The working paper uses the example of digitalization to showcase how European Works Councils can further develop their participation practices in companies and their various locations. There is both room and need for improvement in organizing decent digital work and in the use of information and...

The objective of this study is to support the Commission in the preparation of an Impact Assessment (IA) to explore the issues and possible solutions concerning the Recast Directive 2009/38/EC on European Works Councils (EWCs).

European Works Councils (EWC) face many limitations in terms of timing and quality of information and consultation. One way of addressing this is through communication with board-level employee representatives. The mere presence of a board-level employee representative is not related to better...

The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of institutional development of employee participation in Europe and analyze European Works Councils (EWC) agreements in the pharmaceutical industry. Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry increased the number of EWC...

In France, the legal obligation for private-sector companies to have, under certain conditions, one or two employee representatives on their boards goes hand in hand with the possibility for the company to decide to have its European Works Council (EWC) or SE Works Council (SE-WC) appoint the...

In France, the legal obligation for private-sector companies to have, under certain conditions, one or two employee representatives on their boards goes hand in hand with the possibility for the company to decide to have its European Works Council (EWC) or SE Works Council (SE-WC) appoint the...

The idea behind the establishment of European Works Councils (EWCs) is that these are bodies which should be informed and consulted on company decisions and actions. However, this flow of information is often disrupted by confidentiality constraints imposed by management. Three central research...

On 31 January 2020, at 23:00, the United Kingdom (UK) officially ceased to be a member of the European Union (EU). One of the many areas that will likely be directly affected with regard to workers’ rights is the organisation and functioning of European Works Councils (EWCs). EWCs are...

This study examines the interaction between social dialogue practices and human resources management (HRM) policies in European multinational companies (MNCs). It looks at the changing role of HRM and its interaction with European Works Councils (EWCs), which can act as a link between different...

This policy brief considers the lack of European Works Councils through a Belgian perspective. It discusses Belgian companies who are currently engaged in establishing one or have developed ‘functionally equivalent' structures. The remaining companies are confronted with serious obstacles to...

This policy brief takes as its starting point the fact that as soon as a company engages in European-level transnational restructuring, transnational information and consultation is needed to enable the social partners to consider the cross-border dynamic of the planned measures.This policy...

The article compares changes in the European Works Councils (EWCs) at Ford and General Motors Europe during the financial and economic crisis. Previously, both were highly active and effective. Although both otherwise displayed quite different characteristics before the crisis, their reactions...

This policy brief examines if and how the reformulated obligation in the Recast European Works Council Directive to report back found its way into EWC agreements by looking at survey data, results of large-scale agreement analysis and by providing examples of clauses in which this obligation is...

In 2009, Europe launched a Recast Directive on European Works Councils (EWCs) aiming to improve:(1) the effectiveness of EWCs and (2) increase the amount of EWCs. In 2016, this Recast Directive will be evaluated by the European Commission. This report feeds into this, building on data of EWC...

This working paper looks at the views of managers responsible for European Works Councils (EWCs) within multinational companies on the operation of the institution. It also examines the policies of Business Europe on EWCs vis-à-vis the views of these managers.The findings of structured...

In 1994 the European Works Councils Directive was adopted. It marked a major breakthrough for workers representation at the European level. Twenty years later, however, the outcome of this legal provision remains ambivalent. While around 1,000 multinationals have set up a European Works Council,...

Drawing on analysis of 2004 and 2011 WERS data and extensive case studies of employee consultation bodies, this paper highlights major problems with the regulatory design and enforcement of the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 and advocates reforms to improve their...

European Works Councils (EWCs) provide transnational information and consultation mechanisms for employee representatives in multinational companies (MNCs). By organising meetings between central management and employee representatives from the EU Member States in which the companies operate,...

Drawing on analysis of 2004 and 2011 WERS data and extensive case studies of employee consultation bodies, this paper highlights major problems with the regulatory design and enforcement of the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 and advocates reforms to improve their...

In 1994 the European Works Councils Directive was adopted. It marked a major breakthrough for workers representation at the European level. Twenty years later, however, the outcome of this legal provision remains ambivalent. While around 1,000 multinationals have set up a European Works Council,...

In 2016 it will be 20 years since the first European Works Councils (EWC) directive came into force in the EU. In the same year, the European Commission is planning an evaluation of the EWC recast directive that will undoubtedly lead to debate on the need for further review of European...

The article analyses the effects of the financial and economic crisis on the structures and activities of the European Works Councils (EWCs) at Honda and Toyota, which until 2007–8 were categorized as non‐efficient representation bodies. A theoretical concept is introduced to measure...

Investigating the issue of employee representation in multinational companies (MNCs), this book sets out to systematically conceptualise the modes of articulation between different action fields. While previous studies have focused on forms of employee representation that have emerged throughout...

- The economic and financial crisis has raised questions about the meaning and purpose of corporate governance. After the manifest failure of the economic-liberal "shareholder value" model, a new model of "good corporate governance" deserves a closer look. How can this be optimally backed up and...

- Die Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise hat Fragen uber Sinn und Ziel von Unternehmensführung aufgeworfen. Nach dem offensichtlichen Scheitern des liberalen Shareholder Value Modells geht es um ein neues Leitbild "guter Unternehmensfuhrung". Wie kann dieses Leitbild optimal im europäischen...

The working paper analyses the impact of EWCs on four different groups: shareholders, creditors, managers and employees. It argues that EWCs provide a net benefit. There are no significant negative impacts on shareholders and creditors while there are clear positive benefits for employees and...

This paper tries to define the role of the European Works Council in transnational firms' restructurings in the EU. The European Works Council has a weak position during the crisis but in favourable conditions can have a new role in different directions (transnational informations, action with...

In the European Union, a set of legal instruments was developed to enhance social partners' actions. Here, we consider whether these instruments encourage, at Community level, efficient trade union actions in response to the strategies deployed by multinational firms at international level. In...

This paper analyses the establishment and subsequent meetings of the McDonald’s European Works Council (EWC) established under Article 13. The paper focuses on the extent to which a non-union firm can frustrate the intent of the EWC directive and especially where this is based on a voluntary...