November and December 2014 Communication No. 8

General Secretariat, Communication No. 8,
November and December 2014

CONTENTS:

Comrades, these have been our developments since COMMUNICATION No. 7:

A) WORK OF THE GENERAL SECRETARY (GS).-

1. Comrade Quim Boix took three weeks of holiday, doing tourism in Cuba.
2. The trip to Cuba was also used to hold two meetings (at no cost to the TUI), one with the CTC (Confederation of Workers of Cuba) and another one with the Regional Office for America based in Havana. Comrade Mercè Escudé also attended both meetings, representing the union CSU of P&R of Spain. At the meeting held at the CTC, besides the exchange of information on the trade union situation in Spain, the TUI received extensive information regarding the union work done by P&R within the CTC.Scanned summary files by the CTC comrades, in Spanish, are attached. The meeting at the headquarters of the Regional Office for America of the WFTU allowed us to progress in the preparation of the American Regional Conference of P&R class unions (expected in spring 2015, in Quito, Ecuador, organized by CTE). Comrade Ramon Cardona committed to work for the success of the Conference. The Newsletter of the WFTU in America published a photo and brief chronicle of this meeting.
3. We reiterated efforts to organise in Bahrain the 2015 annual meeting of the management teams of P&R TUI. After many email exchanges we were finally able to send, on December 30th, calls in 3 languages (English, French and Spanish), to try to make the annual meeting of 2015 on March 1st in Bahrain's capital. It has been requested that that each TUI leader summoned reports urgently whether he/she can attend (if his/her union can pay the travel expenses). If there is insufficient quorum for the meeting in good condition, it will be delayed and replaced by a VIRTUAL meeting, ie, an exchange of views and agreements made through emails.
4. The official request for the recognition of the TUI was sent to the ILO. See the letter in ANNEX 1.
5. A reminder was sent to all members of the direction of the TUI to specify their respective work programs, except the Secretaries of Finance and Propaganda, since they are the only ones who have already submitted their written proposal. See the proposals of these two Secretaries in COMMUNICATION No. 4.
6. Comrades from All India BSNL union (from India), were thanked for their economic contribution of $200 as 2014 and 2015 fees.
7. Greetings and best wishes for success for 2015 were sent to all available contacts, asking them to be forwarded as widely as possible to remind both the existence of P&R TUI and the need to fight for the claims defined in our First Congress. We will try to have this new year greeting is as many languages as possible (check our web to see them).
8. A meeting with the four people involved in the main web management of P&R TUI was held in Barcelona. Our website still needs an add-on for decentralized management, in each language.
9. Localization was requested to contact designers who can assist the Secretary of Propaganda to make posters or other materials to broadcast the ideas of our struggle.
10. We received an invitation from the Pakistani union PLF to visit their country (they will assume all expenses, including airfare) and hold meetings to both broadcast the agreements of the Founding Congress of the TUI and to get to know the P&R reality of this Asian country.
11. Specific proposals to advance the preparations of the 5 TUI Regional Conferences, one per continent were made to the comrades involved in them.
12. It was proposed that the two Commissions elected in Congress (Technical and Research, plus Control of Finances) draft and implement a work plan for their respective tasks.

B) WORK FROM THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE ELECTED DIRECTION.-

1. Comrade Alain Rodriguez, Secretary of Propaganda, was careful to finalize the proposal of the Secretary General of the TUI, preparing the 2015 greeting 2015 which was sent as P&R TUI of the WFTU.
2. The comrades of PAME from Greece called on December 10th 2014 for actions to fight again in the streets, to give continuity to the actions of last June.They claimed: 1) Recovery of everything which they have been deprived from with economic reforms.2) 13th and 14th pension pays,corresponding to summer and end of the year.3) The immediate payment of pensions.4) The restoration of social tourism programs and balneotherapy.5) Public and free Health Care. You can see the photos:https://plus.google.com/111424066969409429174/photos .

3. The comrades from Argentina continue taking to the streets every Wednesday and collecting increasingly popular support for the claims of P&R. Each week they send us their newsletter.
4. The comrades from Australia are still battling for the rights of P&R in this huge country. Each month they send us their newsletter.
5. Regarding possible ways to celebrate the first anniversary of the existence of the P&R TUI of the WFTU, only the Secretary of Propaganda and the comrade from Algeria made proposals. Therefore, we will leave the celebration until a better occasion turns out.
6. The comrades from Bahrain published in their union newsletter from last November the activities developed by the P&R from their country, including harsh criticism to their Ministry of Labour.
7. The comrades of Ecuador, aided by other leaders of the TUI in America, are still preparing the First Regional Conference of P&R class unions of their continent.
8. The same happens in Asia and Africa, where the respective comrades are participating.
9. In Europe and the Middle East, we are more delayed in the preparation of our respective Regional Conferences.

APPENDIX 1.-
Letter requesting recognition of the ILO

Dear Sirs and/or Madams,
Firstly, I'd like to greet you on behalf of the Pensioners and Retired (P&R) who, joined in unions from the five continents, celebrated this year 2014 the First World Congress of P&R Trade Unions.
In this World Congress created the TUI (Trade Union International) of P&R (Pensioners and Retired) of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU).
On our website (http://www.pensionistas.info/web/es) you will find all the information concerning our Founding Congress.
We address to the Governing Body of the ILO so that our existence is recognized as a world union organisation.
We want this recognition to be treated as appropriate within the ILO, especially to give us the right to intervene before the plenary of the annual Conferences of the ILO. Specifically, we ask to participate it in the 104th Session of the International Labour Conference, to be held in June, 2015.
I personally held a meeting in June this year in the offices of the ILO headquarters in Geneva with the following:
Pierre Martinot-Lagarde, Special Adviser (PARDEV).
Maria Helena Andre, Director of ACTRAV
Anna Biondi, Deputy Director of ACTRAV
Regarding what was dealth with in these meetings, please fins the corresponding files attached:
1) The letter of request to be recognized as TUI by the ILO.
2) The statutes of the P&R TUI f the WFTU.
3) The composition of the union direction, elected at the Founding Congress .
4) A summary of our activities.

We are available to provide all necessary supporting documentation.
We rely on the correct reception of this message, thanking you in advance to confirm us (by email) that have addressed it to the right the ILO departments and the right people.
Yours Truly,
Quim Boix
General Secretary of the TUI of Pensioners and Retired (P&R) of the WFTU
http://www.pensionistas.info/web/es
0034    609547814
Paseo de San Juan, 176, 5th, 3rd; 08037 Barcelona; Spain