Sep 06, 2004. /Lesprom Network/. SCA has signed a Global Agreement with the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM), which represents 20 million members worldwide, the Swedish Paper Workers’ Union and SCA’s European Works Council. “The agreement supplements the Code of Conduct adopted by the SCA Board of Directors earlier this year,” says CEO Jan Åström in a statement. “The agreement is an expression of SCA’s willingness to assume social responsibility and act as an exemplary employer.” Fred Higgs, General Secretary of ICEM, maintains that these types of agreements are of crucial interest to workers worldwide, but they also lend greater credibility to SCA’s ability to live up to its ethical guidelines. Sune Ekbåge, Chairman of the Swedish Paper Workers’ Union, considers that “it is natural for a Swedish company such as SCA, with a long tradition of favorable relations with trade unions, to sign an agreement that ensures workers’ rights I am convinced that this will favor SCA and it has come at exactly the right time, in view of the discussions concerning ethical guidelines currently under way in Sweden.” Carl Lindqvist, Chairman of SCA’s European Works Council (EWC), issued the following comment: “For us employees, it is reassuring that SCA has signed an agreement concerning its relations with employees and trade union organizations, particularly now that the company is growing fast in parts of the world where workers’ rights are not a matter of course.” The agreement, which is based on the SCA Code of Conduct and the labor standards adopted by the International Labor Organization (ILO), was signed between SCA and ICEM, the Swedish Paper Workers’ Union and SCA’s EWC, and covers SCA’s entire organization. The agreement will be translated and made available at all workplaces in the Group.