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50 HP and EDS EWC representatives from 25 countries met management on March, 26th and 27th in London for an extraordinary European Work Councils session about the special savings measures announced by Mark Hurd.





EWC recommandation to EMEA employees



HP and EDS EWCs members consider that management proposition is not acceptable :

· The current business situation does not justify the measures that management is taking and which impact mainly the mainstream employees. Should the crisis have more impact on HP, the EWC would like to discuss more balanced and fair measures (salary cut of top executives for example represent less than 1% of their total earnings). In particular EWC cannot accept that management asks employees for a definitive measures and do not make these measures temporary until the economy recovers and HP’s situation gets better.

· HP is misusing the crisis to justify the salary reduction which is actually aim at increasing the variable part of employee salary. The EWC has no guarantee that the savings will allow the company to grow and protect jobs. On the contrary, the EWC fears that the savings will be distributed to shareholders or to a few employees in a discretionary way (as shown by the distribution of an average PFR of more than 50.000 euros to managers in January 2009).

· Employees should be aware that accepting such a salary reduction will mean lowering their pension plan, vacation pay, severance packages and other salary related benefits.

· Management should resist the pressure that Senior managers may place upon them to accept the pay reduction. Managers who do not believe the salary reduction is the correct measure should be free to say “NO”.

· Just because employees or managers refuse to give their consent does not mean they do not support the company and contribute to its future.



For all these reasons, HP EWC and EDS EWC members clearly recommend that EMEA employees including managers to NOT accept the salary reduction.