Last week the European directive on Information and Consultation was agreed
by the council of ministers, and HR professionals are worried. Bruce Warman, HR
director of Vauxhall, said it would be extremely damaging (News, 30 May). Here
are other experts’ views:
Trevor Bromelow
Corporate personnel director, Siemens
"The idea behind it is no more than what we regard as best practice. We
were hoping it would allow employers to put in place mechanisms that best
suited their structures and it wasn’t going to be a one-size-fits-all
approach."
Pat Mallaghan
Head of HR, Clerical Medical Group
"It will be interesting to see how unions react and how they position
themselves, as it clearly has implications for the exclusive relationship some
employers have."
Fiona Colquhoun
Group HR director, ICL group
"It will have an impact on companies that have a concern with being
open with employees. Some countries will feel it more than others, and some
companies will be more concerned than others. A good employer should be doing
these things anyway."
Andrew Newall
Corporate HR director, Allied Domecq
"Whether the directive will affect employers depends on the culture of
the organisation. Good employers have nothing to worry about as they should
already be consulting their employees, so it will not effect them that much if
at all."
Makbool Javaid
Partner at law firm DLA
"Managers at board level are not used to sharing sensitive financial
information with workers’ representatives. It is not part of the UK
culture."
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