AmChamNews - American Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands

30
1991
ÌÌFeature films released included Oscar winner The Silence of the Lambs, the year's top US-grossing Terminator 2,
Steven Spielberg's Hook, and Thelma & Louise.
ÌÌA Michigan court bars Dr. Jack Kevorkian from assisting in suicides.
ÌÌThe liberation of Kuwait from Iraqi occupation (Operation Desert Storm)
ÌÌIn the Netherlands, thieves steal 20 paintings worth $500 million from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Less
than an hour later they are found in an abandoned car near the museum.
ÌÌIn April the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 3,000 for the first time ever, at 3,004.46.
ÌÌGeorgia, Latvia and Estonia vote for independence from the Soviet Union. The dissolution of the Soviet Union
commences and is a fact at the year's end. Also the end of the Warsaw Pact.
ÌÌThe South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act, which had required racial classification of all
South Africans at birth.
ÌÌTim Berners-Lee announces the World Wide Web project and software on the alt.hypertext newsgroup.
ÌÌÖtzi the Iceman is found thawing in the Alps.
ÌÌArkansas Governor Bill Clinton announces he will seek the 1992 Democratic nomination for President of the United
States.
Ì ÌProminent
deaths include jazz legends Stan Getz and Miles Davis, writers Graham Greene and Dr. Seuss, French
actor and singer Yves Montand, and Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury,
ÌÌNumber one hits include Let's Talk About Sex (Salt-N-Pepa), Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen), Black Or White
(Michael Jackson), Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me (Elton John and George Michael), and Do The Bartman (The
Simpsons).
ÌÌLee Huebner, Publisher International Herald Tribune
(May 1993)
ÌÌSir Michael Perry, Chairman Unilever PLC (November
1994)
ÌÌWim Kok, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (May
1995)
ÌÌHans Wijers, Minister of Economic Affairs (May 1996)
ÌÌGerrit Zalm, Minister of Finance (December 1996)
ÌÌKarl Vuursteen, Chairman Executive Board, Heineken
NV, (May 1999)
ÌÌCees van der Hoeven, President & CEO, Royal Ahold
(October 1999)
The EU Directive on European Works Councils
The concept of the EWC was introduced in the 1994 directive
(94/45/EC). That directive applied to companies or corporate
groups with 1,000 employees or more in the European
Economic Area (EEA) and at least 150 in two separate member
states. There was no obligation to set up an EWC when these
thresholds apply unless a request was received from at least
100 employees in at least two countries, or the employer
elected to take steps to set up an EWC by unilateral initiative.
On receipt of a request, or if it initiates the process itself, the
company was required to set up a special negotiating body
with the aim of agreeing the terms of an EWC agreement.
If an agreement cannot be reached, statutory subsidiary
requirements apply.
Importantly, the 1994 directive would not apply to agreements
providing for transnational information and consultation of
employees that were signed before 22 September 1996. This
exclusion was laid down in article 13 of the 1994 directive.
(Almost 50 per cent of existing EWCs are based on ‘article
13 agreements’. Because they fall outside the scope of the
1994 directive and its requirements, article 13 agreements
have traditionally been more flexible from an employer’s
perspective.)
This Directive was the result of almost 15 years of negotiation
between the European Commission, employers associations
and unions. To AmCham's surprise the Netherlands government,
with the agreement of employer organizations like
the VNO, elected to adopt the Directive into legislation that
went beyond the Directive itself - i.e. the EWC would be a
greater burden on a company than it would in a neighboring
country. This is a member state's prerogative, but, in this
case, not a very sensible decision to take. It would mean that
- given a choice - a non-EU investor might elect to place the
investment elsewhere for that particular reason. It would at
least influence his choice.
AmCham's direct and timely intervention assured the Directive
was implemented into legislation that conformed with, and
did not go beyond, the Directive.
3. 1991 - budget rent-a-Car's Cees klaasen wins AmCham's
Marketeer of the year Award.
3.