Agreement on maintenance of production location and employment at Hoechst Marion Roussel

In early May 1998, an agreement on the maintenance of production in Germany and on employment was struck at the Hoechst Marion Roussel pharmaceuticals company.

In May 1998, an "agreement on the maintenance of the production location and employment" (Standort- und Becshäftigungssicherungsvertrag) was concluded at the pharmaceuticals producer, Hoechst Marion Roussel (HMR) Germany. The deal was signed by the company, its group works council, the mining chemical, and energy workers' trade union IG BCE (IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie), the salaried employees' trade union (Deutsche Angestelltengewerkschaft, DAG), the association of salaried academics and managers in the chemical industries (Verband angestellter Akademiker und leitender Angestellter in der chemischen Industrie, VAA), and the Hessen chemical employers' association.

The intention of the agreement is to provide production, research and development, marketing, distribution and administration at HMR Germany with an attractive and competitive environment and thus with a future perspective. At the same time, the agreement aims to secure jobs at the German production locations. Its main provisions are as follows:

• a no-redundancy clause which is valid until the end of 2002;

• a promise by HMR of further investments of a minimum of DEM 110 million per year in Germany;

• the size of the workforce will be maintained at a level of 5,900. In the event that a particular subdivision (the so-called Fermentationsverbund) should be sold, the affected employees are guaranteed long-term job security with the buyer;

• at least 100 vocational training places will be offered and filled per year. After the successful completion of their training, all vocational trainees will be offered a job at HMR;

• a special qualification and training programme will be established for employees who are to be be transferred to other parts of the company due to a job loss;

• the works council and employees will be informed frequently on major project decisions regarding research and development; and

• in the event that adjustment of this agreement becomes necessary, the parties agree to start renegotiations as soon as possible.

Based in Germany, HMR was established in 1995 through the merger of Hoechst's pharmaceutical division, the USA-based Marion Merrell Dow and Roussel Uclaf of Romainville, France. It employs approximately 40,000 employees worldwide. The announcements at the beginning of 1998 of the loss of several hundred jobs had led to demonstrations by workers and a critical open letter from white-collar employees.