Sign Up	Online Version

European Edition
9th April 2021

THE HOT STORY

Operations chief replaced after redundancies probe at Wizz Air

Budapest-headquartered low-cost airline Wizz Air has replaced flight operations chief Darwin Triggs after he was apparently recorded instructing the compilation of a redundancy list of pilots who were often sick or “caused grief” while retaining cheaper contract crew. A letter to staff dated April 4th, seen by Reuters, said Mr Triggs was stepping down following a probe into “how the COVID-19 related redundancies were determined and carried out” last year. Wizz Air announced plans to cut 1,000 jobs, or 20% of its workforce, in April 2020. The audio recording circulated among pilots is purportedly of a virtual meeting during that month. “We start off with the bad apples, so anyone who has caused you grief on a routine basis,” the manager is heard saying, before suggesting “excessive sickness” or declining to work on days off are among reasons for redundancy.

Reuters

HEALTH & SAFETY

Italian protocol to organise administration of vaccines in workplaces

The Italian government and Italy’s main labour unions and employer associations have signed a protocol to organise the administration of vaccines in workplaces. Under the terms of the agreement, companies or groups of companies can submit their plans for voluntary employee vaccinations to local health authorities and make premises and internal medical staff available for the administration of vaccinations. Companies will also be able to sign agreements with private medical service suppliers to have employees vaccinated. “As soon as the vaccine availability will make it possible, this will give a strong boost to the national vaccination campaign,” Italy’s largest employer lobby Confindustria said. Confindustria recently polled companies to identify those that were willing to take part in the vaccination effort. Almost 7,500 companies, including Enel and Pirelli, have signed up to the initiative.

Reuters

Dutch employers want social distancing rule to be relaxed

Dutch employer organisation VNO-NCW is calling on the government to relax the 1.5 metres social distancing rule in places where limited numbers of people will be able to visit if they have a negative coronavirus test result. “This month there will be a lot of experimenting with using fast coronavirus tests,” VNO-NCW chairwoman Ingrid Thijssen told the Telegraaf. “So from next month, let us leave the 1.5 metre rule behind us. In the end, it is a question of daring to do so.”

DutchNews.nl

WORKFORCE

Spain's furlough scheme to be extended beyond May 31st

The official ERTE furlough scheme for people in Spain who aren’t able to work because of restrictions imposed on employers to curb the COVID-19 pandemic will be extended beyond May 31st, Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz has said, noting that workers from small and medium-sized companies have benefited the most from the scheme. "We will keep doing that from May 31st, in a similar formula to the current one," the minister added, without detailing for how long.

Zawya

Denmark accuses Brussels of breaking 'condition of membership'

European Union plans to impose a bloc-wide minimum wage directive have been opposed by Denmark and Sweden, who are urging seven other member states to reject the plans too. Denmark's government has said the directive breaks the terms of an agreement made in the 1970s: that sovereignty over labour market laws would be a condition of Denmark’s EU membership. Danish Employment Minister Peter Hummelgaard Thomsen pointed out in an interview last month that the current system of collective bargaining is "why employees at McDonald’s in Denmark can earn $22."

Daily Express

STRATEGY

Repsol to furlough 830 workers

Repsol is to furlough as many as 830 workers at its A Coruna and Puertollano refineries in Spain amid pandemic restrictions that have precipitated an “unprecedented” slump in fuels demand. “It is a sustained situation that has kept fuel consumption for transport much lower than expected,” the Spanish energy firm said in a statement, adding that uncertainty generated by a global shift towards clean energy and away from fossil fuels contributed to the decision.

Reuters

HSBC’s painful retreat from France

HSBC’s sale of the remnants of Crédit Commercial de France is vexing labour unions, the FT reports. Private equity group Cerberus is likely to receive €500m from HSBC to take the bank off its hands.

Financial Times

LEGAL

Former energy trader pleads guilty in Ecuadorean bribery scheme

A former employee of European energy trader Gunvor has pleaded guilty to participating in a bribery scheme involving Ecuadorean state-controlled oil company Petroecuador. Raymond Kohut pleaded guilty in a virtual hearing before a judge for the federal court based in Brooklyn, N.Y. to a single count of money laundering. In a statement to the court, Kohut said he worked with two of his supervisors and two independent consultants to funnel millions of dollars in bribes to Ecuadorean officials to win business from Petroecuador. Prosecutors said separately that the scheme involved the payment of more than $22m in bribes. A spokesperson for Gunvor said the company was cooperating with the Justice Department’s investigation. “Gunvor Group has learned of charges being brought against a former employee of the company by the U.S. Department of Justice that relate to business with an intermediary agent and Petroecuador,” the spokesperson said.

Wall Street Journal

HIRING

Hiring in UK picks up as lockdown lifts

Employers in the UK stepped up their recruitment plans last month as companies prepared for the national lockdown to ease. A survey of employers by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) found hiring activity picked up at its fastest pace in almost six years in March. Permanent starting salaries increased while temporary salaries also rose at the fastest rates since December 2019. Neil Carberry, chief executive of the REC, said: "This is the first month that we have really seen things getting better for most firms. We are at the bottom of the mountain and starting to climb up again." The survey showed that the strongest growth in vacancies was for nursing and care jobs, and in the IT sector, while hospitality businesses were starting to hire again. There was, however, weaker demand in the retail sector.

Financial Times

The Times

CULTURE

Firms increasingly speaking out on social issues

Executives and corporate governance experts believe a push to attract young, diverse talent and global consumers is driving US firms to speak out on politically charged issues which matter to many of their employees and customers. With a growing number of companies more willing to speak out on potentially controversial social issues, Shivaram Rajgopal, a Columbia Business School professor who follows corporate cultural matters, said: “The younger workforce expects you to take a stand on these social justice issues.” Ric Marshall, executive director at sustainability ratings firm MSCI, said the views of global customers and investors matter more to international conglomerates than local politics, noting, “Management at these companies is much more beholden to this broader stakeholder group.”

The National

INTERNATIONAL

Canadian banks further delay office returns

Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) are further delaying their employees' return to offices as COVID cases surge. The lenders said they are extending remote-working arrangements for staff to until at least mid-2021 as Canada contends with a growing number of coronavirus cases driven by new variants. Meanwhile, BMO, Canada’s fourth-largest lender, won’t require workers to return to offices until at least the end of the school year, which typically runs to May or June in the U.S. and Canada. CIBC, Canada’s No. 5 bank, anticipates that most employees currently working from home will continue to do so until at least September, according to an internal blog posted by Sandy Sharman, the lender’s group head of people. The crisis has normalized “remote work for much of our team,” Sharman wrote. “The future of how and where we work will blend the best of both on-site and remote work.”

Reuters

Edelman names Lisa Osborne Ross as new US chief

Global public relations company Edelman has named Lisa Osborne Ross as CEO of its US operations. Edelman says Ross is the first Black woman to lead a major public relations firm. Ross is formerly president of the firm's Washington D.C. office and later chief operating officer in the US. She also led the firm’s COVID-19 task force and has spoken frequently about maintaining operations during the pandemic. “The complexity of issues at this time in our world requires a diverse, thoughtful, culturally competent team to deliver counsel. That is what I’ve found at Edelman and what I hope to drive more of as CEO,” Ross said.

Chicago Sun Times

OTHER

IMF proposes ‘solidarity’ tax on pandemic winners and wealthy

Companies that prospered during the coronavirus crisis, and wealthy people, should pay a temporary additional tax to show solidarity with those who were hit hardest by the pandemic, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The idea of a wealth tax has been revived by growing intergenerational inequality and the blow dealt to public finances by the pandemic. The IMF warns that average government debt will hit 99% of GDP in 2021. But Helen Miller, deputy director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies in the UK, cautioned that although there was a case for a one-off wealth tax it would not help tackle a higher structural deficit caused by Covid.

Financial Times

The Guardian

The Human Times is designed to help you stay ahead, spark ideas and support innovation, learning and development in your organisation. The links under articles indicate original news sources. Some links lead directly to the source material. Others lead to paywalls where you may need a subscription. A third category are restricted by copyright rules. For reaction and insights on any stories covered in the Human Times, join the discussion by becoming a member of our LinkedIn Group or Business Page, or follow us on Twitter.

Online

Advertise

This e-mail has been sent to [[EMAIL_TO]]

Click here to unsubscribe