In the spirit of the season we decided to give our members some Christmas gifts. This is what the NFU Santa brings in 2011.

EU decision-makers who listen

Our first gift is our network – filled with Members of the European Parliament and European Commission officials who are actually interested in hearing the employee perspective. During 2011 Members of Parliament has taken on our proposals, using them in debates and legislation. And in the European Commission we regularly meet with the officials responsible of financial regulation, to give our input.

Increased possibilities for whistleblowing

Months before the financial crisis hit Iceland with full force in 2008 many bank employees felt that something was wrong. Maybe
there was something rotten in the state of Iceland, even though all banks were AAA-rated? We now know that they were right. Could they have warned about this? They had nowhere to turn with their worries. This is why we need good whistle blowing mechanisms! Employees should always be able to anonymously report misconduct to the authorities.

Therefore we are happy to give increased whistleblowing possibilities as our second Christmas gift. In 2011 rules on whistleblowing has been introduced in three proposals for EU directives. The proposals say that appropriate protection must be given to employees who reports breaches of the legislation. Even though it is yet a limited right it’s a big step forward. NFU will work to improve the rules even further before they are adopted.

A counterweight to the finance industry

Banks and insurance companies spend a huge amount of money on EU lobbying, hiring expensive lobby firms and opening Brussels offices. Can we counterbalance that? Yes, we can, by joining forces. In 2011 Finance Watch has been founded to balance the power of the finance industry’s lobbying. In Finance Watch, we work together with consumers,researchers, transparency organisations and many more to give the EU an alternative picture of how things are.

A defended Nordic Model

As Nordic trade unionists, we love our collective agreements. We know that through negotiations with the employers we can truly

influence the working conditions. Therefore it is extremely important that no EU legislation diminish our possibilities for collective bargaining. Our fourth Christmas gift is a look-out.
We are constantly on the watch for any text in any legislation proposal that might come in conflict with the collective agreements. And when we find those texts – because we do find them – then we use all our expertise and contacts to make sure they are changed.