Page 86 - Socially-responsible-restructuring-Effective-strategies-for-supporting-redundant-workers

Socially responsible restructuring
Effective strategies for supporting redundant workers

in place extra support measures and so welcomed the intervention of a regional
support programme.
The role of trade unions and other employee representative groups is
important to support in times of restructuring for a number of reasons. First,
where trade union membership density is high (and this applies to all the case
study firms in Germany, Finland, and Sweden and, to a lesser extent, the UK) a
previously negotiated agreement on provisions in the event of mass
redundancies, extending to severance terms and support measures is more
likely. This can lead to more being offered but perhaps less flexibility for the
employer. In EnergoMont, the company did not have trade union representation
and so there was no specific policy in place to offer support to employees, hence
the approach to the PES for assistance.
Active participation of trade unions, works councils and other employee
representative bodies can also have a positive effect on the quality and extent of
the support delivered. In AutoVision (Germany), a heavily unionised company,
the effective operation of the transfer company depends on collaboration
between employer and works council and this is a similar situation in the
Karmann (Germany) case study. However, it does not have to be trade union led.
In GKN (UK), the consultative body comprises representatives from all the trade
unions, from those not in a union and from management but works to the same
ends as a more formally constituted works council.

Employer and works council collaboration

The transfer company AutoVision (DE) relies heavily on collaboration between the employer and
the works council. A restructuring programme can be a sensitive issue for the company which,
naturally enough, wishes to minimise any adverse publicity from the activity, particularly where the
product might be sensitive to consumer choice.

In Germany, the works councils are strong representative bodies that are fully involved in any
consultations and decisions on restructuring. In this case study it was stated that the success of the
activity can be down to the ‘grade and quality’ of the works council and its commitment to the
necessary changes and the contributions it makes to the process. It is important that good relations
and collaboration extends to ensuring that those remaining in work are satisfied that the whole
process has been transparent and equitable.

Source: Case study 1.

As an enabler to effective practice, public provision of support mechanisms is
important in all the case studies and crucial in some. The PES in the case studies
covered here is the principal repository of job vacancy information and so is

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