Against a background of considerable change in the market, Wincor Nixdorf is taking action to compete for the best employees. The recruitment and retention of qualified staff lies at the heart of our personnel management work. During fiscal 2006/2007, we successfully continued the process of integrating newly appointed or transferred staff into the organization.

Wincor Nixdorf continued to apply its policy of ensuring that employees participate in the success of the Group. In addition to basic compensation, the remuneration package included an amount based on individual performance, group performance and the performance of the enterprise. Overall, employees achieved above-average earnings at all levels of the organization.

We see the development and implementation of guidelines committing ourselves globally to socially and ethically responsible conduct as part of an ongoing duty. To ensure that our actions always reflect this commitment, we have drawn up a series of rules in the form of a Code of Conduct that is binding for all employees worldwide. These rules also apply in those countries where the applicable law and local practice are less rigorous.

In Germany, in consultation with employee representatives, we took the necessary steps to implement, at Wincor Nixdorf International GmbH, the new framework pay agreement, signed by IG Metall and the Confederation of Employers. The new pay system is to be introduced in all our German enterprises, with full implementation expected in the coming fiscal year.

We also reached agreement with employee representatives and those involved in the collective pay negotiations to introduce the rules on flexible working hours agreed in 2005, as a means of reducing staffing costs and thus protecting jobs in the long term.