Employee representation

A study published in 2001 by the IRES research institute examines the position of women in works councils in France. It finds that women are generally well represented in the position of works council secretary. However, access by women and men to employee representative positions differs, depending

On 28 August 2001, the German-based car producer Volkswagen (VW) and the IG Metall metalworkers' trade union concluded a package of company agreements for the new VW subsidiary, Auto 5000 GmbH. The company agreements will be effective for 3,500 newly hired employees at the VW Wolfsburg plant and

On 22 June 2001, the lower house of the German parliament (Bundestag) passed legislation [1] to reform the Works Constitution [2] Act (Bertriebsverfassungsgesetz, BetrVG) by a majority of 336 votes to 208. The reform of the law, which determines the legal framework for co-determination at the level

On 11 May 2001, a first works council [1] was elected at the Berlin office of Germany's flagship multimedia design agency Pixelpark AG, which is a subsidiary of the German-based media corporation Bertelsmann. The new works council, consisting of nine members, has been elected for a five-year period

On 29 March 2001, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) delivered its judgment [1] in the first case concerning the interpretation of the European Works Councils (s) Directive [2] (94/45/EC) to reach the ECJ - /Betriebsrat der bofrost* Josef H Boquoi Deutschland West GmbH & Co KG v bofrost* Josef H

Spring 2001 saw the publication of the 2000 membership figures for Swedish trade unions The three central trade union confederations - bringing together unions representing university graduates, blue-collar workers and white-collar workers respectively - always make their figures public, even when

The structure of the Danish trade union movement, with its large number of unions - a total of 169, of which one-third have fewer than 1,000 members - means the duplication of many tasks for the unions. Many union officials spend their time in meeting each other and organising the framework for

In May 2001, the French parliament adopted a law on "new economic regulations", aimed at adding an "ethical" aspect to financial practices, clarifying competition rules, improving social dialogue and enforcing consumer rights. On the industrial relations front, the new legislation strengthens to