Give employees too a say in their destiny

Should shareholders be kings? This concept needs to be re-examined following Mittal’s takeover of Arcelor MICHEL ROCARD Financial Express : Tuesday, August 08, 2006

There are very few fixed-term or part-time contracts in Arcelor. This choice directly concerns more than 1,50,000 employees. Indirectly, it concerns all of us, for the choice made by Arcelor’s shareholders is far from being an exception; on the contrary, it reveals the deep economic and social significance of corporate takeovers of this type. Where are our societies headed if company owners consider that quality is too expensive and workers must be made insecure to make them less demanding? A system governed by such rules is prone to give rise to various social conflicts, and perhaps violence. Such a system is neither viable nor sustainable in the long run.

For this reason, it is dangerous to maintain the outdated legal concept according to which a company belongs only to its owners or shareholders. In reality, the company is a community of men and women who draw their incomes from the same economic and technical venture. It would be prudent to adapt the law to this state of facts, and give employees too a say in their destiny. In the wake of Mittal’s takeover of Arcelor, governments must address this gap in the law, as no society can afford to permit the economic system to continue its march toward indifference to the welfare and security of workers. —The writer, a former Prime Minister of France, is a member of the European Parliament.