On 30 November 2022, Ceemet welcomed Employers’ Federations from EU Central, Eastern and candidate countries in Bratislava for the EAST22 event to showcase the benefits of a strong EU representation. Ceemet currently has a broad membership, representing 16 EU countries, as well as the United Kingdom, Norway, Turkey and Australia. This event allowed Ceemet members to exchange views with representatives from the Slovak Republic, Macedonian, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Estonia, Latvia, Serbia and Montenegro.
The ongoing crises which are affecting the MET industries have a direct impact on our neighbour countries and their companies, which in turn, in our interconnected manufacturing supply chains, affects other European companies. Moreover, many European industries are located in neighbouring countries and in particular in the EU candidate countries. The recent crises and the war in Ukraine reinforced the need for the European Union to work closer with its neighbours. This has also shone a light on the need for the members of Ceemet to further engage with Employers Federations from across Europe.
Ceemet’s mission is to effectively represent, promote and defend the interests of the metal, engineering and technology-based (MET) industries with all relevant EU stakeholders in matters primarily related to employment and social affairs as well as industrial policies. Given the interconnected nature of our industries, and the importance of trade between our companies, the political and regulatory decisions taken by the decision-makers and institutional representations of the European Union have a direct impact on MET sector employers in neighbouring countries.
During the EAST22 event, Andriana Sukova, Deputy Director-General – Directorate-General Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion and Jorg Tagger, Head of Unit on Social Dialogue at the European Commission explained the joint activities between Ceemet and that EU institution. As a social partner, Ceemet plays a key role in socio-economic governance. Indeed, social partners are involved in many important aspects of the world of work, including working conditions, and based on European social dialogue, conduct negotiations on behalf of their members. Ceemet has, for example, participated in numerous projects proposed by the European institutions, in particular for the promotion of workers’ adaptability, lifelong learning and training opportunities. Ceemet is also involved in the dissemination of best practices regarding health & safety, labour shortages, apprenticeships, collective bargaining, etc.
EAST22 was the opportunity for the invited federations to present their social dialogue systems at national level with Jorg Tagger and Ceemet members. They also discussed the future EU Commission projects as Andriana Sukova described, in detail, via the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework, the several programmes hosted by the European social fund. Ceemet aims to be a forum for dialogue for the MET industries’ employers. The association allows them to benefit from free exchanges of information on the difficulties encountered and the good practices implemented of each member at national level and to bring concrete solutions at European level.