European Works Councils Research Articles

Is social Europe dead?

PurposeThe purpose of this editorial is to examine whether the social dimension of the single European market (SEM) has stalled or come to an end.Design/methodology/approachThis editorial outlines the existing minimum standards in SEM, the processes whereby they have/are established, and reviews the progress on the revision of the working time and European Works Council (EWC) Directive.FindingsThe absence of proposals from the EU Commission other than on temporary and agency workers since 2002 has the EU wide trade union bodies, especially the ETUC to argue that EU member states' government continue to have a higher priority for the economic Europe (for example, labour market flexibility) than the social Europe (the establishment of workers' rights). This view has been enforced in that the EU Commission has been tardy in its revision of the working time and the EWC Directives. In the summer of 2008, the commission brought forward a series of measures aimed at stressing the social dimension of the SEM. These included a revised EWC Directive but they are unlikely to continue trade unions in Europe that EU member state government give as much priority to the social Europe as well as the economic Europe.Originality/valueThe editorial offers insights into the priority given to the social Europe relative to the economic Europe.

Book Review: International and Comparative Industrial Relations: Towards a European Labour Identity: The Case of the European Works Council

Book Review: International and Comparative Industrial Relations: Towards a European Labour Identity: The Case of the European Works Council

European Companies without European Works Councils: Evidence from Portugal

■ This article analyses the impact of the European Works Councils (EWCs) Directive in Portuguese multinationals. Though seven Portuguese companies are covered by the provisions of the Directive, only one EWC exists. Some of the main obstacles to the establishment of EWCs in Portugal are identified. The experience of the Banco Espírito SantoGroup, where the only Portuguese EWC currently exists, is discussed.

European Works Councils as Risk Communities: The Case of General Motors

■ The European works council (EWC) at General Motors is widely regarded as an outstanding example of cross-border trade union cooperation. This article reconstructs its development as a European trade union `risk community', which since the mid-1990s has faced unprecedented challenges to workers' interests as a result of intra-European competition for investment and GM's strategy of corporate globalization. To a limited extent, the EWC offered a European solution to local and national problems, but cross-border cooperation has remained fragile and issue-specific, and has implied a Eurocentric notion of trade union internationalism.

Corporate Employee Representation, Union Strategies, and Third-Party Union-Linked Monitoring

This article examines an unusual experiment in Brazil with an employee “social dialogue” process established at the BASF chemical company, following the broad outlines of European works councils (EWCs) created in the 1990s under European Union requirements for large companies operating in that region. The new representation-cum-consultation scheme was created under a global push by BASF’s German headquarters to emulate EWCs in its various regional operations overseas, though also in response to union pressures. Once the structure was in place, management attempted, with at least partial success, to carry out a pre-emptive strategy of “venue-shifting.” Nonetheless, unions avoided institutionalized co-optation or management “divide and rule” and expanded the agenda of consultation and negotiation beyond their traditional scope. Third-party union-linked monitoring—quite distinct from typical “independent monitoring”—helped raise the salience and legitimacy of various union and worker grievances.

The Role of the European Works Council During Reorganizations: Lessons of the AgirE Project (Le Rôle Du Comité D'Entreprise Européen Au Cours Des Restructurations: Les Leçons Du Projet AgirE)

The European Works Council is a transnational actor which represents the workers in European firms. The paper identifies the difficulties and obstacles which limits the powers of EWC (legitimacy in question, content of constitutive agreement, link with national bodies, transnational coordination with European trade union). But the EWC has also capabilities to improve the workers' action inside the reorganization process: action with European trade union, judiciary action, transmission of pertinent information through the group, action with European authorities. The EWC is also a place for mobilizing workers in the European group. It facilitates transnational collective bargaining (International framework agreement). The EWC has a capacity to be a restructurings' central actor.

Understanding the European Works Council deficit in German multinationals

This article examines the problem of setting up European Works Councils in German multinationals. Based on the findings of a Hans-Böckler-Stiftung funded project, the article argues that a key problem is the legal status of many German companies covered by the European Works Councils Directive: specifically, that companies in private hands are not legally required to reveal the number of their employees and their company structure. This lack of transparency makes it very difficult for employee representatives to determine whether their undertaking is covered by the Directive. The article also considers some issues brought to light by a German EWC database recently compiled at the Technische Universität München to support the university's research into the non-compliance with the European Works Council Directive by German multinationals.

EWCs back on the European agenda ‘Managers’ role in EWCs': CEC European Managers conference Toulouse, 5–6 June 2008 and ‘On the offensive for stronger European Works Councils’: ETUC and Hans-Böckler-Stiftung conference Brussels, 9–10 June 2008

EWCs back on the European agenda ‘Managers’ role in EWCs': CEC European Managers conference Toulouse, 5–6 June 2008 and ‘On the offensive for stronger European Works Councils’: ETUC and Hans-Böckler-Stiftung conference Brussels, 9–10 June 2008

European Works Councils and the dark side of managing worker voice

Drawing from case study research, the article explores managerial strategies in a UK‐based European Works Council (EWC), but from the perspective of workers' representatives. This methodological approach offers an alternative set of lens through which to view managerial strategy from the standpoint of those it is meant to affect. The evidence suggests that employers' representatives in central management appear to be proactively fragmenting worker voice, arguably in order to convert the EWC into a business‐friendly instrument and to assert managerial control. However, there is no empirical basis for arguing that such tactics yield organisational benefits. The employers' perceived strategies reflect the traditional cultural antagonisms that are historically played out between workers and managers in the particular sector in which the firm is embedded. The article has practical implications for HR managers who are viewed, rightly or wrongly, with suspicion and distrust by employee representatives.

An analysis of the role of European works councils in British workplaces

PurposeThe paper seeks to identify the nature of the contribution that European works councils (EWCs) have made to six British workplaces and their employees.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative longitudinal study of the workplaces (2001‐2004) is discussed, which analyses the views of those senior managers and representatives directly involved together with those who have no immediate role but are intended to be beneficiaries of a council's activities: managers, representatives and employees.FindingsA range of factors are identified that, in most instances, frustrated the realisation of the intended objective of EWCs. Those findings contrasted with the initial optimism concerning EWCs created by the use of quantitative research methods. Whilst councils are diverse in character, a backdrop is provided to some of the challenging representational issues and it explores the scope for managerial manipulation and control, given the limitations of the legislation and the sometimes fragmented activities of representatives.Research limitations/implicationsHowever, it is acknowledged that in a limited number of instances EWCs have made a significant contribution.Originality/valueThe paper reflects the expertise of the author and will be of interest to those in the field.

European Works Councils and transnational bargaining about restructuring in the auto industry

European Works Councils and transnational bargaining about restructuring in the auto industry

Non-Union Employee Representation in Australia

Non-union representative employee participation recently has attracted increasing international attention in employment relations due to the growing representation gap in many countries as union membership declines, and mounting evidence of the benefits of representative employee participation for enterprise flexibility and efficiency. However, relatively little is known about Australian experiments in employee participation, although it is essential to learn from Australian experience in order to develop effective public policy. This case study represents a contribution to this larger project. SMEC is a non-union employee representative body that has adopted a European works council organizational model. The case study evaluates SMEC's effectiveness as a non-union form of representative employee participation. It concludes that the opportunities for the formation of genuinely independent works council style organs of employee participation remain severely constrained by the current Australian regulatory environment, which tends to encourage a union substitution role.

Still ‘Regime Competition’?

This article studies trade unions’ response to transnational change in a large multinational corporation within the motor industry in Europe. We show how the use of the European Works Councils (EWCs) as a forum for European negotiation did not counter the management’s effort to whipsaw trade unions, such as to play off workers against each other in local negotiations. This seems to suggest that the effort to network and coordinate between employee representatives, and to negotiate with management through ‘active’ EWCs is ineffective at controlling inter-union competition in cases of transnational restructuring. Hence, research outcomes illustrate that an analysis of the impact of European-level agreements on plant level is requested in order to assess the effectiveness of ‘active’ EWCs in forging cross-national links.

The internationalisation of representative employee participation and its impact in the Asia Pacific

As the rationale for representative employee participation has become more compelling in recent years, the European works council model has become internationally influential. The 1994 European Works Council Directive gave further momentum to the internationalisation of this model within an expanding European Union, and potentially beyond the EU. This article surveys the existing structures for representative employee participation in the four countries of the Asia Pacific where they are the most substantial: Japan, Korea, the Philippines and Australia. Noting the limitations of representative employee participation in these countries, and more generally in the Asia Pacific, the article explores a major opportunity for developing multinational representative employee participation by exerting pressure on firms operating in the Asia Pacific which are subject already to the European Works Council Directive. It identifies the main firms in this category, and suggests a major role for global unions – the inte...

The European Cross-border Dimension to Collective Bargaining in Multinational Companies

The international dimension is becoming increasingly important to collective bargaining in multinational companies (MNCs) as a result of changes in their operating environment and internal structures. This article examines this process in two sectors and four EU countries. The findings show that although the cross-border dimension to collective bargaining remains muted in formal terms, its significance may be masked by it assuming an implicit rather than explicit character, and that European Works Councils have had some effect in reinforcing the relevance of the international dimension for domestic and, occasionally, transnational collective bargaining.

Contesting the Development of European Works Councils in the Chemicals Sector

The Directive on European Works Councils (EWCs) introduced areas in which management and employee representatives could contest the development of the institution. This article reviews the outcome of this contestation within the chemicals sector, examining the agenda, the ‘Europeanization’ of representatives, company transparency and integration of EWCs into wider industrial relations networks. It shows that neither the expectations of critics of the Directive nor of those who emphasized its potential have been realized.

The Performance of European Works Councils in Engineering: Perspectives of the Employee Representatives

Drawing on a structured survey of European works council representatives within the engineering industry, this paper identifies a number of shortfalls in the performance of European works councils. In particular, it shows that European works council representatives retain a national rather than a European point of reference and are critical of the integration of European works councils with other aspects of trade union organization and activity. In contrast, European works council representatives welcome the transparency within multinational companies introduced by the directive. The paper concludes in terms of a range of revisions that might usefully be introduced to improve the performance of the directive.

Comparing German and Danish Employee Representatives on European Works Councils: Do Differences in National Background Matter?

This article aims to analyse the links and possible‘fit’ between German and Danish representation structures and trade union policies on the one hand, and the views and activities of European Works Council (EWC) representatives from the two countries on the other. Which similarities or differences can be observed in the way German and Danish EWC representatives act on and view EWCs? Can differences be explained by cross-national variations in representation structures and associated trade union policies? The article describes the national representation structures in the two countries, their linkage to EWCs and trade unions, and identifies the typical profile of German and Danish EWC representatives respectively. Data on how the representatives view the EWC and its activities and the extent to which they have been involved in negotiations with management are presented and analysed. It is concluded that the views and practices of German and Danish EWC representatives largely converge. Those divergent views that are found are explained by differences in national representation structures, union policies and labour market situation.

European Works Councils facing delocalisation - a lost struggle?

European Works Councils facing delocalisation - a lost struggle?

Restructuring and the European Works Council

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 politics and EU institutions). It acquires slowly a more important role as collective actors inside a new specific collective bargaining or as complete actor or as facilitator, with European and international trade unions (IFA - International Framework Agreements). Then, a new architecture for collective bargaining is emerging in the field of restructurings in Europe.