The Global Employee Relations Management unit offers guidance and encourages the exchange of experiences on structuring employee relations in different countries. At the "Employee relations in a connected world" conference in early May 2011, 70 leading executives from international businesses discussed the challenges presented by employee relations. This formed the basis for Deutsche Telekom's ongoing consultation with other employers to formulate forward-looking employee relations. Moreover, in a globally applicable Employee Relations Policy the Group commits itself to a high level of uniform minimum standards worldwide in dealing with its employees, taking account of different cultures, laws and needs. A monitoring system will be used to guarantee policy compliance as soon as the policy has been rolled out throughout the Group. Our policy is based on our Guiding Principles as well as on national regulations and internationally recognized rules such as the United Nations Global Compact , the OECD guidelines and the core labor standards issued by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

We passed our Social Charter in 2003. The Charter is also based on the principles of the Global Compact , OECD and ILO. The Social Charter  contains policies on human rights and working conditions, the ban on child labor, environmental protection, equal opportunity, occupational health and safety and the right to set up or join a trade union. These policies apply throughout the Group. Our suppliers are obligated to comply with these policies as well.

Again in 2011 we successfully continued to pursue intensive dialog with the bodies representing employees within the Group in Germany. The implementation of numerous measures and projects would not have been possible without the participation of elected employee representatives. This is where we are seeing the fruits of our commitment to cooperation based on trust, as outlined in the Group Policy on Employee Relations. A key role falls to the Group Works Council, our contact point for all co-determination issues within the Group in Germany. In the European Works Council (EWC), too, Deutsche Telekom nurtures an active relationship with the employee representatives of our European subsidiaries and affiliated companies.

2010/2011 CR program

The current 2011/2012 CR program can be found in the "Strategy & management" section.