EU: European Trade Union Confederation preparing several actions before year-end to defend and guarantee the respect of workers’ information and consultation rights

It’s high time now. For the ETUC, the time has come to move forward in terms of ‘Democracy at work.’ Not least in view of the current challenges and in particular the restructuring changes that lie ahead, but also in terms of the political timing. Two EU Presidencies, Germany currently, which will be succeeded by Portugal in 2021, also say they are fully aware of and sensitive to this subject. MEPs are also fully onboard with two draft reports currently being prepared and seeking European Commission engagement; one of which is in favor of revising the EU Directive on the European Works Councils. The European Commission is currently late to the table on these issues, but in the months ahead it must set the groundwork for an action plan to implement the fundamental social rights pillar and in particular Principle 8 on workers' information and consultation rights. It will have to work with both the political currents driving these draft reports and with an ETUC that does not want to miss out on such propitious timing. This is what emerged in particular from the ETUC’s annual EWC (European Works Council) conference held on 09 and 10 September. The trade union confederation is also planning very short-term actions tailored to these representatives to help them fully play their roles and assert their information and consultation rights.