In late September, the ICEM continued to carry out reinvigorated activities in its Middle East/North Africa Region (MENA) by organising a workshop for chemicals and petrochemical unions of the region. The two-day set of workshops, sponsored by the Friedrich-Ebert (FES) Foundation of Germany, were held in Beirut, Lebanon, on 28-29 September.

Energy and particularly oil have been one of the major driving forces of the economies of the region, and of ICEM activities in MENA of late. But in addition, the region has increased its overall production capacity in petrochemicals, specifically ethylene and its derivatives such as polyethylene and ethylene glycol.

The joint ICEM-FES workshops were entitled, “A Seminar on Reinforcing Trade Union Representation, Industrial Relations, and Social Dialogue in the Petrochemical Industry in MENA.” The seminar was chaired by Suleiman Hamdan, President of Chemical Workers Union of Lebanon.

It was attended by 30 participants from Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Palestine, Turkey, and France. Following a presentation by ICEM Chemicals and Rubber Officer Kemal Özkan, entitled “Main Developments and Global Challenges in the Global Chemical & Petrochemical Industry,” the seminar received reports from individual countries.

The workshop was called “Global Dimension of Industrial Relations: International Mechanisms, Social Dialogue, Global Framework Agreements, and Global/Regional Networks”. Another session “The Rising New Threat to Working Conditions: Precarious Employment,” focused on the ICEM’s global campaign on Contract and Agency Labour.

At the end of the meeting, the participants decided to create an "ICEM MENA Region Chemical/Petrochemical Sectoral Network," with a series of suggestions for future follow-up activities. Those include social dialogue and industrial relations; labour legislation and international instruments; multinational companies in the sector; Contract and Agency Labour and precarious employment; and Health, Safety, and Environmental issues.

“This is a new area of work for the ICEM in the MENA Region,” said Özkan. “The enthusiasm and readiness which participants displayed at this seminar shows there is great potential for a MENA network of petrochemical unions. Reinforcing activities in areas of industrial production and manufacture will be one of the priorities of ICEM in the region.”