News

STRONG TOGETHER EVERYBODY WORK/HP SOCIAL PLAN UNDER FIRE



Today, thursday 20 november 2008 the Unions demand attention on behalf of the maintenance of employment at all the HP and EDS establishments. In the United States it has been decided that in entire Europe many jobs should have to disappear in the years to come. It's a real disaster.



Almost everybody made a supposition that HP and EDS in the Netherlands would be reasonable supplementary and that therefore a big number of jobs would not disappear. But…what turned out? A plan of EDS to increase her profitability of which quite a long time was not heard anything is trotted out again. A plan in a sequence of many that again and again turned out to be not realistic.

The result: Approximately 560 jobs less in the Netherlands and then in particular with EDS!



For an enterprise like HP/EDS, a full-blooded service provider, applies that service to the customer is the best publicity. Although it is hardly known among a large audience, EDS turns out to be a partner with a high standing in the boardrooms, where outsourcing deals are discussed. EDS has risen from nothing in hardly ten years time to one of the biggest IT-service providers in the Netherlands. However having a plan to reduce the number of employees on the EDS-side by approx. 30 percent, will endanger this position in our eyes.



In Computable the general managing director of HP Nederland, Hans Daniels, recognizes that the number of 560 has been imposed by the international headquarters in the United States. Thus an actual business case is missing. Of course plans to “bestshoren” are nice – we hear the same of the competition - but it has to be proved first. Therefore the number of announced dismissals of 560 seems to be particularly a “political” number.



Still the business councils of HP and EDS did not receive a concrete advisory request. It is true that in the meantime at EDS negotiations are going on for a Social Plan, by which the condition has been laid down expressively by the unions of course that each resignation still need to be well-founded. The Social Plan of HP has been laid down on the table of EDS as a point of departure.



Recently unions both at HP and EDS too received the message that in the light of a number of social developments the employer wishes to bring HP’s Social Plan up for discussion. Especially the autumn fall wage negotiations agreement (levelling of the dismissal pay) and the alteration of the so-called county judge’s formula per 1-1-2009 will be mentioned.with it. In fact this means that the employer will economize HP's Social Plan again further on. Just now that so many jobs are in the balance and it goes very well with HP.



The combined unions had rather seen that the combination of HP and EDS would be used for market conquest and the creation of new possibilities. Becoming together stronger on the principle that the (new) whole is more than the sum of its parts. Unfortunately it is HP that thinks differently about it. The short-term interests seem to win it here again of the long term. We have the impression that HP/EDS mean that they are obliged to satisfy the stockholders in particular. This occurs then in the Netherlands at the cost of the employment of HP/EDS employees.



Therefore we say NO.



NO against the loss of qualiy. The customer ought to be at the centre stage.

NO against 560 in effect not well-founded dismissals.

NOagainst a complete unnecessary economizing of the actual applicable Social Plan HP.



The combined unions at HP and EDS,



FNV Bondgenoten,

CNV Dienstenbond,

De Unie.



Rotterdam, 20 november 2008