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UniCredit EWC reflects on recent achievements

In June 2019, the current 4-year mandate of the European Works Council (EWC) of leading Italian financial services company UniCredit came to an end. The EWC’s third term was marked by many achievements, including the signing of a joint declaration on work/life balance, more frequent meetings, and active participation in the negotiations for a Global Framework Agreement, signed by UNI Global and UniCredit in January 2019 – the first of its kind by an Italian financial services multinational (see here).

The EWC continues to use its position to condemn job cuts, heavier workloads and outsourcing, and is pushing for a corporate business plan that has employees – not cost reduction – at its core.

Digitalisation must be used as a tool to support workers rather than as an excuse for further staff reductions, the EWC has reminded management, and any discussions on digitalisation which will impact UniCredit, its working practices and its employees’ professional lives should involve workers’ representatives from both the national and international level.

A joint declaration on the social impact of digitalisation, personal data security, the ethical use of AI and the need for re-skilling could be negotiated during the EWC’s next 4-year mandate.

For further information, see below related files for the the final statement (in English, Italian and German) of the 3rd mandate, adopted at the UniCredit EWC plenary meeting in Milan on 4 June 2019, which also stresses the importance of social dialogue and extends its gratitude to UNI Europa Finance and its experts for their relentless support and collaboration.