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Employee representation

Employee representation may be defined as the right of employees to seek a union or individual to represent them for the purpose of negotiating with management on such issues as wages, hours, benefits and working conditions. In the workplace, workers may be represented by trade union and through works councils – or similar structures elected by all employees. EU law has established rights and obligations for employees and their representatives to be informed and consulted via a set of directives that provide for the information and consultation of the workers, at both national and international level.

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Ricardo Rodriguez Contreras is a research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound and focuses on comparative industrial relations, social dialogue and collective bargaining...

Research manager,
Working life research unit
Publications results (74)

Headquartered in Utrecht/The Netherlands with subsidiaries in Germany, Italy and Finland, Equens is a full-service payment processing company offering services in payment and card processing and a European leader in this business segment. The transformation of Equens N.V. into an SE was concluded in

25 April 2011

MAN was the first German company to create a SE, by the conversion of its subsidiary MAN B&W Diesel into MAN Diesel SE in August 2006. This was followed in 2009 by the conversion of MAN itself into MAN SE. Both management and the employee representatives were well prepared for negotiating an

25 April 2011

Allianz SE is an integrated financial services provider with more than 150,000 employees. The company serves approximately 75 million customers in about 70 countries. Allianz SE operates and manages its activities primarily through four operating segments: property-casualty, life/health, asset

13 March 2011

The European Company Statute (SE) is based on the Council Regulation on the Statute for a European Company (2157/2001/EC) and on the Directive supplementing the Statute for a European Company with regard to the involvement of employees (2001/86/EC). It is one of the most important pieces of company

08 March 2011

This report presents some descriptive findings of Eurofound’s European Company Survey (ECS) 2009 on the structure of industrial relations and social dialogue as well as working time patterns in the commerce sector in Europe. Collective bargaining coverage and the degree of employee representation in

01 December 2010

This case study focuses on the measures used by ArcelorMittal to cut costs and avoid involuntary redundancies during the crisis in its largest Romanian subsidiary. The study aims to assess the effectiveness of the various measures applied to keep staff in employment and to ensure the company’s

26 September 2010

European Works Councils (EWCs) are highly significant in terms of European industrial relations. They represent the first genuinely European institution of worker interest representation at enterprise level. They reflect the growing recognition of the need to respond to the ‘Europeanisation’ of

12 May 2009

In September 1994, the Council of Ministers decided on a Directive on the establishment of a European Works Council for the purposes of informing and consulting employees (94/45/EC). The emergence of European Works Councils (EWCs) is a major part of the development of an industrial relations system

16 October 2008

In September 1994, the Council of Ministers decided on a Directive on the establishment of a European Works Council for the purposes of informing and consulting employees (94/45/EC). The emergence of European Works Councils (EWCs) is a major part of the development of an industrial relations system

16 October 2008

In September 1994, the Council of Ministers decided on a Directive on the establishment of a European Works Council (EWC) for the purposes of informing and consulting employees (94/45/EC). The emergence of EWCs is a major part of the development of an industrial relations system at European level

16 October 2008

Online resources results (298)

Railway unions join forces

The rise of a pluralistic railway trade union movement is connected to the political changes that took place in eastern Europe in the early 1990s. Before 1990, there was only one railway trade union, the Trade Union of Hungarian Railway Workers (VSZ [1]). In the transitional period after 1990, two

New Labour Code takes full effect

A new Labour Code has been introduced by Hungary’s government which aims to align the regulation of collective rights with that of contractual individual law enshrined in the country’s Civil Code. The Labour Code, in principle, allows collective agreements, agreements with works councils in

Employers forge ahead in metalwork wage-bargaining

In 2011, the wage-bargaining round in Austria’s metalworking sector was marked by the first strikes for 25 years (*AT1112011I* [1]). At the time, negotiations were being conducted by the six subsectoral employer organisations of the Federal Economic Chamber (WKO [2]) in the metalworking sector, as

Research reveals changes in employee relations

New research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD [1]), entitle /Managing employee relations in difficult times/, identifies contemporary trends in people management in the UK. One of the key changes is the increased focus on the individual employment relationship, rather

Unions test business closure law

In 2006, a Norwegian paper and pulp company closed down one of its profitable manufacturing plants. The main reason for the closure, according to the company, was over-production in the pulp and paper market. Shutting down the plant was seen as a way of alleviating the pressure in the market, and

Fresh uncertainty after resolution of teachers’ strike

On 14 May 2012, the Zarasai district association of the Trade Union of Lithuanian Education Employees (LŠDPS [1]) submitted seven demands to Arnoldas Abramavicius, Mayor of the Zarasai district municipality (ZRS [2]). By doing this they initiated a collective labour dispute. [1] http://www.lsdps.lt/

Government includes social partners in labour market reform talks

The deteriorating employment situation in France has prompted France’s Minister of Labour, Michel Sapin, to bring unions and business leaders together to discuss ways of reforming the country’s labour market.

Temporary Employment Act amended

After lengthy tripartite negotiations, Austria’s Council of Ministers agreed in September 2012 to an amendment of the country’s Temporary Employment Act.

Union federation demands above-inflation wage rise

The largest Dutch Trade Union Federation (FNV [1]), has tabled a wage demand of 2.5% for 2013. This slightly exceeds the expected rate of inflation of 2% for 2013. FNV’s draft employment conditions memorandum, which forms the basis for negotiations with employers, differs little from last year’s

Unions pleased at high participation rate in social elections

In Belgium, elections held by a company’s employees to elect members of the works council and the workplace health and safety committee are traditionally referred to as ‘social elections’. All private sector companies employing more than 100 employees are legally obliged to set up a works council [1


Blogs results (1)
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Trade unions in many EU Member States face the issue of declining membership. This is a fundamental challenge for organised labour, but it is premature to speak about the redundancy unions: when it comes to important decisions affecting the workplace, restructuring being one, trade unions remain a

20 Noviembre 2019
Data results (1)
24 Octubre 2023
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