High -Level Segment of Environment Policy Committee
OECD Environment Outlook: EPOC
"Integration of Social & Environmental Concerns"
4 April, 2000 - Paris, France
Trade Union Advisory Committee to OECD (TUAC)
OVERALL RESPONSE: Overall, TUAC welcomes the progress made in
the Outlook papers to integrate social issues within the proposed strategies.
We feel very positive direction has been taken by EPOC in promoting the
three pillars of sustainable development (i.e. economic, environmental
and social dimensions) in a unified way. In general we are confident that
the Social-Environmental interface paper provides a good framework to commence
work in this important area and that the four objectives outlined in the
Framework and Basic Elements paper provide an excellent starting point
for integrating the issues. We believe that the role of the nation state
as (as outlined in Table 3 of the 1st document) should include responsibilities
for setting social objectives and targets as part of the sustainable development
implementation.
POPULATION AND POVERTY CONCERNS: The Outlook process, however,
could be strengthened by reviewing the assumptions it makes about population
increases and to clarify how its inclusion of the social dimension in the
Outlook process must be linked to poverty alleviation programs and to employment
and employment creation. Although the EPOC papers recognise the importance
of lowering population increases, they seem to view them as a immutable
and this should be questioned (1). If population and
fertility increases are the source of so many future problems, described
by the draft outlook papers, then links must be encouraged to identify
how OECD's work in all fields of activity, including the social dimension
of sustainable development, might be made to address this problem. Since
there is a direct relationship of decreasing fertility rates with poverty
alleviation, this should become a social priority for the OECD. The objective
should be to help reduce world fertility rates by addressing poverty, both
within OECD countries and internationally.
EMPLOYMENT & EMPLOYMENT TRANSITION: The employment
issue is mentioned in the various papers (i.e related to climate change,
rural poverty, quality of life, human health, and employment effects of
social issues). This a positive step forward, especially as a means of
promoting poverty alleviation. However, summaries of general employment/unemployment
trends only provide a starting point. The objective should be to replace
theoretically-driven net employment analyses with concrete job gain/loss
reviews related to specific sectors or implementation measures. Simple
net employment analyses such as that must be supplemented with information
that reports actual employment shifts that result from environmental degradation
as well as the from the implementation of sustainable development plans
(2)
The impact of programmes related to employment income, working conditions,
organising trade unions, employment equality provisions, access to individual
and social health benefits, livelihood benefits (e.g. vacation and retirement
protection), and social protection benefits (e.g. unemployment and social
welfare) must be key considerations and child or forced labour must be
prohibited under any circumstance. The overall aim should be to promote
stability and optimal conditions of employment. 'Employment displacement'
indicators for member countries should seek to understand and address the
adequacy of programmes for displaced workers (e.g., training & education,
compensation and re-employment) as well as identify the financial instruments
and other measures needed to provide support for equitable employment transition.
The OECD analyses should also help identify gaps in information and research
needed for comprehensive employment policy development. It must also recognize
that plant closures are not the only possible source of unemployment. Whilst
measures to promote resource efficiency, discussed in the fifth paper,
can create employment, they can also eliminate jobs.
PUBLIC HEALTH, WORKPLACES & ENVIRONMENTAL DEMOCRACY:
The workplace environment should be understood as forming part of the broader
community environment. The need for this was articulated in the recent
WHO Declaration at the 3rd Ministerial Conference held last June in London
(3).
Health & Safety strategies and structures should be developed and utilised
in the Outlook models for implementing social objectives related to public
health. Workplace fatalities (4), diseases and illness
are a barometer of social well-being, and must be monitored and reported
as a means of evaluating progress on cleaner and safer production, waste
management, and the handling of toxic substances. Special efforts should
be made to identify workplace factors that contribute to public health
risks or disease and to design and implement measures to eliminate or reduce
them. Similarly, the right of access to public information should be broadly
interpreted, as the WHO Declaration emphasises (5),
to mean that workers should have similar rights to workplace information
relating to both workplace and community health. Similarly, promoting public
participation in decision making should equally apply to worker participation
in workplace decision-making.
Joint worker/employer processes and structures should be the
basis of workplace decision making. In particular, the efficacy of joint
occupational workplace health, safety and environment (OHSE) committees
and cooperation have been well-established, and should be promoted as the
basis for worker education and training programs. As a start, the right
of workers to OHSE workplace information, the right to refuse work which
poses a threat to health, safety and environment, and the right to participate
must be legally protected.
WORKPLACE INDICATORS AND HUMAN CAPITAL: The recent OECD
Publication, "Frameworks to measure Sustainable Development" suggests the
importance of integrating the value of human capital within sustainable
development frameworks Workplaces (6), workers and work
processes are at the centre of production-consumption patterns. There is
a need for workplace indicators of change and for the OECD to link its
analyses and work to the actual day-to-day activity of workplace production,
and to the nature of work itself (7). The exclusion
of 'workplaces' or 'workers/employees' in the OECD terms of reference has
the effect of removing from review (and hence, from recommended changes)
those factors in production that both determine and result from the relationship
between workers and employers. The involvement of workers, with the employers,
and how this could be harnessed to bring about desired change must become
a focus of attention. Such a perspective assumes a fundamental role for
trade unions (especially in training, education and coordination of programs
across sectors), working with employer organisations to achieve targets,
in the workplace and in the broader community.
Recognition of Freedom of Association and the Right to Organise
are fundamental principles, which safeguard worker participation. Workplace
actions should become a central feature of OECD's implementation measures.
Recognising the human capital of workers, has implications for the success
of meeting social goals within sustainable development plans.
DEVELOPING A NEW WORKPLACE CULTURE OF COOPERATION: More and better
forms of cooperation are needed for workplace implementation of change.
The 5th paper on 'Resource Efficiency', rightly focuses on resource management
and efficiency issues as a conceptual framework for action. The involvement
of workers in monitoring, record-keeping, evaluating and reporting of enterprise
activities will become necessary to address issues from the 2nd paper on
'Basic Elements' and for social issues of sustainable development. This
is important for two reasons. First, there will be limited success in meeting
the 2nd objective set out in the Basics Elements paper (i. e. the special
focus on the transport, agriculture and energy sectors), unless workers,
trade unions and employers develop common approaches to workplace change.
The second reason, is that meeting many of the current sustainable development
targets implies that workers and consumers, world-wide, must also change
their personal consumption habits, be they related to energy, food, lifestyles
or the buying of manufactured goods. Involving workers in production improvements,
must become a springboard to changes in workers' awareness, which spills
over into changes at home and in their communities. However, appropriate
training and education methods should be employed. In other words, workplace
involvement must be made to lead to higher community awareness about the
environment or sustainable development issues. This can result in more
sustained political support for public programs which aim to address issues,
such as the social dimension of sustainable development.
STRENGTHENING SOCIAL STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS WITH VOLUNTARY
INDUSTRY INITIATIVES AND AGREEMENTS (VIAS): The Outlook papers introduce
VIAs in a healthy context, as part of a mix of solutions as a means of
strengthening capacity to meet social aims and targets, including through
regulation and standard setting. However, the issue of transparency and
verification of VIA's still remain unaddressed. The OECD is encouraged
to continue its analyses of voluntary agreements, with a particular focus
on the verification of performances and to help create a framework to guide
the development of VIA's. There is a large body of VIA's in the world which
aim or claim to address a wide spectrum of social issues (e.g child labour
codes of conducts). The OECD should assume some responsibility in strengthening
these, where possible and in encouraging the uses of VIA's under certain
conditions:
- VIA's should supplement or strengthen government-based
regulations and standards, or a lack of them, and they should show how
they serve this purpose. A recent OECD report, "Voluntary Approaches for
Environmental Policy" has found little empirical evidence to show the effectiveness
of VIA's for environmental protection. Negotiated VIA's, linked in some
way to regulation, are the strongest type to date. These types of VIA should
be encouraged for addressing social issues.
- The scope of the OECD's review of VIA's should be broadened
to encompass sustainable development, not just environment. The uses of
voluntary arrangements as tools to address the social and environmental
interface questions of the EPOC papers, should be better understood and
their uses promoted in line with the conditions where VIAs can be called
upon to strengthen standards and practice identified by the PUMA review
on regulatory reform. OECD's work on VIA's should build upon the current
UN CSD multistakeholder review of VIA's. CSD99 adopted recommendations
for an eventual review of VIA's and these should be incorporated in OECD's
work.
- Almost all VIA's seek some sort of change to workplace
performance. Workers and employers should be called upon to develop joint
monitoring and reporting of VIA's progress and effectiveness, including
for issues related to the social dimension of sustainable development.
This should become a basis for capacity building everywhere, including
for workers in developing countries. VIA's must never undermine minimum
standards based on agreed environmental, economic and social indicators.
The body of international agreements, dealing with social issues, including
the basic human and economic freedoms as enshrined in international Conventions
and Protocols that aim to promote equality and discourage discrimination,
must not be undermined by VIA's.
- Education and training is needed to improve on current
workplace monitoring, record-keeping, and reporting mechanisms, especially
for workplaces, where such a capacity does not currently exists. VIA's
should become a training ground for education. In this regard, lessons
should be drawn from experiences with collective agreements as models for
implementation of VIA's and the training of workers. Collective agreements
address particular workplace problems faced by specific worker groups and
are used to remedy a wide range of problems dealing with sustainable development
issues, including for the environment and social dimensions. Collective
agreements can help maximise the educational opportunities in the workplace
over a host of issues, including for the implementation of VIA’s, themselves.
SOCIAL TRANSITION & TRAINING: The proposed Outlook
reports recognise the need for "smooth transition", for new member countries
and the need for certain steps to be taken to ensure proper implement of
key objectives. There is a need to understand how similar transition processes
could be developed and employed as a means of addressing specific social
aims (example, employment, social security, disaster relief, emergency
planning, to name a few). An attempt should be made to predict the nature
and scope of the need for social transition programs and to assess the
financial and economic measures required to support them (e.g. for compensation,
training and education, industry, and government planning)(8).
Alleviation of poverty, reduction of fertility rates, the security of livelihoods
and provision of adequate food, shelter, water, health & welfare, social
security, sanitation, education, transport and equal access to maternity
rights would be initial considerations. Human impacts due to environmental
events (e.g. climate change) will likely have tremendous social consequences
that are not currently factored into estimates for predicting the costs
and benefits of proposed mitigation programs. This can also be said for
the development of biotechnology.
TRADE UNIONS AS STAKEHOLDERS: The OECD must explicitly
encourage trade unions to co-ordinate the efforts of workers for workplace
implementation of sustainable development plans. This is important because
workers in isolation are not in a position to fully participate, without
effective representation, information and understanding provided by their
unions. Forward-looking employers have long since recognised the value
of collective representational groupings. The Outlook reports do recognise
trade unions in certain OECD processes. OECD countries must be encouraged
to focus on industrial relations as a supportive mechanism for implementing
sustainable development plans. Employer/trade union partnerships should
be vigorously promoted in accordance with adopted indicators and the Governments
should play a role within a well-defined regulatory framework, involving
the public sector to coordinate and enforce agreed standards. Multistakeholder
processes for decision-making, information sharing and participation should
become a trademark of OECD's sustainable development strategies. Recognition
of Freedom of Association and the Right to Organise are fundamental to
ensuring worker participation and the results must be made to develop similar
practices for implementing social objectives.
DE-COUPLING GROWTH: ENTERPRISE TARGETS & ASSESSMENTS: De-Coupling
growth from increased use of resources is to be encouraged (i.e. 1st Objective
in the Basic Elements' paper) but the social implications, must be properly
understood and transition must be planned for. The need for de-coupling
and to address resource management objectives in 5th Outlook paper, however,
implies improving the effectiveness of enterprise monitoring and reporting.
Simulations of theoretical models to assess and predict trends have specific
purposes and these can be made to supplement periodic, or 3rd party monitoring.
Monitoring and workplace data, however, must be encouraged to reflect actual
and ongoing events within production units. For this to take place, workers
and employers must be called upon to engage in a joint process of target
identification and a program of workplace monitoring, record keeping, evaluation
and implementation for workplace change. Initially such a program should
focus on promoting efficient uses water & energy and proper handling
of wastes & toxic substances. Efficient uses of resources must be built
around involvement of workers and trade unions(9) with
employers. Developing such processes for the purposes of implementing the
5th 'Resource Efficiency' paper should be considered as a precursor
to capacity build for similar monitoring of issues related to the social
dimension.
COOPERATION WITH NON-MEMBER COUNTRIES: Environmental Performance
Reviews outlined in the 5th Objective (2nd paper) must seek to integrate
workplace indicators of change, which link worker health and safety to
community environment, everywhere, including in developing countries. Of
greatest importance of for OECD countries to recognise the impact of their
actions (financial, trade or otherwise) on poverty indicators which impact
on population fertility rates. Capacity building for the monitoring and
reporting of workplaces in developing countries must be anticipated, by
recognising the real need for new and extended infrastructures, which support
the adequate livelihood of workers. This should be understood within the
context of the discussion of "International Aspects" of the 4th Outlook
paper on social-environmental interface. That paper makes mention of:
? "the absence of a level playing field concerning health and safety
standards (environmental dumping) workers in competing industries of developed
countries may see themselves confronted with induced adjustment pressures
(a concern under NAFTA, within Europe, within Asia)."
OECD is in a position to help the development of such a playing field
by encouraging its members to ratify and abide to current international
agreements, e.g. ILO Conventions and Recommendations, which address certain
issues.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND GMO'S (10): Biotechnology
is already at work and expanding rapidly in many industrial sectors. For
this reason it should figure more prominently in the Outlook papers, especially
in their treatment of agriculture and biological diversity. The health
and safety implications on workers involved in production processes and
distribution are still largely neglected, especially as these relate to
broader sustainable development goals of communities. It is imperative
that higher levels of core funding be made available for independent research
by public sector scientists and research funding must be matched by a more
consistent and rigorous approach to the use of scientific advice in policy-making
by governments. However, the expected growth in biotechnology will bring
more demands for industry accountability, and transparency. Promoting worker
and trade union involvement in industrial decision making over biotechnology
is a necessary prerequisite. Not only because food and public safety would
be enhanced by this involvement but that it can also be a basis of support
for public transition programs aimed at addressing the social implications
of biotechnology. This new technology must be harnessed to creating jobs
and reducing poverty and must not be allowed to contribute to problems
of development through for example fostering population increases. The
OECD should seek to strengthen the UN Convention on Biological Diversity
encourage its ratification.
Notes
(1) World Fertility Rates: OECD says there will be
about 7.5 billion by 2020 and U.N forecasts for a medium-fertility scenario
indicate that world population is likely to peak at 8.9 billion by 2050.
It is also estimated that world food needs in developing countries will
almost double during the same period. Of significance is the UNEP Global
Environment Outlook, 2000 which states that, "currently, the highest fertility
rates tend to be found in countries suffering from poverty, food insecurity,
and natural resource degradation". It adds, that "falling fertility rates
are correlated with rising incomes and improvements in such areas as health
care, employment, and women's education". The implications of this seem
clear. The UN General Secretary, in his report to the CSD8 on Agriculture
and Rural Development, says that: "…hunger can be eliminated, with the
right policies and measures that promote sustainable agriculture and support
comprehensive rural development schemes that, inter alia, improve access
to land, combat poverty, create employment and reduce rural emigration."
(2) Research for Change: Analyses of concrete, real-life
job impacts should become the basis of determining policies for industry,
labour market and regional developments, as well as education and training.
Furthermore, policy conclusions should not be restricted to narrow issues
of labour market flexibility as currently promoted by the OECD Job Strategy.
More emphasis needs to be given to the issue of managing change, within
a proper regulatory framework, as opposed to a mere understanding of social
and economic trends.
(3) Occupational Health & Environment Links: WHO
Ministerial Declaration (June, 1999) said: "We recognise the importance
of instituting workplace measures to meet public health needs and goals,
and the right of workers to be involved in the decision making process
on those measures. We will promote good practice in health, environment
and safety management in enterprises, in collaboration with the stakeholders
…"
(4) Deaths and Illness: Unsustainable forms of production,
throughout the world, result in more than 1.1 million workers who die each
year (almost 3,300 per day), nearly double the deaths due to war, and triple
due to HIV/AIDS. Of 335,000 deaths that are due to occupational accidents,
12,000 claim the lives of children. 325,000 are due to occupational diseases,
most because of hazardous substances, with asbestos being the largest single
killer, claiming about 100,000 lives per year. Over 160 million new injuries
and work-related diseases are reported per year.
(5) Workplace Information: WHO Ministerial Declaration
also says: "We recognise the rights of workers to be informed of occupational
and environmental health hazards in the workplace, and of the public to
be informed of hazards posed to the community by the activities of enterprises".
(6) Human Capital is defined by the OECD as "the knowledge,
skills and competencies and other attributes embodied in individuals that
are relevant to economic activity". Further, "Human capital focuses on
the economic behaviour of individuals, especially on the way their accumulation
of knowledge and skills enables them to increase their productivity and
their earnings - and in so doing to increase the productivity and wealth
of the societies they live in".
(7) Workplace Indicators: Affiliates of TUAC (Trade
Union Advisory Committee), ICFTU (International Confederation of Free Trade
Unions) and ITS’(International Trade Secretariats) have cooperated with
the ILO/ACTRAV (International Labour Organisation) to produce a Worker
Education and Training Kit on the seven sustainable development indicators,
as set out above. The aim is to capacity build for environmental action
among workers and their trade unions. Each of the indicators relate to
existing ILO standards.
(8) Financing Transition: Given the likely scale and
nature of future transitional measures, it needs to be recognised that
public finances will not be sufficient to meet the needs.
(9) The Involvement of Workers is important for two
reasons. First, involving workers is the only way to ensure that continuous,
day-to-day workplace monitoring take place (as opposed to periodic analyses
performed by consulting firms) on key environmental issues. Second, involving
workers in production changes, provides the basis of education and training
which can lead to changes to workers’ personal and community consumer habits.
The OECD should seek to ensure the evolution toward the continuous involvement
and education of workers.
(10) Trade Unions & Food Safety: TUAC room document,
Biotechnology and Other Aspects of Food Safety, Consultation with Civil
Society, Paris, 20 November, 1999.
