IR Notes

On 24 January, the European Statistical Office (Eurostat) updated its data on accidents at work in 2017. The good news is that the number of fatal accidents at work dropped slightly: there were 3,552 deaths in 2017, 36 fewer than in 2016. However, almost ten European workers die every day at work (table 1 in the report). This is about the only reliable statistic from all the data which Eurostat collected. The reason for this is that although fatal accidents are properly documented in all Member States, they are not documented in the same way in all of them. Finland, for example, does not count deaths due to a voluntary act on the part of the employee, such as suicide, whereas in France, acts of this nature may be regarded as accidents at work. As a further example, an employee who dies from a heart attack in their place of work in France will be deemed to be the victim of a work-related accident, and it is up to the employer to prove otherwise. In contrast, it will not be recorded as a work-related accident in Germany, unless it can be shown that the heart attack was directly linked to the work being performed.  “It is very difficult to make comparisons because national systems for recognising work-related accidents and legal rules are so different”, stresses Raphaël Haeflinger, Director of Eurogip, a French organisation which specialises in issues relating to insurance and the prevention of work-related accidents and occupational illnesses at both European and international level. In 2016, Eurogip and its German counterpart DGUV analysed their statistics together and reached the conclusion that the accident rate was very similar, despite the discrepancy in the data sent to Eurostat (see report, in French). Statistics on non-fatal accidents at work are even more unreliable: for example, Bulgaria and Romania seem to be the countries with the fewest work-related accidents, way ahead of the Nordic countries which are known for their culture of prevention. The worst offenders, with a high incidence of recorded accidents above 2,500 per 100,000 workers (see graph 2 in the report) are France (almost 3,500), followed by Portugal and Spain, as opposed to barely a hundred in Bulgaria and Romania (although it is these latter two countries which declare the most fatal accidents). These figures highlight the tremendous diversity which exists among systems for recognising work-related accidents coupled with significant under-reporting – that is employees who do not make a declaration when they are involved in an accident. So there’s no point in trying to make impossible comparisons. “Furthermore, Eurostat has even stopped producing statistics on occupational illnesses, where the comparisons were even less meaningful”, stresses Raphaël Haeflinger. These statistics have an obvious value in transnational companies: they show how the heterogeneity of national recognition (and compensation) systems for work-related accidents and occupational illnesses creates an equality gap among European workers with respect to these risks. So it makes sense to consider plugging the holes in coverage with collective prevention systems at group level.

Agreement signed on the “mobility packet” : on 21 January, MEPS from the European Parliament’s Transport Committee approved the agreement on the reform of the road transport sector signed in a trilogue between the Parliament’s negotiators and the representatives of the Council. The revised rules cover the posting of drivers, their rest time and cabotage rules. Companies will have to organise their timetables so that drivers in international freight transport are able to return home at regular intervals (every three or four weeks depending on the work schedule) (see press release from the Transport Committee). The text is still to be approved by the Council and by the European Parliament in plenary session. However, given the highly sensitive nature of this matter, the final vote by the two institutions is not a foregone conclusion.

A “World of Work Council” : on 21 January, the Federal Minister Hubertus Heil launched the World of Work Council (Rat der Arbeitswelt) to inform and advise the minister and political decision-makers, companies and the public about changes affecting the world of work. This body is made up of 11 members, social sciences experts and representatives from the world of work, including Frank Bsirske, former president of the services trade union Ver.di, and Sinischa Horvart, who among other things is the secretary of the BASF European Works Council. (see press release)

• Minimum wage : the government and social partners have agreed to increase the national minimum wage by 5.5% from 900 to 950 euros a month (in 14 instalments) which, over 12 months, represents a monthly salary of 1,108.33 euros.

• Wage agreement in the technology industry : after several months of negotiations punctuated with strikes, the new collective agreement for the technology industry (which covers metal working) was accepted on 4 January. It will bring a 3.3 per cent pay increase and the agreement is for 25 months. It covers some 93,000 employees and paves the way for negotiations in other sectors. Furthermore, the new agreement removes a measure from the Competitiveness Pact (which was adopted in 2016, under pressure from the conservative government of Prime Minister Sipilä) which increased annual employee working time by 24 unpaid hours (see information on the Trade Union News website).
  > For further information: an analysis of the measures of the 2016 Competitiveness Pact in Trade Union News

• Childcare allowance for grandparents : as of 1 January, grandparents are entitled to a childcare allowance for their grandchildren in, among others, the following circumstances: 1. The child must be over one year old; 2. It should be looked after at home, not in a nursery; 3. The parents must decline the parental childcare allowance and agree to it being paid to the grandparent. The maximum allowance is around 700 euros a month.

Pension reform : on 24 January, the government adopted two bills to reform the pensions system (see press release from the Council of Ministers): a bill for an organic law and a bill for an ordinary law, along with an impact assessment. When consulted with regard to these texts, the Conseil d’Etat (Council of State) delivered a very critical opinion on them, and particularly on the haste with which they were drawn up. The trade union confederations all continue to oppose this reform which, in their view, is being pushed through by the government to drive down pensions in the medium term and undermine the pay-as-you-go pensions system under the pretext of protecting it.

Observers for countries outside the EU : on 16 December 2019, the management of the Norwegian company Adevinta, which was demerged from the Schibsted group so as to bring its online classified ads websites together in an independent company, signed an agreement to set up a European Works Council. Of the 20 members of the European Works Council, 11 represent EU Member States or countries in the European Economic Area (EEE). The others are seven observer members for the non-EU/EEE countries (Belarus, Chile, Colombia, Morocco, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Tunisia) and two are from joint ventures, either within or outside the EU/EEE. It should also be noted that the secretary receives the same documents as the members of the company’s board. The secretary is also the deputy employee representative on the company’s board. The agreement is supplemented by a highly informative appendix which, among other things, sets out the consultation process and the circumstances in which the European Works Council is consulted.

Creation after a merger : the management of the American services company DXC technology (130,000 employees) has signed an agreement to set up a European Works Council in the group which was created as a result of the merger, in 2017, of CSC and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise’s Enterprise Services division. The agreement sets up a European Works Council with a maximum of 25 members, appointed by countries which have at least 100 employees. The council meets twice a year. The British representatives will become observer members after Brexit. The text, which is very similar to the subsidiary requirements of the directive, is subject to Irish law.

New council in the Czech Republic : in December 2019, the Czech energy group EPH (25,000 employees) signed an agreement to set up a European Works Council. The group has a presence in Germany, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The council, which has a maximum of 25 members, meets once a year. Its select committee, which is made up of 6 members, meets 2 to 4 times a year. The agreement provides for simultaneous interpreting during meetings, the possibility of undertaking training and of setting up committees when necessary.

New Global Works Council : As announced in IR Notes no. 133, the French tyre manufacturer Michelin (125,000 employees) and the IndustriAll Global Union federation signed an agreement on 27 January on a Michelin Global Works Council. We have, therefore, put this agreement online.

Tax avoidance : a report (summary) published by the NGO Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research (CICTAR), and compiled by the European Public Service union EPSU and the PSI international trade union federation, describes the tax-avoidance schemes employed by the German healthcare group Fresenius (290,000 employees) to avoid paying tax where it makes profits. Whereas it mainly conducts its business in countries with a tax rate of at least 30%, the group’s global tax rate in 2018, according to its own declarations, was only 18.2%. The trade-union federations see the report as additional evidence to force Fresenius management to open negotiations on the signing of a global framework agreement on fundamental rights (see press releases from UNI Global Union, EPSU) in a group which is condemned by its unions for its anti-union practices and the weakness of its social dialogue.

A new snapshot of European Works Councils : the most recent survey published by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) confirms what is often heard among members of European Works Councils: more than 72% of the European Works Council members questioned believe that they are generally consulted after a decision has been finalised by the employer (43.2%), or during the implementation process (19.5%) or even after its implementation (9.7%). In conclusion, only 21% of members said that they are consulted before the final decision is taken, as required by EU law. “For a meaningful consultation to take place”, the survey’s authors Romuald Jagodzinski and Stan De Spiegelaere point out, “the EWC needs to be informed and consulted before final decisions are taken. If not, the results of consultation have hardly any potential to be taken into account in the decision-making process and thereafter to influence company decisions”. So this way of going about things does not come close to respecting the spirit of the directive on European Works Councils. The survey, which was conducted to mark the 25th anniversary of the EWC directive, was published at the beginning of January. It is the largest survey conducted to date among representatives of European Works Councils and European Company Works Councils. The survey documents the responses of 1,600 European Works Council members, or almost 10% of the estimated number of European Works Council members (18,000), representing 365 councils. The study highlights a degree of “ramping-up” of European Works Councils, which is chiefly reflected in the fact that 52% of councils meet at least twice a year (rather than the annual meeting provided for in the subsidiary requirements defined in the directive). One council in ten even meets at least three times a year. Furthermore, 87.8% of members say they have a select committee. About half of these select committees meet between two and four times a year. Compared to a previous survey conducted in 2008, and although comparisons should be treated with caution, it seems that European Works Councils meet more often, and that more members believe they can influence their employer’s decisions. And another interesting fact is revealed – the European Works Council is a relatively non-confrontational body: 15.7% of members say they have experienced a serious dispute with their employer in the last three years. Of these, only 16% took legal action to assert their rights.