Employee consultation
Vodafone European Employee Consultative Council
Employee representatives from local operating companies within the European Union have an opportunity to raise any concerns with the executive management team at the Vodafone European Employee Consultative Council (EECC).
The EECC, founded in 2003, meets the requirements of Article 13 of the EU Directive on Multinational European Works Councils. Employees from 13 European countries are represented. The number of representatives per country depends on the number of employees in each local operating company.
There is one full EECC meeting a year with Vodafone management and EECC employee representatives attending. Employee delegates can hold two interim meetings in addition to the full meeting. Delegates also have the option to elect Select Committees and may also request translation services. For details on recent EECC activities, see Communication and involvement: performance 2007/08.
Trade union representation
We recognise the rights of our employees to join trade unions or similar external representative organisations. It is our preference to engage our employees directly. Where representation by trade unions is conferred automatically by legislation, these rights will be upheld. All our local operating companies will respect the wishes of the majority of their employees in deciding whether to recognise a trade union to negotiate terms and conditions of employment, where legislation permits.
To ensure all our employees are treated fairly and consistently – whether they are represented by a trade union or not – we consult directly with employees to address their concerns. The number of representatives per country depends on the number of employees in each local operating company.