EMF urges Commission to consider social aspects of mergers

At a conference held in November 2001, the European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF) asked the European Commission to create a more balanced approach to the assessment of mergers by taking social factors into consideration.

The European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF), which brings together metalworking trade unions from across Europe, discussed the social aspects of company mergers at an industrial policy conference held on 20–21 November 2001. One of the main conclusions was EMF's belief that the European Commission should, when assessing mergers of companies in the European Union, take social factors into consideration. EMF states that this would be a useful and balanced approach to merger assessment, as it would complement the existing method, which involves using market-related criteria (TN0102401S). These social factors should, according to EMF, include issues such as the implementation of mergers in a 'good quality' fashion, which respects the needs of the workforce.

EMF's states that employee representatives in the metalworking sector are increasingly surprised by the 'superficiality' of the preparation and handling of mergers. It therefore believes that a more balanced representation of interests should be the norm.

In the case of cross-border mergers, EMF notes that worker representatives in some cases have been able to exert a real influence over the process, citing the cases of the US-headquartered vehicle manufacturer General Motors, the German-headquartered steel, capital goods and services group Thyssen/Krupp and the European aerospace and defence group EADS as examples of best practice.

Finally, EMF also urges the Commission to issue a report on industrial restructuring. EMF believes that this would help to create a viable framework for employee involvement in industrial restructuring. Such a report is still being prepared by the Commission and is expected to be published shortly.