CROSS-BORDER SOCIAL DIALOGUE AND AGREEMENTS: An ...

Cross-border social dialogue and agreements
capacities, notably capacity-building projects for employers’ organizations
and for workers (ILO, 2004e). The ILO’s Bureau for Employers’
Activities (ACTEMP) and the Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV)
take an active part in this kind of project, which often takes the form of
training activities for the constituents of each group. The international
training centre of the ILO in Turin runs a programme both for employers’
and workers’ activities. Globalization, CSR and fundamental labour
rights have been among the most topical issues during training sessions
for both employers’ and workers’ organizations in the last few years (ILO,
2006c).
The programme for employers’ activities at the Turin centre offers
training and services in diverse areas that include capacity building, occupational
health and safety, business development, CSR, productivity and
industrial relations. 28 Some of the most recent events organized by
ACTEMP have also revolved around globalization and CSR. 29 These
subjects are very closely linked with IFAs, and therefore, information on
the accords could theoretically be disseminated during employers’ training
activities. In practice, the priorities of capacity-building projects for
employers’ organizations are determined in consultation with ACTEMP
or employers’ organizations in the countries concerned by specific technical
assistance programmes. ACTEMP has close links with the IOE,
which has a somewhat cautious approach to IFAs (IOE, 2004). Nevertheless,
the IOE has published an employers’ guide to IFAs, and this in
itself denotes a certain interest on the part of employers to be informed
on the issue (IOE, 2004). The guide, however, puts more emphasis on
the enterprises’ concerns about the instrument than on the added value
that the accords bring to the signatory enterprises. This raises the question
of whether the use of this guide in training sessions would make
employers wary about signing an agreement.
ACTRAV carries out an important programme of workers’ education
activities on general subjects as well as issues of specific interest, to
strengthen the capacity of workers’ organizations to take part in the development
process at country level and to attain decent work goals at the
national, regional and sectoral levels (ILO, 2004e, paras. 12-13). For
these activities, it receives assistance from the ILO’s Turin training centre,
28
ILO, International Training Centre, Employers’ activities. Available at: http://www.itcilo.it/pub/
page_main.php?VersionID=2&ContentTypeID=102 [5 Mar. 2007].
29
Bureau for Employers’ Activities, ILO, Recent events. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/actemp/conf/reevent.htm
[28 Jan. 2008].
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