Press Release
François Biltgen: “Partnership through globalisation"

Date of release : 11-03-2005

Policy area : Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs

On the occasion of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the European Union, François Biltgen, the Minister for Labour, in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO), organised a conference on aspects relating to "Unity Beyond Differences: The need for an integrated Labour inspection system", and more specifically, "Partnership though globalisation". This conference was held on 10 and 11 March at Mondorf-les- Bains in Luxembourg.

The globalisation of the economy is changing the way individuals work and the hazards they have to face. These changes in working life need an integrated approach, merging the traditional technical and medical with the social, psychological, economical and legal areas.

Globalization requires an increased need for creative and holisticapproaches, taking into account the changes in the world of work and the emergence of new risks. The traditional relations between government and industry and services have to be adapted to this environment. In the same way, the role and the activities of the labour inspectoratewill haveto be reshaped.

This Conference, attended by 200 delegates from 75 countries, thus addressed all actors in the area of safety, health andwellbeing at work. The focus was on the creation of synergies between all parties involved as well as on the exchange of information and experiences with regard to good practice.

During its Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Luxembourg,together with the International Labour Organization (ILO), provided a platform for exchange of experiences between government and social partners with regard to the role of the inspection services.

The objective of the Mondorf-les-Bains Conference was to build effective, relevant and enlightened policies to drive foward an action plan towards the implementation of an integrated Labour inspection system. During the two days Conference, examples of good practice with regard to the development of an integrated labour inspection system at the national level and at the company level were presented.

The objective of the Conference was to raise the European and world-wide level of consciousness of the social dimension, to be equality footed with economy, finance and environmental protection in a holistic approach.