Vodafone’s staff has approved the latest offer presented by the company in the negotiation of the ERE, which will ultimately affect 898 people. The figure is 25% lower than the one initially proposed by the British fund Zegona, which closed the purchase of the operator in June for 5 billion euros and aimed to dismiss 36% of the workforce (1,198 employees). The vote was closed with 1,821 votes in favour and 468 votes against.
Although the conditions are far from those that the unions had hoped to achieve, the workers have accepted the ultimatum issued by the new management of the teleco, which threatened to withdraw the proposal and return to “the minimum conditions set by law” if it was not ratified before tomorrow, the deadline for concluding the negotiations.
Vodafone’s unions were trying to achieve similar remuneration to that achieved in the ERE that the company closed in 2021. Then it compensated the workers with 50 days per year worked up to a maximum of 33 monthly payments. The final offer from the teleco has been 33 days per year and a maximum of 24 salaries. The minimum established by law and which it threatened to withdraw from with 20 days per year and 12 monthly payments.
The agreement includes an early retirement plan for employees over 57 years of age with at least 10 years’ service in the company, as well as a linear bonus of 3,500 euros for employees with a salary of less than 40,000 euros per year.
The cuts have reduced the number of employees to a minimum, with around 2,350 workers, compared to around 5,000 three years ago. Zegona’s plan is complemented by a reduction in rates announced on Monday with new low-cost options. It is also in line with the first commercial measure taken by the fund, which consisted of making permanent all the discounts from temporary promotions that its customers were enjoying.
The strategy aims to stop the flight of lines to competitors and reduce labour costs to a minimum. Zegona claims that Vodafone has suffered a “strong financial and commercial deterioration” in Spain. “The company has reduced its total income by 8% and has lost approximately 400,000 contract customers in the last two years,” it said after proposing the ERE.
Source: www.eldiario.es
