IR Notes

On 24 October, the European Commission published its work programme for 2018, with 26 new initiatives, all of which, it says, will be submitted by May 2018, to enable Parliament and the Council to complete its legislative work before the European elections due to be held in June 2019, and the appointment of a new Commission (see the Commission’s press release). Consequently this is the Juncker Commission’s last real work programme, as the 2019 programme will be all about finalising business in progress.  The Commission emphasises that “there is still work to do if we are to ensure that social fairness and labour rights are hallmarks of the single market”, while focusing, in its communication mainly on projects that have already been announced, such as the European Pillar of Social Rights, which will “help us move towards a ‘Social Standards Union’”, in the words of Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. In this regard, the Commission is putting forward a “Social fairness package” (see item 8 of Annex 1) covering four proposals, most of which have already been announced: 1° a legislative proposal to establish a “European Labour Authority”;  2° a proposal to guarantee access to social protection for atypical self-employed workers; 3° a new proposal in favour of the introduction of a European Social Security Number “that could be used across policy areas where appropriate”; 4° revision of the Written Statement Directive requiring the employer to inform  workers  of  the  conditions  applicable  to  the  contract  of employment  or  working relationship. In addition to revising the Posting of Workers Directive (see item 29), before its term of office comes to an end, the Commission would also like to finalise several pieces of social legislation forming part of the “Europe on the Move” package (see item 17): 1° revision of the legislation covering lorry drivers’ working hours (Regulation (EC) No. 561/2006) and positioning by means of tachographs (Regulation (EC) No. 165/2014); 2° revision of Directive 2006/22/EC as regards enforcement requirements and laying down specific rules for posting drivers in the road transport sector; 3° the proposal amending Regulations No. 883/2004 (coordination of social security systems) and 987/2009 (application of Regulation No. 883/2004) (see item 30); 4° the proposal for a directive on work-life balance for parents and carers (see item 31). The programme, whose content is probably more “social” than any other in the past ten years, has been welcomed by the European Trade Union Confederation, which expressed satisfaction but also regret at the lack of recognition extended to the social impact of the digitisation of the economy and “the complete absence of anything connected to increased industrial democracy and workers’ participation” (see press release). The employers’ organisation did not react but has already had an opportunity to express its opposition to any new directive in the field of social affairs.
> To access all of the documents presented by the Commission.

• Revised “Carcinogenic Substances” Directive adopted by Parliament: On 25 October, by an overwhelming majority, the European Parliament adopted a position with a view to adopting the regulation amending Directive 2004/37 concerning protection of workers against risks linked to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work (see press release). Once they have been adopted by the Council, the new rules will be published in the OJEU and will come into effect 20 days after publication.
  > For the content of the text, see IR Notes 80.

Revision of the Posting of Workers Directive disappoints the social partners: The European Trade Union Confederation found the proposal adopted by the Council “somewhat disappointing” (see IR Notes 84). It expressed regret over a number of issues: the exclusion of road transport; insufficient safeguards regarding “actual payment of allowances”; the lack of a legal basis to make it an instrument for the protection of workers, as opposed to only single market law; the failure to recognise many types of collective agreements; and an unusually long transposition time (3 years) (see press release). ETUC is relying on Parliament to restore a balance to the text during the negotiations with the Council. As the Effat trade union federation emphasises, Parliament took many trade union demands into account (see press release). For its part, the BusinessEurope employers’ organisation sees this as “a bad compromise driven by political symbolism”. It denounces the reduction in the maximum posting duration to 12 months in line with the European Parliament’s request, compared to the current 24‑month period.
> The text of the proposal for a directive amending the Posting of Workers Directive adopted by the Council is now available on the IR Share website.

• Protecting whistle-blowers: On 24 October, the European Parliament passed a resolution concerning measures to protect whistle-blowers acting in the public interest, who disclose confidential information on businesses and public bodies (see press release).

IG Metall trade union adopts its claims: On 26 October, the executive bureau of the metal workers’ union IG Metall finalised its claims for the tariff agreements negotiations due to start on 15 November (see press release). The trade union is claiming the following: 1° a general wage increase of 6% over a twelve-month period for the metal-working industry’s 3.9 million employees; 2° an individual right to a reduction in working hours, so that employees can move from full-time work to a 28-hour working week, for a period of up to 24 months. According to IG Metall President Jörg Hoffmann, “the aim is to achieve a greater degree of self-determination in working hours. Flexible working hours in manufacturing industry must cease to operate to the detriment of employees: they must also benefit workers”. Moreover, employees who cut down their working hours to look after children aged under 14 or take care of family members should receive a fixed allowance of 200 euros from their employer. Employees who work shifts or have other patterns of work that are harmful to their health, should also obtain a fixed allowance of 750 euros per annum if they reduce their working hours.

• Second wave of employment market reforms: Following the adoption, in September, of the reforms of employment law and collective bargaining, on 25 October the government put forward a roadmap for the transformation of apprenticeships, vocational training and unemployment insurance. At the beginning of November, work will begin on reforming apprenticeships, with the setting up of multi-party working groups. In mid-November, the government will invite the social partners to embark on cross-industry negotiations covering the reform of vocational training. Lastly, at the end of the month, the government will start work on reform of the unemployment insurance system by organising a multilateral meeting of all stakeholders. The aim will all three themes is for a law to be adopted by the end of summer 2018.

• An increase in the number of employees working nights: The number of people who regularly work nights has risen by 260,000 over the past five years, representing a 9% increase, according to a study by the British Trade Union Confederation (the TUC).

Total: On 30 June, the management of the Total group signed an amendment to its European Works Council agreement, established in 2001. The text lays down temporary rules concerning the impact of Brexit. For example, as regards the new council’s term of office, which will run until September 2021, it has been agreed that British representatives will remain on the council, even if the UK leaves the EU and the European Economic Area. The matter will be re‑examined the next time a new council is elected. Likewise, on that occasion, the parties agree to examine “the possibility of including” countries that are not part of Europe. The agreement provides for greater powers for the select committee. In exceptional circumstances, the council will be convened within 24 hours preceding the start of national notification and consultation procedures, or at least no later than at the same time as these procedures. Depending on the importance of the matter in question, the council will be able to either issue an opinion immediately or to request a second meeting in order to give itself the time needed to analyse the matter, or even, with the support of two thirds of its members, to refer the matter directly to an extraordinary meeting of the European Works Council. It should also be noted that a fourth standing committee has been created, with responsibility for renewable energies and for transforming the annual seminar devoted to the topic of health and safety into a standing cross-functional committee dedicated to sustainable development and to social and environmental affairs. This committee will be able to make a site visit once a year.

• Princes: After three years of negotiations, on 12 October, an agreement was signed to set up a European Works Council within Princes (part of the Mitsubishi Corporation group), a multinational company in the food-processing sector, whose head-office and main manufacturing units are located in the United Kingdom. Princes also has production sites in Italy, France, Poland, the Netherlands and Mauritius. The European Works Council will be made up of 3 Italian representatives, 9 British representatives, 1 for the Netherlands, 1 for Poland and 1 for France. The critical point of the agreement is that it excludes matters linked to health and safety, the environment and working relationships from the list of subjects covered by notification and consultation procedures. In appendix to the agreement, European Works Council members are required to sign a form promising that they will honour a confidentiality clause.


• Saipem: On 17 July, the Italian company Saipem, which is specialised in research and oil drilling, signed an agreement to set up a European Works Council covering employees based in the European Economic Area. The first meeting of this European Works Council is planned for the autumn (see press release in English or Italian).

HeidelbergCement: On 1 and 2 November, in Bremen (Germany), the international trade union federations IndustriAll Global Union and BWI organised the first meeting of the global trade union network of the cement producer HeidelbergCement group (see press release). On this occasion, the 40 trade unionists present adopted a joint declaration calling upon management to: 1° embark on negotiations to set up an international framework agreement, with a dispute resolution mechanism, a monitoring committee and an emphasis on health and safety at work; 2° set up a global works council.

• Hewlett-Packard: On 13 September, the European trade union federations IndustriAll Europe and Uni Europa jointly organised a meeting in Brussels of staff representatives of the three companies created from the American legacy group Hewlett-Packard (HP), which has been undergoing a major restructuring programme over the past two years: HP Inc., HP Enterprise (HPE) and DXC Technology, itself derived from the merger of CSC and HP Enterprise Services.  The meeting was held to develop a trade union coordination strategy, with the aim of conducting an appropriate social dialogue at European level within the three companies, notably by setting up European Works Council in each one (see press release). At HP Inc., the European Works Council is due to be created shortly, in accordance with the subsidiary requirements of Directive 2009/38. A new special negotiation group (SNG) has been set up within HPE. In the case of DXC Technology, the situation is more complicated, as a European Works Council agreement was already in existence at CSC, under German law. According to IndustriAll, management believes it should create a SNG, bearing in mind that DXC Technology is a new company, and should negotiate under Irish law, since the company’s head-office is in Ireland. That view is not shared by IndustriAll Europe, which believes that the terms of CSC’s European Works Council agreement should be honoured. The council says that if the agreement is terminated, negotiations must be initiated under the auspices of the law governing the agreement, i.e. German law.

• European Globalisation Adjustment Fund: On 31 October, the European Commission published a report on the results achieved in 2015 and 2016 by the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). In 2015 and 2016, the EGF provided assistance to 19,500 redundant workers and to 1,251 unemployed young people who were not in education, employment or training (NEET). The EU’s contribution amounted to more than 70 million euros. In total, 9,072 workers, i.e. almost one half of the people concerned by the measures financed by the EGF, had either found a new job or become self-employed within one year. At the same time, another 645 workers were either in education or training. Since the time of its creation, the EGF has received 147 applications for intervention, representing a total of some 600 million euros, seeking assistance for around 137,600 workers and 2,944 NEETs (see press release). In point of fact, over a ten-year period, the EGF has barely consumed any more funds than its allocated budget for a single year (500 million euros), which shows that it has been under-utilised. It should be noted that its three largest interventions over the period 2015-2016 concern two car manufacturers (the automotive industry is the largest consumer of funds), namely Adam Opel (6.95 million) and Ford Genk (6.26 million), together with the supermarket chain Larissa in Greece (6.46 million). The country that consumed the largest amount of funds over this period was Finland, with almost 12 million euros, and since the time of the Fund’s creation, France (89.7 million).


• European platform to tackle undeclared work: In order to clarify the exchanges on the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee, the latter published a briefing on the European platform to tackle undeclared work, which was created in March 2016. In line with the Council’s wishes, this platform could also become involved in efforts to combat abuses in the area of posting of workers within the framework of performing services.