IR Notes

On 27 June, the European Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement on a new directive to strengthen the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos (see press release). This compromise text is currently undergoing revision, with a view to formal adoption by both institutions. The directive will then be published and Member States will have two years to transpose it into their domestic law (see press release). The European Commission put forward the proposal for a directive on 28 September 2022, accompanied by a communication entitled “Working towards an asbestos-free future” (see IR Notes 193 and Asbestos). The new rules agreed will initially reduce the maximum limit for exposure to 0.01 fibres of asbestos per cm³, which is ten times lower than the current limit of 0.1 f/m³. Parliament, which had been calling for a reduction to 0.001 fibres of asbestos per cm³ (see IR Notes 172) had to give way on this target figure. MEPs nevertheless managed to extract a number of concessions. For example, the text sets a maximum transition period of six years, during which time Member States will have to implement a new method for measuring asbestos levels, namely electron microscopy (EM), which is more sensitive than the technique currently used. Once they have introduced this technique, States will have two options: they can either undertake to measure thin asbestos fibres, using electron microscopy, in which case the maximum exposure limit will remain at 0.01 f/cm³; or they can choose not to measure thin asbestos fibres, in which case the maximum exposure limit will be reduced to 0.002 f/cm³. The trade-union world reacted positively to this compromise, which will protect between 4 and 7 million workers in the EU against asbestos. As the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) points out, this substance causes 90,000 deaths per year (see press release). What made the adoption of this text all the more urgent is that the number of workers exposed to asbestos is set to rise sharply in the coming years, due to the expansion in thermal renovation projects, as provided for by the European Green Deal. The ETUC expressed regret that these new standards are arriving too late, in light of the transition period, to protect the workers involved in building renovation projects. The compromise also partially satisfies the demands of the employers’ organisations concerned, which were advocating a seven-year transition period (see FIEC and EBC press release). There is nothing to prevent Member States enhancing the protection they provide and moving forward faster. For example, Denmark has already fixed its exposure limit at 0.003 f/cm³ and brought forward a number of other obligations introduced by the directive: since 1 July, the authority responsible for the working environment will be entitled to impose fines amounting to 10,000 crowns (1342 euros) on companies that fail to declare their asbestos work (see press release), and with effect from 1 January 2025, an authorisation system will come into effect for companies handling asbestos (see press release issued by the FH confederation.

Social and solidarity economy : On 13 June, the European Commission put forward a proposal for a Council recommendation on developing social economy framework conditions which, for the first time, recognises the added value contributed by a sector that “prioritises people, social, and environmental causes over profit” and employs 13.6 million workers in the EU (see press release). Once the proposal has been adopted by the Council – and this is one of the priorities of the Spanish Presidency of the EU – Member States are invited to adopt or update their social economy strategies within 18 months. Among other things, this is intended to foster the uptake of socially responsible and innovative solutions in public procurement.

A new sectoral social dialogue committee : On 10 July, the European Commission officially announced the creation of the 44th sectoral social dialogue committee, covering the social services sector (see press release). This is the first such committee to be created since 2010. It marks the culmination of a long process of European social dialogue initiated around a decade ago, by social partners in the sector (FESE and EPSU) (see press release). They formally applied for its creation on 26 April 2021 (see IR Notes no. 163). A report produced by IR Share for social partners stresses that this sector employed 4.7% of the EU’s total labour force in 2018. The main topics to be dealt with by this new committee are labour shortages, training and working conditions. Sylvain Renouvel, Director of FESE and Head of European social affairs at Nexem, believes that the main benefit the committee will provide is the prospect of being able to envisage the negotiation of European agreements in this sector.

‘Just transition’ negotiations : The metalworkers’ union IG Metall has a long tradition of negotiating company agreements that seek to maintain jobs and industrial sites on German territory, accompanied by a commitment from the company not to announce any collective redundancies over a certain period of time. This is the case at Bosch Mobility, the automobile division of the Bosch group, where management and the trade union have signed a new collective agreement ruling out any recourse to redundancies on economic grounds until the end of 2027, thereby protecting 80,000 employees. According to IG Metall, what is new is that the agreement stipulates that works councils “will now be involved at an early stage in strategic and economic planning decisions”, such as where future products will be made”, explains Frank Sell, President of the Mobility Division’s central works council (see press release).

• Employment and disability : The Ministry of Employment and several stakeholders have unveiled a “White paper on employment and disability”, in preparation for a change in the legislative framework and in public policy concerning the employment of persons with disabilities and their right to work (see press release).

Protection for female employees following a miscarriage: : Law no. 2023-567 of 7 July 2023 promoting psychological support for women who suffer a miscarriage abolishes the three-day “period of grace”, during which an employee who is on sick leave does not receive social security payments, in the case of women who suffer a spontaneous termination of pregnancy. This measure will enter into force no later than 1 January 2024. Moreover, as of 9 July, an employer “is not entitled to terminate the employment contract of a female employee during the ten-week period following a spontaneous termination of her pregnancy, which is medically established to have occurred between the 14th and 21st week inclusive, of amenorrhea”.

• Amendments to social legislation : Law no. 85 of 3 July incorporates decree-law no. 48 of 2023 on “urgent measures for social inclusion and access to employment” into social legislation (see IR Notes 211 and press release). The CGIL labour confederation has published an analysis of this new legislation.

Revised agreement : The energy group Engie has revised its European Works Council agreement, following the sale of its Equans subsidiary to the Bouygues group (see IR Notes 185). The new agreement keeps most of the European Works Council’s resources in place, despite covering 74,000 fewer employees. Its membership numbers have risen from 27 to 31, due to the new workforce threshold rules creating a better balance between French representatives and those of the other European countries. The agreement maintains two of the four monitoring working groups (social reporting / duty of vigilance and occupational health and safety), plus the option of setting up “study working groups” covering a specific subject, while limiting the number of participants to ten. A total of six meetings are scheduled, and they are divided between the monitoring and the study working groups. In addition, 12 hours of discussions will be held remotely: these are allocated for all working groups combined and used in 2-hour slots, “which will maintain the link and the dynamic during the interval between face-to-face meetings held by working groups”, emphasises EWC secretary Robert Textoris (CGT). Another innovation is that going forward, the council will be consulted on social and environmental responsibility policy, including the “climate roadmap” and “energy transition”. The council’s information and consultation procedure is based on the terms of Directive 2009/38 (which does not govern the agreement). The length of the consultation procedure is not fixed. Instead, it will be discussed between management and the Secretariat “bearing in mind the importance of the project, the necessary and reasonable time required to allow for debate and dialogue on the project, and the date of implementation planned”.

Just transition : EWCs are increasingly dealing with the issues of decarbonisation and a just transition. On 14 June, the Engie Group EWC decided to perform a study to identify the potential impacts, on employment, of all transformations linked to the “decarbonisation strategy for the Group’s activities”, “taking account of the Group’s orientations, which aim to achieve net zero CO² emissions by 2045, with “high intermediate targets” for 2030, and also of the orientations adopted by each EU member state to comply with its allocated “CO² budget” (see press release). The role “of the EWC representatives must be a determining factor to predict the social repercussions and to avoid suffering due to the net zero strategy for Group activities across different countries”, says the Council.

A new council : The IT services group Sopra Steria (50,000 employees, including 12,500 in Europe) has signed a European Works Council agreement, which was published on 26 June.  The council will be consulted if a transnational plan a) concerns either the entire group or is linked to a decision made by head-office that will impact two companies in two different countries; and b) will “significantly impact employees’ interests”, i.e. 50% of the workforce concerned are likely to have their employment contract terminated. In the case of a plan like this, the EWC must issue its opinion no later than one month after management has provided information on the project in question, or two months if an expert advisor is consulted. The Council will organise two plenary meetings a year, one of which will be held remotely.

> See also: Bausch&Lomb European Works Council renewal agreement, the TeamViewer and JOSTE Werke EWC agreements, all published on line.

Proposed merger and due diligence : 21 delegates from 14 countries met for the first conference of the European Works Council and World Employee Committee (EWC/WEC) of the Daimler Truck group (see IR Notes 198), for discussions with several board members (see press release). The main topics discussed were a possible merger of Mitsubishi Fuso with its Japanese competitor Hino, and human and trade union rights in the supply chain, in accordance with the Declaration of Principles on Social Responsibility and Human Rights adopted in 2022.

Support for the ecological transition : In March, the TotalEnergies group announced the sale of its network of service stations in Germany and the Netherlands to the Canadian convenience store leader Alimentation Couche-Tard (120,000 employees), which will also acquire a 60% stake in TotalEnergies’ service stations in Belgium and Luxembourg (see press release). In total, more than 3,000 TotalEnergies employees are involved in this operation. “This announcement has challenged the established concept of an integrated oil company whose business extends all the way from ‘oilwell to fuel pump’. It’s a development that has worried employees”, says Thierry Defresne (CGT), secretary of the TotalEnergies EWC. The EWC has identified risks of job losses, including in support services, forced mobilities and changes to collective bargaining agreements that will be prejudicial to the transferred employees. To protect them, members asked for the one-year job protection guarantee proposed by Couche-Tard within the framework of this sale to be extended to five years. However, this idea was rejected by TotalEnergie management. The representatives also called for negotiations covering the terms of social support provided for employees from the four countries. At a meeting on 19 June, the European trade-union federation IndustriAll Europe supported these requests by sending a letter to management, inviting it to open a dialogue on the social support accompanying this plan in particular, and more generally, on future changes within the group linked to the ecological transition. This request could lead to a European agreement being negotiated on anticipation and management of change, which would serve as a framework for all future reorganisations, with a view to meeting decarbonisation targets.

Globalisation of social dialogue : The mining group Eramet (9,090 employees) has set up a “Global Forum” to handle transnational issues concerning the Group’s main host countries: France including New Caledonia, Gabon, Norway, Senegal and Argentina. Within this forum, employee representatives “will exchange views with each other and with Group management regarding Eramet’s strategy, CSR commitments and development projects”. They will also be able “to negotiate agreements applicable to all employees in areas such as social protection, quality of life at work, parental issues, as well as diversity and inclusion” (see press release). The company’s EWC will now form part of this new body but “will retain its legal powers in terms of information and consultation procedures”. The EWC was at risk of disappearing, as a result of the company’s shrinking workforce in Europe (1,629 employees in 2022, including 755 in France). The EGF was established by means of an agreement signed on 5 July by and between management and the trade union federations within the group (it will be posted on line once management has given its agreement). The forum will meet twice a year. It is allowed to set up working parties and organise a visit once a year to a country, and has a budget of 30,000 euros at its disposal. Other than the training provided at the start of a forum member’s term of office, all training (4 days during a four-year term of office) will be delivered via videoconferencing).

Due diligence and new guarantees : On 27 June, the French bank Société Générale (117,000 employees) and the UNI Global Union federation signed a new worldwide employee rights agreement (see joint press release). This text is one of the few that allows trade unions to take part in the process of drawing up the Duty of Care plan. This plan, which has been a legal obligation in France since 2017, must identify risks and prevent serious breaches of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and of health and safety requirements relating to people and the environment. An EU directive on due diligence, which is in the process of being adopted, will make such steps mandatory in the EU. The parties recognise UNI as a “stakeholder” in the Human Resources pillar of the Duty of Care plan. There will be “at least one dialogue with UNI within the framework of the measures implemented”, with a view to identifying and preventing risks of serious breaches of “human rights, fundamental freedoms or workers’ health and safety”. In practice, UNI will reread the HR section of the draft Duty of Care plan, “ahead of the review undertaken by the group’s board of directors”. Any additions proposed by UNI can be taken into account in the version submitted to the directors. The parties also agree to set up working parties to “conduct a deeper analysis of residual risks and how to mitigate them”. The agreement sets a minimum new base of social rights guarantees for Group employees: a 14-week maternity leave, a 1-week paternity leave both with full pay of fixed salary, and a death benefit, covering or supplementing existing local schemes, of up to 2 years’ fixed salary. “These guarantees will be important, especially for the company’s 11,200 employees in India, where it has its second-largest workforce after France”, says Frédéric de Fondaumière, who is a member of the EWC select committee and one of UNI Global Union’s negotiators of the agreement.

> See also: On 29 June, the Veolia group embarked on a negotiation with the European Public Service Union (EPSU), with a view to concluding its first European agreement covering the topic of diversity and inclusion (see press release).