13 December, 2013During the course of two days IndustriALL Global Union signed as many Global Framework Agreements (GFAs) with leading companies in the pulp and paper industry; SCA in Sweden and Norske Skog in Norway.
On 9 December Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union, met with Jan Johansson, CEO of SCA to renew the GFA between SCA, IndustriALL and Swedish trade union Pappers.
The first GFA with SCA was signed in 2004 and has since been renewed every second year. The latest version of the GFA is more dynamic and meets current requirements in line with the decisions from the Frankfurt conference on GFAs. The revised agreement lists fundamental conventions and ILO guidelines principles, the basis of the relationship between employers and employees. It also covers the issues of working-time and compensation for overtime, as well as a principle of equality towards all employees; permanent, part-time or contract staff.
On 10 December, a GFA was signed between IndustriALL, Norwegian trade union Fellesforbundet and Norske Skog, Norway’s largest paper manufacturer. The agreement states Norske Skog’s compliance with and respect for human and trade union rights, and a commitment to promote these rights in its supply chain and with its customers.
Jyrki Raina, general secretary of IndustriALL says:
“GFAs show that companies can do socially responsible business, and IndustriALL would like to see these kinds of agreements as an industry standard.”