1 st UNI europa Conference on EWCs in the commerce sector The action of commerce EWCs in the economic crisis

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1 WORK PROGRAM 1 st UNI europa Conference on EWCs in the commerce sector The action of commerce EWCs in the economic crisis Introduction The economic crisis in the commerce sector: a key role for EWC members. At a time of economic crisis, the action of EWC members is of high importance. In order to ensure a proper action of EWCs, their members need to know what are their rights, their responsibilities and their means of action. It is not easy to understand the extent of a European mandate to represent workers at crossborder level especially because of the legal complexity and language or cultural differences. In case of restructuring EWCs must be fully operational. It is the responsibility of the trade unions to provide their support to EWC members to play their role entirely. There is a high number of multinational companies that operate in the commerce (retail and wholesale) sector. The commerce sector in E.U. employs 33 million workers. The size and complexity of certain multinational companies deserves a focused research and well coordinated response from the trade union movement. Some examples of multinational companies that will be covered by the project: - ALDI : ALDI is an international discount food retailer known for its cheap prices. The company operates in 16 European countries. ALDI, short for Albrecht Discounts, was co-founded by brothers Theo and Karl Albrecht, who still own the company. The first ALDI retail store was opened in 1948 Germany. Today, the store operates as two separate groups, ALDI North and ALDI South. Theo Albrecht serves as CEO for Aldi North while Norbert Podschlapp and Ulrich Wolters share the role as co-ceos for Aldi South. ALDI North is headquartered in Essen, Germany, while ALDI South operates out of Muelheim, Germany. ALDI s private-label-focused business model is a centrepiece of its discount philosophy. About 95% of ALDI s 1,400 products are private label. - Ahold: The Dutch company employs workers and operates in 8 European countries Royal Ahold is a publicly traded international group of retail chains which owns a variety of commercial retailers in Europe and the US, including Albert Heijn and Giant Foods. The group was established in 1973 when Albert Heijn internationalized the Dutch company by entering the US market. Albert Heijin s grandfather, by the same name, had opened the company s first shop in the Netherlands in The company appointed a new CEO and President in 2007 John Rishton. - Auchan Group: In Europe, Auchan operates in France, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and more recently in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine and Russia. Today the company employs workers worldwide. It was founded in 1961 with the 1

2 opening of its first store in Roubaix, France. The Mulliez family owns the business, with Vianney Mulliez as Chairman of the Supervisory board. The group is primarily focused on sale of food and consumer goods but also includes real estate and banking. - Carrefour: The French retailer employs 468,508 workers worldwide and is n 1 in Europe. The company has shops and franchises in Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Poland Portugal, Romania, and Turkey. Carrefour group was established in its modern form by the merger of the French commercial giants, Carrefour and Promodès, in Originally founded by Fournier and Defforey families in 1959, the company has grown into an international group of hypermarket, supermarket, convenience, cash & carry, and hard discount stores with operations in 30 countries. Though France remains the most important country for Carrefour with almost 37 percent of sales 54 percent of sales were generated outside of France in Lars Olofsson became the most recent CEO of the company on 1 January H&M: Founded by Erling Persson in Sweden in 1947, H&M is an international retailer of fashion for women, men, teenagers, and children. Around 100 in-house designers, sourcing from 700 independent suppliers, create collections centrally. H&M s parent company is H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB, based in Stockholm, which is owned by Stefan Persson Placering AB. Rolf Eriksen has been the CEO and Managing Director since 2000, though the Persson family remains involved through Stefan Persson, Chairman of the Board of Directors since 1979, and Karl-Johan Persson, on the Board since UNI europa will support, in complement to this request, another specific project on H&M from its affiliated union ver.di in Germany. - INDITEX Group: INDITEX is one of the world s largest fashion distributors, with eight brands which deal with textile design, manufacturing and distribution. The company has stores in 73 countries and employs workers. The group was initiated when the current Chairman of the Board, Amancio Ortega Gaona, opened the first Zara store in 1975 in La Coruna, Spain. INDITEX was introduced as a holding group in 1985, keeping La Coruna as its headquarters. Now, INDITEX holds Zara, Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home, and Uterqüe. Since 2005, Mr. Pablo Isla Álvarez de Tejera has headed the group as CEO, also holding the title of First Deputy Chairman. - IKEA : IKEA originated in 1930s Sweden when entrepreneur Ingvar Kamprad, who named the company based on his initials and the names of his family farm and home village, began selling a variety of consumer goods. The company began selling mailorder modern furniture in IKEA is a Dutch-Swedish company, owned by Kamprad's Netherlands-based charitable foundation, Stichting INGKA. IKEA has about 127,800 co-workers (more than workers in 16 countries in Europe) of whom over 75 percent work in retail, with just over 11 percent in purchasing, distribution, whole-sale, range & other functions and 13 percent working for Swedwood Group. Ingvar Kamprad is now retired, leaving leadership of the company to current President and CEO, Anders Dahlvig. - METRO Group: METRO Group was formed by the merger of German retail companies Asko Deutsche Kaufhaus AG, Kaufhof Holding AG, and Deutsche SB-Kauf 2

3 AG in 1996 and is now headed by CEO Dr. Eckhard Cordes. The group points to three pillars of profitable growth: the internationalization of the group, the optimization of the portfolio, and the optimization of the merchandizing concepts. The group operates four main subsidiaries: Metro Cash & Carry (a.k.a. Makro C&C), its biggest and most international sales division; Real, its hypermarket division with operations in Germany, Poland, Romania, Russia and Turkey; Media Markt and Saturn, its consumer electronics division; and Galeria Kaufhof, its department store division. Metro employs workers, most of whom are in Europe. Metro operates in 26 European countries. - TESCO: TESCO is an international retail grocery which ranks as the UK s largest grocer since 1995 and is currently the world s third largest. TESCO was founded by Jack Cohen, who opened his first grocery stall in 1919 London and initiated the TESCO brand in Sir Terry Leahy currently heads the company as CEO. In the coming year, TESCO plans to open over 11.5 million square feet of new Group space 80 percent of it outside of the UK. However, the majority of TESCO s stores and employees remain in the UK, at 57 percent and 63 percent respectively. TESCO also operates stores in the US under the banner of Fresh & Easy. The British retailer has 470,000 employees in the world and half of them are based in the U.K. In Europe, the company has stores in Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Turkey and UK. - REWE Group: The German company is base in 16 European countries and employs workers, two thirds of whom are in Germany. REWE, founded in 1927 in Cologne, includes several formats and branches such as discount stores, national and international full-range stores, specialist stores, B2B (cash & carry and food service), and travel & tourism. CEO is Mr. Alain Caparros. The most important companies of REWE Group in economic terms are REWE-Zentral AG and REWE Zentralfinanz eg, both based in Cologne. The Group's largest branch firm is REWE - Deutscher Supermarkt Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien, based in Wiesbaden. REWE is a cofounder and member of the COOPERNIC Strategic Alliance, which coordinates activities of five independent European retailers: REWE Group, Coop, Colruyt, Conad, E.Leclerc. - Schwarze gruppe: the company controls Lidl and Kaufland. Regarding Lidl, the full name of the company is Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG. Lidl has established itself in 16 countries in Europe. It was founded in the 1930s by a member of the Schwarz family; then called Schwarz Lebensmittel-Sortimentsgrosshandlung. In the 1970s, the first Lidl stores of today's incarnation opened. Lidl is not an abbreviation, but the last name of Ludwig Lidl, a retired teacher. In 1930, Josef Schwarz became a partner in Südfrüchte Grosshandel Lidl & Co., a fruit wholesaler, and he developed the company into a general food wholesaler. In 1977, under his son Dieter Schwarz, the Schwarz-Gruppe began to focus on discount markets, larger supermarkets, and cash and carry wholesale markets. The first Lidl discount store was opened in 1973, copying the Aldi concept. By the year 1977, the Lidl chain comprised 33 discount stores. Some examples of companies impacted by the crisis: 3

4 1. At the last European Works council meeting of P.P.R. (Pinault Printemps Redoute) the company C.E.O. announced 2000 jobs cuts. Workers demonstrating outside the building then decided to block him in his car during several hours until police force intervention. 2. According to the co-chairman of the Metro EWC, Xaver Schiller a redundancy plan has been negotiated with the assistance of UNI affiliate Verdi. "We have largely been able to prevent notices on operational grounds. Most of the reductions are managed through voluntary redundancies with severance pay and other voluntary measures". Metro Cash & Carry Germany has presented a turnaround programme to improve its earnings development and open up additional sales potential, Planet Retail reports. The programme should reduce costs in total by EUR150 million (USD210 million) until It includes three core targets: growth offensive, restructuring and innovation. 3. On 3 July 2009, UNI Europa met with the trade unions from four countries, just a few days after Carrefour CEO Lars Olofsson announced a strategic programme for transforming Carrefour. The programme, though not explicitly referring to jobs, raises a number of question marks for trade unions who see in it the risk of major restructuring if short-term targets are not met. The countrywide strikes organised by the Italian unions Filcams-CGIL, Fisascat-CISL and Uiltucs-UIL on July 17 and 18 to protest against Carrefour s non-respect of the company s collective agreement and the job losses associated with the upcoming store closures has led to increased pressure being put on Carrefour Italy. 4. Woolworths closes shops with the loss of 30,000 jobs. There are plans for a phased store closure programme, which started with 207 stores last year on 27 December; 200 on 30 December; 200 on 2 January; and 200 on 4 January Every store was given just 10 days notice before they closed and staff was asked to work up to three days after their store closes to clear up. John Gorle, Usdaw National Officer, said: We are shocked that staff will only be given 10 days notice of store closures and deeply disappointed by the news that no buyer has yet been found for Woolworths. Redundancy is devastating at any time of the year, but particularly so at Christmas. The background: European works council survey UNI europa participated in a survey of European works council representatives of the University of Manchester. The survey was carried out between July 2007 and August The following six sectors took part in the research: finance, graphical, post & logistics, cleaning and security services, telecom and tourism but not commerce. In October 2008, Prof. Jeremy Waddington presented his first report to the UNI europa management committee. In March 2009, the management committee was additionally informed about the views of European works council representatives in the graphical and finance sectors (see annex 2). The most striking results are that: The quality of information and consultation is in considerable need of improvement; 4

5 European works council representatives are not forcing issues onto the agenda of the European works council even though the issue is listed in the founding agreement as being one that should be subject to information and consultation; European works councils that are highly unionised, have access to an expert appointed by the employees side and have a representative from the European trade union federation present are more effective. In previous years, other European trade union federations already participated in the survey. In comparison to those sectors the overall results for the services sectors are slightly worse. The objective: Stronger and more European works councils to face the crisis consequences The priority objective of the project is to promote actions aiming to enable the social partners to exercise their rights and their duties as regards information, consultation and participation in Community scale undertakings, especially within the framework of their EWC as foreseen in of the call for proposal. In addition, the project will also cover the setting up of new EWCs and the anticipation of restructuring consequences in relation to the current economic crisis. The following multinational companies have set up an EWC or are targeted : Name of company HQ / Country of origin Legal seat if different Status Lead sector 1 Ahlsell Sweden Sweden targete d Commerce 2 Auchan Group France France EWC Commerce 3 Bauhaus Germany Germany targete d Commerce 4 Beijer Bygg (part of DT) Denmark Denmark EWC Commerce 5 Carrefour France France EWC Commerce 6 Dahls (Saint Gobain) France France EWC Commerce 7 Dressman Norway Norway EWC Commerce 8 DT Group Denmark Denmark EWC Commerce 9 Ellos France France EWC Commerce 10 Galeries Lafayette France France EWC Commerce 11 Gehe AG (AAH) Germany Germany EWC Commerce 12 Great Universal Stores UK UK EWC Commerce 13 Haléns Sweden Sweden EWC Commerce 14 Hennes & Mauritz Sweden Sweden EWC Commerce 15 ICA Norden AB Sweden Sweden EWC Commerce 16 Ikea Sweden Sweden EWC in renegot Commerce 5

6 iation 17 Jysk Bäddlager Denmark Denmark restart Commerce 18 KappAhl AB Sweden Sweden EWC Commerce 19 Kingfisher UK UK EWC Commerce 20 Lennox USA France EWC Commerce 21 Kunert Group Germany Germany EWC Commerce 22 Lindex Sweden Sweden EWC Commerce 23 Macintosh Retail Netherland Netherlands Group s EWC Commerce 24 Marcs & Spencer UK UK EWC Commerce 25 Metro AG Germany Germany EWC Commerce 26 Otto Versand Germany Germany EWC Commerce 27 PPR France France EWC Commerce 28 Promodes France France EWC Commerce 29 Quelle Germany Germany EWC Commerce 30 Schwarz Gruppe targete Germany Germany (Lidl) d Commerce 31 Rexel France France EWC Commerce 32 Svenska Lantmännen Sweden Sweden EWC Commerce 33 Tamro Finland Finland EWC Commerce 34 Tesco UK UK Negotia tion started Commerce This list is not exhaustive and is an estimate; the information provided here must be verified in some cases. It is also necessary to research, identify and list those multinational companies that do not have an EWC and are covered by the European directive. UNI europa commerce affiliates have identified a certain number of issues that should urgently be addressed in order to ensure the respect of the E.U. directive regarding the respect of workers rights to information and consultation as well as the general functioning of EWCs. These issues include: - The necessity to improve the level of participation of workers representatives from certain countries, particularly from new Members States - The need to support EWC members by providing them accurate information on the EWC recast directive and the jurisprudence - The need to support workers and trade union representatives to set up new EWCs Considering the number of EWCs in the commerce sector and its potential increase, the UNI europa commerce secretariat does not have the means to coordinate all activities related to EWCs on its own. Therefore, UNI europa commerce needs to set up a task force composed by its affiliated organisations, coordinators and experts. Ideally, this task force should gather ten people who will prepare all necessary tools and recommendations to the benefit of UNI 6

7 europa affiliates and EWC members. A specific questionnaire on EWCs will be circulated to all members. Type of actions that will be developed: The project will develop actions such as: conferences, seminars, short training actions and exchange of information and of good practices, involving workers representatives as proposed in the call for proposal. In order to support the task force, an external expert will be recruited. This external expert will draft the questionnaire in cooperation with the task force and compile the answers. The expert will research and list all companies in the sector that are covered by the EWC directives and have no EWC yet. Ideally the expert will have experience in the commerce sector and will have contacts with relevant specialised media, information bodies, chambers of commerce, retail analysts websites. The expert will draft a report on the basis of the answers to the questionnaires and his/ her own desk research regarding EWCs in the commerce sector. With the support of the task force, he/ she will draft guidelines and recommendations to be used by coordinators and EWC members to be annexed to the report. In order to ensure a close follow up and monitoring of EWCs and multinational activities, UNI europa commerce intends to set up a network of EWC coordinators. UNI europa and its affiliated organisations will identify one UNI europa commerce coordinator for each EWC or Special Negotiating Body where possible. The EWC coordinator activities will have a bottom up impact: he/ she will have the responsibility of reporting regularly to the UNI europa Commerce EWC task force in order to ensure a better visibility and comparison between multinational companies. The EWC coordinator activities will have a top down impact: he/she will have the responsibility of advising EWC members on any legal question regarding EWCs and information and consultation rights at transnational level. He/ she will have the role of expert regarding the negotiation and renegotiation of EWC agreements on behalf of UNI europa as foreseen in the recast directive. His/ her task will also be to ensure cohesion between members of the EWC concerned especially in case of restructuring. Ideally, the coordinator should ensure that the role of the Chair/ Secretary and select committee are clear and support them in making the EWC active between yearly meetings. Meetings a) Induction meeting of the task force Venue: Brussels Date: January 2010 A taskforce of 10 people will act as steering group for the project. The task force will guide the external expert. A questionnaire on EWCs in the commerce sector will be prepared. The task force will also be a team of experts that will ensure the continuity of the work carried out during and after the project end. The task force will meet at every meeting of the project. b) Preparatory event n 1 7

8 Venue: Stockholm Date: March trade union representatives and EWC members will meet including the task force. The meeting will last 1 day. The participants will focus particularly on Nordic and British multinational companies such as Tesco, Ikea, H&M, etc. (see table above). A short training on the EWC recast directive and current jurisprudence will be given. The meeting will focus on : Exchange of information, explanation of the coordinator role and identification of volunteers, debate on EWC limits and opportunities regarding restructurings. c) Preparatory event n 2 Venue: Paris Date: April trade union representatives and EWC members will meet including the task force. The meeting will last 1 day (see draft agenda). The participants will focus particularly on French (Carrefour, Casino, Auchan, Galeries Lafayette, PPR) Belgium and Dutch multinational companies such as Ahold and Delhaize. A short training on the EWC recast directive and current jurisprudence will be given. The meeting will focus on: Exchange of information, explanation of the coordinator role and identification of volunteers, debate on EWC limits and opportunities regarding restructurings. d) Preparatory event n 3 Venue: Berlin Date: May 30 trade union representatives and EWC members will meet including the task force. The meeting will last 1 day. The participants will focus particularly on German, Spanish and non E.U. multinational companies such as Metro, Lidl, Aldi, Rewe, Inditex (Zara) and Walmart. A short training on the EWC recast directive and current jurisprudence will be given. The meeting will focus on: Exchange of information, explanation of the coordinator role and identification of volunteers, debate on EWC limits and opportunities regarding restructurings. e) Main event Venue: Brussels Date: September 100 trade union representatives and EWC members will meet. The meeting will last 1.5 days (see draft agenda) Each preparatory meeting group will report the debates that took place and best practices will be identified. The expert will provide the outcomes of the survey and will the conclusions will be debated. The UNI europa commerce EWC network of coordinators will be officially launched. A draft action plan will be presented and debated. f) Follow up meeting Venue: Barcelona Date: October This is a meeting for the task force members only. 10 participants will: 8

9 - Assess the overall project and draw conclusions from the main event. - Finalise a draft action plan and propose a follow up to the project. This action plan will be forwarded to the UNI europa commerce statutory bodies for approval. - Finalise the draft report of the expert with him/ her. C.11 Short summary of the project and expected results UNI europa commerce will organise 3 regional meetings and a major conference gathering 100 trade union and EWC representatives from the sector. A follow up meeting will also be organised. The expected results are the setting up of 1) a task force of trade union experts from the sector b) a network of coordinators for each multinational company. In addition, a questionnaire will be disseminated to all trade union experts and EWC representatives in order to have a better overview of EWCs in the commerce sector. This is necessary to target those companies that do not have an EWC yet or that have weak and/or outdated agreements that should be renegotiated. Finally, a report on the basis of the answers to the questionnaires and desk research regarding EWCs in the commerce sector will be issued. The report will also include guidelines and recommendations to be used by coordinators and EWC members. C.12 Specify links to the objectives and priorities of the budget heading chosen at point C.3 The project will aim at identifying coordinators for each multinational company in order to ensure communication flows regarding the exchange of experiences or best practices, assess the quality of agreements and the necessity to renegotiate agreements. The objective will also be to connect with other trade unions and representatives to ensure that EWC members are elected / nominated on time and with respect to the national law or practice. In addition, regarding the current crisis, the project will provide recommendations and guidelines to anticipate and manage restructuring issues to coordinators, EWC members and trade unionists. C.13 Transnational dimension The project is transnational in essence because it focuses on EWCs in the commerce sector. All UNI europa affiliates will be invited to participate in the project. UNI europa has affiliated organisations in all E.U. and candidate countries. The multinational companies in the commerce sector as well are established in all E.U. and candidate countries. C.14 Lasting impact of multiplier effect The lasting impact of the project is based on the setting up of a task force that will continue to operate after the project as a team of experts in charge of supporting and advising UNI europa commerce affiliates on all questions related to EWCs. The multiplier effect is based on the network of coordinators whose task will be to ensure information flows between EWC members and UNI europa commerce affiliates and Secretariat. UNI europa commerce estimates the number of EWC members to be around 600 people and potentially more if new EWCs can be set up thanks to the project. In addition, the preparatory meetings and the main event will provide an opportunity for workers representatives to participate in face to face meetings and develop their own contacts and network for their future activities. 9

10 Finally, UNI europa will set up a working group of experts on EWCs for the 13 sectors it covers. Commerce, by far the biggest of them, will contribute to these activities thanks to this project. C.15 Added value and innovativeness of the action The action is innovative because it is the first time that a conference is organised on EWCs in the commerce sector. It will therefore be the first time that a significant number of EWC members meet all together to learn from each other and keep in touch on a regular basis. The added value of this project is high because several objectives will be reached: constitution of a task force and a network of coordinators, short learning sessions regarding the new legislation on EWCs and the current jurisprudence, support for negotiations and renegotiations of EWC agreements, anticipation and management of restructuring cases based on exchange of best practices and drafting of recommendations and guidelines. C.16 Sectors involved in the project The sector involved is commerce, which covers retail and wholesale workers. The commerce sector is the largest employer in E.U. (33 million workers) and covers several sub sectors such as clothing, food, furniture, C.17 Aspects concerning the involvement of social partners. All UNI europa commerce affiliates will be invited to participate in the project. UNI europa has members in all E.U. and candidate countries. C.18 Arrangements to divulgate the project and disseminate the results of the project UNI europa will disseminate the results via its affiliated organisations and the EWC coordinators network with the usual IT communication means. Coordinators will communicate all relevant information to EWC members before and during EWC meetings. UNI europa will post all public information on its website. UNI europa will communicate on key outcomes to other UNI europa sectors, ETUFs, ETUC, the specialised media (newsletters, trade union press), employers, European institutions and the academic world by the usual means of communication ( , internet, ).. UNI europa commerce will communicate its achievements to contribute to the activities of the UNI europa working group of experts on EWCs for the 13 sectors it covers. UNI europa also participates in ETUFs coordination activities on EWCs. C. 19 Publicising EU Commission funding The publicising will be carried out as set in the call for proposal and in accordance with the convention to be signed between UNI europa and the EU Commission. Invitations, agendas, report will mention the funding. C. 20 Added value to previous projects It is the first time that a project and a conference are organised on EWCs in the commerce sector. The project will benefit from the experience of other UNI europa sectors regarding EWCs and therefore its outcomes will be of quality. The team, which will carry out this project, has already achieved a very successful similar project in the property services sector (cleaning 10

11 and security). This project is also based on the fruitful experience of the UNI europa finance and graphical sectors regarding coordinators network. C.21 Subcontracting for external expertise Part of the project will be subcontracted because UNI europa does not have the skills to carry out certain activities. An external expert will be recruited. This external expert will draft the questionnaire in cooperation with the task force and compile the answers. The expert will list all companies in the sector that are covered by the EWC directives and have no EWC yet. Ideally the expert will have experience in the commerce sector and will have contacts with relevant specialised media, information bodies, chambers of commerce, retail analysts, specialised websites. The expert will draft a report on the basis of the answers to the questionnaires and his/ her own desk research regarding EWCs in the commerce sector. With the support of the task force, he/ she will draft guidelines and recommendations to be used by coordinators and EWC members to be annexed to the report. The external expert will be recruited through a procurement procedure (draft procurement in annexe). 11

12 Activity Set up task force Select external expert Task force meeting with experts preparation of meetings and questionnaire Translation and sending out questionnaire 1 st preparatory meeting Stockholm 2 nd preparatory meetinng Paris 3 rd preparatory meeting Berlin Last call for replies Finalise list of coordinators Expert to compile answers of the questionnaire and finalise desk research Translation of documents MAIN EVENT Conference Brussels Follow up meeting Task force and experts only Dissemination and publicity December 2009 ACTION PLAN January February March April May June July August September October November