12 September, 2011
From 4-6 September 2011 the BASF South American network met in Sao Paulo for extended social dialogue with the presence of BASF management and IGBCE President Michael Vassiliadis.
The meeting opened on Sunday for an internal meeting of the worker representatives from Brazil, Argentina and Chile. The meeting was conducted by Sergio Novais, ICEM Vice-President.
There had been some turbulence in the relations between the network and the company after 2009. 2009 was the year when the 10 year anniversary of the network was celebrated and at the same time a strike was called causing a breakdown in relations for the following two years. In the meantime both sides admit that they reacted in an exaggerated way to the problems that had arisen. From 2010 on the unions and the company set up a working group to iron out the problems and to get dialogue back on track. The work in the group bore fruit and led to a resumption of dialogue.
The first day’s meeting agreed to focus on the following 6 points:
1. Unify the company’s policy toward the fire brigade and first aid providers across the region 2. Ask the company to provide information on ISO 26000 3. Ask the company to provide information on nanotechnology 4. Work on a pattern contract for outsourcing in the region - outsourcing is a permanent issue in the network 5. Ask the company to provide information on restructuring in the region 6. Ask the company to present its policy on health and safety with a view to creating unified standards in the region
Certain points were still pending because of the suspension of the regional dialogue. The workers felt that points pending at national level should be resolved even though the regional dialogue was stalled. The policies and practices need to be the same for everyone. The company should be prepared to discuss these issues at the next meetings.
BASF management has a new team. It is very hard for BASF to keep qualified and loyal workers and to compete in the global labour markets. New investments are planned for Brazil. Workers benefit from the company’s results, but these benefits need to be standardised worldwide.
The BASF network has been and will continue to be a reference for social dialogue in the region. The company and the unions are proud of what it has achieved and will continue to make the most of the dialogue.