Work Programme

At the Congress in June 2007 the members of Nordic IN laid down a Work Programme for the coming years of 2008-2009. The main areas of the Work Programme are

  • Collective Bargaining
  • Company Policy
  • Education/Training Policy
  • Health and Safety
  • Industrial Policy
  • Organisational Development of Trade unions in the Baltic States
  • Trade union work in Europe and the world

The Congress also elected a new President of Nordic IN, Stefan Löfven. Stefan Löfven, President of Sweden's metal and chemical worker's union IF Metall, succeeds Kjell Bjørndalen from the Norwegian union Fellesforbundet.

Trade union work in a globalized economy

Nordic IN finds that the development of global economic cooperation and free trade is a positive development, looking at it at from different perspectives. Even though parts of the industrial production and industrial services move from the old industrial countries to Eastern Europe, India and China, a pro-active strategy for structural transformation of the industries will give better results than protectionism.

Such a pro-active strategy should then include a concentration of resources on research, development, innovation and education. This will promote an economic development that contributes to the creation of new jobs and increasing standard of living in the developing countries and that will also mean new possibilities for Nordic companies.

At the same time we have to increase the pressure in order to bring about a global frame of rules for fair globalization and free trade, including union rights and social rights based on the ILO conventions. These rules should be a part of the World Trade Organisation, WTO, as well as of the bilateral trade and investment agreements of the European Union. Initiatives regarding decent work can also offer possibilities for the trade unions to contribute to a more fair distribution of the welfare of the world.

In political surroundings that often disfavours trade unions, the Nordic unions strive to maintain the present high organizational level and their developed negotiation system with collective agremeents in both the national and the local level.

The Nordic unions have also a special responsibility to make Nordic companies behave well, regardless of wherever in the world they are active. Two important tools for this are union networks and International Frame Agreements.

Objects of the Work Programme

During the years of 2008-2009 Nordic IN will therefore focus on the following issues

  • Flexibility in the labour-market, concerning both employees moving between countries and the question of more flexible working conditions and employment terms
  • In the area of Industrial Policy – the promotion of pro-active policies for trade, innovation, energy and environment
  • Training of co-ordinators and presidents of European Works Councils, especially when it comes to how they shall deal with cross border restructuring of their companies
  • Making the European trade union federations focus more on Health and Safety
  • Continue the process for stronger European and global federations by means of creating new and more effective structures

 

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