Background

Chemical and pharmaceutical industry has a relatively high environmental footprint, through its use of natural resources, the emission of greenhouse gases and the generation of contaminants, in particular through waste water. Acknowledging the adverse impact on the quality of working and living conditions and the unsustainable level of emissions, the industry has begun making efforts to reduce emissions and control pollution, whilst at the same time securing workers’ health and improving its overall contribution to the quality of the environment.

To step up these efforts, all stakeholders should be involved to design and implement pathways for sustainable development. For workers engaged in the industry, the challenge is how to ensure a Just Transition that creates more decent work (protection of employment, reskilling and upskilling for replacement and gender-responsive policy, etc) whilst limiting the adverse impact on the environment. In this process, the ILO “Guidelines for a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all” provide a highly relevant policy framework and practical tool for structuring the discussions, actions and investments for the transition.

Under the project “Making Just Transition work though stronger workers’ organizations in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry”, a capacity building workshop will be jointly organized by ILO, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) and Vietnam National Union of Workers in Industry and Trade (VUIT) in Ho Chi Minh City on 27-28 February 2023, with the participation of trade unions in southern Viet Nam in chemical industry. The capacity building workshop will include a site visit to a chemical industry enterprise in the surrounding areas to enhance practical understanding of Just Transition issues on the ground.

Objectives

• Raise the awareness of the partner unions of the ILO Just Transition Guidelines and build their capacity to engage in social dialogue at enterprise/factory level to ensure the industry’s compliance to environmental and occupational safety and health requirements and promote a just transition.
• Build the capacity of the partner unions to use new knowledge in formulating union strategies and priority actions to promote green jobs and a just transition of the chemical industry in Viet Nam.
• Identify pilot enterprises, mobilize and strengthen the capacity of local unions for the project participation and implementation.

Modality

Venue: Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

Working language:  English/Vietnamese

Interpretation/translation: Simultaneous interpretation will be made available for participants during the training session. Consecutive translation will be available during site visit.

For further information please contact:

Pong-Sul Ahn
Regional Specialist in Workers' Education
ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Email: ahn@ilo.org

Eric Roeder
ILO Technical Specialist on Green Jobs, Climate Action and Resilience through Just Transition - Asia Pacific Region
Email: roeder@ilo.org