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11 August, 2005ICEM News release No. 91/2001
The world's chemical industry unions have launched a new drive for a global agreement with employers on the industry's Responsible Care programme.
The move was announced by the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) at its world chemical industry conference, which closed in Bangkok yesterday.
Responsible Care aims to portray the chemical sector as applying uniformly high occupational health and safety and environmental standards wherever the industry operates. It has been the industry's main response to critics of its social and environmental record. Responsible Care programmes has been introduced in many parts of the world, sometimes backed by lavish advertising campaigns. However, the programmes have often lacked public credibility.
In February 1999, all this looked set to change. A meeting of the world's governments, chemical employers and chemical unions decided to establish a formal dialogue between the ICEM and the ICCA - notably in a bid to inject a real international presepctive into Responsible Care.
Detailed negotiations followed between the ICEM and the companies' International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA), and the two organisations were close to signing a global agreement on Responsible Care. But the deal was scuppered this April by the ICCA's US member, the American Chemistry Council (ACC). This was, apparently, at the behest of two anti-union American companies, Exxon and Dupont.
"We find this completely incompatible with the ICCA's declared support for the UN Global Compact initiative," commented ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs.
But the ICEM is still keen to put the responsibility back into Responsible Care, and its Bangkok conference decided to break the logjam. ICEM-affiliated chemical unions will demand that national chemical industry associations sign a global agreement with the ICEM on behalf of their member companies.
"Since the Americans stalled the process, many national employers' organisations have expressed their regrets and their continued interest in the concept of a global agreement," Higgs explains. "We will therefore proceed on that basis. And we will state very publicly which industry associations are willing to join us in making Responsible Care work, and which are not.
"Associations that sign up with us will be listed on our website," Higgs says, "So, however, will those that refuse to do so. Credit will be given where credit is due, but those who are neither responsible nor caring will be named and shamed. The future credibility of Responsible Care will be judged by the industry's response."
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Among other main decisions by the ICEM's chemical industry section at its conference in Bangkok:
- The ICEM will continue its efforts to sign global agreements with leading chemical multinationals, and to network trade unions within each company. The ICEM already has several such agreements and networks in various sectors.
- A network of ICEM unions in the pharmaceutical industry will be set up, and will hold a conference every two years. Its next meeting will be in Japan.
- The ICEM will press all governments to ratify and fully implement the Chemical Safety Conventions of the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO).
- The ICEM will actively support Third World countries' right of access to medicines at affordable prices.
- The ICEM will set up a working group to examine all the implications of new biotechnologies and to make recommendations for ICEM policies on this issue.
- Michael Mersmann, from the German mining, chemical and energy union IG BCE, was re-elected as the chair of the ICEM chemical industries section
The move was announced by the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) at its world chemical industry conference, which closed in Bangkok yesterday.
Responsible Care aims to portray the chemical sector as applying uniformly high occupational health and safety and environmental standards wherever the industry operates. It has been the industry's main response to critics of its social and environmental record. Responsible Care programmes has been introduced in many parts of the world, sometimes backed by lavish advertising campaigns. However, the programmes have often lacked public credibility.
In February 1999, all this looked set to change. A meeting of the world's governments, chemical employers and chemical unions decided to establish a formal dialogue between the ICEM and the ICCA - notably in a bid to inject a real international presepctive into Responsible Care.
Detailed negotiations followed between the ICEM and the companies' International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA), and the two organisations were close to signing a global agreement on Responsible Care. But the deal was scuppered this April by the ICCA's US member, the American Chemistry Council (ACC). This was, apparently, at the behest of two anti-union American companies, Exxon and Dupont.
"We find this completely incompatible with the ICCA's declared support for the UN Global Compact initiative," commented ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs.
But the ICEM is still keen to put the responsibility back into Responsible Care, and its Bangkok conference decided to break the logjam. ICEM-affiliated chemical unions will demand that national chemical industry associations sign a global agreement with the ICEM on behalf of their member companies.
"Since the Americans stalled the process, many national employers' organisations have expressed their regrets and their continued interest in the concept of a global agreement," Higgs explains. "We will therefore proceed on that basis. And we will state very publicly which industry associations are willing to join us in making Responsible Care work, and which are not.
"Associations that sign up with us will be listed on our website," Higgs says, "So, however, will those that refuse to do so. Credit will be given where credit is due, but those who are neither responsible nor caring will be named and shamed. The future credibility of Responsible Care will be judged by the industry's response."
_____________
Among other main decisions by the ICEM's chemical industry section at its conference in Bangkok:
- The ICEM will continue its efforts to sign global agreements with leading chemical multinationals, and to network trade unions within each company. The ICEM already has several such agreements and networks in various sectors.
- A network of ICEM unions in the pharmaceutical industry will be set up, and will hold a conference every two years. Its next meeting will be in Japan.
- The ICEM will press all governments to ratify and fully implement the Chemical Safety Conventions of the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO).
- The ICEM will actively support Third World countries' right of access to medicines at affordable prices.
- The ICEM will set up a working group to examine all the implications of new biotechnologies and to make recommendations for ICEM policies on this issue.
- Michael Mersmann, from the German mining, chemical and energy union IG BCE, was re-elected as the chair of the ICEM chemical industries section