One of the major themes of the EWC meeting was the discussion on the implementation of the European agreement on forward looking management of employment and competencies (GPEC) of July 2007.
This agreement is in a test phase with pilot projects in France and Belgium and with training for trade unionists involved in GPEC. The agreement obliges management to discuss with workers' representatives the plans for middle to long-term investments and the impact on employment and qualifications (GPEC). The agreement allows for structured discussions between the trade unions and management and assists in building regional and national structures between different companies in the same company. Members agreed to be more vigilant in the implementation and national GPEC committees which is foreseen for 2009 in many countries. The GPEC agreement foresees training for trade union representatives.
The other major issue of discussion concerned the merger between Suez and GdF. Members of the EWC were updated by different experts on the state of affairs, the social consequences of the merger and possible future negotiations to review the existing EWCs. Colleagues discussed also the functioning of the different committees in view of bringing a majority of shares in Suez Environment to the Stock Exchange.
Other issues:
An exchange of view on the review of the EWC Directive;
An introduction to the recent agreement on social guarantees for the workers in Suez in case of the merger.
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