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Having met in Geneva from 25 February to 1 March 2002;
Adopts this first day of March 2002 the following conclusions:
General considerations
1. Structural change is likely to continue throughout the oil and gas industries and affect many aspects of the sector, including industrial relations. Based on past experience, industrial relations are likely to become more complex as the industry strives to deliver its products and services at optimum cost and with the least environmental and social impact.
2. Good industrial relations that take account of different needs, cultures and practices are an essential component of industrial, economic and social stability at national, regional and international levels. Social dialogue, at different levels as appropriate, can play an important role in improving industrial relations. It should take place at the appropriate decision-making level and involve the social partners.
3. National and regional agreements and voluntary global accords between the parties concerned can play a role in improving industrial relations.
Industrial relations elements and issues
4. The enterprise is generally the appropriate starting point for developing good industrial relations, which should be developed at all levels At all these levels, good industrial relations are underpinned by common interests and effective and open communication between the parties. Information should be provided in a timely and effective manner within the constraints of the laws and regulations.
5. Knowledge of and adherence to national laws and agreements are fundamental to good, consistent industrial relations policies, practices and outcomes.
6. Although there are national variations in law, improvements in industrial relations can be achieved when full account is taken of the core ILO standards, notably the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98). The ILO's core standards lay the foundation for decent work around the world and are an important element in improving industrial relations.
7. Experience has shown that legislation, voluntary framework agreements and codes of practice have contributed to creating and supporting good industrial relations. Therefore, these options should be explored and, where appropriate, developed.
8. In countries where governments are involved in the oil and gas sector, they should contribute positively to the promotion of good industrial relations. Mergers and acquisitions
9. The question of providing information in advance of mergers and acquisitions is often constrained by law or commercial considerations. Workers' representatives on company boards or works councils are also constrained by their duties. Having regard to these constraints, companies should have a clear communications strategy and should keep workers and their representatives fully informed about the process at the proper time.
10. Workers should not have to learn about important developments that affect them through the media. Information should be provided and comprehensive consultations at the appropriate level should take place with workers and their representatives as soon as possible in the process. Effective means of communications should be used to inform all concerned.
11. The effects of any corporate restructuring should be managed through social dialogue, including with a successor company, if one exists, especially in the time between the public announcement of the intention and the actual conclusion of a deal.
12. Where reductions in the workforce are likely as a result of corporate restructuring, appropriate measures should be put in place according to good industrial relations practices to protect, as far as possible, workers' rights and interests.
13. Safety and health are two important issues, particularly when mergers and acquisitions are being considered. Timely and comprehensive information on safety and health issues is the key to ensuring that they are dealt with in a structured way and are not compromised.
Promoting good industrial relations in contracting companies
14. The independence of contractors and subcontractors should be respected. In some countries, the principal employer has certain obligations regarding contractors and subcontractors, including being legally responsible for safety and health. However, in other countries, the contractors and subcontractors are legally responsible for safety and health. Governments should assure that companies' safety management systems make clear how safety responsibility is divided; responsibility for the overall safety management system should rest with the operator.
15. As regards occupational safety and health, which should never be compromised, the principal employer has the overall responsibility to ensure that workers in contracting and subcontracting companies have the appropriate training and access to the appropriate information in order to perform the tasks they are contracted for on the employer's premises.
16. The principal employer should provide contractors and subcontractors with its own standards or code of conduct on safety and health and workers' rights. A best practice for adherence to the above by the contractor could be included in the tendering process.
Frameworks and institutions for social dialogue
17. Social dialogue is the process of exchanging information and viewpoints with the purpose of fostering mutual understanding that might result in better industrial relations and/or negotiations.
18. Having regard to the diversity of frameworks and institutions for social dialogue and the extent to which it equates to negotiation, the social partners should establish at the outset an agreed basis for their interaction, the issues for discussion and the nature of the outcome. ILO standards offer guidance in this respect.
19. Social dialogue requires competent social partners and effective mechanisms. Workers engaging in social dialogue, whatever their qualifications and responsibilities, should be protected from discrimination and victimization.
Managing change in the environment of social dialogue
20. The closer to the workplace social dialogue is undertaken, the clearer and more specific the issues generally are and the more concrete the outcomes are likely to be. Nonetheless, since social dialogue takes place at different levels - national, sectoral, enterprise - according to national and local circumstances, it needs to be established and promoted adequately at each one in order to foster greater understanding of the process by those concerned.
21. The principles of collective bargaining and the right to organize facilitate the process of managing changes in how social dialogue is undertaken; they should be respected.
Training for industrial relations practitioners
22. Governments, employers' and workers' organizations have a common interest in training and retraining for promoting industrial relations and social dialogue in the oil and gas production and oil-refining industries.
23. Training should be provided to workers and their organizations involved in mergers and/or acquisitions, to manage sensitive information and build trust between the social partners.
24. Training in human resources practices and supervisory skills, especially at middle-management level, should be broadened and intensified, particularly where structural changes are occurring.
25. Because collective bargaining is important in industrial relations, the social partners should improve their negotiating skills.
26. There is a need for more training on ILO standards, labour laws and regulations pertaining to industrial relations. Governments, employers' and workers' organizations should share their experiences and practices in this regard.
27. Recognizing the ILO code of practice HIV/AIDS and the world of work, there is a vital need for education and training to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Governments, employers' and workers' organizations should cooperate, drawing lessons from activities in other sectors, such as mining, in programmes of education, prevention, treatment and care.
28. Continued efforts should be made to increase training and retraining in relation to hazardous chemicals and other safety and health risks in this industry.
ILO activities
29. In cooperation with the social partners concerned, the ILO should collect and disseminate examples of good industrial relations practices and outcomes, particularly in relation to corporate restructuring, and information on good safety and health practices and results.
30. The ILO should use its expertise to facilitate access to the necessary skills and resources to impart the training referred to above, particularly training trainers and assisting workers' representatives and, where appropriate, employers and government officials, to improve their negotiating skills, deal with HIV/AIDS, multicultural situations, mergers and acquisitions. National, regional and/or international seminars or workshops should be organized to achieve these objectives.
31. The ILO should promote ongoing dialogue on social issues between governments and representative employers' and workers' organizations.
32. The ILO should explore mechanisms to strengthen the understanding of and support to all the principles of the Global Compact throughout the industry.
33. The ILO should examine ways to strengthen its work and programmes that promote social dialogue in the oil and gas sector in the workplace, at international, regional and national level.
Updated by AV. Approved by YK/CDH. Last update:12 February 2003.