EFES NEWSLETTER - MAY 2011

The new Economic Survey 2010 is now available for downloading.  Download here It shows that employee ownership has continuously progressed across Europe since the financial crisis. The number of large companies that have employee ownership was increasing (91.7%), as well as those having share plans for all employees (53.7%) and those with stock option plans (64.1%). Remember 2008. Crisis. Panic. Howlings. "Employee ownership is just going to die, let's forget that", fault-finders said (even in Brussels). Now here are facts. Hereafter the table of employee owners in some European countries from 2007 to 2010 (in thousands people):

Do you YouTube? We do!
Our friends of the ESOP Association started a YouTube channel recently (you can visit it here - http://www.youtube.com/user/ESOPAssoc) and more videos will be added in the coming months. What we really want to share with you are videos we found by ESOP companies that provide a laugh, some thoughtful introspection on being part of an ESOP company, and the benefits of being employee owned. There are also a few policy based videos as well that bring a different perspective to the viewing.   See also here in Europe

Press review
Much new information about employee ownership in April 2011, with 1.859 articles in this press review (on which 642 involving stock options and 533 about workers' cooperatives). We made a selection of 44 remarkable articles in 12 countries: Australia, Botswana, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Nigeria,  South Africa, Spain, Thailand, UK, USA.
Australia: Now there's a new great Australian dream.
Botswana: Privatisation including employee share ownership for the National Development Bank.
Canada: Tenth anniversary of becoming a workers' co-operative.
France: The association of Rhodia employee shareholders recommends to its members to tender their shares for Solvay’s offer. Dissatisfaction about the French transposition of the European Shareholders' Rights Directive. New employee share plan for Vinci. Unions asking for a dedicated employee share plan at Verallia. 2010 was a successful year for the French workers coops.
Germany: Employee shareholders questioning Siemens about nuclear energy. Heinrich Beyer pleads for more employee ownership in the Financial Times.
Italy:  Questioning the dominant position of employee shareholders in popular banks.
Nigeria: French oil giant, Total has closed subscription for its new capital increase reserved for its over 100.000 employees and retirees in the company's 120 host countries.
South Africa: Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) will change to award more points to broad-based and employee ownership schemes. Jacob Zuma: "To broaden economic empowerment to reach the masses of our people, we are encouraging various forms of collective ownership of the economy such as employee shareholding schemes, co-operatives and public ownership."
Spain: National agreement to promote employee ownership and participation in Gipuzkoa. Mondragon refers itself to the German model.
Thailand: Internal succession is the structure typically followed by family-owned businesses. Ownership and management are usually transferred to family members or to management through a management buyout or an Employee Share Ownership Plan (Esop).
UK: The coalition government’s second Budget is billed as a "Budget for growth", it is a good time for business owners to consider employee shareholdings. More businesses should boost workers’ happiness by modeling themselves on department store giant John Lewis, says a think-tank. The Mutuals Information Service, the government-backed advice service for public sector workers looking to go for employee ownership, has already received inquiries from some 230 potential mutuals.
USA: Dozens of small businesses in Hawaii say their ESOPs and other forms of employee ownership help lower taxes and increase employee motivation. Research: How perception of employee stock options affects performance. The Arab Spring and economic justice: Diffusing capital ownership.

The full press review is available on:
              http://www.efesonline.org/PRESS REVIEW/2011/April.htm 

A political roadmap for employee ownership in Europe

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