European Trade Union Federation

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European Trade Union Federation Textiles,
Clothing, Leather and Shoes
Bled 24 November 2008 ESSD
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1. Introduction

• ETUFTCL Who are we?
• 65 branch organizations
• 36 countries
• A little over one million workers (/-40)
• Affiliated to the ETUC at European level, and
  our founding members are the ITGLWF and the IFTC
  at international level (ITUC)
• Observer status for Med since 2003

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2 The TCL Social Dialogue at European level
introduction

• Origine
• 1992 creation of 3 IWG with the pro-active
  support of the EU-Commission ( formal SSDC in
  1998)
• For a while, one of the few industrial sectors,
  if not the only sector, to have such a SSD

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At that time

• Huge difficulties in TCL sectors better to
  tackle them jointly than divided adaptations
  easier when they are agreed than when they are
  imposed by one party ( employers) to another
  (employees)
• b) SP wanted to reaffirm their attachment to an
  autonomous bi-partite SD, and to its sectoral
  dimension that takes into account the S
  specificities - dialogue which is integral part
  of the EU social model/ the EU  acquis
  communautaire  

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3. TCL SSD Balance after 15 years

• Bi ( tri) partite SD gtlt no negotiations over
  wages
• One or two years needed to know/understand/trust
  each other/ jointly identifying the specific
  problems of the sector
• Globally ( and in comparison to other sectors)
  positive balance.
• By the more advanced sectors .. But urgent needs
  of the sector.
• Numerous challenges

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3.1 TCL SSD Balance
a)   (re) enforcement of the information and
consultation from the Commission services in
different areas that have a social and economic
impact on our sectors ( such as phase out of the
MFA-ATC)
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3.1 TCL SSD Balance

• 1/
• COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION
• GLOBAL EUROPE
• Europes trade defense instruments in a
  changing global economy
• A Green Paper for public consultation
• COM (2006) 763 final
• Brussels, 6.12.2006
• 2/
• Proposition de
• REGLEMENT DU CONSEIL
• sur lindication du pays dorigine de certains
  produits importés de pays tiers
• COM (2005) 661 final
• Brussels, 18.12.2005

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3.1 TCL SSD Balance (2)

• b) Impact on SSD at national level

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3.1 TCL SSD Balance (3)

• c) joint initiatives such as
• many projects on education/ gender equality
  (2000-2002)
• buyers guide for public procurement, including a
  social and environmental dimension (2003-2004)
• implementation of European sectoral framework
  agreements ( 2004-2005)

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3.1 TCL SSD Balance (3)

• d) adopted a series of common positions
  /recommendations, such as
• common vision (90) about the trade/
  industrial/social and regional measures to be
  taken at EU-level for our TCL sectors ( HLG 24
  meetings between March, the 5 and June, the 30 st
  in 2OO4) many concrete follow projects

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Impact démantèlement AMF/ATC/2005 Groupe de
haut niveau 

• Table des matières
• INTRODUCTION
• UNE STRATÉGIE GÉNÉRALE
• DROITS DE PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE
• RECHERCHE ET DÉVELOPPEMENT, INNOVATION
• COMMERCE EXTERIEUR
• EDUCATION, FORMATION ET EMPLOI
• ASPECTS REGIONAUX
• COMPETITIVITE

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3.1 TCL SSD Balance (4)

• e) signed our 3 CC/sectoral framework agreements
  between SP ( 1997-2000) ( CLS, world level/direct
  and indirect)
• and agreed (2004) to
• - resume discussions on the strengthening of
  the implementation (independent verification
  )after pilots
• - enlarge the transposition into national CC
  agreements to the NMS and CC ( 2007)

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• 22 September 1997 with Euratex (Core Labor
  Standards)
• July 2000 with Cotance (leather-tanning sector)
  CLS, WT (working time), health and safety,
  living wage
• 17 November 2000 (updated) with CEC (shoe sector)
  - CLS, WT (working time), health and safety,
  living wage

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3.2 TCL SSD but Balance -

• As Trade-unions
• Needs of the sectors (1/1/2005, China) with job
  losses from 100.000/ygtgtgtgt180.000/y
• Soft  issues European CC agreements ( gtlt
  agriculture, transport sectors)
• Weakness of the SSD P in the NMS/CC

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Example of European SSD agenda

• 1. Approval of the draft agenda and the proposed
  minutes of the meeting held on 03/09/2003
• 2. Report from Commission services on the state
  of play of the Textile and Clothing dossier after
  Cancun (WTO) and Geneva (11.00)
• - Mr. F. Perreau de Pinninck, DG Trade
• 3. Report from Commission services on the
  communication proposing measures to promote
  competitiveness in the Textile and Clothing
  Sector (COM 649, 29/10/2003)
• - Mr. L. Girao, DG Enterprise
• 4. Enlargement
• -   Presentation and discussion of the
  intermediary report on the representativeness of
  social partners in candidate countries the
  textile sector (study carried out by the UCL on
  behalf of DG Empl) (12.00)
• - Mrs. M. Mormont and Mr. A. Chaidron, UCL
• -   Following up discussions on the second social
  and economic Forum in the textile-clothing sector
  (B3-4000 project) to be held in Bulgaria
• 5. Public procurement
• -    Follow-up of the PROMPTEX initiative by the
  partners

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Example of European SSD agenda (continued)

• 6.   Code of Conduct 
• -   Following up the Worker Management
  Education Project for Supply Chain Factories on
  Productivity and Working Conditions' in Turkey
  project
• Mrs G. Lange, ILO Office in Ankara
• -    Following up the discussion on
  implementation and verification proposed
  enforcement of a joint editorial group
  (Euratex/ETUFTCL) on the codes implementing
  means based on Turkish and other experiences
• 7.  Better visibility / interrelation
  (articulation) of European and national
  sectoral social dialogues in the TC sector .
• -    Proposed assessment of SSDs in the various
  Member States Preparing the possible set-up of a
  joint Euratex/ETUFTCL working group with a view
  to co-drafting a questionnaire for the various
  levels of SSDs
• 8.   Vocational training in the European
  textile-clothing sector potential and existing
  LEONARDO projects
• 9.   Discussion on the Work Programme for 2004
• 10. OtherCSR Corporate Social Responsibility
  following up the progress of discussions at
  European level

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4 Recent initiatives4.1 Guide on public
procurement TCL

• Public procurement represent 15 TU in Europe
• SSP  Good practices in cleaning/surveillance
  sectors
• Promptex / SSD / HLG
• Guide recommending to choose for best value/
  price 
• Inclusion of socio- environnemental standards
  (ILO CLS, etc.)

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4.2 Social Reporting Leather

• Follow-up pilot Cotance/FSE
• EU Green Paper and Communication on CSR
• GRI, .
• Info on subcontracting, relocations
• gtgtgt Negotiation with Cotance SP Recommendations
  in 2006, Project 2008

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4.3 Restructuring in TC

• Importance of SD at all levels
• Anticipation/management change
• HLG
• Communication EU Commission
• gtgtgt Project Euratex/ETUF
• Joint Recommendations 25/04/07 gtgtgt ESSD
• November 2007 gtgtgt Signature 30/05/08

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4.4 Project capacity building in NMS/CC

• Weak/non existing bipartite SSD in
  NMS/CC(gtlt EU- social legislation)
• Low representativeness of SSDP and weak coverage
  of the CA
• gtgtgt  Integrated  project ( TCL) aiming at the
  capacity-building of the SSDP with Cotance (L)
  and Euratex (TC) pilot-project facilitating
  participation of those SSDP in the EU SSD
• gtgtgt Final conference 31/05/08
• gtgtgt Follow-up project gtgtgt 5-7/11/08

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4.5 TC Observatories

• 6 2 Joint Bi- Tri partite bodies specific for
  TCL training and education
• Best practices
• Faisability of transposition to NMSs and CCs
• (CZ, HU, SK, SL, RO, BG, TR ????)
• Networking of  Observatories  at enlarged EU
  level.

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5. TCL SSD Conclusion

• European Inter professionnal SD 1985
• ( gtlt 50 years or more in OMS) the ESSD has to
  take his place in the EU structure
• Sectoral Joint Committees from 1955 on but SSD
  launched in 1998Today 32 SSDC
• and !!!!! chemical/metal industries to
  join
• Links Inter/National/Sect Bottom-up
• SD is the European way to manage market
  economy essence of the European social model
  part of the Copenhagen criteriagtgtgt thus not an
  optional matter.

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Thank you www.etuf-tcl.org