Mr. Kris De Meester

Senior Advisor, Federation of Enterprises, Belgium 

Kris De Meester (°1966) is first adviser at the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium covering the field of health and safety at work as well as international social affairs. He holds a degree in chemical and agricultural engineering (University of Leuven 1989) as well as a master in business administration (University Louvain-La-Neuve 1990) and special degrees in environmental sciences and safety and health at work.

He is the employer’s group spokesperson in the European Commission’s Advisory Committee on Safety and Health at Work. He is the chairman of the Health and Safety working group of BusinessEurope, the Union of Industrial and Employers Confederations of Europe. He is also co-chairing the IOE (International Organization of Employers) Taskforce on the Future of Work.

Kris is a member of the governing board and the bureau of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA Bilbao), the governing board of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Dublin), the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization (ILO Geneva), the Governing Body of the International Training Centre of the ILO in Turin, the GOSH (Global OSH network of the International Organisation of Employers), the National Council for Prevention and Protection at Work in Belgium and the National Council the Protection against Fire and Explosion in Belgium.

He is also CEO of the organization Contractor Safety Management that operates B2B contractor safety management schemes in Belgium (BeSaCC: Belgian Safety Criteria for Contractors and VCA-SCC: Safety health and environment Checklist Contractors) with approximately 3000 certified companies and 100.000 workers and supervisors trained on a yearly base. 

Sessions


10:05 - 10:50 am EDT / 14:05 – 14:50 pm UTC / 16:05 – 16:50 pm CEST
The changing world of work and COVID-19

The employment impacts of COVID-19 in many nations have been sharp and deep, while in others they have been less severe. In all nations COVID-19 can be seen to be shaping the future world of work. In this session, panelists will describe scenarios for the pace of global employment recovery, look at the future of work organization and the growth and impact of remote working arrangements, prevention measures for essential workers, the importance of social security protections, and policy reforms that may emerge in the post-pandemic period.

Panelists:
Dr. Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed, CEO, Social Security Organisation, Malaysia
Mr. Aminur Rashid-Repon Chowdhury, Executive Director, Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation, Bangladesh
Mr. Kris De Meester, Senior Advisor, Federation of Enterprises, Belgium
Dr. Viviana Gómez Sánchez, President, Latin-American Association of Occupational Health, Costa Rica
Mr. Phillip Germain, Chief Executive Officer, Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board, Canada
Dr. Elizabeth Lungu-Nkumbula, Board Chairperson, ENVIS Consulting Limited, Zambia

Moderator:
Mr. Rakesh Patry, Director General of International and Intergovernmental Labour Affairs, Employment and Social Development Canada, Government of Canada, Canada

Languages:
English, French, German, Spanish

9:00 - 11:00 am EDT / 13:00 – 15:00 pm UTC / 15:00 – 17:00 pm CEST
ILO Special Session: Preparing for Decent Work through Safety and Health in the New Normal

The session will explore the intersected relationships between occupational safety and health, business continuity and resilience, employment and labour rights in a context of COVID-19. It will debate the short and medium-term role of safety and health at work in the definition of economic and social policy responses to build back better.

The first panel will debate how safety and health at work will continue to support effective response against COVID-19 contagion, preparations for recovery and, in addition, to being a key contributing factor for quality job creation, retention and strengthening of national social dialogue. Further, panelists will inform on how the International Labour Organization has made use of the integrated policy approach and how the diverse dimensions interact for a safe and sustainable recovery, highlighting as possible practical examples. The panel will further look into the future with particular focus on how countries and workplace can be better prepared in addressing any future safety and health challenges of a global nature.

The second panel will highlight the importance of a consistent and coordinated global approach to address worldwide occupational safety and health challenges, including COVID-19. The session will show case the example of the Global Coalition for Safety and Health at Work and will invite panelists to a dialogue on opportunities and challenges of this type of initiative, and how they envisage in the Coalitions’ work the intersect of occupational safety and health with other variables covering labour rights, employment and economic growth.

Opening:
Ms. Martha Newton, Deputy Director-General for Policy, International Labour Organization

Round Table One: Integrated policy approach for safe work in a COVID-19 and recovery period: the ILO experience - Speakers :
Ms. Corinne Vargha, Director, International Labour Standards Department, International Labour Organization
Mr. Vic Van Vuuren, Director, Enterprises Department, International Labour Organization
Dr. Sangheon Lee, Director, Employment Department, International Labour Organization
Ms. Manuela Tomei, Director, WorkQuality Department, International Labour Organization
Ms. Vera Paquete-Perdigão, Governance and Tripartism Department, International Labour Organization
Mr. Vinicius Pinheiro, Regional Director, Latin America and the Caribbean, International Labour Organization

View of Social Partners - Speakers:
Mr. Kris de Meester, International Organization of Employers (Global Coalition Steering Committee Member)
Mr. Owen Tudor, Deputy General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation, Belgium

Round Table Two: Multidisciplinary and multilateral action for common problems: the case of the Global Coalition for Safety and Health at Work - Speakers:
Mr. William Cockburn, Head of Prevention and Research Unit, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (Global Coalition task group on occupational safety and health and the Future of Work)
Dr. Johannes Siegrist, Senior professor, Centre for Health and Society, Heinrich-Heine University, Germany (Global coalition task group on promotion of SDG work and productive employment through higher education)
Mr. Tommi Alanko, Director, Institute of Occupational Health, Finland (Global Coalition task group on vision zero at enterprise level)
Mr. Antonio Cammarota, Principal Administrator, DG EMPL/B3, European Commission (Global Coalition task group on multiregional occupational safety and health data systems)
Dr. Jukka Takala, President, International Commission of Occupational Health

Closing:
Mr. Joaquim Pintado Nunes, Chief, Labour Administration, Labour Inspection and Occupational Safety and Health Branch, International Labour Organization

Moderator:
Ms. Conny Czymoch, cc Media

Languages:
English, French and Spanish