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Zbigniew Kalenbach (left) and Katrin Lepp
Katrin Lepp from Estonia and Zbigniew Kalenbach from Poland are two Nordea employees who, thanks to the SE project, have had the opportunity to learn more about employee influence and to form ties with colleagues from other countries. Both Katrin and Zbigniew are glad to have had this chance and feel that it has been a rewarding experience.
There is no trade union at the bank in Estonia and Katrin Lepp does not feel that it is particularly urgent to establish one.
"This is not our first priority. On the other hand, interest in establishing some form of employee influence has increased," she says.
Katrin and a colleague were elected by the Nordea employees in Estonia to represent them at the project's first seminar in Denmark in the autumn of 2004. She also attended the seminar for the non-Nordic countries that was held in Poland in January 2006.
Katrin Lepp is Head of the Service Department at Nordea's main office in Tallinn. Her primary reason for taking part in the SE project is to listen, discuss with colleagues from other Nordic units and gather ideas for future activities. A model for employee influence that has inspired her is the one used in Luxembourg, which is based on a staff delegation (see the article on the seminar in Poland). There are now plans to consider whether setting up something similar would be an option at Nordea Estonia.
"The need for such a system is growing in pace with the growth of the bank and given that we are bringing in an increasing number of people of different backgrounds. There may be mergers and acquisitions in the future. It would therefore be positive if we could now take a step towards finding forms and structures to promote common understanding."
As a manager, Katrin Lepp does not believe that she will be the person who represents the employees in the future, but she reacts strongly to the question: "Whose side are you on – the employer's or the employees'?"
"I feel that I am both. I am a person who works for Nordea. No matter whether I see myself as a manager or an employee the issues are the same," she says.
There is, on the other hand, a difference in the way that leadership is exercised in the different countries. Katrin Lepp says that the style of leadership in Estonia and the other Baltic countries has become increasingly similar to the Nordic style. The authoritarian style of leadership that, for example, the Polish participants in the project have described, is not common in Estonia.
One of the Polish participants she refers to is Zbigniew Kalenbach, Chairperson of the small Solidarity branch at Nordea in Poland with its headquarters in Lodz. He has taken part in several of the project's activities.
"It has all been very interesting. We Poles have a lot to learn from the Scandinavian trade unions," he says.
An important lesson is that the relationship between employers and employees is a form of partnership and that trade union members are interested in seeing things go well for the company.
"Given the situation in Poland at the moment we can't work that way, but I hope that we will be able to do so in the future. We are rather impatient and would like to adopt the Scandinavian approach as soon as possible, but establishing such a partnership is a very complex process," says Kalenbach.
"One of the reasons for the generally harsher climate in Poland is the high level of unemployment - approximately 20 per cent - which makes it easier for the employers to do as they like," he explains.
"The fact that the degree of unionisation is as low as 8 percent is not because there is no need for trade unions; it is rather because of the hostile attitude of the employers. For us at Nordea the recurring problem is that we have not been able to sign a new collective agreement, as the employer has offered poorer terms and conditions than in the previous agreement," says Kalenbach.
"Achieving results in the negotiations is the best way to increase membership of the local trade union branch. At the moment, only 64 of the approximately 800 employees are union members. It would also be valuable to become part of the Nordea Union."
The aim of the SE project is to find forms and structures for the exercise of employee influence if Nordea is converted into a European Company. This is an issue that appears somewhat abstract to Zbigniew Kalenbach, who has many more everyday trade union problems to deal with. Nevertheless, he feels that the project has been meaningful and he hopes that it will continue.
Bengt Rolfer
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