Leather is my Job ! wins European Commission support for a follow-up phase

After a highly successful first project on the promotion of jobs in the EU leather industry, COTANCE and industriAll are happy to announce that a follow-up project will be rolled out throughout 2016 and half 2017.

The objectives of this second initiative mainly focus on enlarging and deepening the results achieved.

“The feedback received from the industry in Europe to our first project, both from workers and businesses, was so encouraging that we did not hesitate to pursue our objectives further in the field,” said the EU social partners of the leather industry at their kick-off meeting.

They also reported positive reactions from extra-EU sources and from leather value chain partners. “This is highly encouraging,” said Mr Luc Triangle, Deputy General Secretary of industriAll-European Trade Union, “as it denotes that we are on the right track in the social dialogue of our sector.” COTANCE’s Secretary General,  Mr Gustavo Gonzalez-Quijano, added “I am very pleased that through this initiative, Luc and I bring Europe closer to the leather businesses and workers who many not always see all that is done at EU level in support of the industry.”

This second Leather is my Job! Project will bring together the sectoral trade associations and/or trade unions from: France, Germany, Bulgaria, Spain, Portugal, the UK, Romania, Sweden, Italy, Austria, and Hungary.

Activites developed at national level will focus on open-days in tanneries, visits to schools, contact with employment agencies, participation in job fairs, etc. A meeting of all project partners schedules for March 2016 will look at the national initiatives and decide on the definitive activities to be performed.

EU social partners are also going to reach out for other sector’s organisations not yet involved and offer them the possibilities to engage in the initiative. COTANCE and industriAll-ETU are particularly thinking of central and Eastern leather industry actors to allow them to join the collective endeavour for the sake of the image of leather and the promotion of its potential as a career option for people, notably young entrants into the labour market who can find quality jobs in Europe.

Brussels, December 2015

Project social media:
https://www.facebook.com/leather.is.my.job/