From: Comitato Aziendale Europeo IBM, IWIS e Relazioni Internazionali;
Documents in English
IWIS, JOINT STATEMENT
PANHELLENIC PROFESSIONAL
UNION OF IBM EMPLOYEES
54. NIKIS STR. - ATHENS (119) GREECE
TEL. (01) 32.30.960
J 0 I N T S T A T E M E N T-
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We held the second meeting of the IBM Employees' International Solidarity on
June 13 and 14, 1985 in Athens, Greece.
The representatives of 9 labor Unions and one non-Union Group in IBM, were from
8 countries: France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Sweden and the
United States.
Each country made a presentation concerning benefits, working conditions, and
the problems in the respective countries. The points mentioned were:
- Secrecy of information related to the employees' careers.,
- Forced overtime.
- Subcontracting instead of hiring additional personnel.
- Remote control of workers.
- The need of more freedom to express ourselves.
- Salaries not keeping up with the cost of living.
- Forced transfers.
- Environmental pollution from manufacturing plants.
- Authoritarian management system.
We, the representatives, have agreed on the following:
1) We all regret that in the past year IBM's anti-Union policy in most countries
did not change. IBM must fully recognize the right of workesrs to organize
and must follow the labor laws and practices in every country. IBM should
give all information needed by the employees to be able to exercise their
rights.
2) We are very much concerned about the fact that computerization leads to
unemployment. We want to change to a 35-hour work week and increase the
hiring rate.
3) We realize the need to have more IBM employees organize in Unions and the
need for Unions to deal with the every-day problems of employees.
4) We want IBM to contribute in a more specific and permanent way to the
economies of the countries in which it operates.
5) We feel that the extensive use of VDU's could lead to mental and physical
disabilities. We therefore demand that IBM concern itself in preventing
these risks.
6) We join the Appeal from Hiroshima and Nagasaki for a Total Ban and Elimination
of Nuclear Weapons (attached).
We expect our co-workers around the world, as well as IBM management, to seriously
examine the issues we have raised.
Our next meeting will be held in 1987.
Finally, we are determined to continue our efforts to enlarge the I.E.I.S. society
and will exchange all valuable information to that effect, through our Swedish
Communication Center.
FRANCE CGT
FRANCE CFDT
GERMANY
ITALY
JAPAN
PORTUGAL
SWEDEN
IBM WORKERS UNITED (USA)
NBWA (USA)
GREECE