SSA is the only recognised voice of the UK shipbuilding & repair industry in Europe, through our membership of The Community of European Shipyards Associations (CESA) based in Brussels.
There are currently eight main groups, dealing with: Marketing, Trade, Innovation, Environment, Social dialogue, Naval sector, Technical advice, Maintenance, Repair & Conversion.
Some of these groups concentrate on policy issues, such as the social dialogue group. Social dialogue is one of the less well known parts of the European structure, but it is enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty as a commitment to helping the management and labour sides of different industry sectors work together. There are some 30 different social dialogue groups, and the shipyard group concentrates on skills, training and industry image matters. SSA Members can participate in any of CESA working groups.
Technical advice is more specific. CESA is recognised at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) with observer status. This means that SSA members, through CESA, can make formal submissions to IMO and participate in debates in the IMO chamber, and has particular influence when IMO deals with matters of ship design, construction and maintenance.
In all these groups, CESA's expertise comes from the representatives of the shipyards in membership. The opportunity is there for UK Maritime Industry to have a major influence on European and international rules and regulations that affect the industry.
