Objective 4
To introduce uniform internal communication standards and develop a shared corporate culture
We develop ethical standards and corporate culture
An important part of developing a shared corporate culture is the Ethics Officer.
Dialogue with staff members
Social dialogue has a long tradition in the power industry, and this is no different in the PGNiG Group, where over seventy trade union organisations operate. Company employees elect one PGNiG Management Board member for a three-year term, and three employee representatives sit on the Supervisory Board. Each PGNiG Group company has a person assigned to handle employee matters and work with the trade unions.
Our companies consult each important decision with the employee organisations. This platform of cooperation is extremely important for us, but in many cases, including decisions on employee matters, may also cause the decision-making process to drag. This problem has been noted by many of the trade unions operating in the PGNiG Group.
They have, therefore, attempted to establish a method of cooperation applicable to all trade unions with the purpose of, for example, coordinating the operation of the trade unions vis-à-vis oil and gas mining industry employers. The initiative was not fully successful at that stage, but the process is still on-going. Duplication of roles very often mars the social dialogue process on numerous vital matters. Due to the effective legal requirements, partners of the Management Board of PGNiG are separate trade union organisations of PGNiG and of PGNiG Group companies.
Employee information and consultation on important decisions is also enabled through ongoing cooperation with trade unions and employee councils operating at PGNiG and many of its Group companies. In terms of duration of the consultation process, a 30-day period for responding to a written statement is effective for Agreements with the so-called Oil and Gas Mining Trade Union Centres (which also represent the Group companies’ trade unions). These Centres ensure that, within their central and branch organisations, the document flow is 30 days for documents requiring approval and 14 days for documents requiring an opinion. In the case of agreements with the Trade Union Centres, these periods are 30 and 10 days, respectively. The employer should then submit to the Employees Council the information it requests within 14 days.
The Council’s opinions are provided within 14 days of the date the information is submitted. The law also requires the employer to submit the information early enough and to an extent enabling the Council to examine the matter and prepare for the consultations.