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)
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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%
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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%
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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
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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
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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.
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