IR Notes

The European Union is taking the issue of climate change on board on a permanent basis. Heads of State and of Government, meeting on 11 and 12 December, adopted conclusions that confirm the objective of achieving a climate-neutral EU by 2050. Only Poland, which is heavily dependent on coal, has not signed up to this objective. While the Council takes the view that “the transition to climate neutrality will bring significant opportunities”, notably in terms of economic growth, “new business models” and new jobs, it recognises the need “to put in place an enabling framework to ensure (…) socially balanced and fair transition”. To this end, the Council approves the forthcoming creation of a “Just Transition Mechanism” for “Tailored support for regions and sectors most affected”, with a 100 billion euro investment. The Council is therefore embracing the ambitious objectives set by the European Commission in its communication on the European Green Deal, which sets out in exhaustive detail how it plans to implement this vast project. It will put forward the first “European ‘Climate Law’” by March 2020 to “enshrine the 2050 climate neutrality objective in legislation”. In March, it will adopt “an EU industrial strategy to address the twin challenge of the green and the digital transformation” and present “a new circular economy action plan” with “measures to encourage businesses to offer, and to allow consumers to choose, reusable, durable and repairable products”. “The European Pillar of Social Rights”, says the Commission, “will guide action in ensuring that no one is left behind”. NGOs and the European social partners have given the adoption of these policies quite a warm reception. The European Trade Union Confederation, which is calling for “measures to ensure there is a socially just transition to a green economy for all workers” has the impression that the Commission “has taken this on board” (see press release). Speaking for the employers, BusinessEurope stresses that it is “essential to connect the Green Deal with a strong industrial strategy that mobilises the hundreds of billions of euros of investments needed” (see press release). In the face of so many announcements, ambitions and upheavals, the nub of the problem remains that of funding. The intergovernmental discussions held on adopting the Union’s next financial framework (2021-2027) provide an indication of the problem: how can the EU invest all this money and guarantee that nobody will be left behind, while having to make do with a budget representing just 1.06% of Europe’s gross national income (1,080 billion euros). This will inevitably result in some European funds being cut back in order to finance others. If this is the option chosen, not enough social support will be available for accompanying transitions, with the risk that citizens, and employees in particular, will oppose these measures.

Cross-border mobility of companies : Directive 2019/2121 of 27 November 2019 amending Directive 2017/1132 as regards cross-border conversions, mergers and divisions, has been published in the OJEU. The Directive stipulates that the company carrying out the cross-border operation should prepare a report to “provide information to its […] employees”. This document should “explain and justify the legal and economic aspects of the proposed cross-border operation and the implications of the proposed cross-border operation for employees”. The employees themselves or their representatives should be able to give their opinion on this report. Recital no. 13 of the Directive states that the report should explain “whether there would be any material change to the employment conditions laid down by law, to collective agreements or to transnational company agreements, and in the locations of the company’s places of business, such as the location of the head office”. Recital 29 states that “In order to conduct an analysis of the report for employees, a company carrying out a cross-border operation should provide employee representatives with the resources necessary to enable them to exercise the rights arising from this Directive in an appropriate manner”. As regards the question of circumventing employee participation rights by means of carrying out a cross-border operation, the Directive stipulates that the operation should “ensure that employee participation is not unduly prejudiced”. Where the company carrying out the cross-border operation “has implemented an employee participation system, the company or companies resulting from the cross-border operation should be obliged to take a legal form allowing for the exercise of such participation rights, including through the presence of representatives of the employees in the appropriate management or supervisory body of the company or companies.” The Directive then proposes mechanisms for negotiating employee participation, and specifies the cases in which the company is exempt from the requirement to retain a form of participation.

Council provides Commission with a roadmap : At the Council meeting held on 9 and 10 December, the Ministers of Employment and Social Affairs adopted several texts providing indications on future initiatives:

• Inclusive labour market: The Council adopted conclusions on inclusive labour markets, in which it stresses the economic value of offering better employment options to people in a vulnerable position in the labour market.


• Gender equality: It also adopted conclusions on Gender-Equal Economies in the EU, in which it calls on the Commission to “explicitly set gender equality as a political priority in its current term” and to adopt “a Communication setting out a stand-alone high-level EU gender equality strategy for the period post-2019” (see Council press release).


• Health and safety at work: In its conclusions “A New EU Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work”, the Council invites the Commission to: 1° update occupational safety and health legislation, such as the Workplace Directive (89/654) and the Display Screen Equipment Directive (90/270), which now require modernisation; 2° issue a communication on psychosocial risk factors; 3° propose a mental health strategy; 4° provide ergonomic guidance material relating to MSDs; 5° include Vision Zero approaches regarding fatal accidents and fatal occupational diseases in the workplace; 6° propose further binding limit values for priority carcinogens and other dangerous substances; 7° update existing limit values including, where relevant, biological limit values. The document still falls considerably short of the expectations of the European Trade Union Confederation, which adopted a position in this area in October this year, calling for specific actions and new legislation, covering psychosocial risks in particular.
  > See also: summary and presentations of the debate organised by the European Trade Union Institute on the future of occupational health in Europe.

• Directives on informing and consulting workers and on European Works Councils: A note from the Finnish Presidency of the EU, on “Future of the EU social acquis relating to employment and industrial relations”, presented within the framework of a policy debate at the Council, states that “social dialogue plays an important role in helping both enterprises and their employees to adapt to the changing labour market and is thus a success factor in the implementation of the social acquis”. The document adds that “the related problems, identified by the Commission, in the area of information and consultation of workers and on the European Works Councils, need to be addressed.”

• Fraudulent employment of drivers in the road transport sector : The Advocate General of the CJEU has delivered an important opinion concerning road transport undertakings established in the Netherlands that were using the services of drivers employed by a Cypriot company. He notes that the contractual relationship, under which the Cypriot company is formally the drivers’ employer, is only indicative in nature and that accordingly, it seems legitimate to call into question the status of ‘employer’ on which it relies. This opinion has been welcomed by the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW) (see press release).

European minimum wage : At the Council meeting on 10 December, the new Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, Nicolas Schmit, announced that the Commission would send the European social partners a consultation document on 14 January next year, on the introduction of a European minimum wage, established on the legal basis of Article 153 of the TFEU, which enables the Commission to embark on legislative initiatives aimed at enhancing working conditions. On the same day, it will present a communication on the Commission’s social policy initiatives.

• Hospitality sector : The European social partners in the hotel and restaurant sector have adopted a Statement on the Platform Economy and called for a level playing field and fair competition (see press releases issued by Effat and Hotrec). They have unveiled an online risk assessment tool (OiRA) to help businesses protect the health and safety of their workers (see press releases issued by Effat and Hotrec).

Restructuring : On 3 December, the select committee of the European Works Council of the Italian banking group Unicredit passed a declaration, following a meeting at which management announced a new strategic plan involving more than 8,000 job losses. The European Works Council is calling for a “comprehensive social dialogue, based on both information and consultation, in accordance with the European directive”.

> Further information in the European Trade Union Institute’s collective bargaining newsletter and in the Flash Report on Labour Law produced for the European Commission.

Restructuration : le comité restreint du CE européen du groupe bancaire italien Unicredit, a adopté, le 3 décembre, une déclaration après une réunion pendant laquelle la direction lui a annoncé un nouveau plan stratégique qui prévoit plus de 8 000 suppressions de postes. Le CE européen réclame un « dialogue social complet, basé à la fois sur l’information et la consultation conformément à la directive européenne ».

Loss of confidence : The European Works Council of the Michelin group (125,000 employees), which met from 18 to 21 November, expressed its concern regarding the effectiveness of the company’s logistics and called on management to “improve social dialogue and to display transparency at more regular intervals, so that the Council could be more closely involved in deciding the group’s strategies and not simply spend its time listening” (see press release).

> The group has just finished negotiating a global works council agreement with IndustriAll Global Union.

> Read also the statement issued by a German member of the European Works Council concerning a breach of Michelin’s undertakings, following the announcement of the closure of the Bamberg site (Germany).

Dialogue under OECD auspices : On 25 November, the management of Deutsche Post DHL and representatives of the two global union federations ITF and UNI Global Union, signed a new protocol to continue their social dialogue under the auspices of the national contact point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (see ITF, UNI Global Union press releases).

Paternity leave : From 1 January  onwards, the insurance group Zurich will be extending paternity leave, with no reduction in salary, for its staff in Switzerland (5,100 employees), from the current level of 3 weeks to 6 weeks, or even 16 weeks if the father (or same sex partner) intends to be the main carer looking after the child (see press release).