ICFTU ONLINE...

Brussels, October 2, 1998 (ICFTU OnLine): The following is a selection of next week's events. This selection has been prepared for the information of subscribers to the ICFTU's OnLine service, and does not necessarily reflect the position of the ICFTU.

Monday, 5 October: For World Teachers' Day, Education International (EI) is publishing a report of over 300 pages on the status of human rights and trade union rights in the field of education. The 149 countries in which EI has affiliates are scrutinised in this "1998 Barometer on Human Rights and Trade Union Rights in the Field of Education". To order a copy of the report, contact EI on ++32 2 224 0611 (tel.) or 32 2 224 06 06 (fax). E-mail educint@ei-ie.org. Internet site: http://www.ei-ie.org

Monday, 5 October: The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child will hold a special meeting in Geneva to address problems concerning children faced with AIDS. The number of children below the age of 15 affected by the virus was estimated at over one million at the end of 1997. Ninety percent of these live in the developing world. In 1996, of the 1.5 million people who died of AIDS, 350,000 were children.

Monday, 5 October: Meeting in Nablus of the ICFTU Coordinating Committee on the Middle East.

Tuesday, 6 October: The opening in Washington of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In a memorandum to the two financial institutions, the ICFTU notes the spread of the recession in large parts of the developing world, Japan, Russia and the CIS countries, and raises the spectre of a general collapse. The ICFTU calls for urgent coordinated measures to lower interest rates, launch large-scale social programmes and reform the international monetary system. The ICFTU's statement is available on this web-site.   Copies can also be obtained by contacting Linda Stewart on ++32 224 0331 (tel.) e-mail: linda.stewart@icftu.org.  

Tuesday, 6 October: Talks between Lithuania and Gazprom, which has the monopoly of gas development in Russia, will resume on the construction of a gas pipeline linking Minsk (Belarus) with Kaliningrad (a Russian territory enclosed in Lithuania). The resumption of this dialogue, initially scheduled for 21 September, had been postponed. The reasons for this postponement have not been disclosed.

Tuesday, 6 October: World Habitat Day.

Tuesday, 6 October: The International Labour Organisation is organising the 16th International Conference on Labour Statistics in Geneva.

Wednesday, 7 October: In response to the call of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, FNPR, and other union associations, a general strike is expected to paralyse all of Russia. Demonstrations are planned in the country's major cities. The payment of wage arrears, estimated at $15 billion, is at the centre of the union demands, but unionists are also calling for the resignation of President Yeltsin. The Communist Party, which has a majority in the Duma (lower house), has followed suit behind the unions and is seeking to harness the movement. The FNPR has promised to prevent demonstrators from getting out of hand and to guarantee that the demonstrations are peaceful, but it does not exclude possibilities of provocation.

Wednesday, 7 October: The "March for Brazil" organised by the Peasants Without Land (MST) movement is expected to end today with marches in the capitals of the different Brazilian states. About a hundred groups are taking part in this action, and some 300,000 demonstrators are expected throughout the country.

Wednesday, 7 October: The African Economic Forum will hold a meeting in Washington, organised by UNIDO, the World Bank, the Organisation for African Unity and the Afro-American Chamber of Commerce. The focus of the meeting is trade flows and investment in Africa.

Thursday, 8 October: The Congolese affiliate (Brazzaville) of the ICFTU, Cosylac, will hold its first ordinary congress.

Thursday, 8 October: Meeting of the Executive Committee of the European Confederation of Trade Unions.

Thursday, 8 October: Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov will have discussions in Brussels with the leaders of the European Commission.

Thursday, 8 October: A summit of countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States is scheduled. The leaders of the former Soviet republics have chosen to hold their meeting in Yekaterinburg, the Russian stronghold of President Boris Yeltsin, a decision aimed at showing their support for a President increasingly disparaged by the population.

Friday, 9 October: Legislative elections will be held in Swaziland. Political parties are banned in the country. The appeals of the democratic movement, including the trade unions, for an open and multi-party system have encountered repression from the regime, an absolute monarchy.

Saturday, 10 October: The Ninth International Conference Against Corruption will be held in Durban (South Africa). It is organised by Transparency International.

Sunday, 11 October: Local elections take place in Poland.

Sunday, 11 October: Presidential elections are scheduled in Azerbaijan. The current President, Heidar Aliev, former KGB head of the former Soviet republic, in power since 1993, is standing for re-election. Several opposition parties have announced their intention to boycott the elections to protest against repression.

Sources: These forecasts have been prepared in cooperation with Future Events News Service in London (FENS), 8-10 Wiseton Rd, London SW17 7EE. Tel.:++44 181 672 31 91. Http://www.hubcom.com/fens

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