Social dialog at TDC

1
Social dialog at TDC

• Cyprus conference, 8-10 May 2003

2
Outline

• Presentation of TDC
• The Danish model
• Rules in Denmark
• Legislation
• General agreements on the labor market
• Employee representatives on the boards of limited
  companies
• TDC agreement
• Whats the point of cooperation/social dialog?
• Formal/informal
• Other points
• Conclusion

3
TDC (1)

• 1985
• State-owned/controlled monopoly with a regional
  structure
•  2003
• Private ownership on a fully liberalized market
• lowest prices in Europe for interconnect traffic
  and raw copper
• International company - more than 50 of turnover
  comes from outside Denmark
• 22,300 employees, 17,000 of them in Denmark

4
TDC (2) Organization 1 January 2003
5
TDC (3) Financial ratios 2002

• Net revenues DKK 51.2 billion a fall of 0.8
  per cent compared with 2001
•  Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation,
  and amortization (EBITDA)DKK 14.3 billion an
  increase of 11.2 per cent compared with 2001
• Net income excluding one-off items and
  adjustments for current value DKK 2.2billion
• 1 7,5 DKK

6
The Danish model (1)

• Starting-point agreement between the parties
  involved
• normally in the form of a collective agreement
• Legislation in some areas
• holidays
• terms of employment for salaried staff
• EU directives implemented via collective
  agreements
• Clear tendency for increasing legislation

7
The Danish model (2)

• A clear distinction between
• negotiation issues
• salaries, working hours, terms of notice
• cooperation issues
• daily operations, planning of tasks, organization
• working environment issues
• framework covered by legislation
• Special legal system to settle disputes

8
Rules in Denmark

• Legislation
• obligation to negotiate in connection with
  large-scale redundancy
• Shop steward rules included in collective
  agreements
• Cooperation agreements
• Danish Employers Confederation/Danish Federation
  of Trade Unions only covers member
  organizations of the Danish Federation of Trade
  Unions
• cooperation agreements in the state and
  municipalities
• Right to elect employee representatives to the
  boards of limited companies

9
TDCs cooperation agreement main points

• Management obliged to inform about planned
  measures
• changes of organization
• changes in the way work is organized (e.g. new
  opening hours)
• Obligation to try and reach agreement before
  measures are implemented
• Employees obliged to inform about issues of
  importance with regard to cooperation

10
Cooperative structure
11
Whats the point of cooperation/social dialog
(1)?

• Advantages
• Ensure understanding of decisions
• Ensure support for decisions
• Agreement on decisions as far as possible
• Employees want reasons management by command
  will not work
• Conflict has a negative effect on production

12
Whats the point of cooperation/social dialog
(2)?

• Disadvantages
• Delays in the decision-making process
• Time consuming
• NB
• Also an element in the rules for shop stewards

13
Formal/informal

• Formal rules must always be observed failure to
  obey them only causes problems
• Informal contacts are very important
• For instance the chairman of TKF is a member of
  the board elected by employees, and the deputy
  chairman of KSU often talks to the managing
  director (the initiative for this is taken by
  both parties)

14
Other points

• Agreement on European cooperation
• based on EU directive and Danish law
• only met three times so far
• experiences
• still feeling their way
• difficult to find trans-national topics

15
Conclusion

• Cooperation and social dialog are not up for
  debate
• they are a matter of course
• they generate understanding
• they offer the chance of gaining influence