Chemical Industry Responsible Care Program Gets Labor - Management Boost at the International Labor Organization

Chlorine Chemistry Unions, Companies, Associations Led the Way

In a historic meeting of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in February, the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) and the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) agreed to establish a formal mechanism to jointly address Responsible Care. This marks the first time that Labor and Management have formally agreed to share in Responsible Care's future within the ILO framework.

The ILO, founded over 80 years ago, is the preeminent international forum where Labor, Management and Government convene three-way talks to resolve important issues. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, ILO became part of the United Nations when the UN was organized after World War II.

The ICEM, based in Brussels, Belgium, represents 21 million organized workers including most of the largest chemical and associated unions in the world. The ICCA represents the world's major chemical associations.

ARCC supports this ground-breaking agreement. A global Labor-Management commitment to Responsible Care will provide benefits to employees, companies, plant communities, the environment and consumers. It will support the long-term viability of millions of jobs in chlorine chemistry.

The agreement reached at the ILO traces back to the October 1998 meeting in Montreal, Quebec, between member companies of the World Chlorine Council (WCC) and unions affiliated with the ICEM. Company, association and union representatives from the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe and Japan participated in a special WCC-ICEM Responsible Care Working Group. The Group recommended two projects that were subsequently approved for implementation by the full WCC-ICEM Session. The projects address joint activities aimed at accident investigation and reporting, and more employee participation in Responsible Care at the plant floor level.

Billed as the "Meeting on Voluntary Initiatives Affecting Training and Education on Safety, Health and Environment in the Chemical Industries", the ILO session was mainly a referendum on how the Responsible Care program has performed and how it can be improved. WCC-ICEM meeting participants were active in the ILO meeting in support of greater Labor-Management cooperation to make Responsible Care succeed.

History of Responsible Care

Responsible Care originated in Canada 10 years ago and has spread to over 40 countries. Responsible Care is basically a group of voluntary health, safety and environmental (HSE) performance codes adopted by chemical companies. Compliance with Responsible Care codes is a condition of membership in the U.S., European and Canadian chemical manufacturers associations. The codes are meant to help companies make continuous improvements in HSE performance. Implementation of the codes has coincided with dramatic reductions in chemical industry pollution over the last decade.

Union and Company Perspectives

Labor unions have generally supported Responsible Care's goal of continuous voluntary HSE improvement at chemical facilities. But unions have criticized the program as not sufficiently involving trade unions and plant employees. Unions believe that without such involvement the program cannot ultimately succeed; workers are on the front line of production, distribution and disposal and must be included as real participants and supporters of Responsible Care. In addition, unions have said that the program should be implemented in a standard or "harmonized" way at plant locations in every country where a company operates. Unions have maintained that voluntary programs such as Responsible Care should not be touted as a replacement for effective regulations, and that industry associations should move more deliberately to penalize companies that don't comply.

While noting the program's successes, Management officials agree that more work needs to be done. Many in Management agree that greater employee involvement in Responsible Care is needed. Companies have experienced practical difficulties with achieving harmonization due to national and social differences from country to country, but agree that greater harmonization is the goal. Companies also agree that voluntary programs cannot replace regulation, but say that flexibility and innovation can allow companies to better meet HSE regulatory mandates.