ULMA Group Social Management Area

The specific themes being worked on are very diverse:  regulations, evaluation, retributions, training, hiring, responding to the effects of the crisis in employment, representation in Mondragon, etc.

Regarding regulations, this is the homogeneous application of the Group regulations in all the businesses and there are many enquiries about their interpretation.  It also assesses the General Counsel in the creation of new regulations or the modification of the existing ones.  Over the last years regulations like those for circumstantial relocations, consolidation of relocations, treatment and compensation of inter-business displacements, paid leave of absence, training and strikes.  In addition, others are still being handled in need of adapting to the new needs of the partners and Businesses.

With the same aim of unifying the application, the Committee of Analysts, the body responsible for analysing the evaluation of work positions, is being coordinated to establish equity among different businesses.

In that referring to retribution, the implementation of ULMA Plus has been coordinated to collaborate in the application of tax exemption for work abroad with the aim in both projects that ULMA people can obtain tax benefits.

In addition, in this subject, with this help of ULMA Construction, the software used for calculating the payroll is maintained and improved.  The ongoing adaptation to the continuous changes of the law, also working on improvements for people like receiving the salary in Euskera.

In training, every year they organise and coordinate the “harrera plana” and the training for new executive and social counsellors, as well as the preparation for retirement training, trusting that these actions are an aid to people that find themselves in new situations.

We are present in the Social Action Committee of Mondragon representing the interests of ULMA and its partners and collaborating with the other cooperatives of Mondragon in the social anticipation of all.

In addition, this year together with Mondragon a programme for the qualification for employment has been implemented, this looks for those people that do not have regulated vocational training can have the opportunity of obtaining it.  The first stage of this offer was limited to those whose work position is affected by the crisis, but we trust to be able to extend the offer to all those who are interested.  This training requires a strong effort by the participants but allows an important professional improvement and employability.

In hiring, they continue to give support to the Businesses in the processes and test that are required. This year, they are also elaborating a new database in which the people who wish to work in ULMA can comfortably make their request and that, in addition, is more efficient for the Businesses.  The same way it served to improve the image before who shows interest in joining ULMA

Over these last year, we have also had to act in response to the effects of the crisis in the use of some of the Businesses forming ULMA.  The efforts of the Businesses are coordinated to achieve that the partners of ULMA whose employment was affected can use the opportunities generated in the Group.  In addition, opportunities are found in other cooperatives outside of ULMA Group and likewise these are coordinated with the Office of Employment and Lagun Aro as partners of other cooperatives in structural unemployment can opt to the vacancies that are available in ULMA.

We are present in the Social Action Committee of Mondragon representing the interests of ULMA and its partners and collaborating with the other cooperatives of Mondragon in the social anticipation of all.

There are two physical forums to coordinate the Businesses: the Committee of Human Resources, where every month the HR Managers and the Forum of HR Technicians, where they meet every two months. In addition in Portalde, the Group intranet, there are two chats to interchange and record pertinent information and documents.  Another of the immediate projects that are being processed is, precisely, the improvement of social information in Portalde, to make it easier for access not only to human resources professionals but also to all the partners of the cooperatives.

“And we would like to finish thanking you all for being there, because the existence and work of the social area only has sense for you.  The work of the social area or HR should not be limited to only administrative tasks, but also it should contribute added value in the difficult field of personnel management.  I think that we should remember that now and again”.

RAUL GARCÍA and JOSEBA MARTINEZ
Director and Coordinator of the Social Management area

The work of the social area or HR should not be limited to only administrative tasks, but also it should contribute added value in the difficult field of personnel management.