European Works Councils – The Story So Far
CSC EWC Copenhagen
17 November 2008
Hellmut Gohde
www.euro-br.eu
Some good reasons for EWC´s

Investment competition and social dumping

Loss of influence of employee representatives at national level
(information and consultation) (e.g. EADS)

Changing company cultures (international management and
transnational integration). (E.g. Shared Service Centers,
Oracle)

Change of management concepts (e.g. shareholder value)
European collective labour law in a nutshell
EU Directives and regulations on:

Collective Redandancies

Transfer of undertakings (Acquired rights)

European Works Councils

European Company S.E.

National information and consultation

Merger Control Regulation

Health&Safety
Comité d’Enterprise
Betriebsrat
Ondernemingsraad
Works Council
ΕΡΓΑΣΙΑΚΟ ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟ
Rady Pracownicze
Üzemi Tanács
Podnikové Rady
Comitato Aziendale
European Works Council Directive (History)

30 years debate within EU on „Participation“ of employee representatives

Autonomous trade union inititaitves for Worldide councils/networrks failed in the seventies

EWC Directive adopted on 22 Sept 1994 by EU Council of Ministers
(Opt-out United Kingdom)

Transposition into national law by 22 Sept 1996

Extension to UK 1997/1999

Extension to new EU member-states 2004 and 2007

Directive provides for information and consultation of employees on transnational matters

Directive does not set legal requirements for standards EWC´s but requires negotiations at
company level for EWC an Agreement / Constitution („negotiations in the shadow of the law“)

Revision of Directive ongoing
Companies affected

1000
(+)

150 (+)

150 (+)
EWC Directive
•
European Economic Area
•
EWC or procedure
•
Information and consultation
•
Consultation “the exchange of views and establishment of dialogue between
employees’ representatives and central management …”
•
Transnational issues
Companies covered by Directive and existing EWC´s
Companies covered by Directive
Exististing EWC´s
450
350
344
300
265
250
210
200
150
120
133
104
100
109
72
60 64 66
41 43 46
50
5
0
5
22
9
14 6
6 17 24 28 25
39 37
123
120
56
79
57 51
16
8 11 12
0
4
28
8
21 3 6
2
GR Lx PT NO ES IE AT DK FI IT BE CH SE NL FR UK DE CZ PL HU CA US JP AU ZA OT
Total number of European Works Councils (estimates)
following the implementation of the Directive

Companies covered by Directive: 2700

EWC´s established since 1994: 900

EWC´s dissolved mainly by mergers and acquisitions: 150

Employees represented by EWC´s: 10 Million

EWC members: 20.000
910
850
750
640
570
450
500
Article 6
Article 13
30
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
Four categories of EWC´s
Types of EWC´s according to transnational research projects
1. Symbolic EWC
Management
Examples:
Intel
Exel
Bertelsmann
Marks&Spencers
Procter&Gamble
EWC
Bilfinger Berger
Four categories of EWC´s
Types of EWC´s according to transnational research projects
2. EWC as Service Center for representatives
Management
EWC
Examples: Hochtief TUI, Sheraton, Heineken, Wienerberger,
HeidelbergCement
Four categories of EWC´s
Types of EWC´s according to transnational research projects
3. EWC organising projects
Vocational
Training
Pension
Schemes
Social
Charta
Management
Health&
Safety
Equal
opportunities
Four categories of EWC´s
Types of EWC´s according to transnational research projects
4. Participation of EWC
Management
Examples: General Motors (Restructuring), Arcelor-Mittal (Merger),
Ford Visteon (Outsourcing), Wincanton (Agency labour), LG
Philips Displays (Social plans), GE (Car tracking policy), Porr
(Mobility)
Involvement of EWC´s in company reorganisation
Information
37
25,7
24,2
13,1
no information
after the decision was
made public
before the decision
was made public
before the decision
was finalised
Consultation
30
29,7
20,5
no consultation
after the decision was
made public
19,9
before the decision
was made public
before the decision
was finalised
Waddington 2005
Issues excluded from the agenda (Confidentiality)
Has an issue been excluded by
management on grounds of
confidentiality?
If yes: Was management justified?
47,5
68,6
33,9
18,6
Yes
No
Don´t know
31,4
Yes
No
Waddington 2005
Issues excluded from the agenda (Transnational)
Has an issue been excluded by management
on the grounds that it was a national issue ?
If yes, was management justified?
45,4
71,4
41,9
29,8
12,7
Yes
No
Don´t know
Yes
No
Waddington 2005
Best practice – Example 1
General Motors
•
At the 2004 meeting of the EWC the European management of GM
presents a restructuring programme.
•
Due to overcapacity GM intends to close either the Saab factory in
Sweden or the Opel plant in Germany and concentrate production in one
of the factories.
•
The employee representatives request a further meeting of the EWC and
involve financial and economic experts. A period of intense work of the
Steering Committee begins. At a extraordinary meeting an alternative
proposal is presented by the EWC: Both plan will be kept open but will
reduce staff by normal attrition within the coming two years to become
more competitive.
•
After several meeting with the Steering Committee management agrees
on the plan.
Best practice – Example 2
TNT
•
In 2006 the Dutch Mail and Express company TNT announces its
intention to sell the logistic division by a public tender.
•
The employee are extremely worried about their future due to the tough
competition on the market.
•
The EWC and the Dutch works council establish a joint working group
and request to get involved in the decision making process.
•
After signing a confidentiality agreement three representatives of the
EWC are given access to the bidding room and have meetings with all
potential buyers.
•
At the end of the process the buyer (Apollo management), TNT and the
EWC sign a joint letter of intend to maintain the structure of the logistic
business as a whole, to safeguard employment and to establish a new
EWC for the logistic business which today operates under the name
CEVA Logistics.
Best practice – Example 3
Areva
•
In 2006 the EWC of the French technology company Areva organises a
three days training course for all EWC members. At the seminar the
participants discover huge differences in which female workers are
treated at the workplace.
•
Due to the big differences between the countries, management and the
EWC agree on a joint declaration to benchmark and improves the
promotion of career opportunities for female employees.
•
In 2007 the EWC and management apply jointly at the EU for financial
funding to hold a conference involving local management and employee
representatives from all EU countries.
•
Following the conference (held in Lyon 4/2008) each country will organise
a national workshop for setting up of an action plan. The results will be
presented and compared at the next EWC meting.
EWC´s at court


European court rulings mostly in favour of EWC´s

1997: Renault

1999 Kühne&Nagel

2001 Marks&Spencers

2006 Gaz de France - Suez

2006 British Airways

2006 Beiersdorf

2007 Alcatel – Schnelder
Legal procedures are extremely complex and vary from country to country.
Key internal challenges for EWC´s

Investment competition (Nokia, Elektrolux, Nokia)

Diversity of national models of industrial relations across Europe

Complexity of issues discussed (e.g.: Overall company strategies, Introduction of
new IT systems)

Languages Barriers

No national coordination in some countries

Increasing attrition rate in most companies lead to discontinuity of employee
representation

Lack of trade union support
Revision of the European Works Council Directive

Revision planned for 1999

S.E. Directive and Directive on national information and consultation go further

Joint consultation of Social Partners (ETUC + Business Europe) failed

Proposal for new Directive launched by Commission in June 2008 far below trade
union demands

Joint proposal for amendments by ETUC and Business Europe

Dossier on the agenda of European Parliament

Final decision by Council of Ministers expected for 15 December 2008

Key demands for improvement: Better definition of information and consultation
(When?, How? What?); Transnational criteria, training, protection, access to sites,
communication, sanctions/penalties, restructuring).
Conclusions
1. European Works Councils are relatively weak institutions. They neither have
substantial statutory rights nor do they have bargaining power.
2. EWC´s have developed some successful influence on company decisions and
policies by combining and coordinating national and European works council / union
activities.
3. The potential of EWC´s for exercising influence on Multinationals by trade unions
(and NGO´s) remains underestimated. Particularly in countries withouta local works
council culture they may even be considered as a threat for traditional trade union
representation.
4. In a medium term perspective EWC`s will remain one of the very few – if not the only
transnational institution to defend the interests of employees in multinational
companies.