Employers representing all 25 coun-tries of the Central and Eastern European and Central Asian regions have been invited to Geneva for the last three days of May.

The Team's Employer Specialist, Björn Grünewald, has assisted with preparations for the Round Table and explains the importance of assessing developments after the first few years of transition efforts: How are employers organised and represented? How do their organisations function and develop? Have employers' organisations been able to take place on the national scene? How are the relations with workers' organisations developing? With governments? What roles are employers able to play in representing the enterprises? How is the role of independent organisations of employers and workers understood and supported, and the principles of tripartism com-prehended - in business circles, amongst the general public, in the media and in political circles? Have the employers experienced any discrimi-nation, any fiscal and other constraints, or met particular difficulties in trying to assume position as spokesmen for their business communities?

The answers to these and other questions, and the opportunities to discuss respective national experiences, are critically important for the employers' organisations concerned in formulating their strategic objectives. It is of equal importance to the ILO in focussing its Active Partnership Policies throughout the region, and for the design of ILO and bilateral Techical Assistance projects for the next biennium. BG