Conference 7.286::digital

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    	* Dies ist eine Nachricht von Hans W. Dirkmann und Burkhard Vogel  *
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    To:		Alle Mitarbeiter/innen der Digital Equipment GmbH
    
    Sub.:	ARBEITSKAMPF: Streikwarnung der IGM
    
    M�nchen, den 26.02.93
    
    
    Liebe Mitarbeiterinnen, liebe Mitarbeiter,
    
    in letzter Zeit h�ufen sich Flugblattaktionen, in denen dargelegt wird, da� 
    die IGM unser Unternehmen f�r den Fall bestreiken will, da� wir auf ihre 
    Forderungen nach einem Haustarifvertrag nicht eingehen wollen.
    
    Hierzu - und zwar zu den Streikabsichten - m�chten wir Ihnen zur Kl�rung 
    Ihrer Situation und Erl�uterung unserer Einstellung folgendes mitteilen:
    
    1.	Es ist rechtlich zul�ssig, da� eine Gewerkschaft einen Arbeitgeber 
        bestreikt, um bestimmte Forderungen durchzusetzen.
    
    2.	Es ist rechtlich zul�ssig, da� als Gegenma�nahme ein Arbeitgeber - f�r 
        den Fall der Beeintr�chtigung der Gesch�ftst�tigkeit - aussperren kann.
    
    3.	In jedem Fall werden f�r Streikende und Ausgesperrte f�r den Zeitraum 
        der entsprechenden Ma�nahmen weder Gehalt noch Sozialleistungen gezahlt.
    
    4.	Es besteht w�hrend der Dauer des Arbeitskampfes ebenfalls keine Gehalts-
        fortzahlung im Krankheitsfall f�r Streikende bzw. Ausgesperrte.
    
    5.	Streik- und Aussperrungstage k�nnen nicht als Urlaubstage angerechnet 
        werden - Urlaubsantr�ge w�hrend des Arbeitskampfes m�ssen deshalb abge-
        lehnt werden.
    
    6.	Sie sollten dar�berhinaus noch wissen, da� folgende Regeln f�r einen 
        Streik unabdingbar eingehalten werden m�ssen:
    
    	a.  Zum Streik kann nur die Gewerkschaft aufrufen, wenn vorher eine sog. 
            Urabstimmung hier�ber unter den Mitgliedern der Gewerkschaft in dem 
            zu bestreikenden Betrieb erfolgt ist.
    
    	b.  Der Streik kann auch nur in der gleichen Weise (wie a.) beendet 
            werden.
    
    	c.  Auch zu sog. Warnstreiks darf nur die Gewerkschaft aufrufen. Be-
            triebsr�te, die hierzu z.B. in Betriebsversammlungen aufrufen, ma-
            chen sich strafbar. Es sei noch daran erinnert, da� auch Mitarbei-
            ter, die an einem Warnstreik w�hrend der Kernarbeitszeit teilnehmen, 
            entsprechende Gehaltsabz�ge erfahren werden.
    
    	d.  In jedem Fall darf nur au�erhalb des Betriebsgel�ndes gestreikt wer-
            den. Verteilung von Flugbl�ttern der Gewerkschaften darf auch nur 
            au�erhalb des Betriebsgel�ndes erfolgen.
    
    	e.  Vorbereitungen zu einem Streik d�rfen ebenfalls nicht auf dem 
            Betriebsgel�nde stattfinden.
    
    	    								.../2

    
    
    
                                       - 2 -
    
    
    
    	f.  Ebenfalls unzul�ssig ist das Betreten des Betriebsgel�ndes bzw. die 
            Nutzung von Betriebseinrichtungen durch Streikende bzw. Ausgesperrte 
            (dazu geh�ren Parkpl�tze, Kantinen, alle sonstigen Einrichtungen).
    
    	g.  Solange keine Aussperrung erkl�rt ist, haben alle arbeitswilligen 
            Arbeitnehmer/innen freien Zutritt zum Betriebsgel�nde und d�rfen - 
            auch beim Verlassen - weder behindert noch bedroht werden. Zufahrten 
            d�rfen nicht versperrt werden.
    
    	h.  Daneben ist der Arbeitgeber berechtigt, Notdienstarbeiten durch das 
            hierzu notwendige Personal durchf�hrenzulassen. Dies kann auch einen 
            Streikenden betreffen.
    
    Wir hoffen allerdings, da� die Gewerkschaft so vern�ftig ist und in der 
    jetzigen Zeit der Rezession ihre v�llig �berzogenen Forderungen auf Eis 
    legt, �berdenkt bzw. zur�ckzieht, denn eines kann man uns nicht vorwerfen, 
    da� wir als Verantwortliche des Unternehmens unsere Reorganisationsma�nahmen 
    nicht sozialvertr�glich durchf�hren - im Rahmen des in unserem Lande �bli-
    chen bzw. sogar weit dar�berliegend. 
    
    Des weiteren w�rden St�rungen unseres Gesch�ftsbetriebes, insbesondere im 
    reaktionskritischen Servicebereich nicht zur Arbeitsplatzsicherung beitra-
    gen - sie gef�hrden den Fortbestand unserer Kundenbeziehungen und dienen 
    damit nur der Konkurrenz!
    
    Sollten Sie hierzu noch Fragen haben, so wenden Sie sich bitte an Ihren 
    zust�ndigen Funktionsbereichsleiter/Niederlassungsleiter bzw. an Ihren Per-
    sonalleiter oder Personalreferenten.
    
    Mit freundlichen Gr��en
    
    
    Hans W. Dirkmann		Burkhard Vogel

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    	* Dies ist eine Nachricht von Hans W. Dirkmann und Burkhard Vogel  *
    	********************************************************************
    
    
    
    
    To:		Alle Mitarbeiter/innen der Digital Equipment GmbH
    
    Subj.: 	Haustarifvertrag Rationalisierungsschutzabkommen
    
    M�nchen, den 01.03.93
    
    
    
    Liebe Mitarbeiterinnen, liebe Mitarbeiter,
    
    wir haben heute der Industriegewerkschaft Metall unser ablehnendes Schreiben 
    zur Aufnahme von Tarifvertragsverhandlungen �ber einen Haustarif "Rationa-
    lisierungsschutz" �bersandt. Wir f�gen Ihnen dieses selbsterkl�rende 
    Schreiben als Anlage zu Ihrer Kenntnis bei.
    
    Im �brigen sind wir bereit, mit unseren Betriebsr�ten (GBR) �ber ein ver-
    n�nftiges Rationalisierungsschutzabkommen zu verhandeln.
    
    Mit freundlichen Gr��en
    
    
    Hans W. Dirkmann		Burkhard Vogel
    
    
    Anlage
    
        
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         Industriegewerkschaft Metall
         Bezirksleitung M�nchen
         z. Hd. Herrn Polzmacher
         Schwanthalerstr. 64
         
         8000 M�nchen 2
         
         
         
         	       			   bv/ad	    4505	01.03.93
         
         Tarifbindung
         
         Sehr geehrter Herr Polzmacher,
         
         wir best�tigen den Erhalt Ihres Schreiben vom 15.02.93 und wollen Ihnen 
         wie folgt antworten:
         
         Wir halten es zur Zeit f�r nicht angebracht bzw. notwendig, mit der IGM 
         �ber eine Tarifbindung zu sprechen. Wir sind vielmehr der Meinung, da� - 
         wie bisher - wir sehr wohl das zu Regelnde mit unseren Betriebsr�ten 
         diskutieren, beraten und in Form von Betriebsvereinbarungen verabschie-
         den k�nnen. Wir meinen hierbei alle Arten von Betriebsvereinbarungen; 
         hierzu z�hlen auch sog. Rationalisierungsschutzabkommen.
         
         Wir m�chten dar�berhinaus ausdr�cklich betonen, da� die sozialvertr�g-
         lichen Ma�nahmen, die wir im Rahmen unserer Restrukturierungsvorhaben 
         getroffen haben, weit �ber dem Standard des BRD-�blichen liegen - und 
         dies ohne Rationalisierungsschutzabkommen. Es ist uns auch bisher nicht 
         bekannt geworden, da� unter Geltung eines Rationalisierungsschutzab-
         kommens Mitarbeitern von Firmen, die in wirtschaftliche Bedr�ngnis 
         geraten sind, K�ndigungen erspart geblieben sind. 
         
         Im �brigen ist es unseres Erachtens falsch, zum gegenw�rtigen Zeitpunkt 
         generell �ber Tarifbindung zu sprechen, solange die gesellschaftsrecht-
         liche Struktur der Digital-Unternehmungen in Deutschland nicht ab-
         schlie�end gekl�rt ist.
         
         Da dies eine generelle Ablehnung zur Verhandlungsaufnahme mit Ihnen 
         derzeitig darstellt, hat es unserer Meinung nach auch keinen Sinn, die 
         Gespr�che/Verhandlungen am 04.03.93 aufzunehmen.
         
         Digital Equipment GmbH
         
         Mit freundlichen Gr��en
         
         
         gez.	       			   gez.
         Hans W. Dirkmann		   Burkhard Vogel
         Vorsitzender der		   Gesch�ftsf�hrer und
         Gesch�ftsf�hrung		   Arbeitsdirektor

    Munich, 26-Feb-93
    
    Dear Employees,
    
    Recently a number of flyers have been distributed which indicate that
    IGM will go on strike against our company unless we agree to their demand
    for a contract.
    
    With respect to this and to the plans for a strike as well, we would
    like to communicate the following to you in order to explain your situation
    and our position:
    
    1. It is legal for a union to go on strike against an employer in order
    to achieve certain demands.
    
    2. It is legal for an employer as a countermeasure -- in the case of
    negative impact on the ability to do work -- to implement a lockout.
    
    3. In any case during the period of the above mentioned measures neither
    striking workers nor those who are locked out will be paid salary or
    benefits.
    
    4. In addition, during the period of the dispute, there will be no salary
    continuation for either striking workers or those who are locked out.
    
    5. The days of the strike or lockout may not be counted as vacation days
    -- requests for vacation during the dispute must be denied.
    
    6. In addition, you should also know that the following regulations for
    a strike must be followed to the letter:
    
        a. The union may only call a strike if a so-called "initial vote" on
        the matter has been carried out among the union members within the
        company.
        
	b. The strike may also only be ended in the same manner (as "a.").
        
        c. So-called "warning strikes" may also only be called by the union.
        Workers representatives who, for example, call out for a strike in
        the workers meeting, may be disciplined.  Be reminded that employees
        who participate in a warning strike during the main working hours
        will also have corresponding deductions made from their compensation.
        
        d. In any case, picketing may only take place off company property.
        Distribution of flyers by the union may also only take place off
        company propery.
        
        e. Preparation for a strike as well may not take place on company
        property.
        
        f. Also forbidden is any access to company property or the use of
        any company facilities (including parking places, cafeterias, or any
        other facility) by striking or locked out workers.
        
        g. As long as no lockout has been declared, all workers who are willing
        to work have free access to company property and may -- when leaving as
        well -- be neither hindered nor threatened.  Accesses may not be
        blocked.
        
        h. In addition, the employer has the right to permit emergency service
        work to be carried out by the personnel necessary for that task.  This
        may also apply to a striking worker.
    
    In any case, we hope that the union will be reasonable during this
    recessionary time and place its completely extravagant demands on ice,
    think them over, and withdraw them, for we cannot be accused that we
    as the persons responsible for the company are not carrying out our
    reorganisation measures in accordance with the framework of the social
    contract common in our country -- or even much better, in fact.
    
    Furthermore, disruption of our conduct of business, in particular in
    the response-critical customer service area will not contribute to job
    security -- it will endanger the continuity of our customer relationships
    and thereby only serve the competition!
    
    If you have any questions concerning this, please turn to your responsible
    functional area manager or subsidiary director or on your personnel manager
    or personnel representative.
    
    With friendly greetings,
    
    Hans W. Dirkmann		Burkhard Vogel

    Munich, 01-Mar-93
    
    Dear Employees,
    
    Today we have sent our letter to IGM declining to take up negotiations
    for a contract on protection of staff reductions.  We attach this
    self-explanatory letter for your information.
    
    In addition, we are prepared to negotiate reasonable staff reduction
    protections with the workers representatives who represent the entire
    workforce.
    
    With friendly greetings,
    
    
    Hans W. Dirkmann		Burkhard Vogel
    
         
         Industriegewerkschaft Metall
         Bezirksleitung M�nchen
         z. Hd. Herrn Polzmacher
         Schwanthalerstr. 64
         
         8000 M�nchen 2
         
         	       			   bv/ad	    4505	01.03.93
         Tarifbindung
         
         Sehr geehrter Herr Polzmacher,
    
         we acknowledge receipt of your letter of 15-Feb-93 and wish to answer
         you as follows:
         
         At this time we consider it neither appropriate nor necessary to
         discuss a contract with IGM.  We are rather of the opinion, that
         -- as in the past -- we would well discuss and take advisement with
         our workers representatives that result in working agreements.  By
         this, we mean all sorts of working agreements, including so-called
         "agreements for the protection of rationalization."
         
         Furthermore, we with to explicitly emphasize that the social contract
         measures that we have reached in the framework of our restructuring
         plans are far beyond the customary standard in the Federal Republic
         of Germany, and this was done without "agreements for the protection
         of rationalization."  In addition, we are not aware that an "agreement
         for the protection of rationalization" has served to save the jobs of
         employees of companies that are under economic pressure.
         
         In addition, it is our opinion that it is wrong to talk about contracts
         at the present point in time, as long as the final corporate structure
         of the various Digital subsidiaries in Germany hasn't been cleared up.
         
         Since this represents a general rejection of negotiations with you at
         this time, we also think there is no need to begin talks/negotiations
         on 4-Mar-93.
         
         Digital Equipment GmbH
         
         With friendly greetings,
         
         signed				   signed
         Hans W. Dirkmann		   Burkhard Vogel
         Chairman of the 		   Managing Director
         Management Board

I have not read anywhere that there was a problem with or resistance to
any employee reductions in Germany.  With the Ireland-Scotland debate,
even reductions in the U. S. seemed less than disasterous.  Is this the
first workforce reductions to impact Germany?  This seems to be a little
more serious than mere "posturing" by the corporation.

	Germany has only recently started going into recession, our German sub 
	made a loss for the first time ever last quarter.

	German interest rates were lowered recently, and are rumoured to be cut
	again this week to stimulate some recovery.

	The social aspects of work are very high in many EEC countries, and most
	have signed up for the social charter (not the UK).

	With this, and the impacts of unification, Germany, although it may be 
	better off than most countries, is going through very trying times.

	Heather

    Too bad that we don't get the news directly from our German collegues,
    but .0 etc would indicate that as a new wave of layoffs approaches
    the "Betriebsrat" (= worker's council) has less confidence in their
    ability of definding the worker's interest in the layoff negotiations
    and therfore asked the union for support. Or were they shortcut
    by the worker's base ?
    In any case, I'd support whoever brings in some creativity and new
    ways of "downsizing" labor than the old and repeated ad infinitum
    "headcutting" based on dubious  selection criteria (if any).
    I'm thinking in terms of voluntary and well controlled
    pay-cut, incentives to take non-paid long leave for studies etc...
    From what I've seen in France, such initiatives do not originate
    within unions nor company management, but the employees themselves.
    One example beeing Hewlett & Packard ....
    /fred
         

	Hi from Munich!

	Today we had a s called "Betriebsversammlung" here in Munich.
	The employees meet with the workers counsil and members of the
	management and they are presented with the 'latest' news.

	I'll try to get a summary together till tomorrow and post it 
	here. The most importend facts are:

		- the layoffs are continuing (second round)

		- there's a one hour 'warning' strike tomorrow


	more later

		Uli

    re .7:
    
    �Too bad that we don't get the news directly from our German collegues,
    
    Here is the news... I only had to leave a bit early yesterday (7PM
    local time) so I couldn't respond then.
    
    The layoffs now threatening us are not the first (and unfortunately,
    probably not the last). I don't have all the exact figures in my head,
    but the headcount was decreased by about 15% (~630 persons) towards the
    end of the last fiscal year already.
     
    Last week, IGM (Industriegewerkschaft Metall, the German metal worker's
    union) distributed leaflets in German Digital offices explaining their
    point of view on the reorganization, further layoffs etc. in Germany.
    (I've personally only seen this one flyer; there may have been more,
    but basically, this is what the management seems to be referring to).

    It's almost two pages so I won't translate all of it. It ends (sorry
    for my rough translation) with:

    "Because time is running, we must become active. We start with warning
    strikes.

    Please pay attention to the call for strike by IGM and support our
    common demands by participating in our actions.

    PS: According to article 9 in the Constitution every emplyee, including
    non-union members, have the right to participate in industrial action
    by the unions."
    
    I've just returned from a Digital Munich employees' meeting which was
    held today downtown (in Math�ser, one of the big beerhalls in Munich -
    DEC doesn't have any facilities to accommodate this number of people).
    
    I won't go into any details which may be of little interest to
    employees in other countries. The bottom line is, IGM has called the
    employees of Digital Equipment GmbH (the 'main' Digital) and Digital PCS
    Systemtechnik GmbH (the fusion of PCS, aquired recently through the
    aquisition of Philips, and Digital's EIC (former CSS)) for a warning
    strike starting tomorrow 9:30AM.
    
    It remains to be seen what percentage of the employees participate;
    judging by the atmosphere in the meeting mentioned above it might be
    significant.
    

    Notes collision..
    

    Did the employees vote to strike ? or is this just following the
    union's call ?
    
    Paul

    No, not yet - German law doesn't require union votes for warning
    strikes (as far as I know).
    
    Obviously, they're going to vote with their feet - either they come, or
    they don't. (It's close to 9:30AM here, it's snowing and the temperature
    is just around freezing). We'll see soon...
    

Hi, 
our 'warning' strike just ended. An overwhelming lot of colleagues 'voted 
with their feet'. 

Exact numbers are not yet available, but I'll try to get them before my
customer date this afternoon...


Best regards,

		-Peter

    I'm not very good in guesstimating numbers... I guess there were 200,
    maybe even 300 people here in UFC (Munich/Unterf�hring). I could spot
    at least 3 TV news camera teams, one radio reporter, and a handful of
    newspaper journalists/photographers.
    
    

...who went on the street for one hour, accompanied by the police, who secured
our way (nah, we didn't throw stones, :-) it was because of the traffic, which
we disturbed a little bit).

The offices were empty, except of some managers' who tried to work.

Our strike made the radio news and tomorrow's press will also cover it.

Best wishes were sent from the Betriebsrat of IBM D�sseldorf, where the
employees are facing similar problems.


rgds,

	-Peter (in a hurry)

    I don't know what sites in Germany are manufacturing besides
    Kaufbeuren. But if I were senior management a warning strike might
    make me think that perhaps I'd be better off building things in
    Galway than in Kaufbeuren. Let's face it, it's not like Digital has 
    a shortage of people and manufacturing space right now.

    Can we assume that finding new jobs is so easy in Germany that the
    union doesn't have to worry about a strike making Digital decide to
    make still bigger cuts? I suspect that in the US, especially New
    England, Digital could replace lots of people a lot easier than people
    let go could find new jobs. Though German law may make replacing
    strikers harder than it would be in the US there are ways around most
    things.

    			Alfred

	A report on German economy and social policy reported in the Daily Mail,
	reproduced without permission.....

	Helmut Khol was accused yesterday by one of its own banks cheifs of 
	sabotaging the world economy with his bad management of Germany's 
	finances.

	In a condemnation of Bonn's failure to hold off recession, Bundesbank
	vice-president Hans Tietmeyer urged the chancellor and his government
	to "get our own house in order".

	"An ailing German economy is a burden on other countries" he said.
	"Germany must recognise its responsibilities for the European and the 
	world economy".

	A quick and lasting revision of Germany's expensive social policy 
	should be top priority, warned the bank chief.

	During protracted nogotiations under the Solidarity Pact, the unions 
	have moderated wage claims, industriel chiefs have promised more 
	investment in East germany, but Bonn has failed to secure cuts in both 
	the central budget and those of the 16 regional states.

	Cancellor Khol meets the state leaders next week for showdown talks on 
	their budgets.

	Heather

    re .16:
    
    �I don't know what sites in Germany are manufacturing besides
    �Kaufbeuren.
    
    Kaufbeuren is the only manugacturing site. I don't think they
    participated in the strike (formally, it's a separate company).
    
    �But if I were senior management a warning strike might
    �make me think that perhaps I'd be better off building things in
    �Galway than in Kaufbeuren.
    
    Well, senior management apparently thinks they are not well off bulding
    things in Galway either.
    
    �Can we assume that finding new jobs is so easy in Germany that the
    �union doesn't have to worry about a strike making Digital decide to
    �make still bigger cuts?
    
    In the contrary. the job market has already more or less dried up even
    though bigger companies like IBM and Siemens-Nixdorf haven't
    implemented their layoffs yet.
    
    Maybe I should try to clarify things. While it can be said that the
    strike is 'against layoffs' it's not just simply yelling "we don't
    want to be laid off" (who would, anyway?).
    
    There is an offer for negotiating a contract between IGM and Digital,
    and a proposal for that contract. 2400 people have signed a petition
    where they support starting the negotiations. (I'm not sure how many
    we still had when the signatures were collected; I guess roughly 4000
    which would make the support 60%).  In one of the memos posted in the
    beginning of this string, Digital denies taking up such negotiations
    with IGM.
    
    I'm not going to type in the whole proposal here, let alone translate
    it, it's ~24 pages of small print. The basic idea is to agree to use
    layoffs as a last measure only (if it is not possible to avoid them
    instead of retraining, relocation, voluntary part-time employment,
    reducing outsourcing/subcontracting etc. etc.).
    
    It also defines the 'package' in case someone leaves. It would also
    stipulates a no-layoff policy for emplyees over 45 years of age, or
    more than 10 years with Digital.
    
    An early retirement possibility is suggested for people over 55 of age.
    
    The contract proposal also stipulates that all employees are treated
    the same (and keep same benefits as currently) no matter for what
    Digital company they work. The former EIC has already been split into a
    separate company, and it is apparent that many more are to be formed.
    
    

Alfred,

The issue here is about taking care of people. You just don't "dump" people out 
with a package, have a good and better luck elsewhre as in the US. 

There is a substantially stronger "group feeling" here. This is what is the 
more fundamental message in the action. 

md 

    Again, contrast *this* action against BTO/SPO/TFO/......
    
    Marc H.

    What contrast?  If you ask me, this sounds like the position we were in
    5 years ago.  (Okay, so there wasn't a strike.)  The US economy was
    slowing down and Digital began to realize that it wasn't expanding
    at the rate that we were used to.
    
    We had a "no layoff policy."
    We offered early retirement.
    We tried to retrain and reassign people.
    
    I think there are many similarities.
    
    Mark

    
    I'd like to convey my best wishes to the German workers who supported
    the strike call.  I don't know how effective their action can be, but
    sometimes its important to just register a protest.  
    
    
    Liam

The sympathy for this action in this topic is disgusting.

I just got a piece of chain mail that's being forwarded around the E-net
from some yoyo in Germany who's dealing out kudos to the German strikers.

Unbelieveable!

-Jack

    I have some really STRONG MIXED feelings in BOTH directions.  I keep
    thinking one thing over and over:

    	"For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction"

    It will be interesting to see what that reaction turns out to be...

    Jim Morton

    re .23
    
    Why is it "disgusting" if a group of employees seeks to
    look after its own interests?
    

    re .23
    
    What is a Yoyo ? What is a kudos ?
    
    Paul

    This morning's S�ddeutsche Zeitung reported about the strike in three
    places.
    
    In the 'economy' section, there as a short piece of news mentioning the
    action (Germany-wide).
    
    In the 'Munich area' section there was a long article, with a big
    picture of the striking crowd, and four mini-interviews of eployees,
    with pictures.
    
    According to the paper (they quoted a BR member) about 80%
    participated.
    
    BTW, it would be interesting to know what the headcount reduction
    percentage has been in various countries. Over here, about the only
    source of information seems to be the press; our peak was ~4600, and
    according to the newspaper we now have ~3800 or a ~17% reduction. The
    layoffs announced now would be ~425, which would mean a total of ~27%
    (off the maximum).
    

    re .23: Thank you for your sympathy with your colleagues!
    
    This morning's S�ddeutsche Zeitung reported about the strike in three
    places.
    
    In the 'economy' section, there as a short piece of news mentioning the
    action (Germany-wide).
    
    In the 'Munich area' section there was a long article, with a big
    picture of the striking crowd, and four mini-interviews of eployees,
    with pictures.
    
    According to the paper (they quoted a BR member) about 80%
    participated.
    
    BTW, it would be interesting to know what the headcount reduction
    percentage has been in various countries. Over here, about the only
    source of information seems to be the press; our peak was ~4600, and
    according to the newspaper we now have ~3800 or a ~17% reduction. The
    layoffs announced now would be ~425, which would mean a total of ~27%
    (off the maximum).
    

yoyo=nut=crazy person
kudos=congratulations

msg to mr Delbaso: Careful with the language. What was done here is is perfectly
resaonable. Remember the DEC Germany has a union contract. And so does DEC 
France.The employees there have a (formal) vehicle to express their concerns 
and frustrations. There are exercising their rights. You don't have to agree 
with it but you are expected to respect it. 

Keep in mind the first amendement to your (US) constitution. 

And yes, this kind of action is a very emotional process. Sometimes you need to
go through that process before you can start thinking straight.

Msg to our German colleagues: DEC France will laying of 450 people and 
reclassifying 150 (out of a current population of 3056). The process and the 
number where negotiated with the worker reps, without conflict.
Food for thought.. 

md

    RE: .28

>    re .23: Thank you for your sympathy with your colleagues!

    What makes you think Jack doesn't have sympathy for his colleagues?
    The fact that he doesn't support a strike? That's ridiculous.

    I have lots of sympathy for people being laid off. I've had a lot of
    friends and co workers laid off over the last 2 years. It's very sad.
    This is one reason why I do not support strikes. I believe that the
    main result of strikes is less profit and more layoffs. Management, in
    memos posted earlier in this topic, claims that the packages that have
    and will be offered are better then many others in Germany. If true, I
    don't see the gripe. If not true, and I've seen no denial yet, than I
    have no confidence in a union to "fix" it. Of course that may be based
    on my own experience with US unions as well as what I've heard about
    German unions elsewhere in this conference. I don't see either as a
    positive force at all interested in the company being profitable.

    			Alfred

    re .30: If .23 has any sympathy with his German colleagues , he
    certainly didn't express it. Finding the sympathy with an action
    supported by the majority of the employees disgusting doesn't exactly
    imply otherwise.
    
    (To be more exact, I should say colleagues in Germany, because there
    is a fair percentage of non-German employees here).
    
    Yes, the package may be better than many others in Germany, and/or
    better than what Digital offers in ther countries - but that's not the
    point, and not the reason for the strike. The people don't want the
    package, they'd prefer keeping their jobs.
    
    

>and not the reason for the strike. The people don't want the
>    package, they'd prefer keeping their jobs.
    
    Well, you lost me on this one. If people would rather have jobs why
    would they get involved in an action, a strike, that is almost by
    definition going to make it harder for the company to make enough
    money to keep people on?
    
    			Alfred

re: Marc and Ora

It's not a question of sympathy. Sympathy belongs with those who have lost
their positions involuntarily, not with those who put their own necks on
the block. My (extensive) experience with (American) unions is that they do
more harm than good. It may very well be that workers in Germany would
prefer to have their jobs than the attractive packages being offered. My
philosophy (and I admit to being ignorant of German laws/customs), is that
unless you're in a position to influence management to keep the jobs
through rational means (say, if the company were employee owned), then
you need to roll with the punches. Some quotes that come to mind include,
"You found the door in - it swings both ways" and "If you can't stand the
heat, get out of the kitchen". If the workers are unsatisfied they should
take the initiative to quit and go elsewhere. Hiding behind the legality
of a union action to make a statement is ridiculous. I'm sure their point
has already been heard anyway, and the answer was apparently "NO". What
could be more clear?

I agree with Alfred - maybe DEC Europe should seek a different environment.

-Jack

    I think it's important to keep in mind that different people approach
    this with different attitudes.

    Company, unions, and employees share the same interests.

    Company and employees share the same interests.

    Company and unions share the same interests. (screw the employees)

    Unions and employees share the same interests.

    Company, unions, and employees do not share that same interests. 

    re .32:
    
    The package as such was not the issue. There's a contract made between
    the Works Council (not the union) and the company about the package,
    signed last spring (sometime in April if my memory doesn't fail me).
    The contract was supposed to be in effect until end of June 1994. While
    there was some dispute about this, it was settled long before the
    warning strike.
    
    Other than that, I don't think you should overestimate the effect of a
    strike on the profitability of the company. If we supposedly have too
    many heads anyway, the majority of them taking unpaid time off should
    actually improve profits, shouldn't it? (BTW, the warning strike was
    ~1 hour).
    
    The whole culture and history of unions in Germany is quite different
    from US, or even UK, so any comparisons tend to be rather futile. Also,
    note that (according to the local newspaper) an estimated 25-30% of DEC
    employees here are unionized; simple arithmetic shows that a large
    percentage of the strikers were not union members.
    

    
    
    So you'd rather have full employment until the whole corporation goes
    out of business and then everyone would be out of a job without any
    kind of package at all?  Maybe the reason that there is little to no
    understanding over here is because we've been going through TFSOs for
    going on three years now, it is kind of hard to be understanding when 
    you have been put through this kind of thing.
    
    
    Mike

    re .36
    This is EXACTLY what .34 pointed out...
    It all depends how you interpret our collegues in Germany's motivation
    for the strike.
    As far as I understood, they are not that stupid to believe that they
    would win with "full employment" but they guess that they could
    get management to negotiate about other/supplementary forms of reducing the 
    payroll.
    Did I miss anything ?
    Does DIGITAL want and need to reduce the personnel cost overhead
    or simply the number of "heads", which used to be until not that
    long ago the "company's most valuable assets".
    BTW: I heard that in the latest french plan there are indeed incentives
    built in for part time work  which would proof that "cutting heads"
    isn't the only way to reduce the payroll...
    /fred  

The layoff in France will occur. The part time work program is above and beyond

It is voluntary and lasts for two years.
You eithre go on 4/5th time or 3/5th time. Those over 55 can got on half time as
early retirement but that is permanent. You get a one time cash incentive based 
on years of service to participate. 

There are legal incentives in the French labour (no social charges ie benefits
portion to be paid by the employer). And believe me they are stiff (45% of 
employee gross pay). Employee sees about 30% of his base salary go away on 
social charges. Income tax is extra. 

Things like that drive on way to solve the problem. 
The situation in Germany is different. SO they solve it their way.
It's also influenced by internal political  and economic factors.

md

So, the way I read some of the replies to this note, the opinion
here is that, if you disagree (for any reason) with the methods by
which management are proposing to restore DEC to profitability,
then you should make your views known by simply leaving the
company, rather than by using whatever formal, legal means
are available to you as an employee?

    
    re: -1
    
    I think the point was made that the union had a contract whose terms
    were supposed to be in place until June of 1994, not 1993.
    
    re: this "whole ball of wax"
    
    I'd just like to make a few points in regards to our current situation,
    the high-tech industry, and unions.  First of all labor strife is not
    going to solve our current fiscal situation vis-a-vis headcount.  The
    factors that have affected DEC's profitability have to be identified
    and addressed, if not then TFSO will be a permanent exercise.  For the
    past several years DEC structure kep t getting more bloated and no one
    was saying a word about it, and now we're feeling the pain.
    
    Secondly there are those who will take the time to malign labor unions
    based on their bias and opinions.  Unions have contributed much to our
    society, many of the rules governing working conditions are the result
    of the struggles fought by unions in this century.  I'm not commenting
    on the current state of American unions either positive or negative,
    there are a few unions that are actually working for the benefit of
    employees, others not.
    
    The high-tech industry has always taken a negative view towards unions. 
    Instead companies have preferred the paternalistic approach, we'll take
    care of you, etc., and contracted hundreds of so-called organizational
    development specialists to conduct touchy-feely seminars during our
    work days, and what did this get us?  Nothing, they're gone and have
    left their droppings on our roofs...  And I hate to think of the money
    spent on these "consultants", perhaps some people's jobs in Galway or
    elsewhere could have been saved if this process had been monitored over
    the years?
    
    I'm not advocating at-large unionization of Digital as an answer to our
    current situation. But persistance of belief in the "me vs. the world"
    mythology isn't an answer either.
    
    /d.c.

re: .39, Porter

Well, I can't speak for anyone's opinion other than my own, obviously, but
I wouldn't say that in general I think people should "vote with their feet"
_IF_ they haven't had an opportunity to have their views heard.

This doesn't look like such a case, though. They (the German workers through
their guild) have had the opportunity to express their concerns already in
negotiations/contractual dealings, etc. As I said in .33, their point has
already been made. And the response has been issued and it was "NO".

That should (for me at least) settle the matter and leave it to be time
to be truckin' on if I still didn't like it. This "demo strike" or whatever
it's called is nothing short of a tantrum - pure and simple. It's the
work force saying, "We said how we felt about it before and we didn't like
your response so now we're going to say it again, only LOUDER!"

What point does that serve? It's not a question of people resorting to
legal mechanisms available to them, in my mind. It's a matter of them
having had an opportunity to present their view already, but acting
like spoiled children in an attempt to get their way.

-Jack

re .40:
        
    �I think the point was made that the union had a contract whose terms
    �were supposed to be in place until June of 1994, not 1993.
    
    No, the contract was between the Works Council (an elected body
    representing the employees, which has nothing to do with the union) and
    the employer. Unfortunately, in German law, these contracts are not
    worth much more than the paper they're printed on.
    
    re .41: I don't know about you, but I believe quite a few people, when
    they make what they think is a valid point, won't just turn and go away
    when they get "NO" as answer. Also, the "NO" in this case was not a no
    against the proposal as such - it was a no against starting the
    negotiations with the *union*. If you read the letter in question,
    you'll see that the emplyer has offered to negotiate with the Works
    Council - for good reasons, see above.
    

    For those interested in layoff figures...
    
    Sweden peaked a few heads over 1200 two-three years back. After the
    downsizing last week we're down to 750 which makes a decrese of
    about 37%...
    
    Paul.

    To make one point clear,the work force reduction of 425 heads was 
    a very minor issue for that "strike".The main reason behind was
    the situation of contracts or better the ones we don't have for the
    comming restructioring,founding of new smaller units (G.m.B.H.=limited)
    and what will happen to the people.What about there pension,what about
    an ERP-program and so on and the German law says clearly that
    everything which is typically part of a contract between employer
    and  a Union can not be subject of a treaty between employer and
    the Worker Counsil.Please do not assume here in Germany work mostly
    dumb nuts or communist fighters,take it just as to have said:it is 
    a difficult time and it's that how far we proceed.By the way,in
    Hamburg we were supported by an IBM delegation,carrying a transparent
    saying:heute Ihr,morgen wir(today it's you,tomorrow we are concerned).
    Sorry,with better English I could express myself much more appropriate.
      MfG
    	Joachim

	Of course the IBM folks supported the job action - More strikes of
	Digital employees means a lessened ability of Digital to support
	customers, which in turn means more business for IBM, which means
	that *those* folks will have a better chance of keeping *their* jobs...
	No wonder they are in favor of Digital going on strike...

					Tom_K

	RE: .45 I thought the same thing. I know I'd support IBM people going
	out on strike. :-)

			Alfred

>	Of course the IBM folks supported the job action - More strikes of
>	Digital employees means a lessened ability of Digital to support
>	customers, which in turn means more business for IBM, which means
>	that *those* folks will have a better chance of keeping *their* jobs...
>	No wonder they are in favor of Digital going on strike...


	And there, in a nutshell, is what is wrong with
	U.S. society today.

	"Screw you, Jack, I've got mine".

    
    Let us not confuse what seems to be legitimate long term concerns, not
    only for our fellow employees in Digital, but also those in other 
    companies in similar circumstances.  The "today it's you; tomorrow it's
    us" motto is a laudable statement of "solidarity."
    
    In the case of this nutshell, it is a tough one to crack.
    
    

    I agree that the labor action in Germany is probably a futile gesture,
    but I can sympathize with it, even if it is only complaining that they
    are unhappy with the situation. You can never expect change if you don't
    say anything about the current state of affairs. If that's complaining,
    so be it. The alternative is to lay down and be steamrolled by every
    situation that you disagree with. Flexibility is a relative term. You
    have to bend to the world, but you also have to stand up for yourself.
    Therein lies room to negotiate.
    
    While I personally would probably choose a different means, if
    I were told I was about to be laid off, I would pursue every productive
    avenue available to avoid it. I might just be spinning my wheels
    uselessly, but I would keep it up until they escorted me out the door.
    That's simple survival.

Thanks to all those that have provided information on the situation in various
european countries, especially Germany.  I am embarrassed by some of the replies
to see that some of us have forgotten about being human.  As an employee of ANY
company we all desire to be treated fairly and to feel secure that if we perform
as we promise, that the employer will also.

My group has lost a number of people.  Some have founds jobs or started business,
other are still unemployed.  One had to sell his home and move in with his
parents to best protect his family.  I think we can all empathise with the need
to care for ones family.

While it is easy to say our competitors will gain from our misfortune, given
IBM's announced layoff plan , I feel such beliefs are 'short sighted'. 

>               <<< Note 2394.47 by MU::PORTER "savage pencil" >>>
>
>>	Of course the IBM folks supported the job action - More strikes of
>>	Digital employees means a lessened ability of Digital to support
>>	customers, which in turn means more business for IBM, which means
>>	that *those* folks will have a better chance of keeping *their* jobs...
>>	No wonder they are in favor of Digital going on strike...
>
>
>	And there, in a nutshell, is what is wrong with
>	U.S. society today.
>
>	"Screw you, Jack, I've got mine".
>

	Would you kindly explain the logic underlying that conclusion.


						Tom_K

    I almost hate to carry on this discussion.Some try to
    understand,gathering information while other stick in there hidebound
    obstinacy.It is foolish to think that IBM did send an official dele-
    gation,no,a few IBM empoyees did come in there spare time to sho
    us there sympathy for this typ of action,to bring the employer at
    the table for negotitions.That's it.
    	J.

    Re: .44
    
    Until 25th January 1993 I worked for Digital Equipment GmbH, the
    Digital German subsidiary. From this date onwards I and all other
    employees of the EIC were transferred to a newly formed company called
    Digital-PCS Systemtechnik GmbH which was a "rename" of PCS GmbH. The
    official headcount is 245. PCS GmbH was part of what the Digital
    Corporation took over when it bought Mannesmann-Kienzle.
    
    Since part of the discussion in this string is about restructuring, I
    thought I would add the information that our pension plan continues
    just as if we had stayed with Digital Equipment GmbH. We are no longer
    able to buy Digital stock but it has been said that we will be
    compensated in cash for the loss of this benefit.
    
    Mike

	re:.52

	I'm in no position to judge your actions, that's why I've refrained
	from comment.

	Generally I look at unions like I look at affirmative action.

	If everyone played by the rules we wouldn't need backup.

Hallo,

After reading all the notes under this topic I feel there is a lack of
information about the aims of those Digital employees organising the strike.
As a member of the Frankfurt Works-Council at Digital and also a member of the
union committee perhaps I can help.

Here are a few points which may be of interest:

- The union committee of the IGMetall which has called for strike action 
consists of 25 Digital employees, several of them have been with Digital for 15
years or more. There are three union officials in the committee with an
advisory role, they don't have voting rights. The decision to call a warning
strike was unanimous. The whole point of short warning strikes is to establish
whether the employees support the demands of the union and "vote with their
feet." The idea is also to give the employer a chance to negotiate without a
full strike after a union ballot. We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of
support we recieved. We hope that Robert Palmer will now realise that we are
serious and will allow Hans Dirkmann to negotiate a sensible contract with us. 
This would, we believe, give Digital flexibility and stability in Germany. 

- The demands we are making in the labour contract were developed in meetings
of up to 80 Digital employees all over Germany who then engaged in discussions
with the rest of the company. This is a dynamic process which is continuing and
will continue during negotiations. Top management at Digital would be well
advised to read the contract carefully. There is nothing in it which makes your
hair fall out, it is a basis for negotiations. Incidentally this contract
represents a new departure for the IGMetall. Only a few companies such as
Volkswagen have tailormade contracts, but that is what we, the Digital
employees in the union wanted. 

- The most important point we are making is that we believe that Digital in
Germany has been very sucessful in the past and can be sucessful in the future. 
The strength of the Deutschmark has meant that we have always had an above
average contribution margin. We are also ideally placed to take advantage of
the hugh markets which have opened up in eastern Europe and the former Soviet
Union. Many of us are disappointed and angry that invaluable personell,
organisational and  facility resources are being squandered in a chaotic and
expensive manner. We are convinced millions of dollars have beeen wasted
through bad management and short term panic measures. (I could go on at length
about this but it would not be appropriate.) It is surprising but true:
we are demanding an organisational task force which plans in advance and
discusses its activities with us. We feel that those currently taking decisions
which will determine the state of the company for the rest of the century do
not realise how much potential there is in Germany, and we have little
understanding for the previous European Vice-President, Mr Fallotti,
who left the company so suddenly.
    
- we are calling for a guarantee for the pay and conditions of digital
    employees who are transferred to other companies, a guarantee for the
    accepted standards of pay and conditions in the industry, and a variety
    of alternatives to redundancy packages.
    
- IBM, Siemens-Nixdorf, Unisys, and Digital-Kienzle all have labour contracts
with the IGMetall. Why not the Digital Equipment GmbH ?

- Having taken part in many many discussions and meetings on this subject I am
absolutely convinced that the company will have to sign a contract with us
sooner or later, so the management might as well do it sooner than later. 
The energy and conviction of those involved is impressive. 

- The trade union culture in Germany is very different to that in other
countries. Closed shops are illegal. People join the union because they want
to. This means that the union is pluralistic and open. The IGMetall has a
christian-democatic, liberal, social-democratic and socialist tradition which
crosses party-political boundaries. It has 3,5 million members and all union
officials are elected by the members every three years. This culture was
developed after the unions were reestablished in 1945, in order never to repeat
the mistakes which were made in 1933, when a divided democracy failed to stop 
the national socialists. 
 
Well, I hope this information will help the discussion along!

best wishes, Kevin Mannerings
    

    The 'regular' strike has started yesterday in Berlin. According to last
    night's TV news (ARD, Tagesthemen) 100 DEC employees in Berlin are on
    strike. (I don't know how many emplyees we have there though).

    would you people in germany please continue with your assessments of
    what is happening. many of us here in the US hear NOTHING about this
    except via this medium. and we thank you for your efforts.

Hi, on request some information:

Presently the strikes are in Berlin, Hamburg, Hannover and Bremen.
According to well informed sources tomorrow at least Cologne, Essen
and Bonn will join.

Upper management still(?) refuses to start negotiations.


Rgds,
	-Peter (DEC Cologne)

PS: I guess I will not be able to enter anything here within the next
    few days... 

Just curious...is this the first time DEC, in any country, 
has ever had a strike?

    To the best of my knowledge, yes (except a few warning strikes at least
    here in Germany, and some other European countries I think).
    

     At least what seems to be a majority of us here in Hannover are
     against this strike.  I estimate about maybe 20% of the people
     here are striking, which would represent about most of the
     IGMetall members. The flyers say 41 people, but I don't see
     that many outside.  They seem to all congregate around the
     garage and main entrance in the morning but then as the day
     wears on, they wander off into their big tent(!) in the back.

     Of course people have a right to strike if they want, but those
     of us who are not members of this union were not asked, so we
     feel that the Worker's Council who is supposedly representing
     us is not acting in our interests.  A comment was made on the
     respected German TV news program Tagesthemen that the
     Metalworkers' Union desperately needs new members, so they are
     attempting to get a foot into the computer industry.

     The reasons for the strike - as I understand it - are
     officially to avoid losing benefits when the German subsidiary
     breaks up into a holding with several companies hanging off it.
     When asked on the TV report, a colleague in Berlin replied that
     she was striking to get more training, "which she needs,
     especially at her age".  With all respect, I could only think
     "get a life!"  If I want to improve my own market value, then I
     want to look after this myself, thank you. 

     It also appears to me that most of the people on strike here do
     not have first-line responsibility with customers, that is,
     they are not the ones to take the heat when things like
     delivery dates and installation dates stop working. We are
     getting calls from concerned customers asking if these dates
     will be held.  [There is a story that someone from IG Metall (a
     Digital customer by the way) actually called our Dresden office
     during the strike and asked for a service technician to come
     for an installation, but were told that they would have to wait
     until after the strike!]

     Anyway, if I were for example a customer of a heating company
     and had a maintenance contract with them, and my heater went
     out and it was the middle of winter and I was freezing, and I
     called the company and they said "sorry, we're on strike", I
     would certainly call another company and send the first one the
     bill. And then I would cancel my service contract.

     So I can't imagine that this will help the current situation
     any.

     Just my humble opinion.

    I think .55 givers a fairly good summary of what the (then possible)
    srike is all about.
    
     �Of course people have a right to strike if they want, but those
     �of us who are not members of this union were not asked, so we
     �feel that the Worker's Council who is supposedly representing
     �us is not acting in our interests.
    
    Bob, please don't confuse the Workers' Council and the union... Only
    unions can call for a strike, and only union member can decide about
    it. There's nothing the Workers' Council can do either way. Granted,
    many of them are also union members, and perhaps voted for a strike -
    but the Workers' Council is an elected body, so if you don't like it,
    vote for someone else next time...
    

    
     �Of course people have a right to strike if they want, but those
     �of us who are not members of this union were not asked...
    
    Isn't it a bummer when democracy doesn't go your way?
    
    Question:  A recent program here in the US looked at "mittelstand"
    companies in Germany, and their relative success in the current world
    markets.  To what degree would these corporations be Unionized?
    
    One was Ratzionale - where the workforce seemed to extend from
    sheet metal fabricators to computer programmers all working on
    one product team.
    
    Regards,
    
    Colin
    
    
    

    re .64:
    
    �To what degree would these corporations be Unionized?
    
    I guess it depends... if it is a classical manufacturing type of
    enterprise, probably close to 100%. It's more the norm than the
    exception here - even IBM, Siemens, etc. are heavvily unionized.
    

re .63-.64

well, if about 800 (and not all of them) out of 3000 constitutes a
democracy, then I must have missed something :-)

I guess I'm still used to the good ol' American town meeting kind of
democracy.

- Bob

    re.66
    Minor nit,but it's 800 out of 800.
    The union wants to call a strike and the union members have to vote on
    it. Actually, only unions can call a strike. Workers councils can't.
    If they vote "yes" the union members go on strike and are not allowed
    (at least here in Holland) to hinder people who do not want to strike.
    If the employer decides not to pay for the days people have been on
    strike usually the union pays (part of) the salary.
    
    Charles

    re: .62 customer concerns about effects of strike
    
    Strike. [American Heritage Dictionary definition] A work stoppage by
    employees in support of demands made upon their employer.
    
    Why strikes succeed [personal opinion]: Loss of production and/or
    disruption of normal business practices cause economic impact on
    employer too great to ignore.  OF COURSE customers are concerned.  That
    is an intended consequence of the strike.
    
    Wes

re Note 2394.66 by 50217::PAULSON:

> well, if about 800 (and not all of them) out of 3000 constitutes a
> democracy, then I must have missed something :-)
> 
> I guess I'm still used to the good ol' American town meeting kind of
> democracy.
  
        You obviously haven't been to a "good ol' American town
        meeting" lately.  I have.  It's more like 60 to 130 out of
        2000 eligible voters.

        Bob

     After seeing the picture of my colleagues holding up their
     signs and marching through the center of Hannover in the paper
     this morning, I couldn't help thinking that they are no less
     just numbers and heads to the management of the IG Metall union
     than we are to Digital management. The union has their own
     political goals which they want to follow and I think a lot of
     people are being used here. Of course it takes two...

     This week's "Spiegel" referred to the "highly paid and
     well-educated... and noble unionists" of Digital. I guess it's
     a new world. I'm not sure where all this is leading, however. 
     Some people yesterday, while we were being shouted/chorused at
     by our colleagues outside, were wondering how the working
     atmosphere will be after we are all back at work. One person
     mentioned that she was beginning to feel quite aggressive about
     the whole thing, being heckled for coming to work and all that,
     but as someone mentioned here, I guess we're supposed to feel
     this :-)  I would just prefer that we all keep cool heads. I
     have this feeling of being a pawn in a much larger game, but I
     suppose y'all will say "welcome to the world".

     - Bob

     re .67

     Yes, the people on strike are not being paid by Digital for the
     days on strike; they (the union members only) receive "strike
     pay" from the union. To be a member of the union, I think you
     have to pay them something like 1% of your gross monthly salary
     per month.

     There was a long mail last week from the German subsidiary
     management explaining the "rules of the game" (as governed by
     the laws of this country concerning strikes), so it's very
     clear.

     - Bob

    re .70: Welcome to the world!   :-)
    
    re .71: Yes, the union membership fee is 1% of your gross; on the other
    hand, it's tax deductible, so you end up paying effectively maybe
    0.6-0.7%. And the strike money is obviously a bit less than your
    salary...
    
    

     It occurred to me this morning, as I saw my striking Hannover
     colleagues driving off to Hamburg to offer their support, that
     if all the energy, comradeship, teamwork and helping each other
     out which the people on both sides of this strike are
     exhibiting amongst themselves, could somehow be channeled into
     helping this company get back on its feet again, then we would
     all be a lot better off.

     From a couple of customers who have approached me about this
     however, it would seem that we are becoming a bit of a laughing
     stock with all this as it seems to them that people are
     striking to keep some of what are considered to be excessive
     fringe benefits of the 1980's, and not necessarily about losing
     jobs. Some other countries and people are a *lot* worse off.

     - Bob

Hallo again!

Well, it looks like the German Management team has worked out the answer to the
problem of avoiding a strike in Germany. Negotiations with the IG Metall are to
begin in D�sseldorf on Tuesday evening. As a result the union has put the
planned extension of the strike on hold until Thursday. The negotiating
committee consists of 7 Digital employees and 2 union advisors without voting
rights. The union side is prepared to negotiate long into the night in order to
reach a settlement. The national committee will meet again on Thursday to
consider the results and can decide to suspend strike aktion. A further ballot
of the members is necessary to bring the dispute to an end from the union
viewpoint. 

On the question of the role of the Works' Council and the strike, the following
should be noted:

- the members of the Works' Council are obliged to remain strictly neutral as
long as the are carrying out Works' Council activities. Here in Frankfurt we
have agreed with the local management that when we enter the building we shall
remove our union jackets and refrain from any strike activities. This does not
restrict our right to join the strike as normal employees. I'm sure my Works'
Council colleagues in Hannover are adhering to these regulations. 

- at the time of the Works' Council elections it is the usual practice 
to point out that a candidate is a union member. At the last elections union
members got the most votes all over Germany. The same applies to the
elections to the supervisory board. 

- the matters which are to be negotiated by the union are all contractual 
arrangements which the Works' Council is not allowed to negotiate. At present
Digital employees in Germany all have individual contracts. These were all
negotiated and signed by the individuals themselves, not the Works' Council. 
These individual contracts will not be affected by the union contract, as the
union contract only applies to union members and the membership of the union is
strictly voluntary. It is a safe bet that the union contract will be much
better than the present individual contracts so I expect a lot of employees
will be joining the union in the near future, or renegotiating their individual
contracts to benefit from the gains reached by the union. Nobody has to do
this though. It is a personal democratic decision. The Works' Council has to
respect the individual choice. 

Was the decision to call a strike reached democratically? After all only 30% of
the employees are in the union and 84,9% of the union members voted to strike.
I would say yes, because the union contract only applies to union members so
only they no longer negotiate their employment contracts individually. You
cannot have it both ways. If you want to negotiate your own contract, stay out
of the union. If you want a collective contract join the union and take part in
the union ballots. This is the free democratic choice which is guaranteed by
the constitution. 


But what if I want to work in a company that never has strikes? This to me is a
bit like saying I want to work in a company where noone gets married or watches
telly in the evening. If some employees want to join a union and go on strike
then you have to live with that. It is their private personal choice.

What about the relationship between strikes and non-strikers? This is an
emotional issue and I understand there have been some energetic discussions. 
The reason is that the strikers are making a sacrifice. The strike pay from the
union is about 65% plus state pension contributions. The non-strikers will 
benefit from the strike individually if the union contract leads to an
improvement of thier personal contract but their action means that the strike
takes longer to take effect, thus increasing the sacrifice which the strikers
are making. My information and personal experience is that everything has been
peaceful and good humoured so far, although nonetheless explicit. In fact the
number of strikers and union members has increased as the strike has continued. 
I'm sure if anyone now working in Hannover today wants to go and join the
strike they will be made very welcome. It's obviously the best solution to the
problem, but of course the choice is yours.   

Lastly I should like to point out that noone in the union wanted this strike.
The vast majority of employers settle peacefully with the union before a strike
takes place. As I pointed out in .55

The management will have to negotiate sooner or later so they might as well do
it sooner than later. 

Unfortunaltely it has taken Digital 7 months to realise this. Let us hope that
the negotiations are sucessful and we can all get back to work next Friday. 
If the negotiations fail the strike will spread and we don't want that to
happen do we?

best wishes,

Kevin Mannerings (Works' Council Member in Frankfurt and IG Metall member)

    The folliwing annoucement is at least peripherally related to the
    strike (English version follows the German text):
    
Eigentum von:       HANS W DIRKMANN@RTO
Schriftst�cknummer: 010716

d i g i t a l
                  I N T E R N E   M I T T E I L U N G

                                   Versendet:    21.Jun.1993 09.48
                                   Von:          Dick POULSEN @GEO      
                                                 POULSEN.DICK AT AMISA1 @EHQMTS @GEO 
                                   Abt:          PRESIDENT EUROPE
                                   Tel:          821-4961/Public:(41)22 7094961

AN:  klaus-josef lutz @rto
AN:  hans dirkmann @rto

Betr.: U: ANNOUNCEMENT GERMAN HOLDING                               
    
    Ich freue mich, Ihnen mitteilen zu k�nnen, da� die Digital 
    Equipment Corporation dem Vorschlag zur Schaffung einer 
    Holding-Struktur in Deutschland zugestimmt hat.
    
    Wie in anderen Mitteilungen bereits aufgezeigt,
    werden f�nf Einzelgesellschaften unter dem Dach einer
    deutschen Holding-Gesellschaft etabliert.

    Ich bin der festen �berzeugung, da� diese Struktur derzeit
    die besten Voraussetzungen bietet, um flexibel, kundennah
    und marktgerecht zu handeln.

    Die angestrebte Konzentration der einzelnen Holding-Gesellschaften
    auf jeweils klar bestimmte Gesch�ftsfelder sowie die damit
    im Zusammenhang stehende Zusammenf�hrung einzelner Gesch�fts-
    bereiche der Digital-Kienzle Computersysteme und der Digital
    Equipment werden zu einer nachhaltigen St�rkung unserer
    Wettbewerbsf�higkeit f�hren.

    Mit der gesellschaftsrechtlichen Umsetzung dieser Struktur 
    wird unverz�glich begonnen.

    In der Anfangsphase wird die DEB (als Holding Muttergesellschaft)
    die Tochtergesellschaften Digital-Kienzle Computersyteme GmbH&Co KG 
    und Digital Equipment GmbH haben.    
    
    Der Digital Equipment Konzern hat Hans W. Dirkmann und
    Klaus-J. Lutz zu Gesch�ftsf�hrern der DEB bestellt.

    Die Gesch�ftsf�hrung der DEB ist beauftragt, nunmehr    
    Gespr�che zur Bew�ltigung der mit der Umsetzung der Holding-
    struktur verbundenen Aufgaben und Schritte unverz�glich
    mit den zust�ndigen Gremien der Arbeitnehmervertreter und den
    Aufsichtsr�ten beider Firmen (Digital-Kienzle Computersysteme und
    Digital Equipment) aufzunehmen.
    
    Ich m�chte Ihnen versichern, da� alle notwendigen Ver�nderungen 
    unter Ber�cksichtigung der Interessen unserer Kunden und 
    Mitarbeiter durchgef�hrt werden.

    -----------------------
    Richard Poulsen,
    Pr�sident Digital Equipment Corporation Europa


    
    
    

       I'm pleased to announce that Digital Equipment Corporation
       has approved the proposal to create a Holding-Structure in
       Germany.

       As already mentioned in other memorandums the Holding-Company
       will have five individual legal entities as daughter companies.

       I'm convinced that this structure will provide us with the best
       possible set-up to act in a flexible, customer- and market oriented
       way.

       The goal to focus the individual legal entities on clearly 
       defined areas of business and in this context, the opportunity to
       align respective departments of Digital-Kienzle Computer-
       systeme and Digital Equipment will sustainingly improve our
       competitive position.

       The required legal steps to implement the structure will
       be initiated immediately.

       Initially DEB as the Holding company will have the two daughter
       companies Digital-Kienzle Computersysteme GmbH&Co KG and 
       Digital Equipment GmbH.


       Digital Equipment Corporation has appointed Hans W. Dirkmann
       and Klaus-J. Lutz as managing directors (Gesch�ftsf�hrer)
       of DEB.

       The managing directors of DEB are now chartered to start
       the required processes, steps and talks with the bodies
       of employee-representatives and Supervisory Boards of both
       companies (Digital-Kienzle Computersysteme and Digital 
       Equipment GmbH).

       I want to assure you that all the necessary changes will be
       done in the mutual interest of our customers, employees and
       shareholders.



       ----------------
       Richard Poulsen, 
       President of Digital Equipment Corporation Europe
       

    The following press release was announced at the same time. It's only
    in German, unfortunately; I don't have time to translate it now.
    Basically, it saus the same things as the announcement in .75, 
    with the addition of an explicit mention of starting negotiations with
    the union at the level of the new holding, and that expansion of the
    strike is temporarily suspended.
    
                            Juni 30/93
                            
                            
                            Digital Equipment gr�ndet Holding
                            
                            M�nchen, 21. Juni 1993. Die Digital Equipment 
                            Corporation hat dem Vorschlag zur Schaffung einer 
                            Holding-Struktur in Deutschland zugestimmt. Unter 
                            ihrem Dach sollen f�nf Einzelgesellschaften 
                            etabliert werden. Dazu Richard Poulsen, Pr�sident 
                            der Digital Equipment Corporation Europe: "Die 
                            angestrebte Konzentration der einzelnen 
                            Holding-Gesellschaften auf jeweils klar bestimmte 
                            Gesch�ftsfelder wird zu einer nachhaltigen 
                            St�rkung der Wettbewerbsf�higkeit f�hren." 
                            
                            Mit der Umsetzung der Holding-Struktur wird 
                            unverz�glich begonnen. In der Anfangsphase wird 
                            die Digital Equipment Beteiligungen GmbH (DEB) 
                            mit Sitz in M�nchen die Tochtergesellschaften 
                            Digital-Kienzle Computersysteme GmbH & Co KG, 
                            Villingen, und Digital Equipment GmbH, M�nchen, 
                            haben. Zu DEB-Gesch�ftsf�hrern wurden Hans W. 
                            Dirkmann (52) und Klaus-J. Lutz (35) bestellt.
                            
                            Die DEB-Gesch�ftsf�hrung ist beauftragt, nunmehr 
                            Gespr�che �ber die mit der Umsetzung der 
                            Holding-Struktur verbundenen Aufgaben und 
                            Schritte mit den zust�ndigen Gremien der 
                            Arbeitnehmervertretung und den Aufsichtsr�ten 
                            beider Firmen (Digital-Kienzle Computersysteme 
                            und Digital Equipment GmbH) aufzunehmen. 
                            
                            Mit der IG Metall einigte sich Digital dahin-
                            gehend, da� auf die geplante Ausweitung der 
                            j�ngsten Streikaktionen vorerst verzichtet wird. 
                            Im Gegenzug werden die Gespr�che auf die 
                            Holding-Ebene verlagert. Eine Delegation der DEB 
                            verhandelt mit der Gewerkschaft �ber eine 
                            individuelle Regelung f�r den in der DEB 
                            zusammengef�hrten deutschen Gesamtkonzern auf 
                            Basis eines existierenden Tarifvertrages.
                            
                            
                            Pressekontakt:
                            Theresa Wermelskirchen
                            Tel: 089/9591-3371
                            Fax: 089/9591-4528
                            

     re .74

     Kevin,

     thanks for the clarification.  Another good thing about a
     democracy is that we can "agree to differ" :-).

     I hope things settle down again soon.

     - Bob

re .62

Bob I disagree with note .62.
<<<    I estimate about maybe 20% of the people, here are striking,
<<<    which would represent about most of the of the IGMetall members.
This number depends from location to location and I believe that our
location Nuernberg will see much more people going on strike than 20 %.

<<<     If I want to improve my own market value, then I want to look
<<<     after this myself, thank you.
That's true if you take responsiblity only for yourself.

<<<     It also appears to me that most of the people on strike here do
<<<     not have first-line responsibility with customers, that is,
<<<     they are not the ones to take the heat when things like
<<<     delivery dates and installation dates stop working.
Then I assume that our german top management team are also has no
first-line responsibility because they need more than a week to start
with negotiations with the union.

re .66
<<<     well, if about 800 (and not all of them) out of 3000 constitutes a
<<<     democracy, then I must have missed something :-)
<<<     well, if about 800 (and not all of them) out of 3000 constitutes a
<<<     democracy, then I must have missed something :-)
Some calculations:
        Year      IG Metall Member ( only estimated, but maybe a trend )
        1991      0
        1992      100
        1993      1000
        1994      ?????
In Germany it's the norm to be a member of an union.
So far Digital and most part the computer buisness are the exception.

I hope that the negotiations with the IG Metall come to an end very
quickly and all german DECies can do their job and improve 
                *** customer satisfaction ***

Helmut,
Nuernberg, CS
P.S: Bob, waere nett dich mal kennenzulernen um deinen Standpunkt
     besser verstehen zu koennen.                                                                      

    My guesstimate is about 40% across all locations which are striking.
    This doesn't mean that the remaining 60% are all working, though
    (vacation, sick, ...).

There's a note somewhere in this file from someone who said s/he was
strongly pro-union at a previous employer, but strongly anti-union
at Digital.  The difference was how management treated the employees
at each place -- the previous employer had a strong "worker vs.
management" culture, but this person felt that at Digital, a union 
would only get in the way of the very positive and cooperative 
worker/manager relations shat s/he experienced.

Well, that was years ago.  It was interesting to read complaints in .55
(e.g. "Many of us are disappointed and angry that invaluable personell,
organisational and  facility resources are being squandered in a chaotic
and expensive manner") that have also been said over here in the USA.  I
wonder unionization is in the future of Digital USA?

	Larry

    Just a short note to pass on the news that negotiations in D�sseldorf
    are expected to continue until around 2 am and that we hope that a
    settlement is reached before further escalation takes place. The
    negotiations seem to be quite friendly but there may be a lack of
    experience of such talks causing things to drag on.
    
    The national committee meets at 2 pm tomorrow and we shall know more
    then about what agreement has been reached. There have been some
    dramatic developments with regard to the content of the negotiations
    and it is not easy to see from here exactly what the position is.
    
    Kevin 

    The strike has expanded to cover Munich (Unterf�hring), N�rnberg,
    Mannheim and Dresden as of this morning.
    

Only the Hamburg office "stoped" striking. But things can rapidly change at
the moment. Until now the information are very confusing. Some people say
the contract could be signed within a few minutes others say the 
negotiations are struggeling.

Fact is that Digital Germany is on strike at the moment, except the Hamburg
office...

Stefan�

    According to this morning's "S�ddeutsche Zeitung" (one of the leading
    German newspapers), the strike is over.
    
    DEB (the new holding) has accepted the union contract which applies in
    SW Germany (and was in effect at Digital-Kienzle already). This will
    now apply to all Digital companies in Germany (of which there will be
    several; see a few replies back).
    

    The following message from the management of the Digital holding (DEB,
    Digital Equipment Beteiligungen), was also distributed to all emplyees
    on last Saturday - I'll summarize a few points in English [comments in
    square brackets are mine]. Maybe someone can provide a complete
    translation (John C.?).
    
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    The management of DEB is happy to inform that the constructive
    negotiations with IG Metall [the union]  were brought to an extremely
    successful conclusion.
    
    The Southern Baden [a region in Germany] union contracts will in the
    future apply - adapted to the peculiarities of our enterprise - to all
    companies of the DEB group with the following amendments:
    
    - the essential parts of the 'social plan' [this is mainly the German
    TFSO stuff] will apply to all emplyees of the DEB group
    
    - a new structure for old age pension will be created for the whole
    group of companies
    
    - [mumble about mmeasures taken to secure jobs]
    
    - The Digital-Kienzle early pension scheme applies to everyone
    
    - internal job postings groupwide
    
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------
    


                      I N T E R N E   M I T T E I L U N G


                                             Versendet: 26.Jun.1993
                                             Von:       HANS W DIRKMANN AT RTO
                                             Abt:       COUNTRY MGMT GERMANY
                                             Tel:       DTN:865-4468

                   An alle Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter
               der Digital Equipment GmbH and Digital-Kienzle

       Liebe Mitarbeiter und Mitarbeiterinnen,

       die Gesch�ftsf�hrung der Digital Equipment Beteiligungen
       freut sich, Ihnen mitteilen zu k�nnen, da� die konstruktiven
       Verhandlungen mit der IG Metall zu einem �u�erst erfolgreichen
       Abschlu� gebracht werden konnten.

       F�r den gesamten DEB Konzern wird in Zukunft das s�dbadische
       Tarifwerk - angepa�t auf die Besonderheiten unseres Unternehmens -
       mit folgenden Erweiterungen gelten:

       - der Digital Equipment GmbH Sozialplan wird in seinen wesentlichen
         Bestandteilen f�r alle Besch�ftigten des DEB Konzerns gelten

       - eine neue betriebliche Altersversorgungsstruktur f�r den
         gesamten Konzern wird geschaffen

       - richtungsweisende arbeitsplatzsichernde Ma�nahmen f�r die
         Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter weit �ber das tarifliche
         Niveau hinaus wurden vereinbart (z.B. betreffend Teilzeit,
         unbezahlte Freistellugnen und Verl�ngerung des Erziehungsurlaubes)

       - die Digital-Kienzle Vorruhestandsregelung gilt f�r alle
         Besch�ftigten des Konzerns

       - konzernweite Stellenausschreibung und  Stellenbesetzung
         wurden vereinbart

       Damit ist es uns gelungen, die seit langem angestrebte, klare
       Struktur der Arbeitsbedingungen in dem bew�hrten Rahmen der
       Tarifpartnerschaften zu erreichen.
  
       Wir sind der festen �berzeugung, damit die besten Voraussetzungen
       f�r ein reibungslose und sozialvertr�gliche Einf�hrung der
       Holdingstruktur geschaffen zu haben.

       Auf dieser Grundlage k�nnen wir nun alle Kr�fte darauf konzentrieren,
       s�mtliche Herausforderungen der Alpha-�ra zu meistern.

       Hans W. Dirkmann
  

    Thats right: the strike was suspended at 9.30 this morning. There has
    to be another ballot of the members to see if they are satisfied with
    the result of the negotiations or if they want to go on striking. The
    company and the union then have until 1. July to finally ratify the
    agrrement, but all this is expected to be a formality.
    The main details of the agreement will be published later.
    
    Kevin

I've finally found time to summarise the results of the strike and make a
comparison between the union contract, the individual contract, and the
statutory minimum.

The contract between Digital and the IG Metall has essentially two elements:
the general contract applicable in Sudbaden and the Digital specific part.
The general part for Sudbaden was previously applicable to Digital-Kienzle
which was formerly part of the Mannesmann Group.

The general contract is 60 pages long and quite complex. It's most important 
parts are as follows:

         *36-hour week immediately
         *35-hour week after 1. Oct 1995
         (individual Digital contract (IDC) 40-hour week, statutory limit (SL)
         48-hours)

         *30 days holiday per year (IDC 30 days, SL 18)

         *Termination notice 
         after 5 years employment 3 months
         after 8 years            4
           "   10 "               5   "
           "   12 "               6   "

         (IDC = SL. The German Government has announced that it intends to
          reduce the SL to 4 weeks. This won't apply to Digital employees as a
          result of the union contract)   
          
          * full sick pay for 6 weeks
            (IDC = SL. The German government has announced that it intends to
             introduce a law which will mean that up to 6 days per year sick
             leave are unpaid)
         
          * regular pay rises. After 1-Jan-1994 we shall all recieve the IG
            Metall national ageement calculated on the full pay. It remains to
            be seen how much this will be but my guess is 4-5%. Inflation is
            running at 4,2%. After 1-Jan-1995 a special Digital contract will
            be negotiated. This will be linked to the national agreement.
            (IDC = SL = $000000000000000)

           * absolute dismissal protection for employees over 53 years
            (IDC = SL = only for people with disabilities or on child care
            leave)

           *None of these conditions can be changed or ignored by the company
           unless a new agreement is reached with the union, and the union only
           signs new agreements when they are better than the old ones!
           (IDC = SL = you are on your own and it can be a slippery slope.) 

  The specifically Digital part of the contract is as follows:

           * an early retirement scheme which is quite attractive
             (IDC = SL = none)

           * a redundancy scheme in the event of dismissal (TFSO) until
             31-DEC-1995 (IDC = SL = about 60% less)

           * no dismissal if a suitable position is available within the
             Digital Group throughout Germany
             (IDC = SL = only applies to your location and you have to go  to
              the labour court)

            * the right to apply and be seriously considered for all vacancies
              throughout Germany (IDC = SL = none)

            * the right to up to 3 years unpaid leave for purposes of further
              education. (IDC = SL = none)
             
            * the right to extended child-care holiday
              (IDC = SL = less)

            * a binding commitment not to plunder the pension fund
              (IDC = SL = Digital could have taken DM 100 Million out of the
              fund by cancelling future benefits. There is DM 240 Mio in the
              fund, thats about $140 Mio) By the way, do you know what Digital
              is doing with the money in your pension fund? It is a very
              convenient way of windowdressing the balance sheet. 

            * a permanent and effective structure of works' councils
              (IDC = SL = Fragmentation and division of the employees. It has
              happened at IBM where at present various IBM employees in works'
              councils are sueing other IBM employees in "sweetheart" works'
              councils at the labour court instead of working together.
              They are in bad shape as a result and it is not good for
              business or employee morale)

            * more part-time jobs (IDC = SL = not as a right)
                          
            In the national ballot after the strike 6 members voted against
            accepting the contract! About 18% didn't get round to voting. 
            There is widespread agreement with the German management that this
            agreement provides a sound basis for the future success of Digital
            in Germany.

            It is worth noting the main points we did not achieve: 

               * more control over destructive outsourcing, vendorising and
                 subcontracting 
            
               * a guarantee for all locations against closure

               * An organisational task force which plans for the future and
                 examines cost-reduction programmes from below

           The result of negotiations is usually a compromise.        
    
            Kevin Mannerings
            

    A minor correction: we now have a 37 hr workweek - even though most
    people coose to work 40 hrs a week and take the accumulated hours as
    extra time off (it amounts to 17 days / year).
    

    How do you devide a 37 hour week into five days? Are they all the
    same length (7.4 hours), or does everyone bug out early on Friday?
    

    >How do you devide a 37 hour week into five days? Are they all the
    >same length (7.4 hours), or does everyone bug out early on Friday?
    
    my guess is that they work 8 hours for 4 days , and on friday
    it is 5 hours day, so they leave like early afternoon on friday.
    
    \nasser

    
    I would go for working 10 hours for 3 days, 7 hours on Thursday, and
    forget about Friday...go fishing!!!
    

     i think some companies started to do 4 work days, 10 hours per
    day, i saw an ad once in on of the papers that come from the
    west cost where they said that how they work.

    i think 4 days week is more fun than 5 for like sure.

    i wonder if any chance of DEC going something like this too.
    
    \nasser

    You can probably do it now.. I've been in a couple of groups where 4
    10-hour days are just fine. 
    
    This is helpful for me, given that I drive an hour and three quarters
    each way to work.. 
    
    But, of course, it is by manager's discretion.
    
    ...tom
    

>    You can probably do it now.. I've been in a couple of groups where 4
>    10-hour days are just fine. 

Hmmm... Most places I've been 5 - 10's is the norm...

    well, the reality has been about 4 12's, but the thought is there..
    
    ...tom

Since Digital Germany had it's strike in Germany at the beginning of 1993,
IBM now starts warning strikes in Germany.

In principal, the demands are the same (see earlier notes). IBM has about
20.000 jobs in Germany and will cut about 6.000.

Stefan�