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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

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)

European Works Councils case studies: GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)

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). Both the companies that merged to form GSK in December 2000 had established EWCs under this Directive.

16 October 2008
Publication
Case study
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

European Works Councils case studies: the Suez group

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
Publication
Case study
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

European Works Councils case studies: The Marazzi Group

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
Publication
Case study
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

European Works Councils case studies: Air France

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
Publication
Case study
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

European Works Councils case studies: HSBC

​The HSBC group, which has its headquarters in the UK, is one of the largest banking and financial services organisations in the world, with more than 8,000 offices in 80 different countries.

16 October 2008
Publication
Case study
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

European Works Councils case studies: Sandvik Specialty Steels

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
Publication
Case study
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

EWCs in the new Member States - Case study: ABB

ABB is a global company, based in Switzerland and working mainly in the field of energy and automation technology. This case study is based on interviews carried out in the Czech Republic and Poland between March and May 2006 with representatives of the ABB EWC Secretariat in Mannheim, Germany, a

16 October 2008
Publication
Case study
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

EWCs in the new Member States - Case study: MOL

MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas Company is a leading integrated oil and gas group in Central and Eastern Europe and, in terms of sales revenues, the largest company in Hungary. This case study is based on interviews carried out in Hungary and Slovakia in April 2006 with HR management representatives and

16 October 2008
Publication
Case study
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

European Works Councils case studies: Volkswagen

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
Publication
Case study
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

European Works Councils case studies: Boehringer

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
Publication
Case study
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Online resources results (298)

Study examines developments in union membership, 1980-96

The latest data available on the membership of Italy's main three trade union confederations show a slight increase in 1995 and 1996, after a period of decrease. This positive trend, however, is due to enrolments of retired workers, while membership among active workers is still diminishing, though

27 Marzo 1998
Article
Social partners
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Working Conditions Bill aims to decentralise policy to company level

In February 1998, a legislative proposal to amend the Working Conditions Act was submitted to the Upper (Second) Chamber of the Dutch Parliament. The Government aims to ensure that the implementation of its policy on working conditions is carried out at company level as far as possible.

27 Marzo 1998
Article
Working conditions and sustainable work
Labour and social regulation
Health and well-being at work
Employee representation

Government proposes employee consultation reforms

On 16 February 1998, Ian McCartney MP, Minister of State at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), launched a public consultation exercise on government proposals for new rules on consulting representatives of employees affected by redundancy or a change in ownership of the business for which

27 Marzo 1998
Article
Restructuring
Labour and social regulation
Participation at work
Employee representation
Working conditions
Working conditions and sustainable work

IG Metall membership falls yet again

Total membership of the world's largest sectoral free trade union, the German metalworkers' union, IG Metall, stood at 2.7 million on 31 December 1997, a fall of 960,000 (or 27%) since 1991. For the first time since German unification, annual membership figures have now fallen below the 1989 pre

27 Febrero 1998
Article
Social partners
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Union recognition report advocates voluntary procedures

A High-Level Group on the controversial issue of trade union recognition [1] has advocated that the problem should be tackled within the context of Ireland's voluntary collective bargaining system. If accepted, this would mean a mediation role on recognition for the Advisory Service of the Labour

27 Febrero 1998
Article
Social partners
Employee representation
Industrial action
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

New site pact signed for west German Opel plants

On 20 January 1998, the company works council (Gesamtbetriebsrat) and the executive board of Adam Opel AG- the German subsidiary company of the General Motors Corporation (GM) - signed a new works agreement on future investments, safeguarding employment and reduction of labour costs. After more than

27 Febrero 1998
Article
Collective bargaining
Employee representation
Employment relationship
Retirement
Working conditions
Social policies
Working conditions and sustainable work

Industrial relations in Poland: the emergence of a new model of labour relations?

This is the latest in a series of articles examining the industrial relations systems of the Central and Eastern European countries which are due to start European Union accession negotiations in 1998 - see EU9708143F [1], EU9709146F [2] and EU9710152F [3]. Here we focus on Poland, drawing on recent

27 Febrero 1998
Article
Industrial relations
Employee representation
Unemployment
Social partners
Participation at work
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations and social dialogue

New rules on the right to strike on the Italian railways

On 22 January 1998, the Guarantee Authority for the enforcement of Italy's law on strikes in essential public services (law 146/90) issued new regulations on the right to strike on the railways, which have received criticism from some quarters.

27 Febrero 1998
Article
Industrial action
Employee representation

Controversial dismissal provisions in Vilafranca del Penedès wine-making collective agreement

Recent reforms of the labour market in Spain propose new forms of institutional control over dismissal for objective reasons, through collective bargaining. However, a December 1997 subsectoral local agreement in the Vilafranca del Penedès wine-making sector has revealed certain constraints on the

27 Febrero 1998
Article
Non-standard employment
Work organisation
Employee representation
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Working conditions and sustainable work

Union recognition: UK social partners reach partial agreement

The UK Labour Government is committed by its election manifesto to obliging employers to recognise a trade union where this is supported in a ballot by employees (UK9704125F [1]). Details of how the Government intends to implement this proposal are expected in a White Paper on "fairness at work" to

27 Enero 1998
Article
Social partners
Employee representation
Participation at work
Blogs results (1)
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Restructuring: Do unions still matter?

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
Sara Riso
Blog
Restructuring
Working conditions
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Employment and labour markets
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Data results (1)

European Company Survey

24 Octubre 2023
Reference period:
2019

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