Conference rocks::uk_digital

The following memo (below) was sent out recently and I know at least one person
who is putting themselves forward for election. But what has happened to the
voting forms and process - has anyone heard anything? Time is running short to
get this done.

Dave.

                  I N T E R O F F I C E   M E M O R A N D U M

                                        Date:     17-Apr-1997 19:03 BST 
                                        From:     Alan Evans, Human Resources Di
                                                  WORLDMESSAGE@AM_WMSG@RDGMTS@REO
                                        Dept:      
                                        Tel No:    

TO: See Below

Subject: Employee Consultation

         To:	   All employees
         From:	   Alan Evans, Human Resources Director
         
         _____________________________________________________________
         
         In September 1994 the European Union approved a Directive 
         aimed at further extending the involvement of employees in 
         matters relating to consultation and information-sharing 
         across individual country borders in Europe.
         
         The Directive encouraged companies to preserve or evolve 
         voluntary agreements rather than wait for the Directive to be 
         transposed during the next two years into the national 
         legislation of the EU Member States.
         
         Following this Directive, DIGITAL set out in 1995 to 
         implement a voluntary Employee Information and Consultation 
         (EIC) Procedure across the whole of Europe.  It was designed 
         to include countries that were not part of the EU or, like 
         the UK & N Ireland, not signatories of the Social Chapter.  
         
         The procedure allowed for one employee per country, 
         designated by employees, to be connected via a network with 
         DIGITAL's European management.  This would enable the sharing 
         of information and consultation with DIGITAL employees on 
         European trans-national matters.  The electronic dialogue and 
         exchange of views, which would take place regularly 
         throughout the year, would be based on a European "State of 
         the Company" report distributed through the EIC Network.
         
         DIGITAL employees throughout the UK & N Ireland participated 
         in establishing a joint committee of eleven employees.  The 
         committee in turn selected Tom McCrorie (Ayr) as the formal 
         EIC Network member and Sarah Knox-Macey (Reading) as the 
         formal replacement member in August 1995.
         
         Throughout 1996 DIGITAL attempted to gain agreement on the 
         EIC proposal with employee representatives from the various 
         countries involved, with the aim of introducing a voluntary 
         arrangement across the whole of Europe.  However, despite the 
         involvement of the European Commission and DIGITAL's 
         willingness to amend some aspects of the procedure, agreement 
         was not reached with all the countries by 22nd September 1996 
         - the deadline for any voluntary agreement.
         
         In these circumstances, the Directive allowed for the setting 
         up of a formal group called a Special Negotiating Body (SNB), 
         which would have the responsibility for fixing an agreement 
         with the central management of DIGITAL in Europe, on the 
         operations and regulations of any proposed arrangements or 
         procedures for informing and consulting with employees.
         
         We are now in the process of establishing a Special 
         Negotiating Body in Europe.  The rules allow for employees of 
         each Member State in which the company is present to be 
         represented by one member on the SNB and one designated 
         replacement, both of whom must have at least 12 months 
         continuous service with the Company.
         
         An opening SNB meeting has already been conducted with 
         central management.  Although the UK & N Ireland are outside 
         the scope of the legislation, it has been requested that we 
         send a representative to the next meeting, scheduled for 14th 
         May 1997.
         
         Local DIGITAL management supports this request, and has 
         decided that the UK & N Ireland representative on the SNB 
         will be selected by means of an election, in which all 
         employees will have the opportunity to stand for election and 
         to vote.
         
         We have therefore appointed the Electoral Reform Society to 
         organise and conduct the nomination and election process 
         according the the principles of proportional representation.  
         They will appoint a returning officer in due course.
         
         I therefore invite any employee who is interested in standing 
         for election to the SNB to contact Human Resources in 
         Reading (7 830 8003), Ayr (7 823 4058) or Irvine (7 834 3108) 
         to obtain a nomination form.  The forms should be completed 
         and returned to the Electoral Reform Society by 12 noon on 
         Friday 25th April.
         
         Regards,
         Alan

    
    RE: .13
    
    	I received my ballot in the mail on Wednesday
    	and I posted it yesterday.  
    	
    	I did find it strange no other announcements
    	were made and no pointers were provided to find
    	out more about the candidates.

    I received my ballot form from the Electoral Reform Society yesterday
    as well. It nearly went in the bin with the rest of the General
    Election Junk I've been getting.
    
    Andy

I must just be you Dave, I got mine yesterday (Thursday)

I got mine and it did go into the bin. I have no idea who the two 
candidates are - therefore I am happy with either.

Alan

Now received and vote placed. 

Thanks,
Dave.

    And to any others who may be considering not voting e.g. because they
    can't choose: Please don't waste this opportunity. By not participating
    you may be giving someone upstairs the perfect excuse to say
    "everything in the DIGITAL UK garden must be lovely, otherwise more
    than 3% would have participated in the election". Or am I mistaken,
    perhaps everything in the garden is lovely and we can ignore
    opportunities for improvement ?
    
    Vote early, vote often, but please do vote.
    
    regards
    john

I can understand some people having trouble voting when so little information
is given upon which to base the decision. Luckily I had enough information
about Bruce Muir to enable me to make a choice. This is, of course,
tough luck on the other candidate, who may have been equally valid.

Dave. 

Well, both candidates have had a chance to write a single paragraph 
about why we should vote for them. I made my decision based on that.

Who was meant to get these things? Everyone in the UK?

A friend who lives in the same area did, at home, I didn't, 
or is it just certain departments?

    From  a  `representation'  point  of  view,  does it matter that Ayr 
    Manufacturing is a  different  company  from  the  rest  of  Digital 
    (something like Digital Equipment (Scotland) Ltd.)??

AYO will have it's own representative. We had the ballet sheet come last week 
and like others I throw it in the bin as I have no clue who either candidate 
is.

A third box saying no preferrence would have been a good idea.

Rgds, Steve.

    Are you SURE AYO will have its own representative ? I had *assumed*
    that would be the case, because Digital Equipment (Scotland) Ltd is
    sometimes a  separate organisation, but one of the two names on my (UK
    field) ballot paper was a person from AYO manufacturing. Therefore I
    assumed that AYO would NOT be getting a separate rep... 
    
    Wouldn't it have been nice to have some facts so we didn't have to make
    all these assumptions ?
    
    regards
    john

John,

The way it was put to us is that the plant would have a representative. I
assumed that the two on the card where both from AYO but it now sounds like the
candidates are for the UK as a whole.

Rgds, Steve.

Having been spurred into action by our local candidate :-) 
I called the Electoral Reform Ballot Services .... 


ERBS: 	can I help you?
Me:  	I work for digital. I believe you are handing a 
	ballot for us and wondered if you can help me?
ERBS: 	Yes. 
Me: 	I haven't received my voting form. 
ERBS:	Were you on the original list? 
Me:	I don't know! Is there someone in digital I 
	should ask about this? 
ERBS: 	I don't know, I'll check, <pause> we don't know. 
	If you send in your details on a fax with a phone
	number then we can call you if we have any queries
	or send you out a form. 
Me: 	Thank You. 

So it seems no-ones quite sure what's going on and I'll 
probably get a form in time for the closure day :-( 

For anyone else in the same situation who'd like to 
exercise their cross marking skills again the fax 
number is: 0181 365 7013



Jo. 

Got my form Wednesday 7th.May.
Voting closes Friday 9th.

Hope the post isn't delayed!

DG

Does everyone get one of these forms?

Does it come via external or internal mail?

Where is mine?

K.R.

    Mine arrived in the external mail, but it was sent to an address I
    moved from two years ago. Fortunately, it was forwarded on.
    
    Jane.

>Does everyone get one of these forms?

Every full time employee and digitemp should. 

>Does it come via external or internal mail?

External to your home address. Speculation as to non-receipt
suggests HR might have given the wrong addresses for some of 
us to ERBS. 

If you want to check this you have to call HR ES on 7830 8003
(9-12 and 2-5 only)

>Where is mine?

See previous, fax erbs with your details and ask them to send 
you a form. 

Well, the last day has come, I specifically waited 
for the postie this morning. No form. <<sigh>>

Right, who to whinge at first.... 

    I didn't get one either.
    
    :-(

7830 8003 - HR ES - they had the wrong address for me. 
I phrase it that they had it wrong because I know I filled 
in a form and have since had communications from this office
to the correct address.  

Still sending them a mail about this gave me opportunity to 
also mention that I'm sick of digital calling me Mrs Coffey
- that's my mother not me. I never have, and unless they 
legalise marrying your own brother am very unlikely to ever 
be Mrs Coffey. 

    RE .-1
    
    Er, does this mean that you are currently your brother's "common law"
    wife?

    re .34,
    
    Jo - have they stopped sending you mail for Mr J(ohn) Coffey yet?
    
    Jc
    

    re .34
    
    I think you are being a bit hasty Jo, there is one Coffey in the
    Harrogate phone book, have you rejected him?
    
    Andrew
    
    PS Could be a she, in which case hmmm welll forget itl.

>Er, does this mean that you are currently your brother's "common law" wife?
Not quite, we get on well, but not that well!

> Jo - have they stopped sending you mail for Mr J(ohn) Coffey yet? 
You've gotta be kidding, still it's fun receiving stuff addressed
to directors :-) They get just the same junk mail as we do! 
 
>    I think you are being a bit hasty Jo, there is one Coffey in the
>    Harrogate phone book, have you rejected him?
I think the Cork / Kerry area is the place for me if I really 
wanted to become a Mrs Coffey :-) I seem to remember we're common as muck
around there... 

> PS Could be a she, in which case hmmm welll forget itl.
Could be a single mum with a son.... :-)  Ever the optimist....
...but perfectly happy as I am, especially now I'm back to being a Miss. 



Back to the subject in hand though...   

My ballot paper arrived.... on saturday so since my handy time machine 
is back at the workshop for maintainance I didn't get to vote. 


Jo

    This week workers representatives from different countries accross
    Europe will meet in Brussels to establish a Special Negotiation Body
    (SNB) for a Digital European Works Council (EWC). Which is different to
    the EIC network. If the new government of the UK signs the social
    chapter, sooner or later Digital UK as a multinational company has to
    follow the rules for an European works council. 

    
    I have spoken to Steve Green in HR regarding the Election to the
    Special Negotiating Body.  He says that as there has been this delay in
    getting the ballot papers out they have not yet been able to declare a
    winner.  I suggested that in that case as there are only two candidates
    and a designated replacement replacement is also required, they send us
    both to the meeting on the 14th & 15th of May.  
    Digitals preferred solution is that the UK will just not be represented
    at this meeting.
    
    If you did get a Ballot paper late such that you thought that there no
    point is sending it back, please do send it back as quickly as possible
    as it may still not be too late.
    
    Regards
    
    
    Bruce Muir