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IOE.net
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QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION OF EMPLOYERS
(IOE) |
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IOE AND ILO RELATED ACTIVITIES UN AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IOE GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS NETWORK
(GIRN) |
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THE IOE REPRESENTS 148 NATIONAL
EMPLOYERS’ FEDERATIONS IN 141 COUNTRIES ACROSS THE WORLD |
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THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS |
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Employers rapidly recognised the emergence of
significant operating difficulties across a number of economies. Early in the
crisis, the IOE moved to gather and circulate information on the crisis to
IOE member organisations. A dedicated section of
the IOE website was created and now contains over 70 separate resources for
employers’ organisations responding to the crisis and seeking to
support their members (see below). The 2009 IOE General Council meeting was dedicated
to the crisis, with an emphasis on the organisational and operational
responses of employers’ organisations throughout the world. Members
were presented with survey
findings on the impact of the crisis and the organisational and
operational responses of IOE members. The 2009 International Labour Conference was, at the
instigation of the employers’ group, reorganised to accommodate
discussions on this urgent and pervasive international challenge. This led to
the convening of the ILO
Jobs Summit during the 2009 ILC, and the discussions which ultimately led
to the ILO
Global Jobs Pact. The crisis challenged the ILO’s capacity to demonstrate
its relevance to the real issues of our times, and the efforts of the IOE
network were instrumental in equipping the wider tripartite organisation and
ILO bureaucracy to address this challenge. The IOE thanks members for their active support and
efforts throughout the 2009 ILC, in particular those directly involved in
discussions and drafting towards the final Jobs Pact document. The weight of
real world, commercial experience which only employers could introduce into
such a discussion, significantly contributed to the relevance of the final
ILO contribution to global policy debate. (Gary Rynhart) |
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The
product of the 2009 ILC, and the principal ILO response to the global jobs
crisis, is the ILO Global Jobs Pact. This
was the product of a significant negotiation process during the 2009 ILC, and
was adopted with the strong support of employers, workers and governments. The
Pact addresses: ·
Government, employers and workers responses to the global financial
and jobs crisis. ·
Principles for promoting recovery and development. ·
Options for countries in formulating crisis responses. ·
Options for social protection, poverty alleviation and social
security. ·
The role of international labour standards, collective bargaining. ·
Cooperation with other UN agencies, and other international bodies
also responding to the crisis. ·
ILO services and responses to the crisis. The
IOE rapidly followed up the ILC with a practical employers’
guide on the Global Jobs Pact. This is a significant resource which
members are encouraged to utilise in responding to the crisis at the national
level, and in understanding what was and what was not agreed in the Pact. (Gary Rynhart) |
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In the wake of the 2009 ILC, the challenge is to
effectively implement the Jobs Pact, and to have the ILO contribute not only
to the recovery of the global economy, but also a job rich recovery which
will see growing workforce capacity and opportunity, and more sustainable
enterprises. The challenge for the ILO and its constituents is to ensure that
the current global jobs crisis sees the creation of more supportive
environments for the doing of business and through that the creation and
maintenance of jobs. The IOE also continues to work actively to ensure
the approach agreed in the Pact properly informs the working programme and
priorities of the ILO Office in an integrated way. The capacity of the ILO to
play the role envisaged in the Pact, in particular with other international
organisations, will be determined by its effectiveness and relevance to the
real life concerns of employers and employees in workplaces. An encouraging range of ILO resources have been
produced to date, including the ILO Jobs
Crisis Observatory (which provides
useful links to international research and commentary, a wide range of
rapidly prepared ILO research/guides, a summary of regional responses, and
updated statistical information). We anticipate oversight and input into the
work of the ILO Office being a major focus of for ILO Governing Body and the
IOE during coming months. A particular challenge for the ILO will be working
effectively with other international organisations. The IOE and IOE member
organisations have participated to date, in cooperation with other
international business organisations, in discussions at the G8 and G20 level,
and have sought to advocate the views of employers on the crisis, and what
was agreed in the Global Jobs Pact. During coming months this will broaden,
including discussions in the Asian, Latin American and African regions. (Gary Rynhart) |
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IOE
Online Resources A number of
documents have been developed by the IOE to assist members in dealing with
the current crisis in global labour markets, and are posted on the “Global Jobs
Crisis” section of the IOE website. This includes:
A strength of this growing
body of material is that it combines the efforts of the IOE Secretariat with
the national and international efforts of IOE members. There is a significant
body of national level member presentations and research papers which will
hopefully grow during coming months, and be of relevance throughout the IOE
network. Notwithstanding
emergent economic debate on whether the crisis is ending, or whether recovery
in sight, clearly the impact of the recession on employers and employment
remains a live concern, and in many countries the impact on jobs and
confidence remains acute. The IOE anticipates this remaining a major issue
for some time, and the need for this body of material to continue to grow and
diversify to continue to assist IOE members. We encourage
members to send us any further information that you feel could be helpful to
other federations and we will post it in this section of the IOE website. (Gary Rynhart) |
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Regional meeting for Latin-American Employers’ Organizations An IOE/ILO regional meeting for employers’ organizations on employer communications during a time of crisis will be held in Guayaquil (Ecuador) on 31 August and 1 September 2009. Twelve employers' organizations from the region will discuss how to more effectively communicate and interact amongst them to face the present crisis as well as attacks on the private sector and business community in some Latin American countries. With the support of the IOE and ILO, Latin American employers shall develop a strategy to play a more effective role during this period of difficulty. (Maria Paz Anzorreguy) |
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Tripartite Meeting of Experts on
Strategies for the Extension of Social
Security Coverage The ILO is convening a tripartite meeting of experts on social security from 2 to 4 September 2009, in Geneva. The meeting will bring together experts representing employers, trade unions and governments from both developed and developing countries in order to discuss the situation of social security around the world, its future and possible ways to extend social security coverage. It is intended that the meeting examine recent trends and developments aimed at extending social security coverage, analyse options for the extension of social security coverage and identify strategies to promote a set of basic social security guarantees (the concept of basic social protection floor). (Eric Oechslin) |
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Collective
Bargaining Training – East Asia In partnership with the ILO Bureau for Employers
Activities (ACTEMP), the IOE will deliver two day training programmes in
Cambodia, Vietnam, Mongolia and China, entitled “Strategic Collective
Bargaining: An Introduction for Employers” (7 to 18 September). An
integrated training programme and guide have been jointly developed by the
IOE and ACTEMP’s regional specialist for East Asia. Also delivering the
programme will be IOE member the Employers’ Federation of Celon, through its Director-General Mr Ravi Peiris. (Scott Barklamb) |
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IOE European Members – Annual
Meeting At the invitation of the Latvian Employers' Confederation (LDDK), the annual Meeting of the IOE’s European members will be held this year in Riga (Latvia) from 10 to 12 September 2009. The meeting will bring together around 60 participants from 40 European countries with special guests from the ILO and the Latvian Government. The meeting will discuss the main
issues for European employers and to exchange experiences. The current crisis
will be at the heart of debates around four panels: impact on
employers’ organizations, the consequences for SMEs and responses from
the IOE and from the ILO. A “tour de table” will give all
participants the opportunity to present their own responses to the crisis.
The IOE Secretariat prepared a 4 page note presenting the main points for the
discussion. (Eric Oechslin) |
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Workshop
to Promote Ratification Based on a proposal by the International Confederation of Private Employment Agencies (CIETT) and Union Network International (UNI), this workshop's objective is to raise awareness of the Convention’s importance among governments, workers and employers; exchange views on its benefits; present good practice from States having ratified it; and encourage further ratifications. It will be convened in Geneva, on 20-21 October 2009. Employer participants are being selected, and there will be an opportunity for additional observes to attend at their own cost. (Jean Dejardin) |
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Addressing forced labour: The role of employers’ organizations
and business The IOE has been actively working with the ILO in an effort to sensitize employer organizations and their members of the risks forced labour can represent. Numerous regional and national meetings with employers have taken place in 2007 and 2008. Following successful engagement of Asia-region employers last year, IOE and ILO now plan a regional conference with employers, to be held in Cairo before the end of the year. Similar activities for employers are planned for Latin America and Africa in 2010. (Barbara León) |
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Global Report - Elimination of
Discrimination The 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work commits ILO member states to respect and promote principles and rights in four categories: freedom of association and collective bargaining, the elimination of forced labour, the abolition of child labour and the elimination of discrimination. A key part of the follow up to the declaration is an annual Global Report, focussing one of these four areas. The IOE has been collaborating with the ILO on a brief survey to ensure business interests and challenges are better reflected in the next Global Report on the elimination of discrimination. The short survey is intended to better understand and integrate the concerns of employers’ organizations and businesses, as well as the work they have been doing in this area to date. The survey is expected to be finalized at the end of August/September, and to reach IOE member federations shortly thereafter. (Barbara León) |
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Employer Toolkit on International Labour
Standards The IOE in collaboration with the ILO Bureau for Employers Activities (ACTEMP) is currently developing an Employers Toolkit on International Labour Standards. This publication is intended to assist employers' organizations in responding at the national level to questions regarding potential ratification of ILO standards. It will identify business-friendly ways of implementing a selection of ILO Conventions (and Recommendations) in national labour law and practice, and arguments for and against ratification. Input from employers’ organizations throughout the world will be essential to the success of the new toolkit. The IOE is currently seeking assistance from legal experts working with member federations. The publication is intended for circulation in June 2010. (Maria Paz Anzorreguy) |
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Proposed ILO Standard Setting -
Domestic Workers The employment of domestic workers has been placed on the agenda of the 2010 and 2011 sessions of the International Labour Conference with a view to possible standard setting. The ILO Office has issued a 130 page report, including a lengthy questionnaire which canvases a new ILO Convention supplemented by a Recommendation. The IOE has circulated a detailed response to members to assist in preparing national level input, which will also be lodged with the ILO. (Scott Barklamb) |
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UN
Global Compact The UN Global Compact board met at the UN Headquarters in New York on 24 July 2009, with the IOE Secretary General participating as a board member. Outcomes and recommendations from the board include: · The establishment of an environmental working group. · Lengthening the time period for Local Networks to provide input on companies that have submitted an application to the Global Compact Office. · Convening an Expert Group on Responsible Investment in Conflict Affected Countries. · Agreement on a number of changes to the operation of the Integrity Measures process. · Preparations for the 10th Anniversary of the Global Compact, and the next Global Compact Leaders Summit in New York, 24 to 25 June 2010. (Antonio Peñalosa) |
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World
Bank – Employing Workers Indicator In April 2009, the World Bank Group (WBG) announced that it will make changes to the Employing Workers Indicator (EWI) in its major Doing Business publication. The EWI has previously been of concern to the trade union movement; concerns which have been shared over time by the ILO. It is intended that a new EWI will be developed based on the work of a Consultative Group representing a range of interests (including the IOE, USCIB, ITUC, ILO, and World Bank). This process is to be concluded by July 2010. The Consultative Group will provide advice on possible revisions to the EWI and on the establishment of a new worker protection indicator (WPI), as well as offering broader ideas on labour market and employment protection considerations. A range of initial, interim changes to the EWI will be in place for the 2010 report, which will be circulated to members on its release in September. (Gary Rynhart) |
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Regional Forum for Africa on
Women’s Entrepreneurship Development An African Regional Forum on Women Entrepreneurship Development will be held in Cairo, Egypt on 26-28 October 2009. The forum to be organized by the ILO in collaboration with African regional institutions such as African Development Bank, African Union, and Regional Economic Communities will bring together government representatives, employer and worker organizations and women entrepreneurs. In all 17 African countries will be invited. This important event aims to give wide visibility and to provide a forum for detailed exchanges on success stories achieved by African women entrepreneurs, so that their voices are heard during debates surrounding recovery packages to mitigate the impact of the current global economic crisis. The event will also give follow up to the ILO Global Jobs Pact by giving priority attention to protecting and growing employment through sustainable enterprises and enhancing support to people most hit by the crisis, the majority of who are women. (Fred Muia) |
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Business Technical Advisory Committee on Labour Matters The
XVI Inter-American
Conference of Ministers of Labour (IACML) is to meet in Buenos Aires, Argentina
from 6 to 8 October 2009 The theme will be “Facing
the Crisis with Development , Decent Work and Social
Protection”. The Business Technical Advisory Committee on
Labour Matters (CEATAL), an advisory body to the IACML, will meet during the
XVI IACML meeting on October 6, under the coordination of the IOE. CEATAL
will have the opportunity to establish a direct dialogue with the
corresponding workers’ group – COSATE - and the Ministers of
Labour. Also it is intended that CEATAL and COSATE will submit a joint
declaration to the labour ministers identifying priority policy concerns
throughout the region. (Maria Paz
Anzorreguy) |
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2009 marks the second year of the IOE’s GIRN. It now comprises 25 multinational companies from throughout the world. It meets twice per year for an unparalleled exchange of ideas and information between major international employers. The next meeting is to be held in London from 22 to 23 October 2009, and will be coordinated in close collaboration with the CBI. Topics to be discussed will include: Human Rights and the business response; Optimization of Industrial relations; and new developments in the international Framework Agreements (IFAs) and in the campaigns and strategies of the Global Union Federations (GUFs). (Barbara León) |
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New IOE Guide: Helping Members: The IOE has issued a new Guide to Helping Members: Develop Occupational Safety and Health Services. This 26 page guide is designed to provide practical advice and ideas to IOE members in delivering OSH services to employers at the national level. (Janet Asherson) |
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H1H1 - Swine Flu IOE members have received specific information on responses to the H1N1 Swine Flu and its impact on work and workplaces. The IOE’s Information to Members on the Current Swine Influenza A (H1N1) Developments is available for download from the IOE website. |
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New
IOE Guide – Managing Driver Safety The IOE will shortly circulate a new IOE guide to Helping Employers Manage Drivers’ Safety, addressing the management of road safety and traffic accidents for employers. |
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IOE Global Occupational Safety and Health Network (GOSH) IOE’s Global Occupational Safety and Health Network will convene its second meeting in Madrid on 1 and 2 October 2009. The GOSH is a network of major international employers focussing on international developments in OSH policy and regulation and the needs of employers. (Janet Asherson) |
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WHO Collaborating Centres in Occupational Health The IOE has been invited to attend and address the 8th Global Meeting of the Collaborating Centres in Occupational Health to be held from 18-23 October this year in WHO headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland. (Janet Asherson) |
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31st International Congress for OSH - Implementing Global OSH Standards The ILO is convening the Implementing Occupational Safety and Health Standards Globally conference in Düsseldorf, Germany, from 3 to 6 November 2009. The IOE will participate in the meeting on the topic of “The employers’ perspectives of OSH in the time of crisis”. |
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Safety and Health in Agriculture – Code of Practice The International Labour
Organisation (ILO) is to convene a
Meeting of Experts to Adopt a Code of Practice on Safety and Health in
Agriculture in Geneva, from 23 November – 1 December 2009. This will be
a tripartite meeting, and IOE members have been invited to nominate expert
attendees. (Janet Asherson) |
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ILO meetings to finalising the list of occupational diseases - ILO Convention 194 The ILO is to convene a Meeting of Experts on the Revision of the List of Occupational Diseases under ILO Recommendation No. 194. The meeting is to be held in Geneva, from 27-30 October 2009. This will finalise work begun in 2005 and the IOE team involved then will continue the work at this session. (Janet Asherson) |
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Train The Trainers on OSH for Line-Managers The IOE, the ILO Bureau for Employers Activities (ACTEMP) and the ILO’s International Training Centre are jointly convening a dedicated programme: Train the Trainers on OSH for Line-Managers for Employers’ Organizations in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, & Nepal. The training programme will be delivered at the International Training Centre in Turin, Italy from 5 October - 7 October 2009. (Janet Asherson) |
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UN Economic and Social Council The IOE recently participated in the 2009 United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) High Level Segment Meeting, in the thematic debate on “Social trends and emerging challenges and their impact on public health: Renewing our commitment to the vulnerable in a time of crisis” – Geneva, 9 July 2009. (Janet Asherson) |
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IOE Climate Change Information Paper The IOE has prepared a background information paper for IOE members on climate change, posted on the IOE website. The paper describes the current state of global and domestic climate change debates as well as the key employment and social policy issues arising from the ongoing discussions on climate change. It seeks to: · Inform IOE members of recent developments in international climate change policy to support a more visible and engaged role for employers with policy makers. · Provide background material on political, scientific and economic developments relating to climate change; · Provide guidance on some of the related workplace and social issues; and · Describe the activities and positions taken by trade unions, other business groups and alliances. · Outline the political, market, business, economic and scientific foundations of current climate change discussions. (Janet Asherson) |
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Climate Change and Green Jobs Toolkit The ILO is developing a climate change and green jobs toolkit for employers. This is envisaged to include: background information on climate change and carbon trading, a training package for employers, a guide to addressing climate change through Decent Work Country Programs (DWCP), and a policy template for employers’ organisations. This material will be circulated to members with IOE analysis and recommendations when finalised by the ILO Office. (Janet Asherson) |
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31
August - 1 September |
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2
- 4 September |
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7 - 18
September Collective Bargaining Training –
East Asia (Cambodia, Vietnam, Mongolia and China) |
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10 - 12 September IOE European Meeting (Riga) |
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22 September UN Leadership Forum on Climate Change:
Caring for Climate: The Business Leadership Platform (New York) |
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22 - 30 September Meeting of Experts to Adopt a Code of Practice
on Safety and Health in Agriculture (Geneva) |
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1 - 2 October |
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5 - 7 October Train the Trainer on OSH for Line Managers (Turin) |
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6 - 8 October Organisation of American States –
Business Technical Advisory Committee on Labour Matters |
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18 - 23 October 8th Global meeting of the WHO
Collaborating Centres in Occupational Health |
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20 - 21 October Workshop to Promote Ratification of the
Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 |
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22 - 23 October GIRN (London) |
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26 - 28 October Regional Forum for Africa on Women’s
Entrepreneurship Development (Cairo) |
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27- 30 October Meeting of Experts on the Revision of the
List of Occupational Diseases (Recommendation No. 194) (Geneva) |
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3 - 6 November ILO Conference - Implementing Global OSH
Standards (Düsseldorf) |
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5 - 20 November 306th Session of the Governing
Body and its committees (Geneva) |
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13 - 14 November IOE Management Board (Geneva) |
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23 November - 1 December Meeting of Experts – Safety and
Health in Agriculture: Code of Practice |
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23 - 24 November XX Meeting of Presidents of Ibero-American Employers’ Organisations (Lisbon) |
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24 - 25 November Third Ibero-American Social Dialogue (Lisbon) |
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