News

The UNI Europa Professionals and Managers’ Conference meeting in Nyon, Switzerland, sends its solidarity and support to the 52 P&M workers at the multinational e-commerce company, Privalia, in Italy, who are undertaking industrial action after being threatened with redundancy.

Privalia, a Spanish fashion e-commerce outlet, had announced that it would cut 52 of its 118 employees in Italy so that the company could ‘centralise its activities’. This deadline of Friday 7 March 2014 passed without the workers being fired, but the threat of redundancy still stands.

UNI Europa P&M Conference delegates are concerned to learn about the unconventional approach to established industrial relations practice that has been adopted by the company – from disregarding legal safeguards on consultation and notice periods, to the failure to explore alternative arrangements that could safeguard the livelihoods of the 52 professional workers.

Conference delegates have noted the massive strain that this protracted wrangling has put on the workers concerned and their families, as well as on the morale of their colleagues.

Conference delegates believe that Privalia should lift the threat of outsourcing these jobs to countries with cheaper labour costs and return to the trade union negotiating table in good faith.

Privalia has been an innovative digital and young fashion company and is widely regarded as a leading fashion and lifestyle online retail multinational. The Italian division of the company has been very profitable – posting 422,000 Euro post tax profit which equates to 20 per cent of global sales. Privalia’s corporate success has been built on the hard work of its professional workers in Italy – the same professionals it has now threatened to fire.

UNI Europa P&M Conference delegates reaffirm the principle that skilled working professionals deserve respect and recognition for their contribution to strong and productive enterprises. They do not deserve to be mistreated.  The lives of the P&M workers, their families, and their entire community, will feel the effect if shareholder profit margins are put before investment in staff.

High-tech and professional workforces not only create goods, services, and innovative processes that make workers in a wide-range of fields more productive, but high-tech and professional workers are also an important source of income generation and economic growth during a difficult economic period in Italy. Failing to consider these wider societal concerns can lead to firms making the type of irrational economic decisions being played out at Privalia.

UNI Europa P&M Group’s message of solidarity to Filcams-CGIL, the Italian trade union organizing the Privalia workers, is: “Your fight for a fair resolution is our fight for a fair resolution. What makes sense to your company does not make sense to UNI Europa P&M Group in the framework of the ILO’s decent work agenda.”

Notes

UNI Europa is a European trade union federation that represents seven million workers in the services and skills sectors of 50 different countries. There are 320 trade union organisations affiliated to UNI Europa, with the Professionals and Managers’ (P&M) Group representing those workers who are on the cutting edge of economic, technological and organisational change in workplaces. UNI Europa P&M members play key roles within their companies, communities and organisations, as well as representing a dynamically growing section of all service sector jobs.

UNI Europa P&M group has recently called on candidates for the European Parliamentary election in May 2014 to sign up to a pledge card of rights at work for professional workers, such as those at Privalia. The pledge card includes the following demands:
 
1.    Collective bargaining, worker rights and effective employment protection legislation need to be consolidated because workers need effective safeguards against precarious working conditions in services. In this context, revision of the working time directive has to guarantee full social protection for every employee including professionals and managers. Moreover, UNI Europa P&M Group emphasizes that the EU must be an active promoter of quality jobs and quality services.

2.    EU policies that acknowledge common interests of customers and service workers are vital as customers only get a good deal when workers can focus on their clients’ needs.

3.    A consistently regulated European single market for quality services that impedes social dumping and protects services of general interest is required.

4.    Professionals and managers should play an influential role in European Works Councils and in the implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility policies. P&M workers’ specific competences can contribute to better social rules and practices in European legislation to the benefit of all employees.