In Depth back to UNI In Depth home page 08/27/2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development: Johannesburg 2002 Employment and the social dimension will be key issues for the unions ICFTU OnLine... 148/260802/CL The forthcoming UN World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) is taking place in Johannesburg between 26 August and 4 September. What are the key issues for the unions in the debates? Lucien Royer, Director of health and safety and environment programmes for the ICFTU and TUAC and the unions' representative in the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), presents them to us. In addition to overcoming the thorny issue of "the environment or jobs" the unions are now very aware that workers' health is also a barometer for the quality of public health as a whole. It is from that perspective that the unions have decided to tackle the issue of combating AIDS. 1/ What will be the key questions for trade unions on the issue of integrating sustainable development? We will be asking countries and international agencies to make a concrete commitment to the participation of all major groups, institutions and intergovernmental bodies in implementation of WSSD outcomes. Governments must admit that they cannot handle the job alone; they must rely on the resources, and commitment that trade unions and other groups can bring - to action at the worksite, the community, and all the way to the international level. We will also ask countries to address the employment and social impacts of WSSD outcomes in a concrete manner, with 'just transition' programmes that go far beyond wages, adjustment costs and training for the workers that are directly affected. At the last UN preparatory meeting for WSSD in Indonesia last May, governments agreed to text integrating the social dimension of sustainable development with its economic and environmental aspects. This brought to a close a nearly ten years of lobbying by trade unions which began in 1992 at Rio. We must now address the concrete implications of this commitment and identify resources to make this happen. Firstly, the WSSD must act to create a sound institutional base for this dimension, to ensure that the social, employment, poverty and community issues we raise are addressed in a fully-integrated and a 'mainstream' fashion. We believe that the ILO is the appropriate intergovernmental agency for this purpose, and we have been doing our utmost to build support for it to work with UNEP, the WHO and other organizations in the UN family. Initially, the implementation of WSSD outcomes would involve the development of impact assessments to address the effects of change, at the national and local levels. Even before this, it would be necessary to identify social indicators that are interactive with their environmental or economic counterparts. Combined with proper research and development budgets, these tools would then serve as the basis for building employment and social transition models that translate sustainable development targets into real life changes in the world's workplaces. We have already made some progress at the OECD, in this regard, by reaching an agreement with the employers' group to support research into the employment implications of climate change measures. Going into the WSSD, we are asking that the new World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation be given a mandate to oversee progress that governments make in implementing social goals for sustainable development. More specifically, these efforts must be incorporated in a well-thought, structured plan to promote workplace-based partnerships for protecting the environment. Such a plan must be based on true dialogue between governments and worker and empoyer organsisations, a task very well suited with the ILO's history and experience. 2/ The unions will also concentrate on strategies for promotion of sustainable development to workers and at the workplace. Have there been any positive developments in terms of raising awareness amongst workers? There should be no doubt about workers capacity in this regard. Moreover the public awareness about the environment has grown in the last ten years. Our members are increasingly concerned about the state of the world's ecosystem, and when faced with the challenge in realistic terms, they want to do something about it. The biggest barrier to mobilizing this awareness, however, lies in the employment relations that exist in the typical workplace. We need bold leadership from the world's employers; good will and enthusiasm are not enough. They must agree to involve employees in meaningful workplace action, and take serious account of their views and proposals. Sustainable development poses challenges to our members, but widespread change will not occur unless employers adopt to a new relationship with their employees. Another huge barrier has been a lack of commitment on the part of so many governments. It is only now, in the final preparations for the WSSD, that we see significant movement towards a commitment to action. Previously, the process was mired in a international political gridlock, as governments appeared to be more intent on enhancing their own images rather than tackling the problems of sustainable development. 3/ Changes to sustainable development suppose that all actors get involved in the process. What in practice does this mean and what are the tools of engagement in change? Participation has always been a prime goal, not only of trade unions, but of all Agenda 21 Major Groups involved in preparations for the WSSD. The CSD broke new ground in this respect, when it initiated its Multistakeholder Dialogue Process, which allowed representatives of all nine Major Groups to engage in direct dialogue with country delegates, not as a side event, but as an formal part of their meetings. This type of participation was largely unheard of, before this. Furthermore, it clearly demonstrated why governments cannot be relied upon to handle the challenge of sustainable development on their own. Firstly, the members of the Major Groups possess expertise that country delegates could not possibly possess. Who knows more about business than business leaders? Likewise, nobody is better qualified to solve problems of employment and industrial relations than are trade unions and employers. Change must occur at the level of civil society. At best, governments and intergovernmental agencies can provide encouragement and support. Business and industry know what they have to do; so do trade unions. That is why both groups were supportive of the concept of 'voluntary Agreements' (now called 'Type II' initiatives (to distinguish them from Type I, which is the text negotiated by government delegates). This, more than anything, shows how deeply embedded the concept of 'stakeholder participation' has penetrated the WSSD process. 4/ Are there good examples where voluntary agreements can help advance things? Trade unions embraced the movement towards voluntary agreements because we believed that these will be the medium through which significant advances towards sustainable development will take place. We believe that we are in the best position to know, because 'voluntary agreements' are (in a way) the major 'stock in trade' of trade unionists. Much of our work on behalf of our members is aimed at precisely this kind of outcome; we organize so that we can negotiate, mostly because we realize that unorganized workers have very little bargaining power. We bargain with employers 'voluntarily', as in almost all countries, there is a fundamental understanding that the state should have minimal involvement in this relationship. Finally, we bargain not only 'substantive rights', but 'procedural rights' as well; i.e., we bargain the terms under which the parties will work with each other, including settlement of any disputes that may arise. This model works, and we propose it as a basic building block of action for sustainable development. It has produced thousands of agreements with 'green clauses', covering everything. Since Rio, a number of 'framework agreements' have been negotiated between multinational companies and ITS. In opposition to a 'race to the bottom' mentality that pervades development under globalisation, these agreement guarantee the highest levels of protection, including recognition of rights and core labour standards to workers, no matter the country in which they live. 5/The 28 April theme this year affirms that Health & Safety is a barometor of public health . Will this principle be defended in Johannesburg, and does it relate to the fight agains HIV/AIDS? The theme we have chosen for this year's observance of April 28, the International Day of Mourning for Workers is " Improving Public Health Through Improved Workplace Health & Safety." The point of this slogan is clearly illustrated in the fight against HIV/AIDS especially in such places as South East Asia and Sub-Sahara Africa. Besides being a monumental tragedy in its own right, it provides the clearest possible illustration of the type of action that is necessary to link workplace and public health issues. Since Rio, we have stepped up our efforts to draw attention to the hundreds of thousands of workers who die, are injured, or become ill due to the unsafe, unhealthy workplace, These worker deaths and injuries are one of the clearest indications that worker and trade union rights are being are violated. Then there are the hundreds of trade unionists who are murdered, injured, beaten, tortured, or harassed every year, because they choose to exercise their rights under Freedom of Association - not to mention the more subtle methods used by employers and governments to undermine trade union rights with repressive legislation, union-busters, export processing zones, and human resource strategies designed to keep unions off the workplace. We are asking the WSSD declare this type of victimization and suppression totally unacceptable, and to make it clear that patterns of production that yield such human misery and loss of life can never be considered sustainable. Governments must to be called to account for allowing, or even initiating such violations, especially where these same countries have declared their support for the principles of democracy and human rights in other international settings. 6/ Progress has also been made on promoting the safer use of chemical products. How fare have discussions got on setting up the GHS (globally harmonised system)? This is one area in which the trade union movement can claim some success. We were amongst the first to argue for a globally harmonised system of chemicals classification and labeling (GHS), and then for a binding regime of international law, to uphold it. Towards this end, we have engaged other stakeholders at the international level to draft an agreement on GHS which addresses not only individual chemicals, but mixtures, as well. It is now up to the member countries to ratify and implement this agreement, and the WSSD provides a unique opportunity to encourage this action. It can also do much to encourage progress towards a Global system for dealing with Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), especially in such fields as endocrine disruptors, cancer-inducing agents, and biotechnology. Trade unions have also insisted that the precautionary principle must underlie decisions about all new products, as contemplated in Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration. To do this requires an integrated program of communication, labels and Material Safety Data Sheets, supplemented by education and training of workers, in order to be effective. We continue to call for a globally-harmonized system of testing new substances prior to their introduction into workplaces, with criteria based on the concept of 'precaution', rather than 'risk-management'. When all is said and done, however, ratification of ILO Conventions and other international Instruments is the clearest indication member countries can give that they are finally serious about preventing chemical abuse and accidents. 7/What does this imply for the ban asbestos campaign? Everyone should know that trade unions were at the forefront of the fight to ban the use of asbestos, a battle we fought alone for many years, against governments and industry. It wasn't enough, that over 100,000 workers died world-wide each year as a result of exposure to asbestos, especially in developing countries - where asbestos is still being aggressively marketed. Trade unions were therefore happy to follow-up on a 2000 ruling by the World Trade Organisation, which paved the way for countries to support the world-wide ban launched by the ICFTU. We are currently doing our best to bring together the ILO and the World Health Organisation, to provide the necessary support for ILO instruments regarding asbestos. Finally, we expect governments and employers to provide asbestos workers with a "Just Transition" to new, safer and decent employment. At the final Prepcom in Indonesia, Governments agreed to wide-sweeping text, linking the life cyles of mines, minerals and metals to occupational health and safety and to instruments for sustainable development. This means that our campaign for banning asbestos uses, or for that matter other chemicals of concern to work, can now proceed as part of a sustainable development WSSD project, one that can seek formal and informal partnerships for its implementation, under WSSD Type agreements. We still need to fashion our asbestos -or other chemicals campaign- within this framework but now we have new space within which engage on chemical issues, of importance to us. For more information: "Fashioning a New Deal"- the complete ICFTU/TUAC programme for the WSSD http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991216331&Language=EN "Making Sustainability Work"- ICFTU press briefing for the WSSD http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991216425&Language=EN The ICFTU represents 157 million workers in 225 affiliated organisations in 148 countries and territories. ICFTU is also a member of Global Unions: http://www.global-unions.org For more information, please contact the ICFTU Press Department on +32 2 224 0232 or +32 476 62 10 18. Or contact ICFTU press officer Louis Bélanger in Johannesburg at louis.belanger@icftu.org /or +32 (0)476 621018 ______________________ Union Network International http://www.union-network.org - contact@union-network.org