UNIPER SE The Uniper Management Board has reached an agreement jointly with representatives from Uniper's codetermination committee and the unions (IG BCE, Verdi) on social cooperation principles for the future of the company. The agreement will bring further stability and job security to Uniper's employees, which is essential for a company undergoing considerable change and playing a central role in the evolution of the energy sector.
Uniper's strategic reorientation is focused on building an increasingly decarbonized energy supply, with a target of makingits power generation in Europe carbon-neutral by 2035. This includes a proactive coal-exit plan in Europe and the expansion and development of new low-carbon or emissions-free business activities, such as renewables, gas and hydrogen.
At the same time, the company will offer its customers products and services that are increasingly climate-friendly. Uniper operates flexible, technologically advanced generation assets, a large gas business and related infrastructure, which puts it in an ideal position to accelerate and shape the energy transition. As explained last March when announcing the new strategy, Uniper has committed to invest significantly in new low-emission growth.
The social cooperation agreement includes the following key points:
- Existing collective and company agreements, including those regarding job security, are extended until the end of 2026. There is an option to extend the duration of these agreements for additional two years if Uniper's economic situation is broadly as it is today.
- Uniper will adhere to existing collective bargaining agreements (including the corresponding membership of the respective employers' associations) at the company's German and European locations, insofar as there is already a collective bargaining agreement in place.
- Current employee numbers will generally remain stable at Uniper's central European locations and Düsseldorf will remain Uniper's headquarters at least for the duration of the agreement. In specific cases, where the adjustment of personnel or even the closure of a site becomes necessary, Uniper is committed to find socially acceptable solutions.
The new agreement ensures stability for employees and allows Uniper to move forward in implementing its new strategy to Empower Energy Evolution.
Andreas Schierenbeck, Uniper CEO: 'I am delighted with this agreement. We have made a lot of progress over the past few months and, while Uniper is undergoing great change, our people are its most important asset and must always come first. We have looked to work with our employees and all shareholders, maintaining our principles and high social standards. Furthermore, with this agreement we have a solid base for cooperation with our majority shareholder Fortum as we are starting to define the strategic alignment between the two companies in the future.'
Harald Seegatz, Chairman of the Uniper Works Council: 'We managed to agree on a reliable coverage for all our colleagues until the end of 2026! It is also important for us to maintain all the rules and agreements so that the entire Uniper workforce can have the stability and security they need to meet the various challenges of the future. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this from the employee side, namely the Group Works Council, the European Works Council and the representatives of the trade unions, IG BCE and Verdi.'
About Uniper
Uniper is a leading international energy company with around 11,500 employees and activities in more than 40 countries. With about 34 GW of installed generation capacity, Uniper is among the largest global power generators. Its main activities include power generation in Europe and Russia as well as global energy trading, including a diversified gas portfolio that makes Uniper one of Europe's leading gas companies. In 2019, Uniper sold a gas volume of 220 bcm. The company is headquartered in Düsseldorf, being the third-largest listed German utility. Under its new strategy, Uniper aims to become carbon-neutral in Europe by 2035.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Uniper SE Management and other information currently available to Uniper. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. Uniper SE does not intend, and does not assume any liability whatsoever, to update these forward-looking statements or to modify them to conform with future events or developments.
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Uniper SE published this content on 16 July 2020 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 16 July 2020 12:15:01 UTC
