Anticipation of change : a European agreement with the European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF)

On 24 February 2011, the European Metalworkers' Federation and Alstom met in Paris to sign an agreement on the anticipation of change and developments at Alstom.

Through this agreement, Alstom has restated the importance of its European footprint - which represents 60% of its global workforce and nearly 50% of its sales - as part of a campaign to tackle changes in its economic environment and competency requirements.

The agreement targets two key objectives to anticipate market developments and the impact of these changes on employment and competencies. On the one hand, it sets out a framework for social dialogue with employee representatives and trade unions on a number of levels (European, national and local); on the other, it seeks to provide the tools needed to adapt to these changes, particularly with regard to forward-looking management of jobs and training. 

The agreement provides a concrete framework to cope with the effects of the crisis on European sites and employees. It sets out priorities with regard to employee mobility and reassignment in the event of decreasing business needs or restructuring to limit the impact on the employees involved. It therefore seeks to promote voluntary mobility along with plans to create own companies and pursue personal career projects.

The agreement shall remain in place for a period of three years and applies to the 30 countries covered by Alstom and the European Metalworkers' Federation in Europe.