EFES NEWSLETTER - FEBRUAR 2008

80% of all European largest companies have employee share plans
80% of all European largest companies had employee share plans in 2007, coming from 50% in 2000,  20% in 1994, 10% in 1986... A quick and recent development. All European countries are involved without any exception. However, some of them began earlier while others dawdled on the way. We present the full picture in a set of graphs, so you can see what it is for each country. See graph

Brussels, 23 May 2008 – Seventh European Meeting of Employee Ownership
The Seventh European Meeting of Employee Ownership will be held in Brussels on 23 May. The meeting will be the place for the publication of the ranking of the European Employee Ownership Top 100 for year 2007 and the full analysis of employee ownership across Europe in 2007. Would you like to attend – get detailed information here

Press review
Much new information about employee ownership in January 2008, with 1.415 articles in this press review (on which 614 involving stock options and 184 about workers' cooperatives). We made a selection of  60 remarkable articles in 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, India, Italy, Morocco, UK, USA, South Africa.
Spain: Maybe this was the most significant information in January: After Merkel in Germany, Molderer in Austria, Juncker in Luxemburg, Sarkozy in France, Zapatero's Socialist Party pleads now for employee share ownership and stock options in its program for next elections.
Employee buyouts: Many examples (success stories or not) in this press review in USA, UK and Germany as well.
Austria: Saubermacher plans employee share ownership, while Erste Bank will expand its employee share plans in Romania.
Czech Republic: Share option windfalls raise some eyebrows.
Germany: Angela Merkel repeats that employee savings plans and employee share ownership have central importance.
France: In his press conference for New Year, Sarkozy called for "participation for all". Unfortunately, giant fraudulent losses (5 billions Euro) at Société Générale bring a major shock, employee shareholders being the first shareholder of the bank with 8%; on paper, each of them lost some 40.000 Euro. At the same time, the crisis seems not finished in the French biggest newspaper Le Monde (employees holding 52%).
Ireland: Aer Lingus appoints trade union high flyer to sit on board, after being nominated by the Aer Lingus Share Ownership Trust, which is controlled by the airline's staff.  
India: Ministry approves Air India’s plan for employee stock options. Employees of the State Bank of India will also be grant employee stock options.
United Kingdom: A set of employee buyouts stories. "Redundancy? No! We bought the company." Now that Tower Colliery coal mine had to close (coal reserves have definitely run out), it is time for all to look back at Tower's history – It was in 1995 when 239 miners bought the mine.
USA: The ESOP Association will celebrate its 30th Anniversary helping create better and stronger employee owned companies and spreading the message of employee ownership in America.

The full press review is available on:
              http://www.efesonline.org/PRESS REVIEW/2008/January.htm 

WHAT ABOUT YOU?
This is how much an employee held in 2006, in average, in shares of:


UBS  87.000 €
Total 47.000 €
Novartis 48.000 €
Mondragon 54.000 €
DeutscheBank 61.000 €
SocGen 38.000 €
BNPParibas 30.000 €
CréditAgricole 48.000 €
AXA 27.000 €
Bouygues 23.000 €

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