European Works Council

Last updated

European Works Councils (EWC) are information and consultation bodies representing employees in European multinational companies.

Contents

Purpose

The rationale behind the establishment of European Works Councils is related to the economic and political integration of the European Union. As companies became more transnational, the local information and consultation bodies (such as works councils) lacked a direct link to the level on which the real decisions are taken. As EWCs bring employee representatives of all over Europe together with the European management, they have an opportunity to be informed and consulted on the transnational companies strategy and status.

European Works Councils are regulated by two European directives. The first EWC directive was adopted in 1994 (94/45/EC) and a revised directive was adopted in 2009 (2009/38/EC; aka "EWC Recast Directive" and "Transnational Works Council Directive"). These directives are transposed into national legislation in all European Union and European Economic Area countries.

In 2005, the EU Commission issued a draft proposal to update the 1994 Directive, [1] noting particularly that while 820 European Works Councils existed, that represented merely 36% of the enterprises falling within the scope of the directive and around 60% of total employees. It also took the position that works councils as they stood were not 'up to the task of playing their full role in anticipating and managing change and building up a genuine transnational dialogue between management and labour'. [2] The adoption of the 'EWC Recast Directive' came after a long period of discussion on the desirability of giving these councils extra rights and putting an extra burden on companies. In the end, the EWC Recast Directive adopted in 2009 contained some important changes regarding the definitions of information, consultation and transnational issues, included a right to training for employee representative and provided some more requirements for EWC agreements. [3]

Companies

European Works Councils can be established in multinationals operative in more than two EEA countries if they pass a certain threshold of number of employees. Currently, the company (or the group of companies) needs to employ at least 1000 employees in the EEA and at least 150 employees in two member states. If a company passes these thresholds, an initiative can be taken by the employer or the employees to establish a European Works Council.

After such an initiative, a Special Negotiation Body enters into negotiation on the practicalities of the European Works Council: the composition, the competences, the amount of meeting, the need for translation and interpretation in the meetings and much more. This negotiation results in an EWC agreement which forms the basis for all EWC functioning.

History

In 2005, the EU Commission issued a draft proposal to update the 1995 Directive, [4] noting particularly that while 820 European Works Councils existed, that represented merely 36% of the enterprises falling within the scope of the directive and around 60% of employees. It also took the position that works councils as they stood were not 'up to the task of playing their full role in anticipating and managing change and building up a genuine transnational dialogue between management and labour'.

Since the first Directive on European Works Councils was adopted, over 1000 EWCs [5] have been created. According to estimations, they would cover an estimated amount of 19 million [6] employees in the EEA. Most EWCs are established in companies from the metal, chemical and services industries. Geographically, most EWCs are established in companies headquartered in Germany, the US, France and the UK. [7]

According to the EWC Recast Directive, the implementation of the Directive was to be evaluated no later than 5 June 2016. This evaluation was however postponed to the end of 2016 and further postponed to 2017. In the meantime, several evaluation studies have been published from the ETUC, [8] the Leuven University; [9] and the ETUI. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Free Trade Association</span> Regional trade organization and free trade area

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The organization operates in parallel with the European Union (EU), and all four member states participate in the European Single Market and are part of the Schengen Area. They are not, however, party to the European Union Customs Union.

<i>Societas Europaea</i> Public company registered under the corporate law of the European Union

A societas Europaea is a public company registered in accordance with the corporate law of the European Union (EU), introduced in 2004 with the Council Regulation on the Statute for a European Company. Such a company may more easily transfer to or merge with companies in other member states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Economic Area</span> European free trade zone established in 1994

The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the Agreement on the European Economic Area, an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). The EEA links the EU member states and three of the four EFTA states into an internal market governed by the same basic rules. These rules aim to enable free movement of persons, goods, services, and capital within the European single market, including the freedom to choose residence in any country within this area. The EEA was established on 1 January 1994 upon entry into force of the EEA Agreement. The contracting parties are the EU, its member states, and Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. New members of EFTA would not automatically become party to the EEA Agreement, as each EFTA State decides on its own whether it applies to be party to the EEA Agreement or not. According to Article 128 of the EEA Agreement, "any European State becoming a member of the Community shall, and the Swiss Confederation or any European State becoming a member of EFTA may, apply to become a party to this Agreement. It shall address its application to the EEA Council." EFTA does not envisage political integration. It does not issue legislation, nor does it establish a customs union. Schengen is not a part of the EEA Agreement. However, all of the four EFTA States participate in Schengen and Dublin through bilateral agreements. They all apply the provisions of the relevant Acquis.

<i>Societas cooperativa Europaea</i> European cooperative type of company

The European Cooperative Society is, in corporate law, a European cooperative type of company, established in 2006 and related to the Societas Europaea (SE). They may be established and may operate throughout the European Economic Area. The legal form was created to remove the need for cooperatives to establish a subsidiary in each member state of the European Union in which they operate, and to allow them to move their registered office and headquarters freely from one member state to another, keeping their legal identity and without having to register or wind up any legal persons. No matter where they are established, SCEs are governed by a single EEA-wide set of rules and principles which are supplemented by the laws on co-operatives in each member state, and other areas of law.

A works council is a shop-floor organization representing workers that functions as a local/firm-level complement to trade unions but is independent of these at least in some countries. Works councils exist with different names in a variety of related forms in a number of European countries, including Great Britain ; Germany and Austria (Betriebsrat); Luxembourg ; the Netherlands and Flanders in Belgium (ondernemingsraad); Italy ; France ; Wallonia in Belgium, Spain and Denmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Trade Union Confederation</span> European union federation

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is the major trade union organisation representing workers at the European level. In its role as a European social partner, the ETUC works both in a consulting role with the European Commission and negotiates agreements and work programmes with European employers. It coordinates the national and sectoral policies of its affiliates on social and economic matters, particularly in the framework of the EU institutional processes, including European economic governance and the EU Semester.

EUROCADRES is the Council of European Professional and Managerial Staff. It is an organisation associated to the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). EUROCADRES is recognised by the European Commission as a European social partner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Switzerland–European Union relations</span> Bilateral relations

Switzerland is not a member state of the European Union (EU). It is associated with the Union through a series of bilateral treaties in which Switzerland has adopted various provisions of European Union law in order to participate in the Union's single market, without joining as a member state. Among Switzerland's neighbouring countries, all but one are EU member states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Metalworkers' Federation</span>

The European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF), founded in 1971, is a federation of 68 metalworkers' unions from 31 countries, representing a combined total of 6.5 million affiliates. It is based in Brussels, Belgium, the general secretary is Ulrich Eckelman and Bart Samyn is the Deputy General Secretary. The organisation was dissolved on 15 May 2012, to become a part - together with EMCEF and ETUF-TCL - of the newly created organisation industriAll European Trade Union on 16 May 2012

Government procurement or public procurement is undertaken by the public authorities of the European Union (EU) and its member states in order to award contracts for public works and for the purchase of goods and services in accordance with principles derived from the Treaties of the European Union. Such procurement represents 13.6% of EU GDP as of March 2023, and has been the subject of increasing European regulation since the 1970s because of its importance to the European single market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microstates and the European Union</span> Relationship overview

Currently, all of the European microstates have some form of relations with the European Union (EU).

European labour law regulates basic transnational standards of employment and partnership at work in the European Union and countries adhering to the European Convention on Human Rights. In setting regulatory floors to competition for job-creating investment within the Union, and in promoting a degree of employee consultation in the workplace, European labour law is viewed as a pillar of the "European social model". Despite wide variation in employment protection and related welfare provision between member states, a contrast is typically drawn with conditions in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications</span>

The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) is the body in which the regulators of the telecommunications markets in the European Union work together. Other participants include representatives of the European Commission, as well as telecommunication regulators from the member states of the EEA and of states that are in the process of joining the EU.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuba–European Union relations</span> Bilateral relations

Cuba–European Union relations are the international relations between the Republic of Cuba and the common foreign policy and trade relations of the European Union (EU). Relations have been strained in recent years, due to Cuba's poor human rights record and the European Union's numerous accusations of Cuba's human rights abuses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 1999</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 1999 is a UK labour law that requires employers to inform and consult employees on significant changes to businesses in a standing procedure. This is called a transnational work council/work place forum, and is available if the employer operates in two or more European Union member states. TICER 1999 implement the European Works Council Directive, and operates primarily where US multinational corporations employ people in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Workplace participation in the United Kingdom</span>

Workplace participation in the United Kingdom refers to the structures that people at work have to participate in the way their organisation is managed. UK labour and company law generally leaves this up to the management of the company, appointed by shareholders and banks, to determine, and in contrast to most European jurisdictions requires only a minimum participation practices. Workers have the right to,

The Employee Involvement Directive 2001/86/EC is an EU Directive concerning the right of workers to elect members of the board of directors in a European Company. It is a supplement to the European Company Regulation and inspired by the European Works Council Directive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Trade Union Institute</span>

The European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) is the independent research and training centre of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). Its mission is to support, strengthen, and stimulate the European trade union movement by building bridges between research and labor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siemens and unions</span>

Siemens AG employs 311,000 employees globally as of 2022. Historically, Siemens supported and illegally financed the anti-union Works Council lists from AUB. More recently, the IG Metall has won the majority of Works Council seats. In the European Union, employees are represented on the Siemens Europe Committee.

References

  1. ↑ COM (2005) 33 final
  2. ↑ COM (2005) 33 final, para 5
  3. ↑ De Spiegelaere, S., & Waddington, J. (2017). "Has the recast made a difference? An examination of the content of European Works Council agreements". European Journal of Industrial Relations. 23 (3): 095968011668594. doi:10.1177/0959680116685948. S2CID   157530192.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ COM (2005) 33 final
  5. ↑ "STATS & GRAPHS". ewcdb.eu. Archived from the original on 2023-04-19. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  6. ↑ "European Works Councils: progress and a long road ahead". NETUF. 2015-12-18. Archived from the original on 2022-02-09. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  7. ↑ "De Spiegelaere, S., & Jagodzinski, R., (2015). European Works Councils and SE Works Councils in 2015. Facts and figures". www.etui.org. Archived from the original on 2018-03-01. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  8. ↑ "European works councils assessments and requirements - Report to the ETUC". European Trade Union Confederation . Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  9. ↑ Pulignano, Valeria (2016). European works councils on the move : management perspectives on the development of a transnational institution for social dialogue. Leuven: Centrum voor Sociologisch Onderzoek (CeSO). ISBN   978-90-6784-195-5. OCLC   1031417695.
  10. ↑ Spiegelaere, Stan De (2016). Too little, too late? : evaluating the European Works Councils Recast Directive. Brussels: ETUI, European Trade Union Institute. ISBN   978-2-87452-410-3. OCLC   962180791.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.