EU: ETUC rejects employers’ proposal to negotiate framework agreement on European Works Councils European legislation Following Ursula von der Leyen's pledge in her investiture speech, the European Commission has taken up the transpartisan initiative report aimed at strengthening European Works Councils. A consultation of social partners was launched in the spring, with a view to revising the 2009 directive.
France: court decision interprets a clause of an EWC agreement providing for a minimum number of seats for non-French delegates National legislation If a clause of an agreement establishing a European Works Council provides for a minimum representation of delegates from countries other than that of the parent company, does this imply that there can be no additional representatives from those countries? A decision handed down on 28 January 2020 by the Court of Paris, based on the principle of balanced representation provided for in the European Works Council directive and the intention of the parties, states that this clause sets a minimum for representation, not a maximum limit.
BEL: an agreement that puts a European Works Council in place Transnational industrial relations On 20 June, cheese group Bel (which employs just over 5,500 across Europe) along with the SNB and with assistance from EFFAT (European Federation of Trade Unions in the Food, Agriculture and Tourism sectors), signed an agreement for the putting in place of a European Works Council. In terms of geographical scope the agreement includes Ukraine as well as Switzerland in the EWCâs remit and intends to maintain UK representatives under a no-deal Brexit scenario. Information will commence with a notice detailing the alternatives that were considered and the reasons they were not retained. The agreement includes a paragraph that details how the various levels of personnel representation will interact, with in addition the intentions for annual national level meetings between local HR bodies and EWC members as preparation for the annual EWC meeting.
Korian: signs agreement to establish an EWC Transnational industrial relations On 29 April 2019, Korian, a leading French multinational provider of medical and non-medical care and support services for the elderly and people with short or longer-term health issues across a European network of 6 countries and more than 52,000 workers, signed an agreement with the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) body to establish a European Works Council (EWC), making this the first EWC to have been established in the sector that cares for the elderly and people with disabilities. The agreement is now a benchmark reference, firstly because it is the first in a sector that is set to grow, and secondly because the EWC is being given a broad range of competences and the agreement outlines how EWC information communication between the different representation levels is to occur.
Solvay: agreement to maintain the UK within the scope of groupâs EWC Transnational industrial relations The management at the Belgian chemicals group and members of its European Works Council have decided that âconsidering the importance of social dialogue in the company, the continuity should prevail and therefore the two current seats occupied by Solvay UK employeesâ representatives shall remain, with equal rights and status, part of the Solvay EWC.â This decision comes as part of an amendment to the groupâs EWC agreement, agreed on 15 March.
Inditex: European works council set up Transnational industrial relations At the start of last week, the Inditex group, which owns clothing brands such as Zara, Massimo Dutti and Pull & Bear, penned an agreement regarding the creation of a European works council (EWC). The deal was negotiated with UNI Europa, the European services workers' union, and contains a number of innovative measures, such as specific provisions on the links that the EWC is to have with national bodies.
Airbus SE : the aeronautics group uses European and international social dialogue as a transformation lever Transnational industrial relations an international social dialogue forum in place, the Airbus Global Forum, in order to âstrengthen a feeling of belonging across the Airbus entitiesâ and as a âlever for change and transformationâ. This unilateral initiative forms part of the groupâs CSR vision (Airbus decided to become a Global Deal member in June 2018 see article 10576). At the same time Airbus has finalized the overhaul of its European Works Council agreement, which strengthens both information flow on strategic issues and dialogue with the higher management echelons. Â A Global Forum.âStrengthening the feeling of belonging across Airbus entitiesâ underlies why Airbus management decided to launch a Global Forum.…
EU: evaluation study on the implementation of Directive 2009/38/EC on the establishment of a European Works Council is now available online Transnational industrial relations The European Commission has finally made its evaluation study on the implementation of recast Directive 2009/38/EC on the establishment of a European Works Council available online. The report had been set to serve as the basis for EU Commission work on the topic. A certain number of the studyâs elements, which some say are now outdated since the report dates back to 2016, are worthy of attention. Although a more heavy-weight Directive, it has not been able to hold to its promises: no additional EWCs have been set up, there has been no significant change in practices, and no real improvement in workersâ representativesâ rights has been forthcoming.
Asahi Breweries Europe Group: agreement to establish an EWC Transnational industrial relations On 06 June and following months of negotiations involving support from the European Federation of Trade Unions in the Food, Agriculture and Tourism (EFFAT), Asahi Breweries Europe Group (ABEG), which operates solely in central Europe together with the SNB of the Asahi Breweries Europe Group secured an agreement that establishes an EWC for the ABEG subsidiary.
General Electric puts a EWC structure in place comprising a central committee and business committees to fit GEâs multiple business operations companies structure Transnational industrial relations These EWC negotiations had a number of goals, not least to learn from the GE acquisition of Alstomâs energy business and provide representation for all European employees within the groupâs multiple companies, as compared with the previous situation where some Industrial Divisions had separate EWCs. The agreement was signed on 23 February.