Humanitarian appeal for Haiti

GLOBAL: The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has called for "a major international mobilisation of humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Haiti" in a statement released on January 13, 2010. In a message sent to all affiliates on January 20, 2010, the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) urged its affiliates to support the ITUC appeal.

Funds raised under the ITUC appeal will in the first instance be used to provide humanitarian assistance via the ITUC affiliates in the Dominican Republic, CASC, CNTD and CNUS. The three Dominican Republic organisations have opened up their local trade union offices to collect funds and essential items, which are being trucked across the border into Haiti, in cooperation with the ITUC's Haitian affiliate the CTH.

Funds for the appeal may be transferred to the following ITUC account:

No. 375-1008200-61

Banque ING, Brussels Branch Institutionals, 1 rue du Trone, B-1000 Brussels

Code IBAN: BE 62375100820061

Code BIC/Swift: BBRUBEBB

The communication "SOS Solidarity - Haiti" must be included with each transfer to this account.

The IMF has no affiliated unions in Haiti, however, Jorge Almeida, IMF regional representative for Latin America and the Caribbean went to Haiti on November 29 last year to meet with a group of metalworkers to promote the formation of a union in their sector. At that meeting a working committee was established responsible for building a union in contact with the IMF regional office and IMF subregional co-ordinator Gregorio Santana.

Gregorio Santana, who is also general secretary of FENATRAMIM, IMF's affiliate in the Dominican Republic, said the situation in Haiti is very complicated with problems of communication and co-ordination for assistance. The current priority is the recovery of bodies, the medical and health care of the wounded and food for the population. Santana will keep the IMF informed of the needs of the people and the reconstruction of Haiti.

Unions around the world are raising money and sending volunteers to Haiti. There's full coverage of the activity on LabourStart at: http://www.labourstart.org