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NEWS
Day
after day, all news on the web about employee
ownership
December 2008 - Time to buy (bis)
"Workers
of the world unite. Don't down your tools but buy
a slice of the action. There couldn't be a better
time to start learning to love equity - owning shares
and investing in business... It is counter-intuitive
but with the stock market at rock bottom, this is
a great moment for the British worker to swap being
a wage slave for owning shares through employee
share schemes or investing on the stock market.
Taking part in cooperatives or partnerships could
be explored too..." (British press). Just as
we already pointed in October, it is remarkable
that most debates about employee ownership are going
in the same way: Time to buy.
Panic
at the European Commission
Difficult
time to face. Too difficult for the present European
Commission, at least regarding employee ownership.
Ignorance, incompetency, what else? This has to
be changed. We call for a renewed Commission with
real competency in the matter. Letters were addressed
to José Manuel Barroso and to Nicolas Sarkozy. See
detailed information
November 2008 - A political roadmap for employee
ownership in Europe
A
political roadmap for Europe was proposed in the
framework of the French Presidency of the European
Union. What should be done at European level to
promote the development of employee ownership? Should
we set up a European model? The picture of employee
share plans in large European companies is highly
fascinating. It is a general movement, involving
all large companies in all countries. However, when
considering the European states, it is still everyone
for himself. What can be done for Europe? Which
European model? Download
Employee
ownership for all
Employee
ownership for all: This is the common theme linking
all these articles about employee ownership in the
world's press last month. Most discussions about
the financial crisis, share options and executive
pay. "Share options and participation for all"
seems to be the way in France, Germany and others
as well. Tax benefits for employee-owned companies
are requested in Spain… See
press review
Unternehmer für unsere Gesellschaft - 58. Jahrestagung
der AGP e.V. 27.11.2008, Berlin
Finanzkrise und Kapitalismuskritik kratzen wieder
einmal kräftig am Bild der Sozialen Marktwirtschaft
in Deutschland. Sind Gier und kalter Markt die bestimmenden
Faktoren in unserer Gesellschaft geworden, wie vielfach
behauptet wird? Tausende von Unternehmern beweisen
täglich das Gegenteil. Insbesondere mittelständische
Unternehmer zeigen durch ihr Handeln, dass sie nicht
am kurzzeitigen Tageserfolg interessiert sind, sondern
mit Weitblick ihre Verantwortung für Unternehmen
und Gesellschaft wahrnehmen. Sie reden nicht nur
von Teilhabe, sondern sie praktizieren sie auch.
Sie lassen die Gemeinde und den Fiskus genauso teilhaben
wie Lieferanten, Vereine und vor allem ihre Mitarbeiter.
Durch Wertschätzung, Förderung und Kommunikation
auf Augenhöhe, aber auch durch Erfolgsbeteiligung
und manchmal sogar Kapitalbeteiligung. Dass die
Teilhabe am Erfolg für viele Unternehmer nicht mehr
wegzudenken ist, spricht sich immer mehr herum.
Auch die Politik hat reagiert und bereitet ein neues
Gesetz vor. Einladungskarte
October 2008 - Time to buy
It is remarkable that most articles
about employee ownership in the world's press tell
about similar information: Time to buy. For a former
Prime Minister, Maltese dockyards should be transferred
to a workers' cooperative rather than to foreign
ownership. Austrian Airlines: Unions ask for strategic
employee ownership which could even be a reason
to choose Air France-KLM's offer rather than Lufthansa.
Alitalia: Big unions are more reluctant here than
Austrian colleagues, but Pilots Union asks for significant
employee ownership. Ireland: Eircom's Employee Share
Ownership Trust, which alreay owns 35pc of the telecommunications
firm, is considering a stake in its majority owner
Babcock & Brown Capital. France: Long struggle
to rescue Ledar Papermaker through a new workers'
coop. Successful new employee share plans for AXA,
Société Générale, EDF… Finally, the question is
also coming from the USA: "Maybe it's time
for Chrysler's employees to buy the company."
September 2008 - Employee ownership in tough
times
"Investing employee retirement money in company
stock is not just risky: It's idiotic"
(in American press). Yet in present times, numerous
French companies are launching new global plans
(see press review)… Many American companies are
bought by employees through ESOPs… German government
has now just decided for a new supportive legislation
in 2009… French employees didn't reduce their employee
savings so much, yet President Sarkozy encouraged
them to spend it and to boost consumption… The chairman
of British employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership
promises no job cuts in tough times… All idiots?
Finland
– Germany - Spain
Finland brings a good example of employee ownership
development in 2008. Compared to 2007, employees'
share in capital raised from 1.56% to 1.89% (+21%)
on average in the 61 largest Finnish companies.
Due to troubles on financial markets, the market
capitalisation of the 61 companies decreased from
215 to 213 billion Euro (-1%), while employees'
shareholdings grew from 3.3 to 4 billions Euro (+20%).
This is based on our survey of employee ownership
in European companies, being now updated for year
2008. Things are not so good in Germany: Employees'
share in capital appears to be unchanged in 2008
compared to 2007 (1.72%) – It is time for a better
legislation. Things are even worst for Spain: Employees'
share in capital decreased from 1.57% in 2007 to
1.45% in 2008.
June 2008 - New research confirms employee-owned
companies more productive
A new recent research on "Employee Ownership
and Participation Effects on Firm Outcomes"
conducted by Brent Kramer, a doctoral candidate
at the City University of New York, “provides strong
evidence that majority employee-owned businesses
have a significant advantage over comparable traditionally-owned
businesses in sales per employee.” More information
June 2008 - Private Equity and employee ownership
Over the past decade, management and employee share
ownership has become a standard way for the private-equity
industry. It can even be said that management and
employee share ownership has become an established
part of the private-equity toolkit. More
information
May 2008 - First Annual Economic Survey of Employee
Ownership in European Countries
The Survey reveals that employee ownership is progressing at a quicker
rate and with greater depth across Europe than expected.
When considering recent trends, employee ownership
is predicted to double within the next 5-10 years,
from currently 8.2 million employee owners to 16
million and from currently 26.2% of all employees
in large European companies to 40-50%, and finally
capitalisation held by employees is predicted to
rise currently from 2.35% to 4 - 4.5%. This is a
sudden development in most European countries. However,
some countries began earlier while others dawdled
on the way. They can easily be compared to each
others. Each country file can be downloaded and
the full Annual Survey is now available. More
information
Seventh
European Meeting of Employee Ownership -
Brussels, 23 May 2008
The Seventh European Meeting of Employee Ownership
was held in the prestigious Solvay Library, just
near the European Parliament. Most presentations
and documents are now available. More
information
The
European Employee Ownership Top 100 in 2007
The
new rankings or European top companies regarding
employee ownership are now available for year 2007.
More
information
April
2008 - Europe – USA and the hedge funds
USA: Some days ago, we got the "Statistical
Profile of Employee Ownership" from the National
Center for Employee Ownership in the USA. Employee
Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) are the most popular
employee ownership scheme in the US – they have
now 9.774 ESOPs, with 11.2 millions employee owners,
holding 630 billions Euro in assets. Looking at
all other employee ownership schemes besides ESOPs,
they have some 25 millions employee owners, holding
more than 1.000 billions Euro in assets.
Europe: Considering the 2.500 largest European
companies, we have now 8.2 millions employee owners
across Europe, holding 260 billions Euro (see
our first "Annual Economic Survey of Employee
Ownership" will be soon made public).
Europe and USA: Employee owners hold now
some 1.260 billions Euro, quite similar to the
global capitalisation of all hedge funds across
the world in 2007 (US$ 1.700 billions = 1.160
billions Euro).
New
legislation in Slovenia
On February 29, the Slovenian Parliament voted
a new legislation for employee share ownership
and financial participation. This is a first major
change in the new Member States of the European
Union. Most of them promoted employee ownership
when they privatised, 15 years ago, but nothing
was done to support employee ownership in the
longer term. Hence this strange situation, employee
share ownership expanding in the first 15 countries
of the European Union, while declining in the
new ones.
80%
of all European largest companies have employee
share plans
80% of all European largest companies had employee
share plans in 2007, coming from 50% in 2000,
20% in 1994, 10% in 1986... A quick and recent
development. All European countries are involved
without any exception. However, some of them began
earlier while others dawdled on the way. We present
the full picture in a set of graphs, so you can
see what it is for each country. See
graph
Brussels,
23 May 2008 – Seventh European Meeting of Employee
Ownership
The Seventh European Meeting of Employee Ownership
will be held in Brussels on 23 May. The meeting
will be the place for the publication of the ranking
of the European Employee Ownership Top 100 for
year 2007 and the full analysis of employee ownership
across Europe in 2007. Would
you like to attend – get detailed information
here
January
2008 - Promising year 2008
A lot of things seem promising for a new political
impulse to employee ownership across Europe. Germany
is going fast to a new legislation, Austrian Government
is working hard, Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker
of Luxemburg launched a call some weeks ago, the
new All Party Parliamentary Group on Employee
Ownership is in place in UK, some new Member States
seem opening doors, for instance Slovenia (going
to a new legislation for employee ownership in
2008), and the next French Presidency of the European
Union could be a good opportunity.
December
2007 - 14 European countries in 2007 – and Austria
Compared with a set of 14 European countries, employee
share ownership seems low in Austria. We made a
presentation last month in Vienna on invitation
of Vice-Chancellor Wilhelm Molderer and Minister
of Economics and Labour Martin Bartenstein, comparing
employee share ownership in 14 European countries.
This is based on most recent numbers, those of year
2006/2007 – a photography of European employee ownership
in real time. See
presentation
Mitarbeiterbeteiligung
kittet Koalition !
Arbeitsgemeinschaft Partnerschaft in der Wirtschaft
- AGP
Mitteilungen Newsletter 04-2007
Gesellschaft für innerbetriebliche Zusammenarbeit
GIZ - Newsletter
"Mitarbeiter-Beteiligung" Nr. 3/2007
und Pressespiegel
Dezember 2007
All-Party
Parliamentary Group on Employee Ownership in UK
British Parliament decided to set up a permanent
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Employee Ownership.
This looks a major political step for employee ownership
in UK. The Group organised first a public inquiry,
allowing us to express our requirements regarding
employee ownership not only in UK but for the whole
European Union. See
inquiry
Employee
share ownership in business succession planning
It is known that ESOP – one of the most typical
employee ownership scheme in USA, was particularly
designed for business succession. In Australia,
the Australian Employee Ownership Association
(AEOA) has been vigorously promoting the role
that employee share ownership can play in business
succession planning. To support the development
of employee share ownership in the SME sector, the
AEOA has set up a special "resources"
page to assist business consultants with
advising on ESOP-based business successions
and the expansion of employee equity in private
companies. The articles, case studies and
web-links appearing on this page will be
useful for informing retiring business
owners wanting to transition their business to
their employees as part of a succession plan,
as well as for those wanting to implement shared
ownership of private businesses generally.
See
this new resources web-page
Employee
Ownership Blog
Creation of the Employee Ownership Blog in USA.
The Employee Ownership Blog is dedicated to fostering
an open discussion about employee ownership in
the US while keeping readers informed of new developments
on the legislative front and linking to relevant
articles. Access
to the blog
A
trade unionist in the world of employee ownership
David Wheatcroft is a British trade unionist and
an experienced practitioner in the employee ownership
field. He just published a new paper: "Caring
and sharing – the co-owned route to better care",
a personal account of how an employee owned company
– Sunderland Home Care Associates – was formed
and has flourished. Of course such company is
not listed – the paper tells how a regulated internal
share market is used for employees who wish to
sell or buy shares. Another aim of this report
is to show national and local policy makers why
the co-ownership model has so much to offer public
services. Download
Soon
coming - The European Employee Ownership Top 2007
Last year we set up a full database of employee
ownership in all widest European groups, including
detailed description and history of all share-based
and option schemes in each group. Our database is
presently being updated for year 2007. So we'll
be able to see how employee ownership evolved from
2006 to 2007 in all 27 countries of the European
Union. This year the database will cover all 2.500
widest European groups, on which 1.200 are already
updated. In these 1.200 companies, we can mention
that capitalisations held by employees rose by 29,8%
in 2007. Of these capitalisations, executives held
19% in average and common employees 81% (but executives
held 67% in Spain, 29% in Germany, 17% in Finland).
Last year, many companies designed and launched
new employee share and options plans. 44% did so
in Denmark, compared to 39% in Ireland, 35% in Finland,
and only 22% in Germany, 15% in Spain, 8% in Portugal…
The database will be soon completely updated and
we will publish our rankings for year 2007 and our
detailed analysis through a publication and a conference
in March 2008. Would your company be a sponsor for
this publication and event? Sponsoring
September
2007 - Aus brandaktuellem Anlass !
SPD und CDU/CSU haben jüngst ihre Vorschläge zur
Förderung der Mitarbeiter-Beteiligung in Deutschland
vorgelegt. AGP und GIZ haben die Kernpunkte herausgearbeitet:
AGP
Mitteilungen - Newsletter 03/07
Employee
share ownership - what's in it for you?
Is buying shares in your company a wise investment
and a good way to keep your eye on management? In
this interview for Rhodia Alliance OnLine (Rhodia's
association of employee shareholders), we talk about
the advantages of owning a stake in your company,
whether criticism of your management is a bad career
move, and we break down some of the mysteries
and financial ins and outs of share ownership. More
details
New
European Report
The European Foundation in Dublin just published
a new report about financial participation of employees
in the European Union. Conclusion: "There has
been a clear trend of rising levels of financial
participation over the five years between 2000 and
2005. In all countries there has been an increase,
in some cases notable, in the percentage of employees
participating… This indicates that the percentage
of workers involved in financial participation schemes
in Europe, although still low, is on the increase,
suggesting that the phenomenon will probably become
more significant in the near future." More details
Political
debate about employee share ownership in Germany
Two
different proposals are discussed in Germany. The
Christian Democratic Party has published a paper
with a list of proposals to promote financial participation
on the company level. The proposal of the Social
Democratic Party has a different objective: They
propose to establish a so called “Germany Fund”.
A common proposal of the two governmental parties
– that means a compromises – could be expected in
autumn. More
details
Request
to the new Member States of the European Union
EFES requests all new Member States to adopt a legislation
allowing employee share plans based on international
standards. Most countries answered positively. More information
Juli
2007 - Aus brandaktuellem Anlass !
SPD und CDU/CSU haben jüngst ihre Vorschläge zur
Förderung der Mitarbeiter-Beteiligung in Deutschland
vorgelegt. Wir haben die Kernpunkte
(pdf) herausgearbeitet und freuen uns über Ihre
Bewertung unter Ihre
Meinung !
2007
surveys in France and United Kingdom
France publishes its Sixth Annual Survey on
employee savings plans. In 2007, 84% of Executives
and 82% of employees consider employee share ownership
as a good thing for companies (it was 79% and
80% in 2002). Download
French Survey UK released the results of
its annual SIP (Share Incentive Plan) and SAYE
(Save As You Earn) survey – the most common plans,
a succesful story. More information
about UK
And
now Germany
From its start one year ago, Angela Merkel's
Government plans to make up the time Germany had
lost regarding employee share ownership. Both political
parties of the big coalition had their own working
groups. Now both proposals are on the table. Socialist
SPD thinks to indirect employee ownership, free
of risk, through a big "German Fund",
managing employees savings and investing in German
companies. Christian Democrat CDU/CSU is more inclined
to favour direct employee share ownership. See more
information in press review.
Request
to the new Member States of the European Union
EFES requests all new Member States to adopt a legislation
allowing employee share plans based on international
standards (annual employee share purchase plans,
20% discount price free of tax and social security,
up to 5.000 Euro or 10% annual wage, 3 years blockage).
We already got answers from Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia
and the Czech Republic. More information
Juni
2007 - Gesellschaft für innerbetriebliche Zusammenarbeit
Newsletter
"Mitarbeiter-Beteiligung" 02/2007
Request
to the new Member States of the European Union
EFES requests all new Member States to adopt a legislation
allowing common employee share plans. Most new Member
States have a bad opinion about employee share ownership
and they don't have any adapted legislation. This
makes things difficult, not only in these countries
but in the European Union as a whole, because most
new Member States being not interested or even hostile,
political interest for employee share ownership
fell dramatically also in Brussels !! More
information
Russian
Employee Ownership Association
An international conference on employee ownership
in Russia was held on June 7-8, 2007 in Rostov-on-Don,
Capital of South Russia (city of Essenin, Tchekhov,
Soljenitsin, etc), being hosted by the Rostov State
Economic University. The Conference decided to set
up a new Russian Association for Employee Ownership,
and EFES will help.
More
information
Mai
2007 - Die Mitarbeiter als Aktionäre der Zukunft
in Österreich
Die österreichische Bundesregierung will die Mitarbeiterbeteiligung
in Österreich im Laufe dieser Legislaturperiode
verdoppeln, sagt Finanzminister Wilhelm Molterer.
Explosive
development about employee ownership in the world's
press (May 2007)
7.560
articles about employee ownership in the world's
press in April. When we launched our press review
for the first time in October 2005, we got 597
articles. In March 2006, it was 1.090. In March
2007, last month, it was 2.090… Now with 7.560
articles, we have to change our methods. See press
review below.
Fever
in USA, employee ownership schemes are especially
topical
For the second time in a few weeks, employee
stock ownership plans (ESOPs) figured prominently
in high-profile deals. $8.2 billion deal for Chicago
Tribune (21.000 workers – they will have 60% in
hands). $5 millions deal for Chrysler with a possible
bid by the United Auto Workers reviewing a proposal
for employees and the union to buy 70 percent
of Chrysler via an employee stock ownership plan…
See more information in the press review below.
Netherlands
Participation Institute
New
website for the Netherlands Participation Institute
which promotes employee ownership in the Netherlands
on http://www.snpi.nl/
Bangladesh:
New worker-owned garment factory
The Institute of Integrated Rural Development
promotes worker ownership in the textile industry
and in roadside tree plantations More
information
April 2007 -
Zukunft Mittelstand - Erfolgsfaktor gesellschaftliches
Engagement
Berlin
17.04.07 - Bertelsmann Repräsentanz, Unter
den Linden 1 Weitere
Informationen
Employee ownership
in largest European companies (April 2007)
87%
of all largest European groups have employee share
ownership and 82,6% have plans to develop it more,
while 49% have broad based plans (all employees
plans). Employee share ownership is significant
in 40,3% (employee owners holding more than 1%).
On the other hand, 69,6% use stock options. Our
database of employee ownership in European companies
is now complete. It gathers the numbers and the
detailed history of employee share plans in the
2.000 European widest groups, in 27 European countries.
This is 29 millions employees (corresponding to
100-120 millions people, some 25% of the whole European
population, if you consider that a family sizes
3-4 persons). The database can be used for benchmarking
about countries, branches or a defined list of companies
as well. You
can ask us here for conditions
The
European Employee Ownership TOP 2007
Would your company be partner of the European
Employee Ownership TOP 2007? The database will be
updated. It will also be expanded to Romania, Bulgaria
and probably Turkey. The ranking of the TOP employee
ownership companies will be published through a
celebration conference at the end of the year, a
dedicated website and a publication. Call
us for partnership
März 2007 - The European Council of
Finance Ministers calls for more employee ownership
(March 2007)
European companies must give workers
a bigger share of their soaring profit or risk igniting
a “crisis in legitimacy” in the continent’s economic
model, Germany’s finance minister warned on last
Ecofin Council of Ministers. The idea of using initiatives,
such as employee share ownership schemes, to increase
the link between profit and worker benefits was
discussed, the debate having even some “Thatcherite
overtones” – a reference to the former British prime
minister’s promotion of employee share ownership
schemes. Here
more information
Investivlohn- / Mitarbeiterkapitalbeteiligungsmodelle
in Deutschland
Investivlohn- / Mitarbeiterkapitalbeteiligungsmodelle
in Deutschland Insgesamt 3.750 Unternehmen praktizieren
in Deutschland Modelle zur Kapitalbeteiligung ihrer
Mitarbeiter.
Weitere Informationen
The CoCo Report: Work, Happiness and Employee
Ownership
Companies where workers have a say
in decisions and a stake in ownership are more
productive because staff are happier, according
to a new report in the UK. The study found absence
levels were lower and workers were more committed
in "co-owned" companies. The British
Government was urged to introduce tax incentives
to encourage the launch of more co-owned companies.
Download
the full report
First Investment Fund based on the employee
share ownership index
In December, Euronext together with the French Federation
of Employee Shareholders' Associations launched
its Indice de l'Actionnariat Salarié (Employee
Share Ownership Index). They launch now a first
investment fund based on the index. Here
more information
Small
and Medium-Sized Enterprises (February 2007)
The
UK's Accounting Standard Board announced a major
relaxation of the requirements for Share Based
Payments for smaller companies. Here
more information
Netherlands Participation Institute
Pascale Nieuwland and Marjon Westerhof are the
new Directors of the NPI. Here more information
The
European Employee Ownership Top 100 in 2006 (January
2007)
The rankings of European biggest companies
considering employee ownership are now available.
The Top 10 companies for capitalisation held by
employees are: UBS, Total,
Novartis, Mondragon, Deutsche Bank, Société Générale,
BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, AXA, Bouygues. Employees
hold 6,16% of those companies, which means 43.357
Euro by employee in average.
Click
here for The European Employee Ownership Top 100
rankings in 2006
Sixth
European Meeting of Employee Ownership
The Sixth European Meeting of Employee Ownership
was held in Brussels on December 14-16. Click
here for all presentations of the conference
Insolvency,
Employee Rights & Employee Buyouts - A Strategy
for Restructuring
A
new report by Anthony Jensen, Ithaca Consultancy
and The Common Cause Foundation
Three
new original research works about employee ownership
and participation in Europe
•
Patrick
Guiol & Jorge Munoz made the demonstration
that participative management contributes to better
public health (French report)
• Eric
Kaarsemaker gave a theoretical and empirical treatise
about employee ownership and human resource management
and the Dutch context
• Marco
Caramelli made an attitudinal cross-cultural approach
about the effects of employee ownership in large
multinational companies
New
British guidelines on employee share plans in
2007
The Association of British Insurers updated its
guidelines on executive remuneration and employee
share plans. Click
here for detailed information
Job
Ownership Ltd (UK) changed
Job Ownership Ltd decided to change its strategy
and name. It is now the Employee Ownership Association
on http://www.employeeownership.co.uk/
With
the participation of one of the candidates to
the French Presidency (November 2006)
Publication of the first ranking of the TOP
100 European employee ownership companies, during
the Sixth European Meeting of Employee Ownership
- Brussels 14-15 December 2006.
Click below for:
Programme and practical information
Whole
information
These
companies will probably belong to the first TOP
100 ranking
PEPPER
III Report
The European Commission opened doors for a
European policy regarding employee ownership,
with PEPPER I Report (1991) and PEPPER II (1996).
Now the Inter-University Centre Split/Berlin publishes
the PEPPER III Report, describing employee financial
participation in the new Member and Candidate
Countries of the European Union. Download
here
A
European Commission's disaster
This is how an expert describes his participation
to a European Commission's group of experts on
financial participation. Download
here
Come
in Brussels for the celebration of the TOP 100
European employee ownership companies (October
2006)
On the menu of the Sixth European Meeting
of Employee Ownership (Brussels 14-15 December
2006): Announcement of the TOP 100 for year 2006
and celebration of companies at the Brussels Stock
Exchange Palace. For the first time, a complete
survey of employee ownership will be available,
for all countries of the EU. A number of companies
case studies from various countries. Unions' testimonies.
Obstacles to employee share plans. Reactions of
a panel of high political representatives.
Many services providers in the field will be present.
Click below for:
Whole
information
Registration
form
Programme
and practical information
Reimbursement
of your travel and accommodation expenses
Your
company in the European TOP 100 ?
Which companies will be at the top
of the TOP 100 for year 2006? Companies of the
TOP 100 will be celebrated during a gala dinner
in the Brussels Stock Exchange Palace on December
14 evening.
These
companies will probably belong to the TOP 100
New
reports about employee ownership in European countries
New reports were recently published about
employee ownership in
Austria, in
France, and in
Germany
Sixth
European Meeting of Employee Ownership (September
2006)
The Sixth European Meeting of Employee Ownership
will be held in Brussels on December 14-15-16,
2006. The meeting will announce the ranking of
all Europe's widest employee ownership companies:
The European Employee Ownership Top 100 - 2006.
For the first time, a complete survey of employee
ownership will be available, for all countries
of the EU. Click
here for detailed information and draft programme
Your
travel and accommodation expenses could be reimbursed
!!
Thanks to our sponsors, EFES will be able to cover
your travel and accommodation expenses for the
Sixth European Meeting of Employee Ownership.
Click
here for detailed information.
A
new platform for employee ownership in Austria
A new platform published a strong study on employee
ownership and participation schemes in Austria.
See on Plattform
Mitarbeiterbeteiligung Österreich
Top European
companies set up a lobby group
Design and management of multinational share plans
are very difficult and expensive. The management
of multinational schemes is confronted with a
huge range of constraints and changeable national
rules for which managers and directors of schemes
are poorly equipped and frequent use of expensive
legal advice is necessary. Many improvements or
exemptions could be achieved, hence lower complexity
and costs. The first meeting of the lobby group
allowed participants to define priorities. Click
here for detailed information.
The European Employee Ownership Top 100 2006
It will be designed with respect to two rankings
of Europe's largest companies, considering employee
ownership.
EUROPA EMP 100: Companies are ranked by
number of employees. Ranking Europe's largest
companies that are 50% or more employee-owned
through an ESOP, Share Purchase Plan, or other
Broad-Based Ownership Plan, or as a workers' co-operative.
EUROPA CAP 100: Companies are ranked by
equity held by employees, in millions Euro. Ranking
Europe's largest companies that are partly or
totally employee-owned through an ESOP, Share
Purchase Plan, or other Broad-Based Ownership
Plan, or as a workers' co-operative.
International
Survey on Employee Share Ownership and Work Values
(April 2006)
The CREGO - Research Center in Management of the
University of Montpellier II, is carrying out
an international survey on employee share ownership
and work values. The goal of this research is
to give some insight to several practical issues
like the one of the effects of employee ownership
on employee motivation and organisational commitment
or the impact of cultural values on employees’
perceptions and behaviours towards employee ownership.
The survey is aimed at all employees (both shareholders
and not shareholders) of traded companies which
offer some employee share ownership plan. Filling
the questionnaire, takes about 15 minutes and
the information gathered is strictly anonymous
and confidential. You
are invited to take part, clicking here.
30.06.2005:
The Mondragon Co-operative Research Conference
2005 was held in Mondragon on 28 June.
We noticed 3 remarkable papers:
- Entry,
exit and the business cycle. Are coops different?
by Virginie Perotin, Leeds University Business
School.
- The
business of co-operative education: Master of
Management - Co-operatives and credit unions,
by John Chamard, Stephen Dutcher and Tom Webb,
Saint Mary's University. Tom Webb took part in
the first stages of our EOLE Programme.
- Challenges
and opportunities for Mondragon co-operatives
in the face of globalization, by Isabel Uribe
and Ignazio Iribar, Mondragon University.
05.03.2005:
USA - The ESOP Association Urges President's Advisory
Panel on Federal Tax Reform to Promote the Ownership
Society Through Employee Ownership
WASHINGTON, March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, The
ESOP Association submitted comments and recommendations
to the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax
Reform that encourages the Advisory Panel to be
consistent with President Bush's goal to encourage
and promote an "Ownership Society" in the United
States. See on http://www.esopassociation.org
18.02.2005:
Committee for Effective Employee Ownership: practical
guidelines for employee ownership
In 2004, the National Center for Employee Ownership
(NCEO); the Beyster Institute at the Rady School,
UC San Diego; and the Global Equity Organization
(GEO) created the Committee for Effective Employee
Ownership (CEEO). The CEEO's primary goal is to
devise principles intended to help companies and
investors make appropriate, economically sound
choices about the distribution of equity among
employees. In addition, the CEEO seeks to provide
general guidelines on how companies can best use
broad employee equity ownership plans to create
more productive and rewarding workplaces. The
CEEO bases each of the principles in this document
on objective research by scholars, advisors, and
the National Center for Employee Ownership; the
principles are not simply our opinion or philosophy.
The CEEO does not propose these principles as
the basis for laws or regulations. Instead, it
believes that market-proven benefits of responsible
employee ownership can prove themselves without
rhetoric. In order to make this happen, business
and investment leaders need a deeper understanding
of how these various approaches to employee ownership
operate. The findings of the CEEO are available
at www.nceo.org/ceeo
You
can also get the full document available here
in pdf (49 pages).
17.09.2004:
Report of the High Level Group of Experts on cross-border
obstacles to financial participation of employees
for companies having a transnational dimension
The
need to reduce, through concrete measures, the
obstacles to the introduction of financial participation
throughout the Union for enterprises established
in several countries has been stressed by the
Communication of the European Commission proposing
a general framework for promoting financial participation
in Europe in July 2002. The report of the high
level group of independent experts set up against
this background deals with the various forms of
financial participation used in the European Union,
the obstacles to cross-boarder spread of financial
participation and the proposals that would help
to reduce the obstacles and promote financial
participation at Union level.
Available in pdf format in : EN
/ FR
/ DE
JUNE
2004: FOR THE NEXT RENEWAL OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
In 1998, when the European Federation of Employee
Share Ownership was< set up, it was said that
some 10% of American employees held shares of
their enterprise; they are now 23,3%. Some weeks
ago, the Australian Government launched a programme
to double employee share ownership in Australia,
from 5,5% of employees today to 11% in 2009.
Today, performances studies have multiplied and
we can now consider with no doubt that when it
is practiced in good conditions, employee ownership
brings to enterprises a gain of performances estimated
at 2% of additional annual growth on average.
On the European Union scale, this would represent
millions of additional jobs. In this way the development
of employee ownership could be an important factor
for the Lisbon Strategy.
Today, we are far from a European awareness and
a strong mobilisation. Scepticism or indifference
still dominate in many European countries. The
contrast is obvious in comparison with the United
States, Australia and other parts of the world.
A political willingness of the European Union
has still to crystallize.
We recommend that Europe gives itself a voluntary
objective of industrial policy : reach 10 % of
employee ownership in the whole European Union
in 2010. In this way, a whole combination of means
have to be implemented at the Union level, in
the Member States and in the regions.
We particularly insist on the followings :
1. The implementation of a community organ (agency
? institute ? committee ?) for the promotion and
the development of employee ownership. In this
way, we applaud the proposal of the European Commission
Experts Group, chaired by Jean-Baptiste de Foucault,
to install a European Committee for Financial
Participation of Workers.
2. An adapted legislation must be applied in each
country of the European Union. In this way too,
we applaud the proposals of the Experts Group
of the Commission chaired by Jean-Baptiste de
Foucault.
3. Enterprise transfer and salvation of failing
enterprises are situations where employee ownership
has proved its worth. Employee buyouts schemes
should get particular support. These formulas
are not only to be supported for themselves but
also because they are favourable to the diffusion
and promotion of employee ownership, in all enterprises
of the Union's countries.
20.04.2004:
The Australian
Government recently announced a scheme to double
employee share ownership (ESO) in Australian workplaces
from 5.5 per cent now to 11% in 2009. They set
up a very good website on: http://ww | 
