MINUTES OF THE PRESIDENCY OFFICE MEETING
The Presidency Office of the Friuli Venezia Giulia/Veneto/South-Western Croatia CGIL, CISL, UIL, SSSH Interregional Trade Union Council met on 10th October 2008 in Trieste, at the headquarters in via Polonio 5.
Attending members: Luca Visentini (UIL Friuli Venezia Giulia), Elvio Di Lucente (CISL Friuli Venezia Giulia, replaced by Lorenzo Garziera due to his resignation), Jadranka Tomašić (SSSH South-Western Croatia), Slobodan Kapor (SSSH SSSH South-Western Croatia) and Josip Šišović (SSSH SSSH South-Western Croatia).
Absent on leave: Roberto Treu (CGIL Friuli Venezia Giulia), Emilio Viafora (CGIL Veneto) and Ivica Perinić (SSSH South-Western Croatia).
Other attending person: Michele Berti (UIL Friuli Venezia Giulia), as minute-taker.
Agenda of the Presidency Office meeting:
- Confirmation of the vacant member of IR.T.U.C. General Assembly;
- Workshop on the comparison between collective bargaining in the iron and steel sector and between restructuring strategies in the shipbuilding sector in Italy and in Croatia;
- Participation of IR.T.U.C. to the E.T.U.C. project on collective bargaining and cross-border cooperation;
- Assessment of the draft survey on collective bargaining in the iron and steel sector and between restructuring strategies in the shipbuilding sector in Italy and in Croatia;
- Convocation of the General Assembly meeting;
- Planning of 2009 activities;
- Any other business.
At 11.34, Luca Visentini, acting as President, opened and chaired the meeting of the Presidency Office. The President asked members if they agreed to start from item n. 4 of the agenda. No objections were raised and the proposal is approved.
4. The draft survey on the comparison between collective bargaining in the iron and steel sector and restructuring strategies in the shipbuilding sector in Italy and in Croatia was presented; the survey was conducted by Andrea Valenti, especially appointed to this end. A short debate was held and in the end the draft was approved. Colleagues of SSSH South-Western Croatia pointed out that, concerning the part on restructuring strategies in the shipbuilding sector, new texts may be released in the following weeks both from the Croatian government and from trade unions. With a view to ensuring a comprehensive survey, these texts should be integrated in the CD-rom of the survey. Text may be integrated within a deadline – mid-November – and after that the technical process for the production of the CD-rom would no longer allow any update, as the CD-rom has to be handed out at the workshop under point 2.
1. As announced in the previous meeting of the Presidency Office, members of SSSH South-Western Croatia confirmed they had appointed the remaining member of the General Assembly. His name is Mladen Milanović, from the trade union of the tourist sector in the Istria County, whose appointment was confirmed.
2. A proposal was put forward to hold an annual workshop for half a day on the collective bargaining in the iron and steel sector and restructuring strategies in the shipbuilding in Italy and Croatia in a Croatian city, perhaps Vrsar. During the workshop the survey under point 4. will be presented and a debate will be held between trade unions of IR.T.U.C. A proposal was put forward to hold the General Assembly meeting under 5. on the same day or on the day before the workshop. A proposal was put forward to hold another workshop – within the project under point 3. for which E.T.U.C. recently announced that the European Commission was prepared to grant a financing to the 7 IR.T.U.C.s involved (Friuli Venezia Giulia/Veneto/South-West Croatia inluded) – the day after or the day before the workshop under point 4. The Presidency Office unanimously approved the proposals. Members of SSSH South-Western Croatia were given the task to find a hotel with a conference hall for the workshop and the necessary equipment for simultaneous translation.
3. E.T.U.C. announced that the European Commission approved a financing for the 7 IR.T.U.C.s taking part to the project “Collective Bargaining – Cooperation in Border Areas”. This project involved 7 IR.T.U.C.s and will take place in two parts. The first part includes 7 workshops in the 7 European border areas where the 7 IR.T.U.C.s are based, to be held within 31st January 2009. One representative from E.T.U.C. and at least 20 representatives from each IR.T.U.C. will be attending. The second part includes a final workshop at the E.T.U.C. headquarters in Brussels on the debate of the results from regional workshops. As for the Friuli Venezia Giulia/Veneto/South-Western Croatia CGIL, CISL, UIL, SSSH IR.T.U.C., considering that it was difficult to organise an additional workshop in a short time, in addition to the workshop under point 2., it was suggested to implement these events in two consecutive days so as to ensure the highest attendance. The suggested dates were: Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd December 2008, so as the E.T.U.C. Confederal Secretary may be attending. Walter Cerfeda was not available for the following days (4th and 5th December) as he will attend the meeting of E.T.U.C. Executive Committee. Luca Visentini, who will go to Brussels in the next few days for a meeting of the E.T.U.C. Economic and Employment Committee, was asked to check whether Mr Cerfeda will be available. As for the topic of the workshop, a proposal was put forward to present the work done by IR.T.U.C. over the years, on the comparison of collective bargaining in the credit sector, in the textile sector and in the trade sector in Italy and in Croatia, and to debate again the topic of legal cross-border employment between Italy and Croatia. The Presidency Office unanimously approved the proposal.
5. In the light of what was decided in point 2., the final date for the General Assembly meeting will be notified as soon as the final dates of workshops will be set. The colleague from the Friuli Venezia Giulia section of CISL was reminded that a substitute for Lorenzo Garziera – who resigned – must be appointed for the Presidency Office and for the General Assembly so that the appointment may be confirmed in the next meeting of the General Assembly.
6. As for IR.T.U.C. 2009 activities, the following proposals were put forward and they will be debated and approved at the next General Assembly meeting:
- a comparison of the collective bargaining in the agricultural and food sector or, as an alternative, in the tourism sector in Italy and in Croatia with a final workshop;
- a survey on the present status of the EU membership negotiations with Croatia, considering that 2009 could be the year before the actual membership;
- a study on a draft bilateral agreement between Italy and Croatia on frontier work.
The Presidency Office unanimously approved the proposals.
7. No requests to take the floor were made on this last item of the agenda.
As no requests to take the floor were made, Luca Visentini officially closed the meeting of the General Assembly at 13.00.
The minute-taker
Michele Berti