Brussels, 21 December 2005
10757/BS/SD
Dear Mr Serafini,
We are writing to you on behalf of the EMF and UNI Europa, the two European trade union organisations that represent employees in the IT sector and in HP as well.
We are seriously concerned about the job cuts announced by HP with some 14'500 jobs to disappear worldwide and more than 6'000 in Europe. We are afraid that redundancies of this size will come with many personal sacrifices and individual hardships, which should be avoided and reduced to the minimum.
Apart from the fact that some countries are affected disproportionately, we are more worried about the lack of a discernible and cohesive business strategy that is guiding the envisaged restructuring.
From what is going on currently one might get the impression that people have to pay with their jobs to please Wall Street and shareholders.
Our member organisations, who are dealing with your national and local management report to us, that the downsizing process is not lead by clear business objectives and the impact on people's mood and motivation is devastating. They have urged us to address their concerns directly with you.
This is why we suggest to meet with you at your earliest convenience in order to learn more about HP's rationale behind the current restructuring and share with you the grievance and sorrows of HP employees that have been brought to our attention.
Yours sincerly,
UNI-Europa EMF
Bernadette Ségol Peter Scherrer
Regional secretary General secretary
12 comments:
Could you please inform us of the answer to that demand asap.This letter seems very fair and soft .I don't think that he will answer.Courrage is no more a quality manager needs in HP.
This reminds me... I think there was a letter here earlier sent to Mark Hurd? How was his response?
And who is going to be the nect recipient of these powerful and concrete actions? I am sure President Bush also has a mailbox!
Try focusing on the local level and concrete issues. These letters are just a waste of both parties time. As, I am sorry to say, are these pages...
I don't agree.
They give a lot of insight on HP
to investors on the net.
Well, Mr 12:18 am, we will refer you to this sentence : "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing (Edmund Burke, 1729-1797)"
Feeling the pressure is already a good start, no pressure with this kind of HP would be a disaster for employees. Maybe you are a manager ?
We are also focusing on local issues, with some successes. But the answers to employee issues are global. Like HP.
We will tell you what will be the answers and next steps. Because there will be.
Kraft is not one of BuzzMetrics' clients. But the results of the firm's research was instructive to many companies that are its clients, including blue chip companies such as General Motors, Hewlett-Packard and Target, that engage BuzzMetrics to monitor, track and analyze the ways that the public talks online about their products and brands.
(...)
It's not clear how many companies are monitoring the Internet for brand mentions. Nor is it clear how many of those businesses hire outside help to do the research, or invest in both in-house and outside services.
One example of the latter is Hewlett-Packard, which is a BuzzMetrics client and also has an internal program.
"We pay attention to the blogosphere," said Scott Anderson, HP's director of enterprise brand communications, in a talk at the Syndicate conference in San Francisco in December. "Our audience is online. They're having discussions about us and about our competitors, and they're talking about the marketplace. It may be good, and it may be bad, but it's important for us to pay attention to what's being said out there."
"When consumers have their own pen, they may not call in anymore."
--Steve Rubel, CooperKatzEffectively, Anderson said, HP considers bloggers--especially chief-level executives, journalists and "influencers in our market"--to be valuable filters for what people think about its products and services.
"The blogosphere is a great place for customer intelligence," he said. "Things are happening very fast. Bloggers are considered to be people with real strong opinions. So it's a place where people are being really honest about what they think."
http://news.com.com/Why+companies+monitor+blogs/2100-1030_3-6006102.html?tag=st.num
Dear hpwfr,
the quoted sentence by the late Edmund Burke shows one are, where the problem is.
It is the old-fashioned way of thinking, so called "either-or" model. Sorry to say, that is the logic the unions need to survive. There is another way, the so called "both-and" way.
Often in a situation of crisis and change the results come from leaving the conventional way. Now I see just wasted resources in the fight... the stratehy seems to be "either the jobs are secured or...".
You refer to next steps, good. Can you also enlighten me one the previous steps you have taken? I only see here articles on what is happening at HP, no results from your actions.
Maybe I am just too blind to see the results. And I do understand your way, I just don't support it nor see it efficient.
And no, I am not a manager, just one of the "good guys" with a different approach. Good luck!
To 9:57
Employees have done that the managers told them to achieve profit and they succeded.
Now it is the management responsibility to leave the conventional way if necessary but ... with the help of the same employees.
Mr 9:57 am, you are wondering what results have been achieved so far ?
1/ HP under the rader screen of European Unions. Quaterly meetings on HP case and action plans builts, starting this month.
2/ HP under the radar screen of European Commission. This is related of course as European Union is under both european Union and government pressure. This is official now and a scoop for this site : HP is blacklisted by EC and will be in the same group as Canon, CSC, Ericson, Jitronics, IBM, ICL, Lucent, Nokia, Philips and Vodaphone.
3/ As a result, HP is changing its WFR plans. Just ask the French who started that fight what results they have achieved...
The point is that most of the results will be decisions that HP will cancel under pressure or never take for fear of retaliation. So you may not see what you have escaped. But if you like, you can look at countries who do not have these bodies and/or employees preventing HP from going too far and acting with total freedom against them.
I don't see you listing anything concrete. How have the plans in France changed?
I understand this site is managed by the French, so please tell us what you have achieved!
BTW, why are the other mentioned companies blacklisted and what does it mean?
In France, the WFR 2006-2007 number has moved from 1240 to 940 (886 without subsidiaries = -29%). Many other things have been accomplished.
The EC radar means that the EC wants to understand why HP and the others on the list are behaving like that and what can be done to convince them to change their plans of moving jobs to Asia.
They help European unions, and have already hosted two meetings of HP employee representatives, last one two weeks ago in Brussels with 7 countries.
Some other achievements :
- Creation of the Group of Development of Activities in France chaired by the former President of HP in Europe Bernard Méric associating the trade unions and of the members of the direction. Objective: to identify and develop new activities in France in connection with the local communities, Europe and the US. Economic expert, budget, participations of external people possible (example: local councillors). Meeting at least once per month, report/ratio under 6 months then creation under 12 months of at least a new significant activity in France. Employees are associated and proposing ideas for new businesses
- Revitalization of the most impacted basins of employment. Singature with government to create new businesses. Budget available and external consultant. That will make it possible to reinvest locally to recreate outside employment removed inside HP.
- Agreement of adaptation to employment (to adapt competences of the employees to the evolutions of HP)
- No closing of HP site of subsidiarization of HP Services
- Integration of subsidiary companies touched (CFS, Triaton...) to benefit from the same HP package
- Priority with volunteers
- High financial package, same as 2003 except pre-retirement (focusing on non executives and medium executives that can leave aged 50 or 52 with most of their salary).
So tell us what has been achieved in your countries by negociating or fighting, or both ? Or none ?
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