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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: Electrolux AB

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: GM Opel

The joint stock-company General Motors (GM), with its headquarters in Detroit, is the world’s largest automotive group, with nearly 9.2 million vehicles sold around the world in 2005. This case study is based on interviews undertaken with national delegates of the General Motors EWC/GME European

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

EWCs in the new Member States - Case study: KBC Bank

KBC Bank and Insurance Holding Company was established in 1998 following the merger of three Belgian financial institutions. This case study is based on interviews carried out in Poland and the Czech Republic between March and July 2006 with representatives of the KBC European Works Council

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

EWCs in the new Member States - Case study: Bosch

The Bosch group, with headquarters in Stuttgart, is one of the world’s largest private industrial corporations and a major supplier in the field of automotive and industrial technology, as well as of consumer goods and building technology. This case study is based on interviews carried out in the

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

EWCs in the new Member States - Case study: Siemens

Siemens, with headquarters in Munich and Berlin, is a globally-active company operating in the fields of electrical engineering and electronics. This case study is based on interviews conducted in the Czech Republic and Poland. Interviews were carried out between February and June 2006 with EWC

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

EWCs in the new Member States - Case study: Sanofi-Aventis

The Sanofi-Aventis group was formally established on 1 January 2005 as a result of the takeover of Aventis by the Sanofi-Synthélabo group in 2004. This case study is based on interviews carried out in Hungary and Poland between March and June 2006 with HR management representatives and EWC members

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

EWCs in the new Member States - Case study: Deutsche Telekom

Deutsche Telekom is one of the four largest telecommunication companies in the world and a strong global player in this industry. This case study is based on interviews carried out in Slovakia and Hungary between March and June 2006 with both EWC members and management representatives. In addition

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

EWCs in the new Member States - Case study: Unilever

Unilever was formally created in 1930 with the merger of British soapmakers ‘Lever Brothers’ and Dutch margarine producers ‘Margarine Unie’. Today, this Anglo-Dutch company owns many of the world’s best-known consumer brands in food, beverages, cleaning and personal care products. This case study is

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

EWCs in the new Member States - Case study: Volkswagen

The Volkswagen group, with headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, is one of the leading car manufacturers in the world, with a share in global passenger car production in 2005 of 9% (5.2 million passenger car vehicles), making the company the world’s fourth largest car producer. This case study is

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

Around the world in 80 ways – Between competition and solidarity

Born out of the controversy caused by cases of cross-border restructuring and its employment impact, European works councils (EWCs) are considered a key tool for managing the impact of globalisation. According to the agreements establishing them, the vast majority of EWCs should be informed and

02 June 2008
Publication
Information sheet
Labour market policies
Employee representation
Social partners
Anticipating and managing the impact of change
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue
Online resources results (298)

Unions seek better employee representation in very small enterprises

On 20 January 2010, the Craftwork Employers’ Association (Union professionnelle artisanale, UPA [1]) and four trade union confederations signed a joint letter (in French, 40Kb PDF) [2] addressed to the country’s Prime Minister, François Fillon, and the Minister of Labour, Xavier Darcos. The letter

15 Marzo 2010
Article
Employee representation

Private childcare workers demand better pay and working conditions

In Austria, most kindergarten and professional childcare facilities for children up to the age of six years are run by the authorities, mainly at provincial (/Land/) or local state level. The employees of these public care institutions are all covered by clear-cut employment regulations, which are

7 Marzo 2010
Article
Working conditions and sustainable work
Employee representation

Small trade unions oppose change in union law

On 2 December 2009, following an invitation from the Pancyprian Federation of Independent Trade Unions (Παγκύπρια Ομοσπονδία Ανεξάρτητων Συντεχνιών, POAS), a number of independent trade unions attended a meeting with the aim of examining the draft bill introduced to the House of Representatives in

16 Febrero 2010
Article
Labour and social regulation
Social partners
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Industrial relations in the EU Member States and candidate countries

European Union enlargement is approaching fast, with up to 12 countries from central and eastern Europe and the Mediterranean likely to join the EU from 2004 onwards. In this context, the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) has started to expand its coverage of industrial relations

29 Septiembre 2002
Article
Pay and income
Working time
Collective bargaining
Participation at work
Social dialogue
Employee representation
Working conditions
Employment and labour markets
Industrial relations
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

2002 works council elections start

Between 1 March and 31 May 2002, works council election [1] s are taking place in German establishments under the terms of new Works Constitution Act (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz, BetrVG) passed in 2001 (DE0107234F [2]). The BetrVG, which had previously remained almost unchanged for 30 years

25 Abril 2002
Article
Employee representation
Social partners

Company law changes have implications for employee representatives

A number of legislative proposals issued in 2001 and 2002 aim to strengthen the position of the general meeting of shareholders in Dutch companies in relation to company management and, in some cases, even the supervisory board. At the same time, the powers of employee representatives will remain

23 Abril 2002
Article
Labour and social regulation
Employee representation

Problems emerge as works councils' role expands

In broad terms, works councils have become a generally accepted phenomenon in the Netherlands, and their role has expanded considerably over the years. At the same time, however, mounting problems have arisen, relating to issues such as a lack of interest in works councils among employees and the

2 Abril 2002
Article
Employee representation
Participation at work

Research examines employee representation

Late 2001 saw the publication by the Ministry of Employment of two studies of employee representation in French firms, based on widely-differing statistical sources. The Ministry published both the results of the 1999 works council elections and the findings of a survey of the existence of various

28 Enero 2002
Article
Employee representation
Social partners

Union density and labour market participation among immigrant workers examined

Recent figures from the Statistics Norway (Statistisk Sentralbyrå, SSB) show that labour market participation among 'non-western' immigrants (ie those from outside Europe and North America) in Norway is still low, and there are indications to suggest that this is very much due to a general

28 Noviembre 2001
Article
Migration and mobility
Employment and labour markets
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Decentralisation of working time regulation to enterprise level assessed

One of the goals of the Dutch Working Time Act of 1996 was to transfer decision-making on working time to the enterprise or even plant level. A survey evaluating the effects of the Act, carried out in 2000 and published in 2001, finds that the ability of employee representatives to counter

1 Noviembre 2001
Article
Working time
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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