Why a European Works Council

The European Works Council (EWC) is the board provided for by the European Union for the purpose of improving the right to information and consultation for employees related to Group-undertakings on a community-scale.

The UniCredit Group EWC, part of our Governance, is made up of Employees’ Representatives from all the Countries where the Group is present, EU Member States and not, going beyond the EU provisions.

Through the activities of the EWC, it is possible to:

• Improve our employees’ understanding of the reasons behind management decisions at Group level;
• Develop a European corporate culture;
• Strengthen the integration of the Group as a whole.

UniCredit European Works Council is at the forefront

The UEWC represents one of the most extensive and complex EWCs among the approximately 800 EWCs existing today. This is due to the number of countries involved and the number of Employees represented.

The Employee Representatives appointed to the UEWC, which aims at complementing existing labour relations, have the right to meet UniCredit Group Central Management in order to be informed and consulted in a timely manner on the Group’s current business situation, its future strategies and on cross-border issues that can have an impact on employees.
Consequently, the results of the meetings are spread at local level through UEWC members.

The guidelines for the UEWC are to be found in the UniCredit Group Integrity Charter. 

The UEWC is also committed to fully apply the Group’s culture, principles and values of Corporate Social Responsibility. In line with this commitment, it is possible for Employee Representatives to sign joint declarations with the Central Management on Customer Social Responsibilities issues such as training, professional development, equal opportunities, non-discrimination, labour and environmental issues, health and safety, which will then serve as guidelines for the whole Group.

The UEWC, representing 27 countries, met for the first time on 19 September 2007 at Group Headquarters in Milan to pursue a common path of dialogue in a new era of industrial relations. This was done to promote the growth of a Group culture that is truly based on our shared European values.

The EWC has had 4 ordinary meetings with the Central Management so far, while the Select Committee has had 9 meetings. Top Management attended some of these in order to tackle the most important topics.

UEWC Joint Declarations

On 8 April 2008, during the ordinary meeting between the European Works Council (EWC) and Group Top Management, an important agreement was signed regarding the establishment of two Joint Commissions for “Equal Opportunities and Non-Discrimination” and “Training, Learning and Professional Development”.

These commissions, convened at the European level for the first time on 30 July 2008, were each comprised of 12 members, with six UEWC Employees Representatives and six Group HR Representatives.
They had the purpose to sign two joint declarations on common guidelines aimed at orienting the initiatives and activities of the entire Group in line with the Corporate Social Responsibility principles and values represented in the Integrity Charter.

The Joint Declaration on “Training, Learning and Professional Development” and “Equal Opportunities and Non-Discrimination” were signed respectively on December 2008 and May 2009, both by the UEWC Select Committee and Group Central Management.

For further information:

Cooperation Project

“European Works Council: Improving Cooperation to Strengthen Social Dialogue”, the project co-financed by the European Commission:

Phase 1 - First Group workshop on Industrial Relations and Social Dialogue
Phase 2 - UniCredit European Works Council: Improving Cooperation to Strengthen Social Dialogue

Contacts

For further information:

UniCredit Central Management Permanent Contact with UEWC

centralmanagement@unicreditgroup.eu 

UEWC Select Committee

EWC@unicreditgroup.eu