IR Notes

To publish a handbook intended for managers in charge of EWCs, but equally useful for European employee representatives: this project conducted by a consortium comprising the Nertherlands training and advisory centre SBI Formaat, the French association Astrées and IR Share (ed.: publisher of IR Notes) was commissioned by the European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public Services (CEEP) and funded by the European Commission. The project was informed by exchanges that took place during three seminars held from 2015 to 2016, attended by managers of different nationalities. A final conference, opened up to include employee representatives, was held in Lisbon in March of this year, to validate recommendations concerning three topics that are common causes of friction inside EWCs: 1. Determining which issues are transnational in nature. 2. Managing the EWC information and consultation process in conjunction with the national employee representative bodies. 3. Managing confidentiality of information. On these three topics, the project organisers discovered from their investigations that the legal dimension was insufficient to provide clear guidelines for the players. The handbook that has resulted from this research has now been published. It can be downloaded from the IR Share website, or consulted on a dedicated site. A key finding that resulted from the joint deliberations was that, for these three subjects, solutions can only come, from the point of view of the players, from a relationship of trust between the management and the employee representatives. The handbook does not offer ready-made solutions, but suggests to the players ways to help them build this indispensable trust which is the foundation of EWCs’ effectiveness. For each of the topics, the project partners indicate three ways forward that have been validated by a panel of managers and employee representatives from different cultures, for example launching a workshop with the select committee and management to discuss issues relating to the “grey areas”: where it is unclear if an issue has to be considered as transnational, or negotiating the management of confidentiality of information with the EWC representatives.

• Parliament wishes to protect to whistle-blowers: MEPs and representatives of the Council of the European Commission on 6 July debated on how to improve legal safeguards for people revealing illegal or unethical activities in the public or private sectors. Just days after the conviction of two former PricewaterhouseCoopers employees for revealing the documents that triggered the “Luxleaks” scandal, most of the MEPs who took part in the debate expressed the opinion that whistle-blowers leaking information in the public interest play a crucial role in upholding democracies, and must therefore be better protected from prosecution, reprisals and threats (see press release).


• European Parliament states its social requirements: In a resolution dated 6 July, adopted by 417 to 209 votes with 78 abstentions, the European Parliament outlined its recommendations for the European Commission work programme 2017. In the field of social and labour law, the MEPs stated that the Commission, in cooperation with the member states and social partners, should “reinforce the European social dialogue with a view to better reconciling labour markets and social protection demands in order to address social inequalities and competitiveness challenges” (see press release). The MEPs have high expectations of the European pillar of social rights, so that all EU citizens should be able to “count on a fundamental set of fair working conditions” that could, for example, address “work-life balance challenges and the gender gap in pay and pensions”.

• Statement relaunching social dialogue: The European Commission, the Netherlands Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European cross-industry social partners – European Trade Union Confederation and the employers’ organisations BusinessEurope, CEEP and UEAPME – on 27 June signed a quadripartite statement entitled “A new start for social dialogue“. This is the first initiative of its kind that aims to relaunch European social dialogue but also to support the functioning of social dialogue in member states where it is weak. The statement also regulates the relationships between the social partners on the one hand and the Council and Commission on the other. The European social partners indicate that they will inform the Commission at the beginning of their negotiations of all framework agreements or frameworks of actions. They will also inform the Council before negotiating any European agreement for which they have agreed to ask implementation by a Council decision. The Commission must take into account the specificities of the European agreements to support the social partners during their negotiations by providing, upon request, technical and legal information. It will also involve the social partners in the European law-making process, in particular by consultation on key initiatives – even if they are not included in the subjects on which consultation of the European social partners is obligatory – when they have significant implications for the social and employment situation at EU level.

Agreement on occupational health and safety in the hairdressing sector: The European social partners in the hairdressing sector have finally signed their framework agreement on occupational health and safety. Although an agreement had already been signed in 2012, the Council had always blocked the request for this text to be transposed by way of a directive, considering that the signatory organisations were non-representative and that the protective provisions contained in the document went much too far. After a protracted rewriting process, in consultation with the Commission and the Council, the negotiators arrived at a new agreement, which was only formalised after the Brexit vote in order to avoid giving a new argument to the Brexit camp, which would have again denounced a text “from Brussels” banning hairdressers from wearing jewellery and high heels… (See UNI Europa press release.) However, this is not yet the end of the story: before being transposed via a directive, as requested by the signatories, the text must undergo the latest Commission obsession – a “proportionate impact assessment”. If the text is endorsed, the Commission will then be able to invite the Council to give its approval.

• Regulation of traineeships in the electricity sector: The European social partners in the electricity sector on 27 June signed a framework agreement on the minimum standards to be respected when employing trainees. The agreement includes minimum standards in relation to working conditions, educational objectives, the role of supervisors, duration of traineeships (six months maximum, with the option of extension if justified and following information and consultation of workplace representatives), “compensation” (but without setting a minimum amount) and recognition and validation of the knowledge, skills and competences acquired. The agreement is not legally binding and is intended as a guide for national organisations affiliated to the signatories when negotiating sectoral or company-level agreements.


• Tenth anniversary of European multi-sectoral agreement on crystalline silica: The trade unions and employers’ organisations that signed the NEPSI agreement, which was intended to prevent worker exposure to crystalline silica, held a conference to mark the tenth anniversary of what, when signed on 25 April 2006, was the first European multi-sectoral agreement. The agreement provides recommendations and tools intended to control exposure to the dust, monitor workers’ health, and ensure training and research. It covers a large number of industrial sectors. However, its scope does not cover workers in the construction industry, who represent 70% of those who are exposed to silica. Another weakness is the absence of any study that demonstrates that silica exposure has been reduced in real terms since concluding the agreement, which was signed by the employers in particular in order to avoid the adoption of an occupational exposure limit by the European Commission. Indeed, the Commission’s recent draft directive on carcinogens and mutagens has just set such a limit value – and in so doing has highlighted the failure of regulation via social dialogue.

• The true cost of posted workers: The ministry of finance has published an article that attempts to clarify the gain that can be anticipated from posted workers in France. In terms of labour costs, for a job remunerated at the rate of the French legal minimum wage (SMIC), “making legal use of a worker posted to France by a company based in Portugal, Romania, Poland or Spain is equivalent to calling on the workforce of a company located in France”, taking into account payment of expenditure incurred on account of the posting, which was estimated at only 100 euros per month. According to the article, the continuous rise in the number of posted workers is thus linked more closely to an increase in fraudulent practices than to a gain in terms of labour costs when the legislative provisions governing worker posting are adhered to.

• Wage agreement in the chemical sector: On 23 June the social partners in the German chemical industry concluded a pay agreement for the sector’s 550,000 employees. The latter, together with apprentices, will benefit from a 5.3% wage rise paid in two stages: 3% between 1 August and 1 October, depending on the region, and 2.3% in the 13th month of application of the collective agreement, which was concluded for twenty-four months. In companies experiencing difficulties, it will be possible to defer the implementation of the pay increases by two months. The signatories created a “pre-start” programme to help young people with serious linguistic or educational deficits become integrated in the labour market.

• Opposition to Labour Code reform: The European trade union movement has denounced the reform of the Labour Code being passed by the government (see IndustriAll press release)

Eni: The management of the Italian energy group Eni (33,000 employees) on 6 July renewed its global framework agreement, signed by the IndustriAll global trade union federation and its Italian affiliates FILCTEM-CGIL, FEMCA-CISL and UILTEC-UIL. The original agreement, signed in 2002, had already been renewed in 2004 and 2009. Under the new agreement, a world works council will meet annually. It will comprise representatives of IndustriAll and its Italian affiliates, five members of the select committee of the European works council and five other representatives of non-EU countries. The latter will be designated annually by IndustriAll according to a rotation mechanism to allow regular representation of all. In addition, a coordinator will be nominated by IndustriAll to guarantee the proper implementation of the agreement (see IndustriAll press release , in English).

• General Electric/Alstom: The information and consultation procedure of the European forum representing employees of the former Alstom energy activities (Interim Representative Structure – IRS) on the major restructuring plan involving 6,500 job cuts came to an end in early June after 45 meetings, with the IRS issuing a rejection of the plan. In its detailed opinion on each activity, the IRS opposes the “large-scale job cuts and closure of sites, which are exclusively the result of a cost-saving strategy”, insists the IndustriAll Trade Union Europe federation in a press release. The IRS demands the following for each business and sub-business concerned: 1/ Information on the local consultation process that has been established and the associated negotiations, as well as their outcome. 2/ Information on the introduction and implementation of the restructuring plans as decided at national level. 3/ Information on the integration process. 4/ Information on the business plans and strategies that are to be introduced. “This information will need to be provided in an adequate manner and will be discussed during quarterly IRS meetings,” stated the European body.
  > Also see the press release of the EWC of the Safran group in support of its demand that an information and consultation procedure be opened for the company’s security subsidiary, Morpho.

Analysis of the European pillar of social rights: The European Commission has launched a project to establish a European pillar of social rights (see IR Notes 49), whose aim, according to the Commission, is to review the principles of the European social model and to check that they are still relevant in the 21st century. The objective is to build a foundation of social rights for those countries that are members of the Economic and Monetary Union. The project, which was presented in a communication published on 8 March of this year, has just been subjected to a legal analysis (in English) by the European Trade Union Institute, written by Klaus Lörcher and Isabelle Schömann. The document analyses the content of the communication and the 20 domains that, according to the communication, would be covered by this pillar (gender equality and work-life balance, social dialogue and involvement of workers, etc.). Finally, it addresses rights overlooked by the Commission, but which would take their full place in this pillar, such as the right to protection of personal data in the employment relationship; the right to reasonable working time, and the right to freedom of expression, including the right to whistle-blowing. By way of a reminder, the Commission has set up a public consultation about the project, which is open until the end of the year. This document may help the players to form their own contribution.