Agreement on joint approach to 'Responsible Care' in chemicals sector

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In late January 2004, the social partners in the Italian chemicals sector signed an agreement providing for close collaboration between companies and trade unions in implementing the 'Responsible Care' programme, on the basis of a joint approach. Responsible Care is the chemicals industry's voluntary worldwide initiative on health, safety and the environment.

The Responsible Care programme is a voluntary worldwide initiative on health, safety and the environment by the chemicals industry. It was launched in 1985 in Canada by the Canadian Chemical Producers’ Association (CCPA), and was taken up in 1998 in the USA and in 1989 in Europe by the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC). In 1992, the Federchimica sectoral employers’ association launched the programme in Italy. A total of 169 companies with 450 chemicals plants have signed up, about 60% of the national chemicals sector. In 2002, Italian chemicals companies invested about EUR 667.5 million in health, safety and the environment.

In 2003, the European social partners in the chemicals sector - the European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers' Federation (EMCEF) on the trade union side and CEFIC and the European Chemical Employers Group (ECEG) on the employers’ side - signed a 'memorandum of understanding ' on the basis of the Responsible Care programme. This agreement sought to develop the involvement of workers and their representatives in Responsible Care. The European programme is seen as very important because:

• it has focused attention in Europe on worker involvement in health, safety and environmental issues, despite the failure to reach a world-level agreement on the issue, which was reportedly blocked by US companies in 2000-1;
• it has set high health, safety and environment protection standards as a top priority on the agenda of all European chemical companies; and
• it has recognised the right of workers’ and workers’ organisations to participate actively in Responsible Care programmes.

In Italy, on 29 January 2004 the Unitary Federation of Chemicals Workers (Federazione Unitaria Lavoratori Chimici, Fulc) - which brings together the sectoral trade unions affiliated to the three main trade union confederations (Filcea-Cgil, Femca-Cisl and Uilcem-Uil) - and the Federchimica employers’ federation (affiliated to Confindustria) signed an agreement establishing a close collaboration between companies and trade unions in order to implement the Responsible Care programme on the basis of a joint approach. Workers and their representatives will be entitled to propose actions aimed at improving health and safety conditions and environmental protection as well as to take part in the assessment of the results.

In the agreement, the signatories confirm their commitment and their active role in implementing Responsible Care initiatives as set out in in the European memorandum. They underline the aim of extending participation to companies and employers’ and workers’ representatives at national, company and local level, and define the following participation procedures:

• representatives of the trade union organisations will take part in the annual conference of Italian Responsible Care coordinators and at the presentation of the annual report on Responsible Care;
• the signatories will meet every year within the framework of an existing collectively agreed national 'observatory' to assess the results achieved through the application of the programme, and to identify possible areas of intervention; and
• the partners will arrange joint meetings to publicise and promote the programme at national, local and company level.

According to Antonio Scalfaro, the Italian representative of EMCEF, 'this is the best way to make visible and tangible the commitment of the Italian chemicals industry and of the social partners concerned to improving health and safety and environmental protection standards, in order to contribute to sustainable development'. According to Diana Bracco, the president of Federchimica, 'this agreement confirms the commitment of the Italian chemical industry to concretely improving environmental conditions through the development of tools based on voluntary commitment, such as Responsible Care actions.'