European Works Council at CEVA now a reality

At CEVA, the continuation of the former logistics division of TNT, an agreement has been reached about the setting-up of a European Works Council. It will be governed by UK law.

TNT sold its logistical division to Apollo Management in 2006. There were 36 thousand workers there at the time, 200 of which in The Netherlands. In the meantime CEVA, the company’s new name, has taken over US company EGL and has over 55 thousand workers in over one hundred countries.

When Apollo Management purchased the company, it provided guarantees on working conditions. It also promised it would set up a European Works Council, with comparable rights and facilities to those at TNT. CEVA is now listed as a company under UK law, even though the operational headquarters have remained in Hoofddorp.

According to Works Council member Ronald Oostveeen, in the first few months the company has had other priorities than setting-up a European Works Council. There is a transitional situation in the form of the Special Negotiation Body (SNB). Its task was to drive the process leading to the creation of the European Works Council. The SNB was chaired by a Brit and subject to UK company law.

In the end an agreement was reached that is “between the old scenario at TNT and the EU’s EWC Directive”, in Oostveen’s view. He is pleased about, among other things, the arrangements with respect to facilities such as time off and training. The EWC will meet the management at CEVA once a year. EWC requests for more meetings will be assessed by a “Coordination Team” made up of management and the EWC’s Select Committee. More tasks have been delegated to this team, among others the decision whether the EWC is entitled to legal assistance paid for by the company in the event of a dispute. The SNB agreed to this because at the end of the day things will always depend on the mutual trust that the parties have built up in practice.

At the moment worker representatives are being elected or appointed in all EU and EEA State where CEVA is active: The Netherlands, England, Italy and Germany have the largest sites. Oostveen will be one of the Dutch members. The SNB will then cease to exist. A challenge for the new EWC will be the twenty nationalities represented on it, more cultures than ever before, which was why the CEVA management wanted everything teased out properly.