unionists, including Hasan Soysal, a member of the BTS Izmir branch, were arrested in Izmir and other cities accused of terrorist activities. Speaking from the court house in Erzurum , ITF Inland Transport Secretary Mac Urata said: “Of course we’re glad to see Nejat Sezginer freed for now, but the fact that the trials continue is deeply worrying. All the information points to this being a politically-motivated show trial. The charges are a nonsense and centre on the activities of students who used an office belonging to the Egitim-Sen that was also used by the BTS.” “Many ITF unions work with students and it is nothing special. There have been cases before in other countries where when railway workers went on strike they were branded as terrorists. If Turkey wants to join the EU, these practices must end. The charges must be dropped immediately.”

In Puerto Rico: The Government has started sacking public sector employees

The Puerto Rican government in accomplishing its plans to dismiss 30,000-45,000 public sector employees and suspend public sector collective bargaining rights, has started sacking public sector employees. Public Services International (PSI) is opposing plans by the Governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Fortuño, to dismiss tens of thousands of public sector workers as part of a plan to reduce Puerto Rico 's huge budget deficit. The dismissals begun on July 2009, the start of the new fiscal year. Legislation adopted in March also suspended all public sector collective agreements as well as agreements in employee manuals, contracts, circulars, etc. referring to payment plans, grade classification schemes, training and development. Whilst PSI recognises the need for bold measures to solve Puerto Rico 's economic crisis, particularly in the context of the global financial and economic crisis, PSI insists that workers should not be made to pay the price for a crisis they did not create. PSI and its affiliates in Puerto Rico believe that the fiscal austerity measures adopted by the Fortuño Government can only lead to higher unemployment, further contraction of the economy, greater fiscal shortfall and debt, and increased migration.

UNISON: Restructuring is a risk to workers' health

Company restructuring can seriously harm workers' health, research backed by public sector union in the United Kingdom UNISON has found. The union helped prepare a 'Health in restructuring' report supported by the European Commission. It is calling on organisations to put a UNISON five-point action plan into place, including risk assessments to investigate possible health impacts of organisational change. The research shows that workers who take part in restructuring are 2.5 per cent more likely to get ill, with workers who lose their jobs and workplace survivors both affected. An organisation's efficiency is also likely to suffer, the research found, as workplace restructuring triggers increased absence, a rise in injury and accident rates and a wide variety of depressive disorders. Greg Thomson, UNISON's national development manager and the report's co-author, said: 'Restructuring can also have an impact on the family and friends of those affected, as it may involve relocation as the only option to retaining the post. This can be expensive, lonely and disruptive for the family as a whole. We are urging employers to follow our five-point plan to prevent health and safety issues.' UNISON plans calls on employers to: be open about any proposed restructuring and to consult properly; provide access to counselling; treat workers fairly, using a transparent process and compensating properly those who lose their jobs; take into account the negative side effects of restructuring; and provide lifelong learning to help workers find other jobs more easily.

UCATT welcomes the launch of Kickstart scheme

Construction union in U.K. UCATT has welcomed the recent launch of government’s Kickstart scheme to lend money to developers in order to restart mothballed housing projects. It is estimated that the scheme should generate 20,000 jobs. Alan Ritchie, General Secretary of UCATT, pointed out that : “this investment will help to restart some strategic housing developments and restore confidence to the industry. More importantly it will help to get skilled construction workers back to work and playing an active part in the economy.” Mr Ritchie, added: “the money being invested in social housing is particularly welcome. Inadequate housing blights the lives of thousands of families and is a key indicator of a person’s future career opportunities. I am pleased that the Government are finally grasping the importance of increasing the number of social and council houses being built.” Over a third of the £925 million available will be spent on restarting stalled affordable housing projects.

IFJ Condemns Death Threats against Al-Jazeera Journalist in Yemen

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has urged the Yemeni authorities to guarantee the safety of beleaguered journalists in the country following death threats made against Murad Hashem, Al-Jazeera's bureau chief in Yemen. "This kind of intimidation must be met with resolve and clear purpose to defeat the enemies of press freedom," said Jim Boumelha, IFJ President. "The authorities must take any threat to journalists seriously and act to prevent any harm coming to them."According to the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS), a telephone call was made to the Al-Jazeera office in Sana'a, on Saturday 25 July during which the caller warned that the bureau chief would soon be killed in an attack on his home. The YJS has also accused some politicians and officials, including members of the Southern Movement and of Parliament in Yemen of engaging in a public campaign to demonise Al-Jazeera television network that further threatens their safety."These attacks on independent media do a disservice to democracy in Yemen ," added Boumelha. "Those who encourage violence against journalists will be held responsible for any attacks that may ensue."The IFJ has recently denounced the escalating harassment of media in Yemen , including the detention of journalists, armed attacks on media houses and court cases which have targeted independent media in an attempt to suppress independent reporting.

Somali Journalists Confront Challenges of Security, Impunity and Standards

A Somali national journalists' conference launched in Nairobi, Kenya on July focused on the threats posed by the high rate of killing of journalists, kidnappings, torture and intimidation of media professionals, and heard calls for an end to the culture of impunity that has been the scourge of media activity in Somalia since 1991.Among other issues there was also on the agenda of the meeting the challenge of setting professional standards for media in one of the world's most dangerous hotspots for journalists.The three-day conference (24- 26 July 2009), held under the theme: Professional Journalism: Responsibility in a Situation of Violence and Insecurity, and organized by the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) aimed to prepare a comprehensive action plan for ethical journalism and a call for fresh solidarity in the region with Somali journalists.The conference was focused on issues such as: the insecurity of journalists in Somalia , the doctrine of independence, the role of Somali journalists in inflaming or easing the violence and conflict, imbalance and censorship, support and solidarity for ethical media, combating impunity, decent working conditions as foundation for quality journalism and solidarity, professional ethics and media regulation. Let us bear in mind that this year alone, since January 2009, six journalists have been killed in targeted and pre-meditated attacks aimed intimidating the entire media community in Somalia .The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Secretary-General, Aidan White, said Somali journalists must strive for professionalism and ethics. But, he said, it is also the responsibility of government and the Somali community to ensure that the journalists work and exist in decent conditions.. "Indecent and unfavourable working conditions expose journalists to manipulation and abuse by the political class for propaganda purposes."The Central Organization of Trade Unions-Kenya (COTU) Secretary-General, Francis Atwoli, bemoaned the perilous conditions in which journalists work, saying it was time the world community intervened directly to end the lawlessness and impunity in Somalia . He said COTU was ready to help NUSOJ to set up an office in Nairobi to enable it run its affairs without fear or intimidation.Appealing for support and solidarity from the world community to tackle the problem of insecurity of journalists in Somalia and that of impunity, Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary-General, said media professionals in his country have become targets of those who hate the truth. The situation has deteriorated "from rule of law to the rule of guns".

Furniture industry employers: Unions demand tougher formaldehyde rules

The European Federation of Building and Wood Workers (EFBWW) and the European Furniture Manufacturers Federation (EFMF) on behalf of producers want the EU to legislate on formaldehyde, a chemical which is widely used in furniture manufacture.
In a joint declaration, the two organizations call for “legislation requiring that all materials used in furniture put on the market in the EU have the lowest possible emission level based on the best available technology”.
Both the union and the employers' organisation say that their first concern is the health and safety of their workers and their consumers.
The two organizations want formaldehyde put onto the new list of indicative occupational exposure limit values drawn up under the EU’s Chemical Agents Directive. Putting formaldehyde on the list would force EU member states to bring in national exposure limits, which could still always be higher than the level set by EU law.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies formaldehyde as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1). Formaldehyde is used mainly in the production of resins that are used as adhesives and binders for wood products, paper pulp, paper, glasswool and rockwool. It is also used extensively in the production of plastics and coatings, textile finishing and the manufacture of industrial chemicals.. It is used as a disinfectant and preservative in many applications.
France ’s National Research and Safety Institute (INRS) estimates that over a million European workers are exposed to formaldehyde to some degree or other.

LO's report on shrinking confidence in the sickness insurance

In Sweden almost forty per cent of workers do not feel confident when it comes to benefit by the measures provided in case of sickness of long duration. These are the comments made by Ulla Lindqvist, Vice President of LO, the Swedish Trade Union Confederation on the recently published report A sickness insurance that makes you feel secure? - confidence in being secured support and assistance as well as legal safety in case of sickness leave.It ought to be an integral part of the general sickness insurance and the sickness leave process that support and assistance are provided for those hit by ill-health and reduced work capacity. Still, the report displays several serious shortcomings of people’s confidence in obtaining support and assistance to return to work after having been on sickness leave.It is important that people can trust in getting treatment according to the regulations in case of sickness and sickness leave to make the sickness insurance trustworthy.. The outcome of the inquiry made by the LO shows, on the contrary, that confidence in the Social Insurance Agency’s administration of sick leave cases is failing – every second person has no confidence at all..Many people feel very doubtful and do not entirely trust in the sickness insurance’s and the Social Insurance Agency’ guarantees, which are stipulated by law, as to treatment and possibilities to return to work. I am not at all surprised at these findings, as working life has become harder and, besides, I am very worried that it will be still tougher considering the economic crisis we are enduring, Ulla Lindqvist continued. “For years we have talked about a labour market and a working life open to everybody but nothing much happens. The pressure on the employers must increase to do what is their duty and adapt the places of work and provide rehabilitation”, Ulla Lindqvist concluded.

Australian unions vow to continue to stand up for the rights of construction workers

Unions in Australia have vowed to continue to stand up for construction workers' rights and for an end to the use of coercive powers in the industry. Commenting on the announcement by the Federal Government that it would introduce new industrial relations legislation for the construction industry into Parliament, ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence said:
"Unions are determined to improve workers' rights and to ensure workers in the construction industry have the same rights as all other Australian workers. It will be good to see the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) abolished, as the Government has said it will do. The removal of unfair, higher penalties for construction workers is also a step forward. Unions are fundamentally opposed to the continued use of coercive powers against workers - even for a five year period and with the new safeguards that are proposed. The only people that will win from the retention of unfair laws in this industry will be the big building developers and construction companies. Our short term fear is that workers will continue to be subject to laws that are just unfair and unreasonable. Our long term fear is that these laws will stop workers on building sites from speaking out when a situation is unsafe or unfair.
According to official figures from the Australian Safety and Compensation Council, prior to the introduction of the Howard Government's discriminatory laws for the construction industry in 2004, there were 19 deaths on building sites but in 2007 this had risen to 33 deaths. Special laws have failed to deal with the terrible record of health and safety in this often dangerous industry and have failed to improve productivity. The recent report by Justice Wilcox into the industry found the discriminatory laws had no positive impact on productivity and debunked the ABCC's claims that they had. "Unions will continue campaigning to ensure this happens," said Mr .Lawrence.

Commonwealth values trade union contribution to civil society

Mrs Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General, in her address to the Commonwealth Trade Union Group meeting in Geneva in June, expressed her appreciation of the contribution made by trade unions to the Commonwealth People's Forum (CPF) in Kampala and hoped that the trade union participation in the CPF in Trinidad and Tobago in November 2009 would enrich the debate on such important themes as human rights, gender equality, informal sector workers, social protection and sustainable development.
Mrs. Mwamba emphasized the impact of the current economic and financial crisis on the countries in Commonwealth, notably, on the most vulnerable and fragile of them and referred to the decline in the GDP in the countries concerned, the 9% projected drop in world trade and significant reductions in direct investment, official development assistance (ODA) and remittances. She added that the forthcoming meeting of the Commonwealth Finance Ministers in Cyprus would address some of the issues, that climate change, reforms of the International Financial Institutions (IFIs), democracy, good governance and human rights would be part of the agenda of the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Trinidad and Tobago in November 2009 and that the capacity building through technical co-operation remained a priority for the Commonwealth.
Mrs Mamounata-Cissé, Deputy General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), in her speech to the Meeting, said that the Commonwealth and the trade union movement shared a set of aims, values and principles, that they strove to promote them and that the CPF in Trinidad and Tobago would provide an opportunity to work even more closely with the Commonwealth Secretariat, Commonwealth Foundation and other institutions. She stressed the importance of the World Day for Decent Work in 2009 and hoped that it would be celebrated throughout the Commonwealth with the support from all members in the CTUG.

UFCW Canada calls on Official Opposition to stand up for human rights in Colombia

UFCW Canada is calling on Canada’s Official Opposition to stand up for human rights by stopping Stephen Harper from doing business with the Uribe regime in Colombia. UFCW Canada National President Wayne Hanley is asking Michael Ignatieff and other Liberal MPs to demonstrate they care about democracy and human rights by taking a strong stance against a proposed trade agreement between Canada and Colombia that is expected to top the Conservative government’s priority list once Parliament reconvenes. “Under the government of President Alvaro Uribe, the Colombian people live in a constant state of poverty and fear. In fact, the Uribe government has one of the worst human rights records in the world. Since Uribe took power, an estimated five million Colombians have been forcibly displaced through land seizures,” wrote National President Hanley in a letter to Liberal members of the House of Commons. Over 2,500 civil society activists and trade unionists have been killed or disappeared since Uribe assumed power as Colombia’s president in 2002.

A very interesting publication

The impact of safety representatives on occupational health A European perspective
Edited by María Menéndez , Occupational Health Department, CC.OO. Joan Benach , Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona Laurent Vogel, ETUI 2009 32 pages format 21 x 24,5 cm ISBN 978-287452144-7 20 Euros EN - FR

Does the presence of union officials in a workplace actually help to improve safety and health protection for workers? To try and answer this question, three researchers reviewed the studies done on the matter in Europe . They conclude that having trade union representation leads to better observance of the rules, lower accident rates and fewer work-related health problems. The findings of the study, done under the European EPSARE project, have been published in a ETUI (European Trade Union Institute) report.This publication is the outcome of EPSARE - the European Project on Safety Reps carried out by researchers and trade unionists. It is a condensed version of the report which gives the essentials of an initial assessment of the enabling conditions and factors for the work of safety reps in the European Union (EU). The project reviewed all the available literature, and collected information and knowledge from descriptive studies and key informants. It also developed a theoretical model to describe the key conditions and factors relating to safety reps and their influence on health and safety at work.This initial report starts with a status review of safety reps in the EU, followed by an analysis of the conditions and factors for effective representation, and concludes by attempting to pinpoint the key needs and challenges for trade unions, safety reps, researchers, policy-makers and government agencies.

Another very interesting publication

Risk assessment of biomechanical damage risks in small and medium-sized enterprises
ETUI /Ed. Moretti & Vitali co-publication
2009 192 pages format 16,5 x 24 cm ISBN 978-887186434-1 20 Euros EN

This joint study, co-published by the ETUI, reviews the musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) that workers in SMEs can face. MSDs are very much an agenda-topping issue, and are addressed in a practical and innovative way in Belgium , Spain and Italy through action-oriented risk assessments. A holistic, participatory and multidisciplinary approach is taken to assessing so-called biomechanical risks and work situations to produce practical solutions to the problems faced by workers and businesses.

The 2009 TUC Poverty Conference

An Alternative Vision for the Welfare State, the 2009 TUC Poverty Conference
Congress House, Monday 19 October 2009, 11.00 - 4.30.

In the 2009 TUC Poverty Conference there are going to be sessions on the problems with the current system, the welfare state in other countries, a fair balance of rights and responsibilities, minimum incomes, in-work poverty and dignity for social security workers and claimants. The speakers will include
Mark Serwotka, PCS
Kate Green, Child Poverty Action Group
Jonathan Rutherford, Compass
Fintan Farrell, European Anti Poverty Network
The conference will take place at Congress House on Monday 19 October from 11.00 am to 4.30 pm. This conference is organised by a coalition of organisations, including the TUC, Unemployed Workers' Centres, PCS, Oxfam, Save the Children, ATD 4th World and the UK Coalition Against Poverty, and trade unionists, claimants and anti-poverty campaigners are all welcome.
The conference is free, but those interested in attending it should register. Places will be reserved on a first-come first-served basis. Contact: Jennifer Mann - 020 7467 1222 jmann@tuc.org.uk

The NAACP: A Centennial Appraisal Conference

The NAACP: A Centennial Appraisal Conference
September 24-25, 2009
Hosted by the Marcus Cunliffe Centre for the Study of the American South, University of Sussex ( U.K. )
Location: The White Hart Hotel, 55 High Street , Lewes, East Sussex , BN7 1XE

This year sees the one hundredth anniversary of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP). Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the United States ' oldest, most durable and arguably most effective African-American civil rights organisation. From its inception, it has contributed consistently to the ongoing black freedom struggle in America through its hard-fought campaigns against lynching, discriminatory housing, disfranchisement, unequal employment and, most famously, segregated public schools. Hosted by the Marcus Cunliffe Centre for the Study of the American South at the University of Sussex, the two-day NAACP: A Centenary Appraisal conference will explore the organisation's complex, evolving and always surprising history by bringing together leading scholars from the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany. Working at the cutting-edge of civil rights historiography, these scholars will discuss and debate the NAACP's first hundred years and map out new areas for study beyond 2009.
Speakers will include: Professor David Garrow (Cambridge), Professor Manfred Berg (Heidelberg), Professor Carol Anderson (Emory), Professor Peter Ling (Nottingham), Professor Greta de Jong (Nevada-Reno), and Dr. Stephen Tuck (Oxford).