B4-0173, 0194 and 0203/95

Resolution on relocation of businesses in the European Union

The European Parliament,

A.having regard to the decision by several industrial concerns to switch production to other countries, which has resulted in numerous redundancies, particularly in the textile and clothing, electronics, footwear and automotive sectors and even in the service sector,

B.having regard to the Protocol on Social Policy annexed to the Treaty on European Union and Council Directive 94/45/EC of 12 September 1994 on the establishment of a European Works Council or a procedure in Community-scale undertakings and Community-scale groups of undertakings for the purposes of informing and consulting employees,

C.having regard to its previous resolutions and, in particular, that of 10 March 1994 on the closure of the Suzuki factory at Limares in Spain,

D.whereas senior management of these companies justify their decisions on grounds of lower wage costs and direct or indirect financial grants from the governments of Member States or the Community,

E.having regard to the most recent case of the threatened closure of the Renault plant which opened in the Setúbal region in 1991 and which is 25% owned by the Portuguese Government, employed some 1 300 workers in 1992; having regard to the serious plight of some 500 workers who have just been made redundant by Renault, despite promises by the Portuguese Government,

F.having regard to the drastic effect this shutdown might have, as part of a relocation strategy, not only on the workers employed by Renault in Setúbal but also on hundreds of small local businesses which subcontract to the plant,

1.Expresses its solidarity and sympathy with all workers affected by this strategy and particularly those made redundant or at risk of being made redundant in Setúbal;

2.Calls for companies which engage in relocation and practices akin to social dumping inside and outside the Community to be no longer eligible for employment premiums in the European Union;

3.Considers that where protection measures are not taken, the transfer of production units without consultation of the social partners constitutes a serious threat to economic and social cohesion;

4.Calls on the Commission to carry out a study into relocation in the European union and to report back to Parliament;

5.Calls on the Commission to make public in this particular case the guarantees which it secured from the Portuguese Government and Renault with a view to approving the plan to set up the factory in Setúbal and to granting Community subsidies;

6.Points out once again the need to apply the measures on transfer of businesses set out in Directive 94/45/EC;

7.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Government and Assembly of the Republic of Portugal, the Renault trade unions and management in Portugal and France, the European Trade Union Confederation and UNICE.