Unions threaten legal action against 40-hour week at Smead

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Smead Europe, the Dutch subsidiary of a US-owned office supplies group, is due to introduce a 40-hour week at two plants in August 2004 in order to tackle rising costs. Employees at the sites currently work 36 or 38 hours a week and will receive no pay increases for the extension of their working time. A survey of the plants' workforce found majority support for the move. However, trade unions have threatened to take legal action against Smead Europe if it goes ahead with the change, claiming that it breaches sectoral collective agreements.

Following a survey conducted amongst some 230 employees, Smead Europe- a subsidiary of the US-owned Smead office supplies group, based in Hoogezand in the Netherlands - decided in July 2004 to introduce a 40-hour working week at two of its three Dutch establishments with effect from 1 August 2004, without increasing the employees' pay. The staff survey reportedly found that 80% of the employees at the two establishments concerned agreed with this move. Different collective agreements apply at the two establishments. One is governed by the sectoral collective agreement for metalworking and electronics and its 38-hour working week, and the other by the arts, information and media sector agreement and its 36-hour week. The extended working week will not be introduced at the third Smead establishment - which is covered by the metalworking and electronics sector agreement - since most of the employees there did not accept a 40-hour week. Smead’s chief executive, Simon Feenstra, says that extension of the working week is vital because the company is having to cope with rapidly rising costs and these cannot be passed on the customers for a year.

Siegbert van der Velde, the chair of the Services Union (CNV Dienstenbond) affiliated to the Christian Trade Union Federation (Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond, CNV), has stated that the economic grounds for the 40-hour week initiative have not been firmly established and it will not provide a solution for the problems facing Smead. Moreover, Mr Van der Velde asserts that Smead has no right to implement such a measure, because a 40-hour working week breaches the applicable collective agreements and is therefore unlawful. The fact that the employees agree with the extension of working time does not authorise the company to adopt such a measure in breach of the collective agreements, he asserts.

FNV Kiem, the trade union for the art, information and media sector affiliated to the Federation of Dutch Trade Unions (Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging, FNV), is also opposed to the Smead plans. Cees Peijster, the chair of FNV Kiem, states that it is not permissible to agree on employment conditions that fall below the minimum levels set out in collective agreements. The arts, information and media sector collective agreement does offer a measure of leeway to extend the working week, but only for a specific period. Given that the company has not been able to indicate for exactly how long the 40-hour week will apply, it is not possible to deviate from the collective agreement even if the employees agree to the measure. Moreover, FNV Kiem asserts that because the staff surveys were not conducted on an anonymous basis, the employees may have cooperated out of fear of reprisal.

If Smead implements its plans, the two trade unions will initiate summary legal proceedings.