HP Invent...: Huge success of the first European action day in HP and EDS on 13th November

November 13, 2008

Huge success of the first European action day in HP and EDS on 13th November

European Metalworkers’ Federation and UNI-Europa call for
mobilisation throughout Europe

Today, HP and EDS the trade unions and the workers have demonstrated their determination to reject the management plans to downsize the workforce and cutback the terms and conditions in HP/EDS by successfully mobilising and undertaking protest action in most of the European countries where HP and EDS have locations.

In Germany, workers and works councils’ meetings have been organised during three consecutive days.
In Austria, workers’ assemblies took place in front of headquarters in Vienna.
In Belgium as well as in Sweden, information meetings for workers have been organised during working hours in the different sites. Leaflets, pamphlets, badges and campaign material have been distributed.
In Spain, workers rallied in front of the different EDS buildings for 15 minutes.
In Italy, in the wake of the protest actions organised on 21 October, a two hour strike took place in the sites of Rome and Napoli. Flyers were also distributed to the population.
In the United Kingdom, actions to raise workers and people’ awareness were undertaken outside the larger HP/EDS sites.
In France, demonstrations took place in front of the buildings in most of the HP/EDS sites. In all EDS offices outside of Paris, a day or half a day of strike was organised.
Signatures against management plans have been collected in several countries, amongst them Germany, Denmark, Switzerland and Hungary.
In Italy and United Kingdom lobbying initiatives have been undertaken towards members of Parliament.

In the light of this successful European-width mobilisation the trade unions and workers’ representatives will meet shortly to discuss and prepare future actions.
___________
The EMF is the representative body defending the interests of workers in the European metal industry. The EMF has a mandate for the external representation and coordination of the metalworkers' unions and a mandate to engage in bargaining at European level.
UNI-Europa is the European trade union organisation for skills and services.
For further information please contact:
Editor, Peter Scherrer, EMF General Secretary
Isabelle Barthès, EMF Policy Advisor on Company Policy +32(0)2 227 10 12
Gerd Rohde, UNI-Europa + 41 (0)1 792 02 19 28

Caroline Jacobsson
Information & Communications adviser
*******************************
European Metalworkers' Federation, EMF
Fédération Européenne des Métallurgistes, FEM
Europäischer Metallgewerkschaftsbund, EMB
International Trade Union House (ITUH)
Boulevard du Roi Albert II, 5 (bte 10)
B-1210 Brussels
cjacobsson@emf-fem.org
www.emf-fem.org
http://www.gmworkersblog.com/
http://www.precariouswork.eu/
Phone: +32.2.227.10.54
Fax: +32.2.217.59.63

1 comment:

Anonymous said...: Letter to the EC

20th November 2008
Mr. Vladimir Spidla
Member of the European Commission
Rue de la Loi 200
B-1049 Bruxelles

Re: Hewlett Packard’s takeover of EDS and its impact on employment

Dear Mr. Spidla,

We are writing to you on behalf of the European Metalworkers’ Federation and UNIEuropa to express our concerns with regard to the social repercussions of the take-over
of EDS by Hewlett-Packard (HP).

In May last, the PC manufacturer HP announced its intention to merge with the IT service provider EDS. This acquisition, which did not appear to raise any problems with regard to European competition laws, was approved by the European Commission on 25th July 2008.

In the wake of the Commission decision, the management convened a meeting of both HP and EDS European Works Councils on 25th September at which it announced that 9,330 workers would be laid off over the next three years in Europe. Whilst workers’ representatives had welcomed the operation on the ground that the new combined company would have developed and offered its employees new opportunities, they were shocked by the decision which far exceeded any ‘worst scenario’ expectations they may have had. In EDS, the plan means that one out of four workplaces is threatened, which will unevitably affect the company’s activities since it will deprive the company of the most valuable asset it requires to grow, i.e. its highly-qualified and competent workforce.

At the EWC meeting, the management did not provide workers’ representatives with any
sound economic justifications for such a plan nor did it explain how the future potential
of the new company was to be exploited.

Whereas workers’ representatives demanded
to receive full information about the restructuring plan and to be properly consulted on the planned measures, the management rejected this possibility and argued that the implementation of the planned measures would be dealt with at national level. In our view, this is a clear denial of EWC information and consultation rights. The restructuring plan has an obvious European scope and needs to be further discussed with the workers’ representatives at European level. More specifically, we expect management to shoulder its social responsibility towards its employees by examining all possibilities for reskilling
or redeployment of the existing workforce within the new group as an alternative to
redundancies. Furthermore, we would like to highlight that whilst European management
refuses to discuss the restructuring plan on the grounds that this is now a national issue,
the local managers clearly state that they are merely implementing measures stemming
from plans decided at a higher level. In doing that management is avoiding having to discuss its plans at the appropriate level and this is clearly unacceptable. This case
illustrates many of the European trade union demands in relation to the revision of the
EWC Directive.

We would like to come back to the decision of the European competition authorities to
authorise this merger. To our understanding the notifying companies filing for a merger
have also to provide information about the social consequences of the planned operation.
Did the company already indicate that mass redundancies were planned? Was the
restructuring Task Force involved in the case? We would like to understand how the
European Commission took employment aspects into consideration in its decision to
approve this case and whether Competition authorities were aware that such a
restructuring plan was in preparation.

Finally, on behalf of the employee representatives of the HP/EDS Group, we would like to request a meeting with you as soon as possible in order to see how we can best ensure that information and consultation rights are fully respected in HP/EDS and how we can avoid another 9,400 jobs being lost in Europe. This is particulary unacceptable for a
company like HP which has just announced very good results.

Thank you for your prompt attention in this matter. We look forward to hearing from you shortly.

Yours sincerely,
Bernadette SEGOL Peter SCHERRER
Regional Secretary Secrétaire Général
UNI-Europa EMF; 6:06 AM, November 20, 2008

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I leave you now HP

They say the "lights will still go on at HP" without me here. I wonder who will miss the love I have given this company, I wonder who will miss how much I cared about The HP Way. I often chose to come in early, work through lunch and stay late. I thought what I was doing was so important. Especially when it was for customers or when it was something so new, What we were doing would change the world. But the times I was the most selfless, was for my co-workers who needed me. Maybe it was to review a document, give feedback, change the code, whatever... This is what I will miss most, knowing that I was important to my co-workers. I will miss the lifelong friends I have made We had so many days of meaningful work together. We made a difference and we knew it. We understood the power of a team. I will miss that where ever I went in the world, I always found great HP people. People who cared as much as I did. People who loved our HP culture enough to keep it precious. These are the great HP people who shared in success And when times were tough were the first to say, "We'll get through it together". I will miss the picnics and the beer busts. But mostly I will miss the managers who believed in me, who challenged me, who told me that I was a leader and important to the business. I will miss the profit sharing checks. Not for the money but because I knew I was a part of something so much greater than myself. I will always remember the handshake and the "Thank you" of the general manager. Those were some of my favorite times. I will miss the laughter and excitement of creating new businesses and improving processes. I will miss the serious times when customers' needs were on the line. We were all engaged for one purpose. It was our finest hour. I will miss saying I helped create a great HP product. And now will relish in how it changed the world. I wouldn't have missed that for anything. How proud I am to have been an HP employee. I would have worked for free for you HP. I loved you that much. You should know that I cried when Bill and Dave died. I had finally figured out what values really mean to a company's culture. My only regret is I didn't have a chance to say thank you. I'll take that learning with me as a final gift of all the years, of the great company Bill & Dave built. I leave you now HP.