English

Box 2.1. Collective agreements and collective bargaining
Collective agreements means all agreements in writing regarding working conditions
and terms of employment concluded between an employer, a group of employers or one
or more employers’ organizations, on the one hand, and one or more representative
workers’ organizations, or, in the absence of such organizations, the representatives of
the workers duly elected and authorized by them in accordance with national laws and
regulations, on the other.
Source: ILO Collective Agreements Recommendation (R91) - 1951
Collective bargaining serves a dual purpose. It provides a means of determining the
wages and conditions of work applying to the group of workers covered by the ensuing
agreement through free and voluntary negotiations between the two independent parties
concerned. It also enables employers and workers to define by agreement the rules
governing their relationship.
Collective bargaining takes place between an employer, a group of employers or one or
more employers’ organizations on the one hand and one or more workers’ organizations
on the other. It may take place at many different levels, with one level sometimes
complementing the other: a unit within an enterprise, enterprise level, sectoral, regional
and national level.
Source: www.ilo.org/public/spanish/dialogue/themes/cb.htm
Occupational health and environmental protections are two sides of the
same coin. This section presents a number of steps to follow to prevent
occupational and environmental risks in the workplace, related to the exposure to
chemical products and substances. The final objective is to provide advice to
workers’ representatives, business and industry, as well as other social actors
involved in preventing adverse health and safety effects in the workplace.
The main objectives are the:
• Identification of chemical risk situations and problems in the workplace;
• Evaluation of the problems, in terms of priority and importance, to
determine the type of preventive action;
• Promotion of concrete prevention practices;
• Enhancement of workers’ participation.
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