IndustriAll results of the questionnaire on investments of May 2014 Information and consultation concerning resource efficiency issues in the European steel industry Analysis of the results of responses to the questionnaires on investments (1st phase) 1 Questionnaire on investments: first phase of the project The emphasis was placed on information, consultation and negotiation concerning investments in general, in order to obtain as many answers as possible Information, consultation and negotiation on investments in the European steel industry to improve resource efficiency (which covers energy efficiency as well as raw material efficiency) raises the question of the role of personnel representatives and their trade union organisations in the process to modernise the European steel industry IndustriAll results of the questionnaire on investments of May 2014 Dealing with investment in a highly capital-intensive industry such as the steel industry amounts to defining future capacity and the jobs related to this in terms of quantity and also quality To address the issue with IndustriAll Europe we prepared and sent a questionnaire to European steel worker representatives in early April 2014 It consisted of 45 questions in addition to information about the respondent's identity 29 questionnaires were filled, some of which with the help of an expert on the telephone who explained and the nature of the expected responses The emphasis on the information process must, aside from the interest kindled by the project, make it possible to evaluate the possibility of following up the survey with an in-depth examination that is the upcoming second stage Responses were obtained from nine countries, including four countries that recently joined the European Union 2 Answers mainly in line with specifications The 29 completed questionnaires come from three production units per country, with the exception of: IndustriAll results of the questionnaire on investments of May 2014 A single Slovakian questionnaire that corresponds to the country's only production unit One questionnaire filled out by UK trade union organisations, Unite and Community, who are supposed to represent all production sites Six questionnaires filled out for France, since the two main trade union organisations (CGT and CFDT) had answered each time for three sites in accordance with the request Most respondents abided by the specifications, which consisted in collecting answers from worker representatives from different production sites, three in all Integrated steel mill with blast furnace and converter Electric steel mill producing carbon steel Electric steel mill producing alloy steels, in particular stainless steel To facilitate processing and interpretation, the questionnaire was created according to the deductive mode with respect to the underlying objective of the project where “Yes” has a meaning that is a priori positive “No” has a meaning that is a priori negative 3 A questionnaire consistent with social dialogue The questionnaire is divided into four sections: National legal framework (6 questions) Information process (27 questions) Role of employee representatives (7 questions) Consultation process (5 questions) It therefore comprises a rationale where, based on a legal framework, the IndustriAll results of the questionnaire on investments of May 2014 company’s management gives information about investments to employee representatives who are capable of claiming or even negotiating their orientation and content and/or be consulted about decisions taken by the management This logical process is possible when there is a certain level of development of social dialogue It is indeed logical that the countries where the opinion of employee representatives are best taken into account for investment issues are also those where the representatives are the most trained and informed 4 1,260 responses representing an average of over 43 responses per questionnaire The lowest response rate was the United Kingdom (39 out of a total of 45) Response rates were similar regardless of the geographical location of production sites Results of the European survey Number of average responses yes no total yes no total Belgium 66 63 129 22 21 43 Spain 62 73 135 20.7 24.3 45.0 France 156 107 263 26 17.8 43.8 Germany 84 8 92 42 4 46 Italy 73 57 130 24.3 19.0 43.3 Poland 64 61 125 21.3 20.3 41.7 Czech Republic 103 26 129 34.3 8.7 43 Romania 83 51 134 27.7 17.0 44.7 Slovakia 22 23 45 22 23 45 UK 61 17 78 30.5 8.5 39 Total 774 486 1260 IndustriAll results of the questionnaire on investments of May 2014 Number of responses 43.4 5 Very contrasted social dialogue models regarding investment in the European steel industry IndustriAll results of the questionnaire on investments of May 2014 Content must be given to these positive responses during the second phase of the survey that will be based on interviews with employee representatives in the countries selected 6 The legal framework and the process for informing employee representatives in the European steel industry The first series of questions concerned the legal framework of information and consultation on investments Overall, most respondents considered that they had a satisfactory knowledge of the framework. There are however three remarks to be made IndustriAll results of the questionnaire on investments of May 2014 One third of respondents have not received any training on the subject One third of the responses show that the issue of raw materials and energy has not been integrated into the social dialogue with the management Lastly, a majority of respondents declare that there was no specific procedure for information and consultation on technical investments With respect to the information process, which is the heart of the questionnaire, it appears that for data concerning Corporate strategy: one third of respondents do not have access to this information Investments: nearly half of them received information prior to the decision to invest but with varying situations depending on the country Investments concerning personnel training: employee representatives were kept informed Special mention must be made to apprentices who, judging by the negative responses about access to information concerning them, do not seem to benefit from the same social dialogue situation 7 Very contrasted situations in Europe on the prior information of employee representatives concerning investments IndustriAll results of the questionnaire on investments of May 2014 The absence of prior information shows that employee representatives cannot take part in decision-making and find it more difficult to understand the consequences of the decisions 8 Information of employee representatives concerning the economics of investments proves inadequate in Europe Change in cost structure Economic calculation 100.0% 100.0% 80.0% 60.0% 40.0% 20.0% 0.0% 80.0% 60.0% 40.0% 20.0% Investment financing 100.0% 80.0% 60.0% 40.0% 20.0% 0.0% IndustriAll results of the questionnaire on investments of May 2014 0.0% The information about the economic conditions of investments in the European steel industry given to employee representatives is satisfactory only in a few countries It must also be pointed out that the responses do not seem go along EastWest or North-South geo-historic lines The differences between European countries range from 1 to 100%. With an average of under 50% 9 Information about the social impacts of investments is more developed Impact on employment Change in working conditions 100.0% 100.0% 80.0% 80.0% 60.0% 60.0% 40.0% 40.0% 20.0% 20.0% Training needs related to the investment 100.0% 80.0% 60.0% 40.0% 20.0% 0.0% There is more information on the social impact of projected and actual investments in countries with economic problems. However, given the answers obtained, there is still a lot of room for improvement The differences between European countries are less significant IndustriAll results of the questionnaire on investments of May 2014 0.0% 0.0% 10 Understanding and calling for the investment Under these conditions, it is perfectly logical that the rate of negative responses be relatively high for the qualification of investments Approximately one third of the responses underline the absence of clear definitions of investment objectives by company managements, for example with respect to quality, productivity, capacity and safety About the expected time of return on investments About the R&D investments made by the company Maintenance investments Investments made to improve the energy performance of facilities This lack of information is at odds with the assertion by employee representatives that they are conversant with the investment requirements of their company and more particularly, of their production tool Even if this is consistent with the lack of information, company managements do not feel that employee representatives are entitled to give a relevant opinion on the issue of investments Claims are made for investments in 24 out of 29 responses, i.e. 83% IndustriAll results of the questionnaire on investments of May 2014 Thus only a little under half of the respondents are informed 11 Social dialogue on investment issues still rudimentary in the European steel industry This lack of information is also confirmed in the case of requests for subsidies from the public authorities as in the case of environmental investments imposed by law We can only point out in these conditions that 9 respondents report on This possibility of negotiating is consistent with whether or not there is a consultation procedure Lastly, from the responses obtained, consultation remains an infrequent practice in Europe despite laws on the issue For the last question "Is constructive dialogue with the management the norm?" only 11 negative responses were recorded compared with 18 positive ones. This implies that there is a certain level of social dialogue that is so implicit that it cannot be apprehended in a questionnaire such as this In a nutshell, there is some possibility of negotiation, little consultation, and social dialogue on investments remains rudimentary in Europe IndustriAll results of the questionnaire on investments of May 2014 negotiations between trade unions and company management for investments. They are mainly in Germany, the United Kingdom and marginally in Poland and the Czech Republic 12 Differences between countries must be interpreted with caution The results of the questionnaires and in particular the differences observed The results of the questionnaires show that the level of information in France is lower on many counts than what exists in several other European countries such as the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Romania or Italy; This result could be due to the little addressed theme of investment as an object of social dialogue (information and consultation) with respect to other topics and issues (employment and training, industrial, economic and financial performance, etc.). There may also be biases resulting from the way in which the questionnaires were answered: depending on whether the responses given by the trade union organisations were made at the national or local level (entity, or even site), depending on whether there was an oral discussion with the expert that clarified the meaning and nature of the questions, etc. Thus, some questions arose on several occasions from the answers to the questionnaires, about the nature of the information sent by the company management (oral answers to questions, substantiated data, etc.). Only the more detailed surveys of the second phase will remove these ambiguities IndustriAll results of the questionnaire on investments of May 2014 between countries must be analysed with caution. For example, the divergence between the existing legal framework in countries and the results of the survey may be initially surprising. 13