News

In 2011 both organisations adopted decisions to enter into a formal social dialogue structure after years of protracted negotiations.



Over 35 participants from 13 European countries, UNI Europa Graphical & Packaging, Intergraf and the European Commission attended and participated in the meeting last week.



Presentations on European Social Dialogue and how it functions were provided and participants also heard from representatives of the employers and the unions in the construction industry as to some of the practical experiences that can be achieved through social dialogue.



Patrick Itshert, ETUC Deputy General Secretary, informed the participants on how the European social dialogue committee set up for the textile, clothing and shoe industry established a European Skill Council and what are the objectives of it.



An informative and thought provoking session was conducted by PIRA on the situation and evolution of the European graphical industry and the trends that are occurring within the industry.



The afternoon sessions were jointly chaired by Simon Dubbins (UNI Europa Graphical & Packaging) and Fons Bakkes from Intergraf.



Activities in 2012 will include national seminars on “social responsible restructuring” between the 2 partners using the toolkit which was developed in 2011 as the basis for the seminars.



The participants agreed that there is a need to strengthen the social dialogue in the graphical industry as we are facing many challenges.



Further information Nicola.konstantinou@uniglobalunion.org