Polestar has reached an agreement in principle for the creation of its European Employee Council, a European-wide consultation and information body.


The first annual meeting of the Council will take place three months after the publication of Polestars annual results next year.


The GPMU executive council has still to approve the format but deputy general secretary Tony Burke, who was involved in the two days of negotiations, said he was pleased we have reached an agreement.


The negotiations also involved employee representatives from Polestars UK and Spanish operations and Polestar directors including human resources director Geof Garwood (pictured).


He said the talks went exceptionally well. Its a completely new process that this company had never been involved in.


The groups Hungarian operation will be given an observers role in the Council since it does not come under European Union legislation.


Polestars council will cover areas such as economic and financial data, business development, transfer of production, mergers and collective redundancies.


The European Union council directive 94/45/EC of 22 September 1994 said European Works Councils should be established where a group had at least 1,000 employees within the member states, and at least 150 employees in each of at least two member states.


The UK initially opted out of the directive but was included in November 1997, and the law was introduced two years later. Polestar came under the legislation in January 2000 but had taken the initiative towards the end of 1999.


The GPMU will hold similar talks with St Ives in the next couple of weeks while it is already in talks with Quebecor, said Burke. It is also re-negotiating the agreement with Jefferson Smurfit.


Story by Gordon Carson