EU: the chemistry social partners publish a joint declaration on partial unemployment and better skills

In a short joint declaration, the workgroup on apprenticeship and lifelong learning established within the sectoral social dialogue committee, the European Chemical Employers Group (ECEG) and the European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers’ Federation (EMCEF) agreed on points “in relation to the introduction of layoffs and short time working or similar measures which do take place to avoid redundancy.” The social partners think that “laying off staff and short time working should only be done after consultation with the workforce and their representatives.” Besides, “every effort should be made to use the opportunities of this available time for improving skills by training and education.” Training “should be accredited to ensure those intrinsic skills are maintained so that when the economic situation improves the Chemical and Pharmaceutical sector will not lose vital human resource for the future.” They also call on the European Union and the national and local governments to provide – financial – support for businesses during the reduction or suspension of activity, and they ask the social partners of every country to “look for solutions that best suit the specific needs of the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry.”