25 January, 2010
On 12 January, European unions and the European Mine, Chemical, Energy Federation (EMCEF) formally signed an agreement creating a European Works Council (EWC) for American pulp and paper producer, International Paper (IP). Chartered under the UK transposition of the EU Directive on EWCs, the council will cover IP worksites in Poland, France, Italy, Spain, and Belgium.
Discussions on creating a EWC with the American-based company have been two years in the making. IP employs some 8,000 direct employees inside EU nations. The EWC composition will consist of two representatives from Poland, and one each from France, Italy, Spain, and Belgium. EMCEF and Belgium will be represented by Peter Ellis, a National Officer for UK’s Unite the Union, who negotiated the agreement along with trade union representatives from the countries.
“This has been a long set of negotiations, held in the main, in a cordial and professional manner,” said Ellis. He added that the manner and procedures conducted during negotiations “bodes well for a constructive and fully-functional European Works Council.”
Ellis said the new EWC will benefit by the fact that it will hold two meetings per year and that, in addition, two meetings annually of a select committee will also be held, a panel to serve as a steering committee. IP will also fund a union expert to be in attendance at all meetings, with that representative to be EMCEF’s Belgium delegate.
IP operates two integrated pulp and paper mills in Europe, the Saillant mill in Saillat-sur-Vienne, central France, and the Kwidzyn, Poland, mill. In addition it operates 19 corrugated packaging plants: eight in Spain, including two in the Canary Islands; 7 in France, including one on the island of Guadeloupe, and four in Italy.