The 2nd Forum of the social partners in the tanning and leather industry of the EU and CEEC applicant countries took place on 21-22 October 2002 in Bucharest, Romania. Representatives from employer organisations and trade unions came from countries including France, Spain, UK, Germany, Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland.

The topics on the forum’s agenda focused on EU enlargement and support programmes, training, other labour market issues, as well as health and safety at work.

President D Lascu from PIELARUL (Romanian trade union federation in the leather and tanning sector) welcomed participants, indicating that the forum represented a great opportunity for social partners from Europe and in particular from CEECs in order to meet and discuss the concerns they have to face in their basic day-to-day activities, as well as common projects to be developed at European level. He underlined the openness showed by the European organizations in setting up this important meeting in Bucharest.

OPINC (Romanian Employers Association) President, D Sbarcea, expressed hope that the links to the sector’s European structures will strengthen the cooperation of the Romanian leather industry’s Social Partners and that, in the near future, the tanning sector’s employers and workers will be able to meet the expectations of the European Community.

Mrs O Niiranen (EC – DG Enterprise) stated that ‘Enlargement should be seen as an opportunity for both sides and that Business and Trade Union associations have a crucial role to play.’

Mrs H Immonen (EC – DG Employment and Social Affairs) made a presentation on the EU Social Sectoral Dialogue and its possible benefits as well as the instruments open for supporting the social partners in achieving them.

Mrs F Orlandi (UNIC, the Italian tanning industry association), introduced a successful pilot project on the integration of immigrant workers in the tanning industry in Italy through the development of appropriately designed courses as well as the co-operative association of private and public stakeholders in the civil society to facilitate the recruitment of jobless immigrants and provide support for accommodation and local social integration of families where necessary.

Mrs E Kedzior (Trade Union Technical Bureau) presented Council Directive 89/391/EEC on the introduction of measures to encourage improvement in the health and safety of workers at work as well as its role in developing EU regulations on health protection in the work place. She also presented the Polish experience in implementing that directive. The exchange of experiences in candidate countries prompts us to conclude that OHS legislation in those countries is satisfactory, but also that full implementation of the legislation could be improved.

Cotance Secretary General, Gustavo Gonzalez-Quijano, was pleased to announce to the EU and CEEC leather sector’s social partners that the Cotance -Euratex BSP II/ PHARE project ‘Perfect-Link’ had been selected for funding by the EU Commission: ‘This will make it possible to address important and urgent needs of the CEEC leather industry with regard to knowledge building in the sector’s Community ‘acquis’ and in capacity-building of its business representative organisations. ‘The social sectoral dialogue could become an effective instrument of industrial policy for the smooth implementation of structural adjustment processes at sectoral level and managing change as long as it is properly supported by public authorities’, concluded the secretary general.

P Itschert, for the ETUF:TCL, noted in the latest communication of the Commission that ‘the bipartite social dialogue is only starting to emerge in most candidate countries’ and has to be particularly encouraged at sectoral level. ‘Yet the social dialogue is an integral part of the community ‘acquis’.’ Furthermore, ‘only structured and strong employer and trade union associations at national level will be able to take part efficiently in negotiations and other discussions of the European social dialogue, as well as to implement agreements at national level.’

In closing the general secretary offered a few words about a project Cotance and the ETUF:TCL have decided to launch on the implementation and certification of the European sectoral framework agreement / code of conduct signed in July 2000.

Lastly, European social partners Cotance and ETUF:TCL expressed their confidence in Romania’s potential to face European integration challenges in the leather sector, provided an adequate social and industrial policy is implemented towards sustainability. This should make the country more attractive to domestic and foreign investors. ‘The two-day conference proved that the social sectoral dialogue in the CEECs can be developed when it is appropriately supported.’

Bucharest, October 24, 2002