The 4th Standing Conference of the European Metal Industry Unions, the first 3 of which were held in Turkey and organised jointly by the Italian Metal Union FIM-CISL, the Italian Trade Union Development Association Sindnova and the Turkish Metal Union, was held in Naples, Italy on 12-13 April 2023 with the main theme of ‘Quality of Work in the Face of Industrial Transformations in the Mediterranean Region’.
The conference started with the evaluations of Barbara Arsieni, International Relations Officer of FIM-CISL, Emilio Gabaglio, President of SindNova and Yücel Top, Coordinator of the Standing Conference of European Mediterranean Metal Industry Unions, on the content and purpose of the conference. In the opening part of the meeting, a moment of silence was observed for the citizens who lost their lives in the earthquakes that occurred in our country on 6 February.
The opening speeches of the conference were delivered by Roberto Benaglia, International Secretary General of FIM-CISL and Uysal Altundağ, former Vice President and current President of Turkish Metal Union. Starting his speech by conveying the greetings and success wishes of the late Turkish Metalworkers' Union President Pevrul Kavlak to the participants, Altundağ expressed his pleasure to take part in the traditional meeting, which was held for the 4th time. Referring to the fact that the Euro-Mediterranean Standing Conference has been bringing together trade unions operating in the metal industry in Southern Europe and the countries bordering the Mediterranean for about 10 years, Vice President Altundağ continued his words as follows: ‘Although we have different trade union backgrounds and each of us carries out our activities according to different dynamics in our own countries, the factors that bring us together are the same everywhere and in every country. The problems of us, those who live off their labour, are common all over the world. All over the world, labourers are struggling with economic crises, poor working conditions without job security, low wage policies and income injustice created by global capitalism. All over the world, they struggle for better working and living conditions against those who want to destroy their acquired rights. And we will not succeed if we are alone in this struggle. So, the only thing we have in the face of these problems is our unity, the unity of the working class.’
Pointing out that different issues have been discussed in the four meetings held so far, Altundağ said that this is due to the fact that the working class is constantly confronted with new negativities, new areas of struggle and new obstacles, ‘Therefore, we, as unions, must strive to act together. In this way, we can improve our working conditions and living conditions. We can offer our children a more livable world.’
Referring to the issue of transformation, which was on the agenda of the conference, Vice President Altundağ said, ‘Transformation will not affect only a single sector. We are talking about a transformation that has the capacity to affect the whole world and can even change the export balances in the world. In fact, when we say transformation, we are talking about a long journey that is not only limited to economic balances, but also has the power to change environmental policies, social relations and urbanisation. We cannot overcome this process, which is rapidly taking centre stage in our lives, alone. Together, we should look for ways to overcome the problems that the new era will bring. We must seize the opportunities that present themselves and be ready to protect and expand the rights of the working class. Only in this way can we look to the future with hope and build a livable world together.’
Following the opening speeches, the first panel of the day was organised under the title ‘The State of Economic and Industrial Relations between the European Union and the Mediterranean’. The panel was followed by speeches on the situation of the metal sector in the Mediterranean basin. The second panel of the day was entitled ‘How Does Collective Bargaining Work in Times of Crisis?’. In the panel chaired by IndustriALL Europe Deputy Secretary General Isabelle Barthes, Vice President Uysal Altundağ made a presentation on the activities of the Turkish Metal Union on the subject. The topic of the last panel of the day was ‘Strategies for Revitalising Industry and Creating Employment in the Mediterranean Region in Times of Crisis’. Yücel Top, the Coordinator of the Conference, made the closing speech of the day and made an evaluation of the first day's activities. On the first day, which was well attended and the programme was intense, Vice President Uysal Altundağ answered questions about the activities of the Turkish Metal Union and working life in our country in interviews with Italian TGR TV and Ansa TV.
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On the second day of the 4th Euro-Mediterranean Permanent Conference of Metal Unions, two panels titled ‘Focusing on the Automotive Sector in the Mediterranean Region’ and ‘The Role of Social Dialogue in Industrial Relations in Times of Crisis’ were held. In the first panel of the day, IEMF Secretary General Murat Salar made evaluations on the automotive sector in Turkey. In the second panel of the day and the last panel of the Conference, Orçun Sarıca, TOFAŞ Human Resources and Industrial Relations Director, made statements about the transformation and new production plans at TOFAŞ after the Stellantis Automotive Group, which was established after the merger of Fiat Chrysler with the PSA Group. In his presentation, Orçun also briefly mentioned the successes achieved in TOFAŞ's joint work with the Turkish Metal Union. FIM-CISL International Relations Officer Barbara Arsieni read the final declaration of the conference.
