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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)

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

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

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

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

​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

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

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

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

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

Online resources results (298)

Works council elections held at Fiat's Mirafiori and Rivalta plants

In summer 1997, elections took place at Fiat's Mirafiori and Rivalta plants to renew "works councils" (Rsu s) for the first time since their establishment in 1994. Some 20,000 workers went to the polls, giving significant insights into the evolution of employee representation in Italy's most

Women in the Belgian labour market: discrimination persists

There are several reasons for the unequal labour market position of men and women. A significant factor is horizontal segregation on the labour market, that is, the fact that men and women end up in different sectors and occupations. Around 40% of all those at work in Belgium are women; however

Committee appointed to assess the July 1993 tripartite agreement

In September 1997, the Italian Prime Minister appointed a committee to assess the operation of the tripartite central agreement on incomes policy and the structure of collective bargaining, among other issues, signed in July 1993. This article reviews the agreement's contents and its implementation.

Amendment of the Dutch Works Councils Act: a few surprises

On 5 September 1997, the Lower House of the Dutch Parliament completed its debates on a bill to amend the Works Councils Act. Not counting various periodical adjustments, this is the seventh revision since the original 1950 Act. It has been repeatedly stressed by both the Cabinet and the members of

Labour relations in cooperatives: the working partner issue

A long-running debate over the position of "working partners" in cooperatives - partners who also work in the organisation - has caused a dispute between Italian trade unions and cooperative associations, which came to a head when negotiations broke down in July 1997. We review the controversy and

Employee representation: new challenges from Europe

One of the biggest stumbling blocks for the effective implementation in the UK of successive EU industrial relations Directives has been the so-called "representation gap" - whereby a significant and growing proportion of the UK workforce lacks collective representation at work. Labour Force Survey

The TUC proposes an Organising Academy

In December 1993 the Trades Union Congress (TUC) stated its intention to become a campaigning organisation and abandoned much of its committee structure in favour of a series of "Task Groups", each dedicated to a single campaign issue. As part of this campaigning initiative, a New Unionism Task

The debate on union unity is resumed

In May 1997, the executive committee of Italy's CGIL trade union confederation approved a plan to create a single union centre by 2000, a development welcomed by the CISL confederation. This article reviews the moves towards trade union unity and their background.

Recommendations on workplace-level union structure

In the Netherlands, trade unions were originally poorly represented at workplace level, where works councils have traditionally been viewed as the appropriate forum for representing employees' interests. Although works councils and trade unions are cooperating to an increasing degree, this has not

Trade union membership falls yet again

Total UK trade union membership stood at 7.2 million in 1996, a fall of 1.8 million since 1989, according to the 1996 Labour Force Survey (reported in "Trade union membership and recognition", Mark Cully and Stephen Woodland, Labour Market Trends, June 1997). This means that trade union membership


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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