From May 3 to 7, 2023, a European seminar took place on "Collective bargaining and social relations within multinationals", organised by the CFTC (French Confederation of Christian Workers) in cooperation with EZA and funded by the European Union. The seminar was organised within the framework of the Western Balkans special project. Thirty-three representatives of workers' organisations from Albania, France, Italy, Moldova, Poland, Portugal and Romania participated in the seminar.
Joseph Thouvenel, CFTC Confederal Secretary, led the seminar.
Joseph Thouvenel, Vice-President of EZA, Graham Paul, French Ambassador to Moldova, and Igor Zubcu, CNSM President – Moldova, opened the seminar.
The following topics were discussed:
"Presentation of the geopolitical situation in the region" by Mr. Daniel Hervouët, a graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Studies. Associate Professor at Paris II (Panthéon-Assas). At the outset, Mr Daniel Hervouët recalls that the first victim of war is the truth (as soon as there is a conflict, the information circulates essentially lies or even propaganda. You must know that states have no friends; they only have interests. In geopolitics, the critical factor is the balance of power, and in the trade union field, we are very used to this notion.
"The situation and evolution of inter-religious relations in Moldova" by Monsignor Cesare Lodeserto, Vicar General of the Catholic Diocese of Chișinău, a specialist in the means of social communication. Monsignor Cesare Lodeserto believes, like the Catholic Church, that we must overcome the contradiction between freedom and equality; the latter advocates, in particular, fraternity and solidarity. Fraternity and solidarity are the foundations of a sound political system that should not submit to the economy.
"The example of social relations in the port sector", by Mr Pierre-Marie Hebert, Doctor of Laws, former director of the Rouen port union. Social dialogue in France will likely be blocked when one or more social partners become radicalised. Union pluralism must be preserved, but unions have a monopoly in specific sectors of activity and no "negotiation" can emerge.
"Relations with multinationals importing and exporting agricultural products in Albania" by Mr Bilbil Kasmi, President SAUATT – Albania.
Mr Bilbil Kasmi notes that in Albania, the social dialogue could work better; he laments the absence of a Ministry of Labour, which does not prevent trade unionists from being determined. We have to deal with colossal inflation and a government that needs to advance a strategy for work. It can be seen that in Albania, international relations are essentially agricultural—a lot of subcontracting by companies of Italian origin.
"Trade union relations with multinationals in Romania, by Mr Bogdan Hossu, President of Cartel-Alfa Romania. Mr Bogdan Hossu explains that social dialogue in Romania is special. During the negotiations, the multinational companies threaten the government to relocate. The State intervenes and decides. In 2011, a government reform abolished interprofessional collective contracts in favor of so-called "local" contracts. We demand the modification of the law on social dialogue, which must at least be reviewed on two points: the mode of trade union organisation and the scope of unionisation.
"The view of a business leader" by Mr François de la Rüe du Can, former President of Canon France and Director of Canon Europe. For Mr. de la Rüe du Can, intelligently conducted social dialogue allows the reconciliation of divergent interests because the company's goal is to make money to reimburse the shareholders and employees for the company's sustainability, which makes them live in the best possible working conditions. Staff representative institutions are essential for the employees and the employer. Staff representatives must know their company well and be trained in labour law. They must know how to communicate.
"What relations between a small business and multinationals?" » Founding President of ICS-Informatique and President of Gérard Neuville champagnes. Mr Etienne Neuville highlights the similarity that there can be between an employee facing his employer and a small company facing a multinational. He emphasises that there is not a single scenario but multiple possibilities, the reality of which depends on the quality of human relationships. He insists on the interest of discussion-negotiations when they are made in all honesty with respect for the other parties and taking into account the basic needs of each other.
"Social protection, a negotiating tool" by Mr Thomas Samsonoff, Expert in social protection, administrator of Adimeco. Mr Thomas Samsonoff presents the convergent interest between employees and employers to benefit from the best value for money in social security. It develops the long-term advantages of good healthcare coverage, which is added to remuneration. It shows how this subject can be a non-confrontational ground for negotiation but, on the contrary favourable to the employees and the company.
"Trade union relations with multinationals in Portugal, by Mrs Maria Reina Martin, President of FIDESTRA – Portugal. Mrs Maria Reina Martin emphasises the importance of dialogue between employees and business leaders. It is based on a lived experience to show that the social approach of a company manager can allow a better cohesion of the teams, greater efficiency in the work, and at the end, of the employees, better in their job and more productive.
The Moldovan specificity :
Moldova, located on the border with Ukraine, welcomed us to its capital. A young country, Moldova has been independent since 1991. Diverse and complex, Moldova has experienced a lot of political instability with pro-Russian and pro-European movements, which has yet to facilitate its development. The current president, Mrs Maia Sandu, came to power at the end of 2020. She is a young, feminine, reforming personality who was elected to an anti-corruption program. She met President Macron in Paris in February 2021. The personal and political chemistry encourages France to strengthen its relations with Moldova. Visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Le Drian, on March 3, 2022, a few days after the outbreak of Russian aggression in Ukraine, and the day when Moldova presented its candidacy for the European Union, and the day when a French special plane arrives with 40 tons of humanitarian aid to help Moldova deal with the refugee crisis. In June 2022, while France is chairing the Council of the European Union, Moldova, like Ukraine, is recognised as a candidate state. There is a support platform for Moldova (France, Germany, Romania).
Moreover, the Mandate of the AFD (French development agency) has been extended to Moldova, which has benefited from two loans of 75 million euros for, in particular, technical assistance in the energy sector and the renovation of the railway network. On the other hand, economic relations are relatively limited. There needs to be solid investment from French companies, the latter being cautious concerning Moldova (a country which has suffered for years from endemic corruption. Companies do not like to work in this kind of environment). But today, the business climate has changed. We have around sixty French companies, the largest being Orange. In Moldova, there is an honest "work ethic".
Seminar results
For a perfectly efficient social dialogue, it must leave its field of responsibility to the social partners. The role of the State is to stimulate and compensate for shortcomings. Whether it is like, for example, in France, the unemployment insurance system or the private pension system. Indeed, the sustainability of these systems is challenging to implement as soon as a third person intervenes. It is common ground that when negotiations "block" the third party will irresistibly resolve the conflict, approach one of the two protagonists and try to satisfy him so that the latter negotiates. In addition, the State is in a position of strength since it is it who ultimately decides.
Moreover, when one of the negotiators benefited from State intervention, such as when French employees stopped paying their share of contributions for unemployment insurance, they felt they had won. But it was on the spot because, to date, they are gradually losing the benefit of a system that was advantageous, generous and drastic and penalising measures will still be taken by the State. Everyone is going to be a loser.
For company negotiations, whether they are trade unions or employers' organisations, we see that any monopoly of a trade union centre is harmful. The centralisation of union decisions that apply locally when they were taken hundreds of kilometers from the economic entity concerned is deadly. For example, the blocking of refineries in France is ultimately industries that close on their territory of origin to move to where the social climate is much more serene. It is the same in multinational companies; when the head office makes decisions for entities located thousands of kilometres away, it does not work either. On the other hand, we note that the negotiators, on the employee side, in large companies with an international dimension, if they know how to remain close to the concerns of the employees, are better informed and trained on the functioning of their company, are better able to negotiate in the interest of the company in the global sense (the interest of the employees is equivalent to the interests of the company, that is, its sustainability and its development).