(8 November 2005) At the recent meeting, at the end of October, of the Thames Water European Forum the Employee Side were concerned to receive reports from the UK and Berlin speculating about RWE's reported proposals to divest itself of some or all of the Thames Water Division. This Division currently holds Thames Water (UK), American Water (USA), Berliner Wasserbetreibe (Germany) and Pridesa (Spain). The Employee Side, which represents employees in the UK, Germany and Spain took the opportunity at the Forum to press the Company for information on the press reports. Thames Water's managing Director was unable to either confirm or deny the reports as he had received no information on the issue from RWE.
The Employee Side committed itself to pursung matters to ensure that it obtained clarification of RWE's intentions towards the future ownership of the Thames Water Division.
Since the Forum meeting the Company has now confirmed its intention to divest itself of three quarters of the Thames Water Division, retaining only Berliner Wasserbetreiber within RWE's Energy Division. The Employee Side will continue to seek clarification about timescales for disposal, the process of disposal, the implications of disposal for employees and the protection of employee jobs as a result of the disposal.
John Loudoun, Chair, Employee Side
- Log in to post comments