News

Antje Orentat, Chair of the European Works Council /Supervisor of British Airways, share her experience as an employees' representative: not an easy role to fulfil, in the current framework! “



Would you accept to write an article for us on your job and your experience within the European Works Council ?”. That is how I was contacted. Do I really want to do it and remember over and over again my experience of the last two years? No way! Certainly not! It took quite some time before I could make up my mind and decide if, and to what extent, I would tell my tale anyway ... to give courage to those women and men who are struggling like me!



Since 1999, I have experienced exciting, but also depressing times in the European Works Council of British Airways, certainly like many of my colleagues in the EWCs of their companies. When I was appointed Chair of the EWC, in 2005, I had to cope intensively with depressing hardships, and this allowed me to draw some lessons. The main problem was (and still is today) that information and consultation must be provided in due time, and that information should be exhaustive.



Indeed, too often the EWC was involved only at a late stage, or insufficiently, or not in a serious manner in the most diverse situations. And to make things worse, the transnational character of various projects has steadily been questioned, if not denigrated. Like nails, a subcontracting project of passenger services in the airports drives out another one. Is it every time a “national affair”? We dared doubt it. At a certain moment, it overstepped the marks and we have decided to claim our participation rights. In Brussels (as our EWC agreement is based on Belgian law) the Labour decided in our favour and ordered British Airways to discuss the Vienna project “Outsourcing Vienna Airport” with us before its implementation.



All is well that ends well then? Not at all: that was only the first of many problems!

During the following two years, we experienced how, in my function of President, I have been steadily attacked in order to weaken and diminish bodies such as the EWC and the General Works Council in Germany. Warnings, suppression of my secretary’s job, prohibitions, wage suppression, up to questioning of any need for my role: such manoeuvres have characterised my daily work between November 2006 and June 2008.



How many times haven’t we been tempted to secretly examine whether it would not be easier to renounce and abandon, selecting the most comfortable way? But we were determined to persevere and continue the struggle for our rights!

We would not have succeeded alone: we have been able to resist only thanks to the help and concrete support – i.e. financial, juridical, political and moral – of the trade unions like ver.di and ETF, and a lot of others. This help has been consistent and manifested in many different ways.



And our smart information policy within the company contributed in a decisive way to our success. In June 2008, we – that is the General Works Council – managed to conclude an agreement on future reasonable co-operation with the management at all levels, and we were eventually able to devote ourselves to a greater extent to our activities as workers’ representatives. Information and consultation are permanent topics for our EWC.



As you know, we don’t want to rest on our laurels and already that gives us some respectability! The lesson is clear: Perseverance in action, combined with a number of supporting activities, constitutes an indispensable guide to have a good chance of achieving one’s goals in such situations and to have one’s rights respected. No doubt, this is a rocky road, but it is worthwhile.



Therefore we recommend: Be brave!



Source: Taken from page 4 of the Participation Rights Letter - 04/08; see also here: http://www.sda-asbl.org/TestiPDF/Parl4-08-En.pdf