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EFES NEWSLETTER - OCTOBER 2011
New call from the European institutions
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held
"the week of employee financial participation"
some days ago in Brussels. The EESC is the body that gives
representatives of Europe's social partners and civil society
a formal platform to express their points of views on EU
issues. A new call was launched for developing employee
ownership in European companies.
Each Member State of the EU should made available "an
optional simple, uniform incentive model, with the same
tax arrangements and incentives throughout the EU".
This is mainly targetting an harmonized and easiest way
for multinational employee share plans.
The "ESOP model" for business transmission to
employees in SMEs should be implemented in the European
Union, as it is successfully in the USA since 1974. This
is the only relevant way to develop employee ownership in
SMEs.
A dedicated budget heading should be voted by the European
Parliament, allowing the setting up and financing of a European
Center for Employee Ownership in each European country,
for delivering information, formation and advices to employees,
enterprises and the public at large. More information
Press review
Much new information about employee ownership in September
2011, with 1.466 articles in this press review (on which
414 involving stock options and 389 about workers' cooperatives).
We made a selection of 41 remarkable articles in 11 countries:
Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, India, Italy, Spain, Tunisia,
UK, USA, Zimbabwe.
Canada: The model of "employee shareholders
cooperatives" for business transmissions in SMEs.
France:
Bouygues' share repurchase offer will benefit to employees
which hold 20% of the company's share capital. New employee
share plan for Suez Environnement. British-based Gripple
successfully promotes employee ownership in its French subsidiary.
Tenth issue of the French Annual Barometer of Employee Savings
published by Altedia and BNP Paribas: 82% of employees and
88% of enterprises in 2011 consider employee share ownership
positively. CFDT Union proposes to set up a workers cooperative
to rescue SeaFrance ferries.
Germany: Two new research works about employee ownership
and participation in Germany, in Austria and Switzerland.
India:
A recent report reveals that ESOPs are being increasingly
used by Indian companies.
Ireland:
Possible changes for Aer Lingus, the Irish State retaining
a 25 per cent stake while the employee share ownership trust
owns a further 14 per cent of the shares.
Italy:
Italy's central bank criticised the excessive influence
employee shareholders held over the mutual bank's strategy
in Banca Popolare di Milano. On the other hand, Italy was
still unable to implement adequate legislation for employee
ownership as other European countries did, which fragilizes
Italy's position.
Spain:
A Basque Country-based cooperative of the Mondragon Group
manufacturing polymer automotive components has announced
its agreement to buy a 50% stake into Indian business. Employee
shareholders of Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles
(CAF) hold 30% of the fifth world producer of railway systems.
Tunisia:
Tunisian Minister of Finance pleads for employee ownership.
UK:
Employee-owned John Lewis group battered by financial crisis.
Education and training provider Prospects Group is to become
an employee-owned mutual. Since the UK employee ownership
index (EOI), which monitors the share price performance
of listed companies that are over 10% owned by employees,
started in 1992, employee-owned companies have outperformed
FTSE All-Share companies by an average of 11% each year.
Labour and Conservatives singing the praises of employee
owned businesses as the future of British enterprise.
USA:
Pro-ESOP bill introduced in Senate. Results from the 20th
Annual Economic Performance Survey of ESOP (employee stock
ownership plan) companies show that ESOPs have seen an upturn
over the past year, even amid slow economic recovery.
Zimbabwe:
Debates about "indigenisation" plans through employee
share ownership: Defy to understanding or boost workers
incomes in the long run?
The full press review is available
on:
http://www.efesonline.org/PRESS
REVIEW/2011/September.htm
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A
political roadmap for employee ownership in Europe
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