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<ul>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Emphasis to remain on Sustainability and Just Transition work in cooperation with IMF and ITGLWF to ensure that the voice and views of Energy Industry workers continues to be heard in both intergovernmental discussions as well as in the formulation of general trade union policies on these issues. In cooperation with IMF and ITGLWF, ICEM will continue to emphasize the need for social, environmental, and economic sustainability in all energy industries including a &quot;fair, ambitious and binding&quot; agreement on global GHG emissions, accompanied by industrial policies that render existing industrial jobs more sustainable; create new, decent, sustainable industrial jobs; and ensure a Just Transition. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Promotion of democratic energy policies</div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Focus on the changing energy mix (coal, oil, gas, nuclear, hydro, biofuels, solar, wind, etc.) at national and international levels. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Solidarity and dialog between unions of exporting and importing countries of energy must be increased. Equally we need to strengthen cooperation at industrial and company level between energy producers and consumers as part of the process of building new international trade union structures for manufacturing industries. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Expanding contacts and joint work between coal and uranium miners with the Energy Industries section </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Continued work on Global Framework Agreements aimed at both increasing the number of agreements and ensuring that the agreements we have are monitored and implemented more effectively. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Continued support to the ICEM-INWUN Network of nuclear workers including its focus on the full nuclear &ldquo;chain&rdquo; from uranium mining to power generation and other uses such as medical isotopes. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">An increased focus on industrial networks at a regional and sub-regional level including Energy Industry-wide forums as well as individual oil, gas electric power and nuclear networks as deemed necessary and useful. Such work must be expanded in both Africa and Latin America. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Support for Contract &amp; Agency Labor expanded campaign </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Continued support to the ICEM-ITF Oil and Gas Workers Alliance aimed at both continuing and expanding work with the relevant Iraqi trade unions and extending the work to other countries and regions. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">ICEM to collect and analyze information on refinery expansions and cutbacks as well as refinery construction and closures globally with a view to a future campaign to ensure that any relocation that may be taking place is not to take advantage of reduced environmental and health and safety controls and legislation. In particular a study of refinery accidents causing serious injury or deaths needs to be carried out that also considers the impact of refinery age and use of contract or agency labour. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Concentrate on women workers in the Energy Industries </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Focus on making work in the Energy Industries more attractive as a career choice for young people </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Mounting effective campaigns in support of affiliated trade unions faced with attacks by governments and employers. Iraq, Colombia and Mexico identified as immediate high priority countries for this work. </div>
 </li>
 <li>
 <div align="justify">Coordinating Global support and solidarity in organising drives in the energy sector and supporting other struggles by our affiliated trade unions against governments and employers. </div>
 </li>
</ul>

Action Plan - ICEM World Conference for the Energy Industries

The ICEM World Energy Conference, meeting in Stavanger Norway approved the following resolution regarding the Oil and Gas Industry in Nigeria. 
 
While deploring the visa difficulties which have prevented a delegation of ICEM affiliated trade unions, NUPENG and PENGASSAN of Nigeria attending the Conference delegates discussed the situation in Nigeria. 
 
Delegates expressed total support to the petitions by our unions to the Minister of Petroleum Resources, and urge him to address the issues and calm the situation to avoid avoidable industrial unrest in the sector. 
 
In the petition the union listed some of the extensive unfair practices carried out by the industry including casualization/contract staffing, outsourcing and the refusal to allow workers to freely associate and unionise in accordance with Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution and International Labour Organisation, ILO, Conventions 87 and 98 of 1948 and 49 respectively. 
 
The unions have identified Shell Petroleum Producing and Development Company, SPDC, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited , Nigeria Agip Oil Company, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited as the main culprits. 
 
Increased casualization has resulted in the placement of workers as temporary employees on jobs that are routine and permanent in nature. Multi-nationals and oil service companies in the industry, are contracting out and outsourcing very large portion of their workforce to unlicensed labour contractors to provide support services to the companies notwithstanding that the jobs are continuous, routine and permanent in nature and pay the contractors service handling charges or commission. The principal companies in most cases employ these categories of workers, supervise their conduct and determine their salaries but only transfer payment to the labour contractors.&rdquo; 
 
This group constitutes over 90% of the workforce of these oil companies. Another new dimension to the casualisation policy in the oil and gas industry is the resistance by some companies to unionization especially by NUPENG and PENGASSAN. 
 
ICEM and our affiliated trade unions fully support the struggle of our Nigerian brothers and sisters and stand ready to coordinate international solidarity action in their support.

Resolution in Support of ICEM Affiliates in Nigeria

Dear Mr. Javier Castillo, Secretary of the Union No. 2 of Compania Minera San Esteban 
 
The ICEM World Energy Conference, meeting in Stavanger, Norway on 6-7 September 2010, unanimously resolved to express our best and most sincere wishes of hope and strength, in solidarity with the 33 miners who remain trapped underground in the San Jose mine. 
 
It is encouraging to learn that rescue efforts are progressing, albeit slowly. Many of us are ourselves miners, and we can only imagine the circumstances that must prevail for our Chilean brothers, especially knowing that much time will still pass before they return to the light of day. 
 
Please let them know, on behalf of the ICEM Energy Sector, and indeed all of the ICEM's 20 million members and affiliates in the world, that we wish them courage. We hope they will soon be reunited safely with their families. 
 
With all of our hopes for a speedy and successful rescue, 
 
In solidarity, 
 
 
Manfred Warda 
Secretary-General

Energy Conference Message of Solidarity with Chilean Coal Miners Trapped Underground

The international commitment to sustainable job creation and a financial transactions tax (FTT) will be the focused of RIO+20. The international labour movement, led by ITUC, could play a strong role at RIO+20 to ensure that international commitments are turned into national legislation.

	The ITUC released a new report &quot;<a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org/growing-green-and-decent-jobs,11011.html?lang=en" target="_blank">Growing Green and Decent Jobs</a>&quot; that trade union leaders can use in negotiations on green investment and job creation as a part of their national policies. The report, released on April 18, analyses seven industries including manufacturing and energy industries in 12 countries and shows that investing two per cent of GDP in a greener economy could create up to 48 million new jobs over the next five years.

	Since world leaders adopted Agenda 21 in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, governments have been called upon to invest in a greener economy and accelerate the adoption of clean technologies, but actual progress at the global level has fallen short of the expectations expressed in Agenda 21 (1992), the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, 2000, and the 2008 update), the Johannesburg Program of Implementation (JPOI, 2002), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

	<img alt="" src="" style="width: 112px;height: 161px" width="390" />

	Especially on sustainable job creation, a review by the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) secretariat reports &quot;global delivery of the employment and green jobs-related commitments is sobering. While judgment is needed to assess delivery against the not so well defined commitments, there is ample evidence to suggest that progress has been slow and in some cases even contradictory to the stated goal. It is impossible to say whether delivery of commitments specifically relating to &quot;green jobs&quot; has fared better or worse than those generic to employment as a whole.&quot;

	Twenty years after the adoption of Agenda 21 at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit as a roadmap towards a sustainable future, representatives of governments, businesses, and international organizations, including trade unions, NGOs, business leaders, academics, politicians, bureaucrats and journalists, will once again discuss the issues on sustainable development at UNCSD-RIO+20 on June20 to 22, in Rio de Janeiro. The main objective of the Conference is to assess the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits and to secure renewed political commitment for tackling poverty eradication and sustainable development challenges. The RIO+20 will also highlight <a href="http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/7issues.html" target="_blank">seven critical issues</a> which need priority attention; these include decent jobs, energy, sustainable cities, food security and sustainable agriculture, water, oceans and disaster readiness.

	As representatives of industrial workers in the metal, chemical, energy, mining, paper, rubber, textiles, materials, and related sectors, the IMF, ICEM and ITGLWF have been jointly promoting common policy demands on sustainable development; including:
<ul>
	<li style="text-align: justify">
		a strong, legally-binding, comprehensive global agreement with an ambitious reduction target for greenhouse gas emissions,</li>
	<li style="text-align: justify">
		creation of sustainable jobs that meet ILO definition of Decent Work while ensuring a Just Transition, and</li>
	<li style="text-align: justify">
		building a strong financial foundation for a sustainable future using instruments such as a financial transactions tax.</li>
	<li style="text-align: justify">
		The IMF, ICEM, and ITGLWF fully support following three key demands as articulated by the ITUC:</li>
</ul>

	<a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/greendecentjobs_madesimple.pdf" target="_blank">Green&amp;Decent Jobs 
	http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/greendecentjobs_madesimple.pdf</a> 

	<a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/socialprotectionfloor_madesimple.pdf" target="_blank">Social Protection Floors 
	http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/socialprotectionfloor_madesimple.pdf</a>

	<a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/ftt_madesimple.pdf" target="_blank">The Financial Transaction Tax 
	http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/ftt_madesimple.pdf</a>

	We hope that all industrial workers who attend RIO+20 as labour delegates will play an active role in supporting the common union demands. The international labour movement could play a strong role at RIO+20 to ensure that international commitments are turned into national legislation.

	For further information on ITUC&#039;s campaign on RIO+20, please go to: 
	<a href="http://www.ituc-csi.org/rio-20.html">http://www.ituc-csi.org/rio-20.html</a>

RIO+20 Must Commit to Sustainable Job Creation

As we remember those that have died, been injured or suffered ill health as a result of work, we must also commit to making occupational health and safety one of the highest priorities for IndustriALL Global Union.

	Every year, on April 28, the World Day on Safety and Health at Work, workers take a moment to reflect on the devastating toll taken by workplace fatalities, injuries, and occupational diseases.

	IndustriALL Global Union will soon be created, a new organization speaking for some 50 million workers represented by its affiliates. Here are some statistics that should give us all pause. Of IndustriALL&#039;s 50 million affiliated workers:
<ul>
	<li style="text-align: justify">
		An estimated 16,400 will die in 2012 as a result of their work. That&#039;s about 45 fatalities per day.</li>
	<li style="text-align: justify">
		About 5,000 IndustriALL members will die this year of cancer, alone.</li>
	<li style="text-align: justify">
		1,570,000 will be diagnosed with a non-fatal occupational disease.</li>
	<li style="text-align: justify">
		An enormous number, millions, impossible to estimate with any accuracy, will be injured on the job.</li>
</ul>

	These numbers, shocking as they are, are certainly gross underestimates.

	&nbsp;<img alt="" height="90" src="" width="360" />&nbsp;

	Drawn from International Labour Organization&#039;s Bureau of Labour Statistics and estimates of occupational fatalities and diseases produced in 2008, they rely on nationally accepted statistics reported to the ILO by member countries. In most cases, these are taken from the country&#039;s workers&#039; compensation systems, immediately omitting workers whose disease or death was not accepted as &quot;occupational&quot; in origin, or who were not covered by the workers&#039; compensation system. Occupational diseases are chronically under-diagnosed, and occupational injuries are subject to various strategies to suppress reporting or fraudulently misrepresent them.

	In addition, these estimates simply divide world totals by IndustriALL&#039;s fraction of the global labour force. In reality, IndustriALL will represent workers in industries with many more hazards than most. It is worth remembering that even in traditionally dangerous workplaces such as coal mines, an estimated five times as many workers die of occupational diseases, than of sudden accidental causes such as fires, explosions, falls, or encounters with machinery.

	IndustriALL clearly has to make occupational health and safety one of its highest priorities.

	There are a large number of global standard-setting agencies and agencies that engage in different aspects of occupational health and safety. The alphabet soup of their acronyms includes ILO, WHO, OHSAS, ISO, GRI, UNEP, GHS, REACH, SAICM. IndustriALL must watch all of these closely and pressure them to do a better job of protecting workers.

	IndustriALL will inherit a substantial number of Global Framework Agreements with trend-setting multinational companies. Occupational health and safety provisions must become more prominent in most of these.

	Global campaigns on specific issues, such as the ongoing campaign to raise the number of ratifications of ILO Convention 176 on Safety and Health in Mines, must continue.

	Occupational health and safety is a complex problem. Interconnected systems must be created to identify and control workplace hazards, and protect workers from them. Central to that effort must be the full participation of workers through their representatives, and on Joint Health and Safety Committees.

	There is no simple, magic solution that can be quickly implemented. Instead, occupational health and safety requires hard work and determined campaigning by union activists. Despite the global race for profits, our health is not for sale.&quot;

28 April 2012: A Day of Mourning

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The ICEM North American affiliate, United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), issued a report on 25 October accusing Massey Energy and its managers of &ldquo;industrial homicide&rdquo; in the 5 April 2010 explosion that killed 29 non-union miners at Upper Big Branch in the state of West Virginia. 
 
In the 90-page report, the UMWA said that Massey management &ldquo;deliberately flouted&rdquo; well-established safety and health laws in the US even after the mine was cited multiple times for violations by state and federal agencies. 
 
The union cites many factors throughout the report that led to the deadly explosion, but concludes in stating &ldquo;there is only one source for all of them: a rogue corporation, acting without real regard for mine safety and health laws and regulations, that established a physical working environment that can only be described as a bomb waiting to go off.&rdquo; 
<img alt="" src="" width="327" height="161" />
The full UMWA report, called &ldquo;<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/134334-Upper-Big-Branch.pdf">Industrial Homicide</a>,&rdquo; can be accessed here.&nbsp; 
 
The UMWA demands criminal prosecution for some 18 Massey Energy managers, including CEO Don Blankenship, who retired in December 2010, two months before the thermal coal company was sold to Alpha Natural Resources for US$8.5 billion. The report also recommends over a dozen changes in both state and US federal mine safety laws, mainly concerning tougher penalties on deviant mine operators and stronger protections for whistleblowers who report safety infractions. 
<img alt="" src="" width="120" height="172" />
Dan Kane
&ldquo;Don Blankenship knew exactly what was going on at that mine,&rdquo; said UMWA President Cecil Roberts. &ldquo;He got production reports several times a day. He saw the levels of safety citations and (safety) orders going up. But instead of taking the needed steps to correct the problems, they just kept on running coal.&rdquo; 
 
Added UMWA Secretary-Treasurer and ICEM Executive Committee Member Dan Kane: &ldquo;It is unconscionable in the 21st Century for a mine to be operated in the manner that Upper Big Branch was.&rdquo; 
 
A <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/UMW%20UBB%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf ">fact sheet</a> on the Massey&rsquo;s horrid Upper Big Branch mine disaster of April 2010 is here.

Massey US Coal Mine Deaths Termed ‘Industrial Homicide’ by UMWA

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
With Singapore&rsquo;s Retirement and Re-Employment Act (RRA) set to take effect on 1 January 2012, two of ICEM&rsquo;s affiliated unions in the city-state have successfully entered into Memorandums of Agreement with employers and employer organisations stating that salary decreases will not happen once companies are mandated to offer jobs to workers when they reach age 62. 
 
The United Workers of Petroleum Industry (UWPI) and the Singapore Shell Employees&rsquo; Union (SSEU) announced last week that the agreements go beyond what will be required in the new law by guaranteeing that salaries and bonus payments will be maintained for workers between the ages of 62 and 65. 
 
The RRA amends a 1999 law that mandates retirement at age 62. The new Act requires employers to offer re-employment to a worker who reaches age 62 after January 2012, but a provision allows bosses to make &ldquo;reasonable&rdquo; adjustments in salaries, employment terms, and job assignments. 
<img alt="" src="" width="250" height="51" />
Last week, the UWPI got 13 employers to agree to the memorandum stating no lowering of salaries or elimination of bonus payments for oil or petrochemical workers choosing to continue to work after age 62. SSEU reached a similar deal with the Royal Dutch Shell subsidiary in Singapore two months ago. UWPI must now convince 13 other companies to do the same, and the precedent created by the Shell memorandum and last week&rsquo;s deal is expected to convince most to sign such accords with UWPI. 
 
Employers in Singapore, many of whom have begun offering re-employment ahead of the new law, have argued that pay cuts for older workers are necessary because seniority-based salary schemes inflate payrolls. Last week&rsquo;s signing was praised as a &ldquo;win-win&rdquo; result by one governmental minister who said the companies benefit from the loyalty and experience of the older workers. 
 
About half of Singapore&rsquo;s 5,000 oil and petrochemical workers are now covered by the no-cut agreements. The RAA, passed by Singapore&rsquo;s Parliament on 11 January 2011, is aimed at giving more financial security to older citizens, and these labour agreements recently signed in the ICEM sectors now go further to fulfil this.

Singapore’s Oil, Chemical Unions Blocking Pay Cuts after Age 62

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The Action Plan of the ICEM World Conference for the Chemical Industries held in October 2010 in Istanbul, Turkey, defined developing and improving company and sector global and regional network activities as a key priority. 
 
The Conference then endorsed the Secretariat to organize the first meeting of the ICEM Global Pharmaceutical Unions&rsquo; Network in consultation with the unions in the sector. As a result of this, around fifty representatives of ICEM affiliates in the pharmaceutical sector from Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey and USA met on 28 October in Geneva to discuss current developments in the industry and possible actions in the future. 
<img alt="" src="" width="278" height="161" />
The meeting received a detailed report from Kemal &Ouml;zkan, ICEM Director of Industry and Corporate Affairs, on the global pharmaceutical industry, including an economic and social overview; and impacts of changing health care systems. The report showed that although patent expirations and limits on drug spending can hamper growth of drug sales in developed countries, global pharmaceutical sales are in a growth trend. A substantial rise comes from emerging markets, and the great majority of the expansion is driven by growth in China, the world&rsquo;s third-largest market in the sector. 
 
The participants shared their experiences from respective countries. &ldquo;Due to low birth rate and an ageing population, the costs of the social security system including pension, health care and welfare have been rapidly increasing, which led to a need for reform of tax and social security systems&rdquo; reported Naramato Masafumi, President of Karoken, Council of Chemical Workers&rsquo; Union of Japan, who spoke on behalf of Japanese unions.&rdquo; 
 
&ldquo;Moreover, currently Japan has many problems affecting the socio-economy such as deflation, highly appreciated yen, increased non-regular employees, and the recovery from the devastating Great Earthquake and Tsunami,&rdquo; said Naramato. In his report Ghosalkar Ravindra Govind, President of ICEM&rsquo;s India affiliate Chemical Mazdoor Federation (HMS), underlined considerable changes in his country. 
<img alt="" src="" width="148" height="160" />
Naramato Masafumi, President of Karoken
&ldquo;My country accounts for a relatively large share of the world&rsquo;s disease burden. And while India&rsquo;s burgeoning middle class has greater access to excellent healthcare, the vast majority of citizens still have limited access to basic care,&rdquo; Ghosalkar stated. Other participants gave similar reports about their individual countries and companies. 
 
The participants also largely discussed the current status of restructuring in the industry with mergers and acquisitions, and delocalization and closures of production and research facilities by multinational corporations. 
 
The biggest sale of a private company was Japanese Takeda&rsquo;s acquisition of Swiss pharmaceutical company Nycomed. As an immediate effect of the meeting, representatives of Takeda from Japan, Indonesia and Germany, in a side event, came together to establish a continuous cooperation and networking with each other. 
 
The participants were also shocked to hear the recent announcement of Swiss-based company Novartis with two thousand job losses and two factory closures in Switzerland and Italy, which resulted in an immediate solidarity message to employees and unions there. Fran&ccedil;oise Pierre of FCE-CFDT from France, secretary of the EWC of Sanofi Aventis, reported on a difficult situation at her company where management has announced more restructuring in research and development. 
 
In the conclusions, the ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda mentioned that the network will continue to exchange information and company-level networking drives will be strengthened. It was also agreed to provide immediate solidarity with the unions facing challenges of restructuring. The network elected a representative of the Japanese unions as chairman, while the next meeting is scheduled for the second part of 2012 in Japan.

ICEM Affiliates in Pharmaceutical Sector Strengthen Networking

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
The ILO Tripartite Meeting on Promoting Social Dialogue on Restructuring and its Effects on Employment in the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries, held from 24-27 October, ended with key conclusions. The purpose of the meeting was to examine best practices of social dialogue, which can facilitate a constructive and conducive atmosphere during restructurings, including mergers and acquisitions. 
 
It was also to adopt conclusions that include proposals for action by governments, employers, and workers&rsquo; organizations, and the ILO. 
 
The meeting was composed of interested governments, 15 employer representatives, and 15 workers&rsquo; representatives appointed by the Governing Body based on nominations submitted by the ILO Director-General after consultations with the respective groups. 
<img alt="" src="" width="288" height="160" />
In addition, representatives of intergovernmental organizations and observers representing certain NGOs also attended the meeting. Coordinated by the ICEM, in cooperation with International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and ILO ACTRAV, the workers&rsquo; group elected Tomas Nieber, Chairman of the ICEM Chemical Sector and Head of Department Economic and Industrial Policy for Germany&rsquo;s IGBCE as chairperson, while Alfons de Potter, Vice-President of Belgian CSC Construction, Energy and Industry was selected spokesperson and Linda McCulloch, National Officer of UK&rsquo;s Unite the Union was selected vice-chairperson. ICEM&rsquo;s Kemal &Ouml;zkan was secretary for the group. 
 
The meeting handled eight discussion points: employment changes in both qualitative and quantitative terms occurring in restructuring processes; ILO&rsquo;s Global Jobs Pact implementations; skills and qualifications, as well as vocational training and education programmes that are conducive to sustainable development; making the industries more attractive to young workers and women, and provide better opportunities for long-term career development; challenges and opportunities by contract and agency labour; best practices of social dialogue in facilitating a constructive and conducive atmosphere for better industrial relations during restructuring; role of social dialogue in improving sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises, contributing to promoting decent work; and possible activities the ILO should take to promote social dialogue and good employer&ndash;employee relations. 
<img alt="" src="" width="216" height="161" />
from left to right: Linda McCulloch, Tomas Nieber, Kemal &Ouml;zkan, Alfons de Potter
Following long deliberations, a <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/TMCPI-conclusions-2011-En.pdf">set of conclusions</a> were unanimously adopted at the plenary session. It was agreed that &ldquo;social dialogue between worker representatives and employers is a valuable means to manage the process of restructuring in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, thereby contributing to equitable outcomes for all concerned parties whether at global, regional, national or the enterprise levels.&rdquo; 
 
The groups also underlined that &ldquo;restructuring in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors should not affect the principles and rights at work as defined by the 1998 ILO Declaration.&rdquo; 
 
An important step forward was achieved on Contract and Agency Labour. The conclusions state: &ldquo;Where the use of contract and agency labour becomes necessary, chemical and pharmaceutical firms should at all times ensure that national occupational safety and health laws, regulations and good practice are applied to this category of workers in accordance with the ILO&rsquo;s fundamental principles and rights at work and relevant international labour standards. Contract and agency workers should enjoy the same fundamental rights at work as the firm&rsquo;s directly recruited workers.&rdquo; 
 
At the meeting&rsquo;s end, ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda said that workers, employers, and governments worked in a constructive manner with a view to securing employment issues in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. &ldquo;These conclusions are an important guidance tool for all of us,&rdquo; said Warda. &ldquo;It is now time to make proper follow-up activities for making sure these they have practical applications.&rdquo;

Conclusions Adopted at ILO Tripartite Chemicals, Pharmaceutical Meeting

<img alt="" src="" width="100" height="39" />
Following a full year of negotiations, ICEM German affiliate IGBCE and the Northeastern Chemical Employers Association, or AGV Nordostchemie, reached terms on a trendsetting work-time agreement in Germany&rsquo;s eastern states. 
 
On 2 November, the social partners announced completion of a collective agreement that reduces work-time for both younger and older staff, as well as further harmonizing pay and other remuneration with chemical workers in western Germany. The social contract covers 36,000 employees at some 130 companies operating in the five eastern states. 
 
The key component is creation in 2013 of a monetary fund that employers will subsidize through 2.5% of their total annual payrolls, which will initially come to &euro;30 million. It will be used to maintain wage levels for older workers, age 60 and above, who choose to work one less day every other week. For shift workers of the same age, they have the option to work one day less per week. 
<img alt="" src="" width="175" height="132" />
IGBCE Chief Negotiator Peter Hausmann
The fund will also work for younger workers in order for them to tend to family and child care responsibilities. Their normal 40-hour work week in the east will be reduced by 3.5 hours with a minimal pay cut, but not proportional to the time off. In the chemicals sector in western states, the work week is 37.5 hours and the agreement is seen as harmonizing working hours without loss of pay. 
 
It is also seen as a means to retain skilled workers in eastern chemical enterprises, particularly with 70% of eastern workers between the ages of 44 and 59. The agreement bridges the demographic divide by rewarding older workers with sector knowledge and experience, specifically with the statutory retirement age expected to increase upwards from 65. The agreement also creates a &ldquo;work-time bank&rdquo; that allows staff to accumulate extra hours. 
 
&ldquo;We have agreed on a work-time model that provides a collective response to demographic changes,&rdquo; said IGBCE Chief Negotiator Peter Hausmann. &ldquo;For employees with children or dependents, for shift workers and for our older colleagues, this creates significant work-life opportunities.&rdquo; 
 
And IGBCE Northeast Regional Director Petra Reinhold-Knape said, &ldquo;We put in place a very innovative work-time model,&rdquo; adding the agreement will bring to parity the remaining differences between the east and west by &ldquo;putting more money in the pockets&rdquo; of eastern chemical workers. 
 
That was achieved by lifting eastern workers&rsquo; 13th month Christmas salary payment in two stages to match the 95% that western workers get by 2014. Workers in the east now receive 65% for the 13th month. 
 
As well, pay increases for job levels will be harmonised between east and west. Currently, the wage increases within each level are different, with those in the west 8% higher. Next year, that divide will be halved, with parity coming in 2014, the time when IGBCE and AGV Nordostchemie enter the next round of bargaining.

IGBCE Reaches Novel ‘Work Time’ Pact in Eastern Chemicals Sector

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