Summary

A chemical workers' union demonstrates how a strong trade union working in an industrial relations climate of social partnership can initiate the type of social and industrial changes required to transform production and consumption in an industrialized country into more sustainable patterns.

In 1987, the German Chemical Workers' Union joined Associations of the Chemical Industry to issue a declaration empowering works councils to conclude agreements on environmental protection. To date, over 60 such works agreements have extended the rights of works councils beyond safety issues to participation in strategic decision-making as it affects the environment.

As well as representing an important advance for Agenda 21 objectives, the Declaration marks an historical milestone in German labor relations, as it was the first environmental agreement of its kind at the sectoral level. Positive action has already resulted in the workplace and the community.

The Country and Regional Context

The Federal Republic of Germany is a leader among industrialized countries, and in such international organizations as the OECD, the United Nations and the European Union. With a population of 81 million, after unification with the German Democratic Republic, it maintains a thriving economy based on high labor income and one of the world's best social security systems.

The chemical industry is one of the leading industries in the highly-industrialized Republic, with even more plants added from the East German sector. Individual plants exist on a scale that would be inconceivable in other parts of the world, with single sites employing up to 40,000 workers. Given the profile of the chemical industry, it is not surprising that it provides a leading example of workplace action for environmental protection.

The 1987 Accord adds another chapter to a tradition of labor relations in which the concept of social partnership is firmly entrenched. It forms a pillar of the German Basic Law or Grundgesetz, which ingrains respect for the Freedom of Association, and the principle that workers have a right to be informed and involved in decisions which affect their daily lives.

As well, German Basic Law provides for a social welfare state which guarantees the right to a basic social standard. Following the Rio, environmental protection was inserted into Basic Law by the German Parliament. This social and legal foundation for industrial democracy explains why German industrial relations has achieved such a high degree of stability and harmony.

The Social Partners

The union which participated in the declaration is the Industriegewerkschaft Chemie Papier Keramik (Chemical Workers' Union or IG Chemie) headquartered in Hannover. IG Chemie belongs to the German labor central, the Deutscher Gewerschaftsbund (DGB), the central labor body for Germany, as well as being affiliated to such international labor organizations as the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers Unions and, through the DGB, to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

The chemical companies are represented by the Verband der Chemischen Industrie (Association of the Chemical Industry) headquartered at Frankfurt, and the Bundesarbeitgeberverband Chemie (Federal Association of Chemical Employers) at Wiesbaden, and belong to the relevant national and international bodies.

Following the declaration, works agreements were negotiated at various sites in accordance with the law. Thus far, they have been signed at 60 sites (see inset), providing plant-specific agreements binding employers and the works councils.

The Context for Action on the Environment

The chemical industry in Germany and surrounding countries has long been the focus of environmental concern, with spectacular fires and fugitive emissions catching public attention. Even more serious environmental concern has focused on so-called "normal" events; e.g., the high energy demands and extensive use of raw materials, the production of large quantities of planned but undesirable by-products, transport and storage problems, and emissions into the air and water. Concern was heightened by the inclusion of the chemical industry in Saxony-Anhalt of the former GDR, because of well-publicized reports of their condition and the amounts of pollution they contributed to the area.

IG Chemie and the union movement have been leading proponents of environmental protection. Progress towards the 1987 Declaration was prompted by members who were increasingly aware of the extent of environmental degradation and the role of their own industry. Companies were also increasingly anxious about the effect this was having on their public image.

In the early 1990's, both the IG Chemie and Germany's trade union central, the DGB demanded a program of selected measures at company level with a view to integrating environmental protection and health and safety at the workplace into a single unit. One of their demands was that the legislators equip Environmental Protection Officers with more rights, and oblige them to cooperate with works councils and environmental committees. This included the right of access to information and participation in environmental decisions, as well as ongoing training during work time for members of works council members performing environmental protection duties, paid for by the employer.

Framework Conditions for Environmental Protection

Although the chemical industry in Germany is legally bound by a comprehensive system of Environmental Protection Acts and regulations, these laws have not had the desired effect. This is partly because they are implemented to an unsatisfactory extent, and partly because they leave too much latitude for entrepreneurial innovation.

The crucial role to be played by workplace partners was first formally recognized in a decision by the German Parliament (Bundestag) in 1989 which called for an environmental partnership between employees and employers to reduce environmental risks. After the Rio Conference, the Government of the FDR instituted a Commission on Sustainable Development, on which the IG Chemie has a member nominated by Parliament.

The Hazardous Substances Regulations attached to the Chemical Act (1980) provide the most extensive legislative instrument, requiring the employer to: compile a register of hazardous substances in the plant and provide information for risk analysis and control; conduct an assessment of risks resulting from these; ascertain less-hazardous alternatives; consult workers and their representatives in this area; inform and educate the works council about substances and corresponding measurements or action taken; and in case of problems, involve the works council in discussion and any corrective measures taken.

Closely related to this is comprehensive legislation such as the Safety at Work Act passed in 1982, which provides works councils with extensive rights to participation in health and safety matters, and requires safety officers and doctors to work with the works council and a mandatory safety committee.

German federal law on environmental protection against noxious substances (Bundes-Immissionsgezets) regulates the rights and duties of environmental protection officers who play an extensive monitoring role, but in so doing, find themselves caught up in a clash between the requirements of environmental protection and the short term interests of the company to economize. The view of IG Chemie is that, although they have a duty to teach workers and explain environmental issues to them, their co-operative link with the company's representatives has not been sufficiently regulated in the past. Consequently, the unions are demanding that they be obliged to cooperate closely with the workers and their representatives. Moreover, these demands are supported by opposition parties(the Greens, the Social Democrats, etc.)

The German environmental movement has been shaped by its unique development. As notions of class struggle became marginalized in German politics, ecologist started to become active in the green movement, viewing it as a potential avenue to social change. In the process, they often set their sights on the chemical industry. IG Chemie has resisted efforts to force its environmental activities into the narrow confines dictated by the green movement, as they tend to divorce environmental protection from the larger socio-economic context.

As a result of IG Chemie's sustained effort in the area of environmental protection, within the context of the prevailing social and economic conditions, high environmental standards have been established for the German chemical industry. IG Chemie would regard it as dangerous, therefore, if companies were allowed to shrink from their environmental responsibilities by moving or "spinning-off" aspects of their operations, especially if this also destroys opportunity for worker participation as established in the Declaration or collective bargaining. Companies which seek to escape trade union presence by relocating are counterproductive for both environmental protection and worker participation. Workers and companies in other countries where trade unions are weaker and environmental standards less stringent can be pressured into accepting unsustainable forms of production.

The 1987 Agreement: A New Dimension in Partnership

A milestone was reached on August 20, 1987, when chemical companies and the IG Chemie issued a declaration (Kommunique) which provides a framework for joint action towards sustainable development; Kommunique zwischen den Sozialpertnern Industriegewerkschaft Chemie Papier Keramik, Bundesarbeitgeberverband Chemie und Verband der Chemischen Industrie vom 20 August 1987

Fur Fortschritte beim Umweltschutz empowers works councils in the industry to conclude company agreements on environmental protection that extend the mandate of these councils, with more access to information on environmental questions and to a greater right to participation (even a measure of co-determination) in the following areas. Specific guidelines, and the extent to which rights are exercised is left to works council where each of the 60 works agreements have been negotiated to date (see "Company Works Agreements"):

1. Improved monitoring and examination of chemical substances; for over 100,000 in use, of which only 20,000 have been researched.
2. Increased duties and rights to the economic councils and health & safety committees of the companies including:
   • notice regarding licensing procedures and approval and safety analyses to comply with the hazardous incident ordinance;
   • notice of compliance with requirements of authorities concerning safety and environmental protection as well as legal provisions and regulations;
   • debate on environmental action to be taken when new product lines are introduced, as well as storage and transportation of hazardous substances, annual reports drawn up by company staff in charge of water, waste and emission protection, and training on environmental protection.
3. A joint body was set up by IG Chemie, the Federal Association of Employers in the Chemical Industry (Bundesarbeitgeberverband Chemie) and the Association of the Chemical Industry (Verband der Chemischen Industrie) called the Association for Informing Works Councils About Environmental Protection in the Chemical Industry (Gesellschaft zur Information von Betriebsraten uber Umweltschutz in der Chemischen Industrie) or GIBUCI.
   GIBUCI organizes joint information events to equip hundreds of employee members of works councils to participate in environmental decisions, particularly on economic councils. Information meetings lasting several days provide for information exchange and training. Information exchange is a priority for IG Chemie, as it enables works councils to monitor company decisions to establish whether they may have negative consequences for their members.
4. Although a strict legal framework is required to bring about sustainable development of future operations in this area, it must also safeguard against potential negative effects on innovation within the sector. Voluntary commitments by the chemical industry are a proven means of achieving this, because unlike stringent legal provisions, they provide companies with sufficient entrepreneurial leeway. As a result, voluntary commitment was explicitly identified as an objective of the Declaration.
5. In the Declaration, the signatories also acknowledge that contamination of the soil and waste deposits owing to past industrial production are problems that must be solved. In this context, IG Chemie calls for a uniform national solution, so that external costs do not unduly disadvantage either companies or workers.
6. Since improvement of environmental practices in the interests workers and their families is an ongoing process, it was agreed that all signatories would carry on talks with a view to making further contributions to promote sustainable development into the future.

The meaning of social partnership in German Industrial Relations

Although significant in its own right, the Declaration also added an environmental dimension to the tradition of social partnership in German industrial relations. It's meaning can only be grasped in the context of the "dual system of representation" that has developed in Germany, with the trade union on the one hand, and a directly-elected works council on the other.

Company Works AgreementsOctober 1994

At the centre of this system is the works council, formed to involve workers in the administration of company welfare on the basis of cooperation and integration. Works councils are elected by the entire body of employees. The union plays a key role in the nominating candidates for election to works councils. Meanwhile, the work done by the works councils are primarily governed by the Works Constitution Act (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz).

Consultation on important matters is mandatory. The employer must meet with the works council on a regular basis and cannot legally hire or dismiss an employee without consulting it, and must consult with it before any technological change is introduced.

Responsibility for occupational health and safety, and now the environment, is given to works' council, which designates a number of members to each function. They must consent to certain matters respecting health and safety before management can proceed with them, and must sign every written notification of workplace accidents before they are sent to the proper authorities. The works council is also involved in safety issues, especially where safety analysis and contingency plans could have an impact on the environment. As well, works councils may review management's record of compliance with legislation at quarterly meetings, and these may serve as the first step for grievances connected to health & safety issues.

Works councils have extensive authority regarding modifications in the workplace, including technical changes, installations, or changes to process, and may assert co-determination rights where these are in conflict with the latest technological findings. They also have co-determination rights in the area of vocational training, with the right to integrate environmental training at the company level.

Workers also serve on company economic councils. Management is obligated by law to consult this council about all economic matters; e.g., economic and financial condition, production and marketing, production and investment, introduction of new production methods, total or partial plant closures, etc.

The concept of social partnership extends to the board level, with works council electing representatives to a supervisory board that has extensive rights to receive from the management board comprehensive information on all issues relating to the operation of the company, and to request additional information where needed. It may also appoint or recall members to the management board. Finally, the social partnership concept has now been extended beyond national borders by the establishment of European Works Councils (EWC's) in accordance with a 1990 EU Directive for companies with substantial operations in two or more EU countries.

Collective Bargaining and Works Agreements

On the basis of information provided by the works councils, the bargaining committee of the IG Chemie determines a national bargaining strategy, which constitutes the starting point for bargaining between the trade union and employers' delegations Collective bargaining in the chemical industry starts in a pilot area (a federal state or "Land"). Agreements reached at this level the comprise the framework for conclusion of collective agreements that are generally adopted for the entire Federal Republic of Germany.

IG Chemie sees little point in forcing through environmental objectives within the context of collective bargaining. Attempts to do so could very quickly raise the wrong kind of questions, focusing attention on neo-liberal interests, such as offsetting material benefits with regard to wages and social security against environmental protection. The union views environmental action much more as an element of a program of complete economic and social restructuring, and believes that any change in production-related and consumer habits can entail improvements in the quality of life where they are most urgently needed; i.e., where people live and work. The underlying message is aimed at "community well-being", and in practical terms, involves society's and people's orientation toward the principle of solidarity in all areas of social life. Consequently, IG Chemie's strategy focuses on obtaining voluntary agreements from employers on matters related to environmental protection.

IG Chemie: The Path to Sustainable Development

IG Chemie began the evolution to its current program 19 years ago, with the establishment of its own Environmental Protection Department. It therefore regards the 1987 Declaration as the fruit of its consistent efforts for environmental protection. It is not the culmination of a process, but rather a chance for ensuring ongoing development - a process that is still continuing today.

Environmental Protection: IG Chemie's Position

The IG Chemie's position is that true environmental protection and sustainable development can only be achieved by continuing to develop our socio-economic system. This means more than replacing consumerism with an ethic based on satisfaction of needs. It also means the recognition that our global environment would not survive if the rest of the world were to try to secure the kind of lifestyle and the level of consumption that is customary in most industrialized nations.

A way of life that must remain out of reach for large portions of the world's population cannot be consistent with the goals of sustainable environmental and social development. This implies an extension of the concept of solidarity - a key concept underlying unions' survival - to the whole Planet, as a basis for everyone's survival. This "social pillar" is crucial to solving problem such as "eco-dumping"; if we fail to solve this problem, sustainable development will be impossible. Transnational companies (TNC's) may see the Third World as an ideal place to dump their products and residue of "unsustainable production", but workers can counter this by incorporating ideas of global solidarity into decisions affecting products and processes.

It also implies taking responsibility for future generations, especially those beyond the ones that today's workers are in actual contact with. However, any planning for sustainable development cannot succeed if it demands that people must give up their collective security today; e.g., through job loss. The "moral" message of the environment must be combined with "selfishness to achieve a workable plan.

Finally, environmental protection and occupational health & safety must be primarily the responsibility of workers and their representatives, as they (with their future generations) are the ones who pay the price for the failures caused by the decision-makers. It is up to the union to provide the impetus for employers and the politicians to make correct decisions, which is why the IG Chemie originally established an environment department.

Finally, IG Chemie interprets Agenda 21 in terms of sustainability of social structures; i.e., maintaining social controls, the integrity of neighborhoods, and necessitated proximity to social facilities. In the same way, it necessitated equitable remuneration and recognition in the labor market for everyone doing socially-useful work; e.g., running a home and raising children. It also means a realistic calculation of the true costs of industrial production.

The Responsible Care Program

The union took advantage of the chemical industry's latest initiative called "Responsible Care", to which all companies have signed, and which is based on the concept of responsible stewardship for all processes and products. IG Chemie drew up guidelines for action by works councils to enable an assessment of the implementation of the program in individual member companies. The questionnaires contained in them, Frangenkatalog zur Erfassung der Ist-Situation zur Beteiligung am Responsible Care Programm, which asked about the extent to which participation in the company's preventive program was occurring with respect to: hazard prevention, safety at work, environmental protection, water & waste water, burden of site pollution, hazardous substances, emissions, energy and water usage, safe transport of materials, and environmentally-safe products.

The Responsible Care Program is proving extremely worthwhile as an information exchange, and IG Chemie is hopeful that works council members from different industrial sites are learning the extent to which the program is actually being implemented and identifying where possibilities for worker participation are being realized. In this way, the IG Chemie is using an initiative originally intended as a promotional instrument for the industry to bring about an approximation of international environmental standards and standards of living. European Works Councils play a significant role here as well as providing another level of communication that can be utilized to enhance the transparency of company operations.

Mitgliedernahe Gewerkschaftsarbeit in Unweltschutz:
Environmental Spokesperson or Delegate

The latest innovation implemented by the IG Chemie on the basis provided by the 1987 Declaration is a program entitled Mitgliedernahe Gewerkschaftsarbeit in Unweltschutz, which is designed to instill a greater sense of responsibility for environmental protection in individual members and affiliates. To this end, a new cadre of union representative called "environmental spokesperson" or "environmental delegate" was created. The program eases the burden on works council members responsible for environmental matters and supplements their efforts to bring about environmental improvements in the workplace. Environmental delegates utilize the confidence of their fellow workers and their familiarity with the workplace to reinforce the importance of environmental issues within their companies.

This program is based on the belief that it is necessary to intensify the discussion of environmental policy, and that efforts to do so will prove all the more successful wherever employees are included in the debate. It views environmental protection as a global concept, and discussion must therefore include both corporate and social aspects.

For this reason, the subject of environmental protection is not only to be discussed with respect to companies. It must also include the discussion of regional and local networking, for we would be selling ourselves short indeed if we restricted the guiding principle behind sustainable development to the company level only.

Consequently, the inclusion of issues and problems external to the company are expressly called for in this initiative. Its most important objective is the more intensive involvement of workers in the question, "How can the working environment and living environment both be made healthier and more environmentally friendly?" It is expected that the interest of the workers in a general commitment to the environment will be consolidated as a result of this program.

What is more, to celebrate its centenary in 1991 the IG Chemie-Papier-Keramik (Chemical Paper and Ceramics Workers' Union) set up its own independent "Stiftung Arbeit und Umwelt" (Jobs and the Environment Foundation) - probably the only institution of its kind in the world so far. This foundation performs tasks in the area of "environmental policy and the modern industrial society" that do not fall directly within the scope of duties fulfilled by trade union representatives. The foundation issues publications and provides information on environmental issues, organizes meetings of experts and seminars and also promotes research projects and scientific work, among other things by awarding an annual environmental prize.

One of its main concerns is to extend the scope of the environmental audit, which has so far exclusively been limited to environmental considerations, to include primary factors capital and labor, thereby adapting this instrument to the tasks set with a view to a sustainable development that is compatible with our view of the future. Special emphasis in this context is placed on the ongoing development of socio-economic profit and loss accounts, which should provide the criteria for works councils to consider environmental and social matters. A second prime area of interest involves carrying out environmental audits or life-cycle analyses according to a participation-based concept that actively includes workers.

Agenda 21 Objectives and Lessons

The Declaration and the progress achieved under it illustrates how organizations that emphasize participation and communication in the workplace can make an important contribution to sustainable production practices. It provides a concrete illustration of Chapter 29 arguments that trade unions are "vital actors...in view of their experience in addressing industrial change, the extremely high priority they give to protection of the working environment and the related natural environment, and their promotion of socially responsible economic development." As well, an extensive membership provides channels through which the concepts of and practices of sustainable development can spread. Just as importantly, IG Chemie has reinforced the idea that trade unions should "participate in environment and development activities with the local community and promote joint action on potential problems of common concern.

Consistent with Chapter 4, IG Chemie is calling for an examination of production methods and consumption patterns to see where they are compatible with the principles of environmentally and socially sustainable development. In this respect, the Union is calling upon its members to develop concepts that reconcile environmental requirements with what is socially desired.

Chapter 6 (Protecting and Promoting Human Health) targets pollution from such sources as energy production and use, industry and transportation, central to IG Chemie's focus. It has altered the way that decisions have been made, as explained in Chapter 8 (Making Decisions for Sustainable Development), by making choices transparent to both producers and consumers.

IG Chemie recognizes that its industrial sector is responsible for polluting the atmosphere with greenhouse gases which produce climate change, and with chemicals as discussed in Chapter 9 and Chapter 20.

Consistent with the message of Chapter 23 that the commitment and genuine involvement of all groups in society is required to make sustainable development a reality, the Union has taken concrete steps to build broad public participation and demand for greater accountability. This includes information on products and activities that are likely to have an impact on the environment.

The 1987 Agreement is evidence of Chapter 30 (Business and Industry), as the chemical industry in Germany has clearly responded to the challenge of sustainable development within a system of social partnership that fosters openness and dialogue with employees and the public.

Finally, in their research and practices, the workplace partners recognize the role of Scientists and Technology as provided in Chapter 31. They have also made significant progress towards the education and training that is needed to provide the required ethical awareness and attitudes, as well as technical skills and behavior. This is done in a context of a program which highlights not just the physical and biological environment, but also the socioeconomic aspects of development as provided in Chapter 36 (Education, Training and Sustainable Development).

Members of IG Chemie contribute financially for the right to belong to a union that is taking a leading role in promoting sustainable development. They take seriously the concept of social responsibility, as they proved in 1995 when they agreed to take a pay cut of 10 per cent in collectively agreed wages in return for a company guarantee to create new jobs in order to reintegrate chronically-unemployed people into the labor market. Companies agreed because they knew that these demands were backed by union solidarity - the key to all union activity.

For further information contact

Bernd Heins
Leiter der Abt. Umweltschutz
beim Hauptvorstand der IG Chemie-Papier-Keramik
Konigsworther Platz 6
D-30167 Hannover, Federal Republic of Germany
tel: 49-511-763-10 fax: 49-511-183-36