One in ten multinationals based in Europe has a strategic commitment to
constructive consultation with trade unions, according to a study of
more than 500 European companies by the ratings agency Vigeo.
French-based Vigeo found that two-thirds of the companies it examined
were committed in principle to union rights and collective bargaining,
but only eight per cent translated this into ‘coherent and tangible
managerial actions’. A further 33 per cent did so only ‘to a very
limited extent’.
Vigeo, which is owned by a consortium of private companies, pension
funds and trade unions, says that across Europe – with the exception of
companies in Germany and France – there are generally ‘more
declarations of intent than concrete commitments’ on working with
unions, and few companies have a policy for comprehensive ‘social
dialogue’ with them.
Five of the ten best-performing companies – AGF, Air France, Carrefour,
EDF and PSA Peugeot Citroen – were from France, while not one UK
company made Vigeo’s top ten. The other leading companies were Hennes
& Mauritz (Sweden), Iberia Airlines (Spain), Philips Electronics
(Netherlands), Skanska (Sweden), and Volkswagen (Germany).
Fouad Benseddik, director of methodology at Vigeo, said the political
framework of individual countries played some part in companies’
performance, but that it was ‘not in itself enough to explain the way
European corporations deal with these issues at a global level’. He
suggested that differing levels of commitment from the most senior
managers were ‘a key factor’.
