5 April, 2010
On the basis of a March 2008 provision mutually agreed to between ICEM and French-based specialty chemicals company Rhodia in a Global Framework Agreement (GFA), a joint Global Safety Forum was created in order to bring higher health and safety standards into the company for its 15,000 worldwide employees.
Having agreed to an addendum to clarify terms and conditions of the global forum, ICEM and Rhodia recently signed and officially established the body.
It will consist of nine members, three appointed from Rhodia Group’s general management, two from the ICEM Secretariat, and one Rhodia employee each from the company’s four operational zones (Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America), to be selected by the ICEM.
Kemal Özkan, Brian Kohler
The ICEM representatives will be Kemal Özkan, Rubber and Chemicals Officer, and Brian Kohler, Health, Safety, and Sustainability Officer. Following consultation with ICEM affiliates in the four regions, the regional representatives include Maurice Tritsch from France, Scott Harrington from the US, Thiago dos Reis Martins from Brazil, and Jie Dong from China.
The addendum defines the role of the Global Safety Forum as a monitor for “the safety situation within the Group.” The forum is to meet at least once yearly, with each annual meeting to be held at a Rhodia plant chosen by the nine-member committee. With a commitment to a continuous progress approach to health and safety, the forum shall “issue observations and recommendations for improvement.”
Having realised a first-ever joint activity on health and safety at Rhodia’s subsidiary in Freiburg, Germany, on 19 June 2009, the Global Safety Forum will have its first official meeting in the second half of 2010.
View this addendum to the ICEM-Rhodia GFA here.