EFES NEWSLETTER - MARCH 2010
European
employees took advantage of lower share prices
2009
2008
2007
2006
Employee owners
9.3 million 9
million 8.4 million
Employees' share in ownership structure
2.86%
2.79%
2.75% 2.43%
Capitalisation held by employees in €
166
billion 249 billion
291 billion
213 billion
% European companies having employee ownership
91%
83.8%
81.4%
77.4%
% European companies having broad-based plans
53.1%
50.9%
49%
45.2%
% European companies having launched new plans
30.3%
35.3%
26.5%
In short: European employees took advantage of lower share
prices to increase their share. This is the main conclusion
of the new Economic Survey of Employee Ownership in the
European Countries in 2009 which will be soon published.
More
Go
ahead
Employee
ownership is a hot debate in the campaign for national election
in the UK (see press review). From Paris, the new European
Commissioner for Internal Market, Michel Barnier expressed
his own positive will: "I am going to make a set of
proposals for better corporate governance: Better transparency,
better say from shareholders about executives' remuneration,
better place for employee ownership…" Go ahead Michel
!!… More
Press
review
Much new information about employee ownership in February
2010, with 1.517 articles in this press review (on which
607 involving stock options and 408 about workers' cooperatives).
We made a selection of 58 remarkable articles in 12 countries:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, India, Jamaica,
Poland, Spain, UK, USA, Zimbabwe.
Australia:
Australian Employee Buyout Center at work.
Austria:
New employee share plan for Erste Group Bank.
Canada:
New employee buyouts using the Employee Shareholders' Cooperative
model.
France:
Michel Barnier expresses his strong vision about financial
regulation and employee ownership as the new European Commissioner
for Internal Markets. French companies promote employee
share plans for emerging countries. New employee share plan
for GDF Suez based on free performance shares. Growing participation
of employees in General Shareholders Meetings. The French
Confederation of Workers' Cooperatives launches a new common
logo "lesScop".
Jamaica:
Strong debates about employee ownership solutions for Air
Jamaica. The Jamaica Civil Service Association wants the
government to divest ownership of the country's postal service
to the workers through an Employee Share Ownership Plan.
Poland:
Vice-Prime Minister Pawlak conference launching the new
privatisation plan based on employee ownership.
Spain:
Employee-owned companies will be encouraged through a new
legislation for the social economy.
UK:
Political follie in the UK. "Employee ownership – employee
ownership – employee ownership…" "John Lewis
– John Lewis – John Lewis" as the few key words from
both Tories and Labour campaigning for national elections.
Plans to give public sector workers the opportunity to take
over the services they deliver from the state through workers'
cooperatives – shifting power from the State to working
people. A new "John Lewis State"? The UK's largest
employee-owned company, The John Lewis Partnership, welcomes
Tories' plan, but the scheme wrong-footed Labour and sparks
fury.
USA:
Some employee buyouts and ESOPs' fables as usual.
Zimbabwe:
Indigenisation Regulations encourage employee share ownership
schemes or trusts to be established.
The full press review is available
on:
http://www.efesonline.org/PRESS
REVIEW/2010/February.htm
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