The Arab Trade Union Confederation (ATUC) organized in Algiers from 13 to 18 March 2022 a series of bipartite workshops under the second phase of the SOLiD programme at the National Institute for Research and Trade Union Studies in Algiers, with the participation of representatives of trade unions, civil society, and employers such as the Algerian Confederation of Producers and Industrialists, the General Confederation of Employers, and the Algerian Confederation of Employers Citizens.
Mr. Salim Labatcha, Secretary General of the General Union of Algerian Workers, said in his opening speech: "The project of the social dialogue program in the southern Mediterranean, SOLiD in its second phase, will be an opportunity to build paths to promote social dialogue and expand it to all actors, by grouping participating groups in pairs consisting of representatives of trade unions, employers and civil society. These working groups will work together for five days to implement practical workshops, a decisive step to have realistic actions, based on concrete proposals in the form of an official document that will allow to face future threats".
The representative of BUSINESSMED said: "we must focus on what unites and reconciles us to overcome the current crises, and work to make this program a success, as it aims to advance the economy and the situation of workers and employers in each of the target countries. He praised the first phase of the project and the efforts made, and the way in which three groups composed of civil society, employers and trade unions were formed, in addition to the participation of experts in the formation of these groups.”
Dr. Ahmin Shafir, an expert and economic advisor, supervised the workshops of the program, where he presented a rich seminar in which he highlighted the basic concepts of development and sustainable development and its objectives in view of the threats facing the world and the danger of environmental degradation that must be overcome, without neglecting the needs of economic development and equality and social justice.
Participants were divided into four bilateral groups, each with a social, economic, institutional, and environmental dimension to the work on the Sustainable Development Goals. The sessions ended with recommendations and various proposals that will be included in the final version of the draft charter for advancing social dialogue for sustainable economic development. The activities of workshops were closed by the distribution of certificates of participation to the participants.
