Since the founding of the European Work Council (EWC) in 1995 and the Solvay Global Forum (SGF) in 2017, employees worldwide have benefited from carefully negotiated agreements that secure and protect their social interests.
Here is a snapshot of the many agreements the EWC and SGF have achieved through strong dialogue and collaboration.
Solvay Cares
The Solvay Cares agreement offers a minimum level of protection for all Solvay employees worldwide in terms of welfare and healthcare.
The global universal minimum benefits offer the following:
- 16-week parental leave for all parents, co-parents and adoptive parents at full salary.
- At least 75% of medical fees covered in case of hospitalization or severe illness.
- Disability insurance with two years of salary covered.
- Life insurance covering up to two years of salary.
- Employee Wellbeing Support, providing free and confidential metal health and other support services to employees and household members.
- Caregivers leave: Solvay grants up to 5 days of paid leave for employees to care for a loved one in unforeseen circumstances.
Solvay Shares
The Solvay Shares agreement enables all employees of Solvay to become a full shareholder with real shares, voting rights, compliant information and dividends.
By making Solvay shares available to all employees worldwide, regardless of their position or grading, Solvay wants to involve employees in the success of the Group and bridge the gap between shareholders’ and employees’ perspectives.
Global Performance Sharing Agreement
Non cadre employees worldwide can take advantage of a performance sharing plan based on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, linked to the achievement of financial and sustainable development targets.
An annually negotiated budget is distributed in line with each country’s total payroll and total headcount.
Charter on Recognition of Employee Representative Experience
The European Work Council negotiated a charter that recognizes that the work of employee representatives should be considered as standard business activity, and that the skills and knowledge they require should be valued equally to any other business-related skills.
By recognizing the importance of employee representatives and the roles they perform, we can enhance social dialogue across Europe and encourage staff engagement in employee representation activities.
The Global Framework Agreement on Digital Transformation
The agreement on Digital Transformation recognizes the strategic importance of technological and digital developments and the need to upskill Solvay employees worldwide to ensure a motivated workforce, enhanced economic performance, innovation, job creation, competitiveness, and customer satisfaction.
The agreement provides a framework for management and employee representatives to engage with these issues locally to achieve detailed joint action plans, and defines the principles that Solvay should follow to achieve a successful implementation of digital projects on a global scale.