6 June, 2011
As a policy from ICEM’s 2007 Congress in Bangkok, meaningful social dialogue with employers at global level is intended to build trust, understanding, and the search for a climate to conduct joint actions and initiatives. In this framework, the action plan by ICEM’s World Conference for the Chemical Industries last year instructed the Secretariat to continue to wage efforts to develop social dialogue forums with global employers’ organisations.
This included to organisation of a special event with the chemical industry employers in a short time frame.
With this, the ICEM and the International Chemical Employers’ Labour Relations Committee (LRC) jointly organized a first “Global Social Dialogue Meeting in the Chemical Industry” on 26 May in Geneva. The meeting was attended by more than 30 representatives from both LRC and ICEM, as well as union and employers’ representatives from Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Norway, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and UK. ILO Sector, ILO ACTEMP, and International Employers’ Organization (IOE) representatives were also present.
The meeting was co-chaired by Wolfgang Goos, President of LRC, and Tomas Nieber, Chairman of the ICEM Chemical Industries Sector. Both expressed their commitment to social dialogue at the outset. ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana stressed that political decisiveness for social dialogue initiatives in the chemical industry is one of the best examples of this commitment. Lutz Mühl, LRC General Secretary, and Manfred Warda, ICEM General Secretary, presented structures and major priorities of their respective organisations at the meeting.
Both ICEM and LRC consider ILO platforms and meetings as important instruments for developing social dialogue. The meeting received a detailed report from Yasuhiko Kamakura of ILO Sector on agenda, technical details, and preparations for forthcoming ILO meetings in the chemical industry. The ILO will be organizing a Tripartite Meeting on Promoting Social Dialogue on Restructuring and its Effects on Employment in the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries in Geneva on 24-27 October 2011, and a Global Dialogue Forum on initiatives to promote decent and productive work in chemicals, which will be held in Geneva in 2012-2013. The 26 May meeting fully supported ILO meetings on developing social dialogue in the industry.
Participants discussed cooperation framework, principal topics, and follow-up for developing global social dialogue in the chemical industry. The meeting also took up the globally celebrated “International Year of Chemistry – 2011” with a role and contribution in social dialogue. Following deliberations, the meeting agreed to release a joint ICEM and LRC statement called the “Geneva Declaration.”
Kemal Özkan, ICEM’s Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs, and the Chemical and Rubber Industries’ Officer, underlined ICEM’s commitment for social dialogue: “The industry has a long-standing culture of social dialogue in major chemical-producing countries. Our duty as social partners at global level is to do our best to strongly follow-up the initiative which we established at this meeting.”