IR Notes

Since it has no powers to intervene in the domestic social security systems of its Member States, the European Union has used the means of a recommendation – which is a non-binding legal instrument – to call on Member States to ensure that all workers have access to social protection. On 8 November, the Council definitively adopted a recommendation implementing Principle no. 12 of the European Pillar of Social Rights. This text states that “regardless of the type and duration of their employment relationship, workers, and, under comparable conditions, the self-employed have the right to adequate social protection”. The recommendation notes that “some non-standard workers and some self-employed persons have insufficient access” to social protection, which in the long run could “put at risk the welfare and health of individuals”, “contribute to increasing economic uncertainty, the risk of poverty and inequalities” or “reduce trust in institutions”. The recommendation therefore invites Member States to guarantee “adequate” social protection that will allow “individuals to uphold a decent standard of living, replace their income loss in a reasonable manner and live with dignity, and [prevent] them from falling into poverty while contributing, where appropriate, to activation and facilitating the return to work”. Member States should “guarantee access to all branches (unemployment benefits; sickness and healthcare benefits; maternity and equivalent paternity benefits; invalidity benefits; old-age benefits and survivors’ benefits; benefits in respect of accidents at work and occupational diseases)”. Employees should enjoy mandatory cover against these risks, and the self-employed should have at least voluntary access. Member States are also recommended to ensure that “entitlements – whether they are acquired through mandatory or voluntary schemes – are preserved, accumulated and/or transferable across all types of employment and self-employment statuses and across economic sectors, throughout the person’s career or during a certain reference period and between different schemes within a given social protection branch”. Member States have 18 months to implement these recommendations and their initiatives will be evaluated every year within the framework of the European Semester. This text is intended to be an initial response to the “Uberisation ” of the employment market.

Restructuring of Carrefour Belgium : On 6 November, the Council rejected a request from the Wallonia region for financial aid from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) to help employees made redundant by Carrefour Belgium, following the company’s restructuring in 2018. Sweden opposed the granting of this aid (amounting to a little over 1.6 million euros to help 400 former workers and 300 unemployed young people), while ten other countries abstained. The countries that abstained or opposed the move believe that competition from online shopping is not a valid reason for releasing EGF funds. However, on the same day, the measure was approved in the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgets. The rapporteur on this matter, Portugal’s José Manuel Fernandes (EPP), declared the Council’s position “shameful”. He believes that the proposal was rejected “without justification” (see press release). Then, on 14 November, the Parliament, sitting in a plenary session, passed a resolution in favour of this aid (see press release) by a very large majority. The matter will be discussed in a trilogue setting (between the Parliament, the Council and the Commission). As far as we are aware, this is the first time that the Council has rejected such a request. The Parliament, for its part, firstly refused aid (in October 2011) for employees made redundant by the Renault Group, but then subsequently granted it. This disagreement between the Council and the Parliament comes at a time when the future of this fund is under discussion.

Chemical industry : On 7 November, the European social partners in the chemical industry adopted joint recommendations on digital transformation which propose a list of “relevant” topics that merit consideration in the context of social dialogue within companies: 1. the physical and actual introduction of new technologies, software, etc. into production, research and administration processes; 2. the expected increase in remote working opportunities: 3. working in heterogeneous and interdisciplinary teams; 4. multitasking and flexibility; 5. new health and safety concerns and provisions.

• Sea fisheries: On 6 November, the EU Social Partners in Sea Fisheries passed a joint resolution on the socio-economic impact of the “landing obligation”, which obliges fishing operators to land all caught fish, including those not fit for human consumption. They are asking the Commission to revise this directive which has led to “increased labour on-board, reduced resting time and underutilisation of rightful fishing opportunities” (see ETF press release).
  
  > See also: joint press release from the European social partners in the shipbuilding industry, which is considering how to defend the industry and protect jobs, particularly in the face of unfair competition from China. Also the start, on 7 November, of negotiations aimed at reaching a Europe-wide agreement to cover the river cruise sector (see ETF press release).

• Metalworking industries : the social partners in the metal-working sector have reached a wage agreement that came into force on 1 November, covering the sector’s 195,000 employees. Wages are increasing by between 2.6% and 2.8%. The lowest minimum wage is going up by 4.46%, to 2,000 euros. The trade unions are delighted: “With an inflation rate of 1.77%, the agreement represents a decent increase in real wages and is extremely important in terms of purchasing power” (see press release issued by the GPA-DJP trade union federation).

• Assistance with transferring employees onto permanent employment contracts : Decree no. 323/2019 of 19 September introduces temporary financial assistance with converting fixed-term employment contracts into permanent ones (the “Converte+” programme). The employer is entitled to receive financial support equivalent to four times the monthly basic salary established in the open-ended employment contract, up to a maximum limit of seven times the value of the Social Support Index, which is, in 2019, €435,76. This assistance can be increased by 10% in certain special circumstances (e.g. disability, victims of domestic violence, former prisoners, refugees).

• Merger consultation : On 26 November, members of the European Works Council of the car manufacturer PSA are being convened to launch the consultation process regarding their group’s proposed merger with Fiat-Chrysler.

Innovative clauses : On 18 October, an agreement on worker participation was signed by the management of the German campervan and caravan manufacturer Erwin Hymer Group (6,400 employees), to mark its conversion into a European Company (“SE”). Whilst the agreement enables the company to end employee participation on the supervisory board, it does however include a number of interesting guarantees with regard to the SE works council: 1. In addition to the two annual meetings, the secretary of the works council is at liberty to convene additional meetings to deal with serious issues. “We had four meetings in 2018”, says Janusz Eichendorff, secretary of the company’s European Works Council and of the German group’s works council. 2. The works council is competent not only to deal with transnational matters, but also those affecting two or more production sites within the same country, so it is entitled to involve itself in transfers of production between different sites within the same territory. 3. Once a single site in a given country employs 100 or more employees, it can send two representatives, or even more if this is felt to be necessary. Thus the French site (220 employees) is entitled to send three members, which means that the three main trade unions can be represented, thereby facilitating relationships with the French representatives. 4. The protection granted by German law to representatives sitting on a works council is being extended to all members, meaning that the employer cannot dismiss an employee who is a member of the SE works council without obtaining the backing of this council. If the employer fails to secure this approval, he will have to apply to an industrial tribunal to gain the right to dismiss the representative. 5. To “replace” employee participation, the agreement emulates the clause inserted into the agreement signed at Atos SE, by providing for quarterly meetings between three members of the company’s board – a representative of Erwin Hymer Group management and two representatives of the American shareholder (the Thor Group) – and three members of the SE works council’s select committee. This means that the company’s ongoing operations and employment trends are discussed at top management level.

Global union committee : On 13 November, at the time of the renewal of their global framework agreement, the management of Inditex and the IndustriAll Global Union federation agreed to set up a global union committee to “foster the exchange of best practices in promoting the freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining”. The committee, which will meet once a year, is made up of six representatives from Inditex’s main production clusters around the world and two representatives from the Spanish trade unions CC.OO and UGT. These trade union representatives also form part of a four-member “coordination group” that will liaise with management, mainly via two annual meetings. The agreement also provides for a joint training programme (see press releases issued by IndustriAll and Inditex.

Sexual harassment : On 11 November, the management of Unilever signed an agreement regarding sexual harassment in the workplace with its European Works Council, announced Council secretary Hermann Soggeberg. The group had already signed a joint commitment on this very subject with the international trade union federations IndustriAll Global Union and IUF in 2016. The new agreement “obliges all countries to put in place concrete procedures regarding the way in which Unilever deals with unacceptable behaviour”, says Hermann Soggeberg. The existing practices must be reviewed and, if necessary, revised”.  The agreement proposes minimum standards to be included in all local policies, and sets out a number of principles, such as taking cases of harassment seriously, maintaining confidentiality and protecting victims. The signatories are arranging training courses for all employees, and other courses specifically aimed at managers, based on examples of national good practice compiled in appendix.

> See also: meeting of the Monitoring Committee under the International Framework Agreement signed by the German office furniture maker Wilkhahn (see IBB press release).

• Trade union network : Members of the Saint-Gobain global union network asked to be consulted to a greater extent on the group’s new strategy and discussed the application of digitalisation and its impact on employees. They decided to continue their work on this subject and to gather information on its consequences via an online questionnaire (see press release). The global trade union alliance of HeidelbergCement employees has issued a declaration requesting the establishment of a global social dialogue of the same quality as that prevailing at European Works Council level (see IndustriAll press release).

Collective bargaining reduces inequality: : The European trade-union federation IndustriAll Europe, which has launched a massive campaign to promote collective bargaining as a means of improving employees’ working conditions, including their pay, has now received a gift of manna from heaven, as the OECD has just published a study putting forward the view that “collective bargaining is essential to help workers and companies adapt to changes in the labour market and ensure an inclusive and prosperous world of work”. This document provides a detailed review of collective bargaining and emphasises that the coverage rate has fallen significantly, with only 32% of workers covered by a collective agreement in 2019, compared to 46% in 1985. It also contains data on the unionisation rate, focusing on the union membership of workers in non-standard forms of employment (those on fixed-term contracts, temporary workers, self-employed workers), who are 50% less likely to be a member of a trade union than workers in permanent employment.
> Find out more: Negotiating Our Way Up: Collective bargaining in a changing world of work ; press release issued by the OECD).