Unions For Transfusions A 2012 Success Story: Bulletin

BULLETIN
HealtH & Social ServiceS March 2013
P S I A S I A PAC I F I C R E G I O N
Unions for Transfusions a 2012 success story
Unions for Transfusions, the union program to encourage blood donations across the Australian state of New South Wales, is celebrating a successful 2012, with over 700 pledges to donate blood gathered and given to the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. The General Secretary of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association Brett Holmes said the program was now a proven success. The Australian Red Cross Blood Service has told us they love this campaign, Mr Holmes said, and that it is making a big difference in improving the supply of blood and blood products in NSW.
Unions NSW Secretary Mark Lennon also said he was proud of the programs achievements this year. Unions have been able to do what they do best - helping to organise people for the greater good. Workplace managements have been happy to endorse this campaign and have enjoyed the very positive media that is generated for their facilities.
The Australian Red Cross Blood Service has told us they love this campaign ... it is making a big difference in improving the supply of blood and blood products in NSW.
Should you wish to contribute to this bulletin or advise of any useful websites, contact Judith Kiejda at: [email protected] Please also advise of any changes to e-mail addresses or new subscribers.
Solomon Islands teachers strike

Photo: Salomon Island Times
Bahraini nurse unionist unable to get Australian visa
The Solomon Islands government has pledged to stand by its memorandum of understanding on teachers wages. Around 9000 teachers went on strike in late January in protest at the failure of the government to meet pay commitments made in 2012. The general secretary of the Solomon Islands National Teachers Association Johnley Hatimoana said the MOU was reached in a meeting with government officials and schools reopened the next day. The teachers got what they wanted but the government has asked that payments be spread out over three pay periods. Rula AlSaffar, president of the Bahrain Nursing Society, was to have presented a seminar at the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association in February but was unable to get a visa in time. In 2011, Rula was incarcerated and tortured by the Bahrain government after treating protestors injured during anti-government uprisings (part of the Arab Spring). The Vice-President of the Bahrain Nursing Society remains in jail. Since being acquitted in June 2012, Rula has been travelling the world campaigning for the release of her colleagues and to raise awareness about the ongoing challenges for health professionals in Bahrain. Despite efforts by Amnesty International and Australian MPs after Rulas first visa application was rejected, a second application was not successful in time for her speaking tour. Rula remains adamant however that she will speak in Australia at a later date. Rula is also Assistant Professor at the Bahrain College of Health Sciences, head of the Emergency Nursing and Critical Care Program and the Head of the International Training Centre.
Extensive cuts to public health services in Queensland

In September 2012, Queenslands Newman government revealed that more than 4100 Queensland Health employees would be paid redundancies, amongst 14,000 public service jobs to go. Separately, about 500 jobs are being cut from Queensland Rail. Queensland has cut funding for alcohol and drug prevention workers, nutrition promotion and healthy lifestyle programs, as well as primary school nurses. The Queensland Nurses Union (QNU) campaign against job and service cuts across the public health system has intensified, with a number of protests by nurses and midwives across the state.
Traineeships in allied health for indigenous people

A regional health service in the Australian state of Victoria has embarked on an innovative traineeship model to bolster indigenous representation within its workforce. Central Gippsland Health Service supported six Aboriginal people to undertake Allied Health Assistant (AHA) traineeships in disciplines such as occupational therapy, physiotherapy, social health, dietetics, speech pathology and podiatry. The traineeships were introduced in July 2011 and the 18-month project has been heralded a success. CGHSs Denise McInnes said the project enabled the health service to recruit and retain qualified allied health staff while providing career pathways for Aboriginal people. Two trainees have now been offered permanent positions and three more are being recruited. The next three positions include a Diploma of Nursing traineeship.
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PSI ASIA PACIFIC REGION HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES BULLETIN FEbRuARy 2013
Public sector union president on hunger strike in Korea

Kim Jungnam, president of the Korean Government Employees Union (KGEU), is currently recovering in hospital following his collapse after 16 days on hunger strike. But despite the duration of his protest, the government has so far refused to enter into a dialogue with the KGEU.
Polio vaccination workers killed in Pakistan

A policeman providing security for a polio vaccination team in Pakistan was killed by gunmen near the north-western town of Swabi in late January, the latest in a spate of deadly attacks against vaccination workers in the country. In December at least eight people engaged in vaccinations were shot dead in Karachi and the north-west. Taliban militants have accused health workers of working as US spies and say the vaccine makes children sterile. Along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, Pakistan is one of only three countries where polio is still endemic. On 1 January seven charity workers, six of them women, were shot dead in the Swabi area. It is not clear if they were targeted because their charity offered vaccinations or education for girls.
Jungnam launched his hunger strike on 15 January outside the offices of the Presidential Transition Committee, protesting against the dismissal of 137 government workers for trade union activities, including himself and the KGEU General-Secretary. The KGEU is calling for legal recognition as a registered trade union and for the Korean government to respect core international labour standards. The conservative Park Geung-hye was elected as South Koreas next president last December. Parks promise to pursue public sector rationalization foreshadows dark times for public sector workers, unless a strong message is sent that public sector unions will stand for no more repression. The KGEU are asking allies in the international labor movement for support by signing a petition at: www.kptu.net/mboard. asp?strBoardID=KPTU_PDSENG Sharan Burrow, General-Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), has called on the Korean government to enter immediate dialogue. No government should stand by and watch the desperation of a union leader threaten his own life. The answer is dialogue. The world is watching with horror the denial of dialogue and conflict resolution that is driving union leaders to take such action. We petition the government to intervene to resolve this dispute.
Hyundai stops night shifts in Korea

Hyundai workers began a new shift system in January, no longer working overnight for the first time since 1967, thanks to the Korean Metal Workers Unions agreement with the company. As of March the graveyard shift will be completely ended. In the new shifts, team one will work 8 hours 40 minutes. Team two takes over for a 9 hour 50 minute shift from 3:40pm to 1:30am. Before, the company had shifts of 10 hours 50 minutes and 11 hours. The work at nights and long working hours overall caused severe sleep disorders and even death from overwork. With the new system in place Korean autoworkers will enjoy a better quality of life. Hyundai Motors sister company Kia Motors is also getting rid of night shifts in March. This move serves as a benchmark to other local carmakers, for instance GM Korea plans to abolish night shifts starting from the beginning of 2014.
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Severe pollution shrouds Beijing
Seven die in Bangladesh garment factory fire, unions call for safety
International labour rights groups called for global clothing retailers to ensure adequate safety measures for workers in Bangladesh after a blaze killed seven employees at a small factory just two months after Bangladeshs worst ever factory blaze killed 112 and injured 150. In a joint statement issued after the latest blaze, the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), International Labor Rights Forum and Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) asked retailers and brands to sign a fire safety agreement with Bangladesh. After more than two decades of the apparel industry knowing about the risks to these workers, nothing substantial has changed, the Executive Director of ILRF, Judy Gearhart, said in the statement. Brands still keep their audit results secret. They still walk away when it suits them and trade unions are still marginalised, weakening workers ability to speak up when they are at risk. Bangladesh has about 4500 garment factories and is the worlds biggest exporter of clothing after China. Clothing makes up 80 percent of its annual exports.
Photo: Saud a Faisal
Since the beginning of 2013, the levels of air pollution in Beijing have been dangerously high, with thick clouds of smog reducing visibility to 200m in some places, chasing people indoors and affecting the health of millions. At the height of the smog, hospitals were overrun by the young and old suffering from respiratory problems. At one point the levels of the smallest, most hazardous pollutants measured 20 times recommended safety levels. Authorities are taking short-term measures to combat the current crisis, shutting down some factories and limiting government car usage. However Chinas use of coal continues to rise and the government remains slow to acknowledge and address the problems.
Fiji bans unionists from standing in 2014 election

The Fijian government has announced that trade union officials are banned from running as candidates in the 2014 election and that, as well as public servants, unionists are barred from belonging to a political party in next years election. This decree follows the regimes decision to dump a draft constitution, which would have paved the way towards democratic rights for the people of Fiji.
Burma lifts ban on public gatherings

Burma has abolished a 25-year-old ban on public gatherings of more than five people. The order dates from 1988, when a military government took power. The ban was commonly used in the years immediately after 1988 to crush dissent against successive military regimes. It has been widely flouted at protests in recent years and was eased following the end of military rule in November 2010 - and when the elected government of President Thein Sein took office in 2011. His administration has continued a process of political liberalisation, including the revocation of strict censorship. The abolition of the ban means that few anti-democracy measures remain in place in Burma. In December 2012 the government announced that privately-owned newspapers would be allowed to operate from April 2013 for the first time in almost 50 years. Journalists were told in August 2012 that they would no longer have to submit their work to state censors before publication. Under the current law, however, possession of an email account - or even a critical article on a computer - can result in a prison sentence, although this too is widely flouted.
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BULLETIN

HealtH & Social ServiceS March 2013

Unions for Transfusions a 2012 success story

Solomon Islands teachers strike

Bahraini nurse unionist unable to get Australian visa

Extensive cuts to public health services in Queensland

Traineeships in allied health for indigenous people

Public sector union president on hunger strike in Korea

Polio vaccination workers killed in Pakistan

Hyundai stops night shifts in Korea

Send a protest message via LabourStart:

Severe pollution shrouds Beijing

Fiji bans unionists from standing in 2014 election

Burma lifts ban on public gatherings

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