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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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Eurofound expert(s)

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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)

Previous Eurofound research developed three complementary tools to examine the dynamics of industrial relations and compare how national industrial relations systems are faring in terms of quality and change over time.

05 December 2023

This working paper investigates the practical implementation of the European Works Council (EWC) Directive at company level. It explores the challenges faced by existing EWCs and provides examples of solutions identified and remaining issues from the point of view of both workers and management. In

25 October 2022

U okviru svojeg mandata, koji uključuje i obvezu promicanja dijaloga među socijalnim partnerima, Eurofound već dulje od 40 godina prati i analizira promjene u sustavima radnih odnosa na razini EU-a i njegovih država članica. Ovo se ključno izvješće temelji na radu Eurofounda u tom području tijekom

11 December 2020

Megatrends, such as digitalisation, globalisation, demographic change and climate change, are transforming the world of work, with knock-on effects for working conditions and job quality. Against this background, this report examines working conditions and job quality from a sectoral perspective

05 November 2020

The aim of this report is to add to the discussion on how Eurofound can contribute to supporting capacity building of social partners for effective social dialogue. The report includes a review by Eurofound aimed at identifying the capacity-building needs and initiatives of social partners in

10 September 2020

This study examines the interaction between social dialogue practices and human resources management (HRM) policies in European multinational companies (MNCs). It looks at the changing role of HRM and its interaction with European Works Councils (EWCs), which can act as a link between different

16 June 2020

In light of the limited action in many Member States to introduce or review gender pay transparency instruments as recommended, in November 2017 the European Commission announced the possible need for further targeted measures at EU level. This report reviews experiences in four Member States –

07 February 2018

This topical update looks at the issue of employee involvement and participation at work, specifically reviewing recent pieces of research at EU and national level, EU directives, changes in the legal framework, social partner initiatives and debates identified in EurWORK quarterly reports during

25 October 2016

This report maps, analyses and discusses key dimensions and indicators for a comparative framework of industrial relations. It then identifies and assesses existing data sources that can be used to measure the different dimensions of the comparative framework.

30 September 2016

Well-functioning social dialogue is a key component for the successful design and implementation of reforms needed to increase the competitiveness of Europe’s economies and create more jobs. It balances workers’ and employers’ interests and contributes to both economic competitiveness and social

06 September 2016

Online resources results (298)

Germany: Revival of German trade unions

German trade unions have been fighting decreasing rates in density for years. Now the latest research by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research shows that net union density rose by 2.6 percentage points between 2006 and 2012 and 20.6% of employees were union members in 2012. Most of the new

Bulgaria: New union for homeworkers

A new trade union aims to improve the pay, employment rights and access to social security benefits of homeworkers, most of whom are women. The driving force behind its creation is the Association of Homeworkers in Bulgaria, a non-governmental organisation that strives to address the problems and

Germany: Continued decline in collective bargaining and works council coverage

An ongoing decline in coverage for both collective bargaining and works councils in Germany is driven by medium-sized establishments: coverage rates for large and small companies have remained relatively constant. In 2013, only 28% of private-sector workers in western Germany (15% in eastern Germany

Netherlands: Pensions advice to clear up confusion

Conflicting laws have led to confusion in the Netherlands over how much influence works councils can have on company pension arrangements. The Social and Economic Council (SER) suggested ways of clarifying this in June, after being asked for its advice by the Deputy Minister of Social Affairs and

UK: New research highlights limited impact of ICE regulations

A report commissioned by Acas examines the incidence, composition and operation of joint consultative committees in UK workplaces. Findings show an aggregate stability in workplace level joint consultative committees between 2004 and 2011, a decline in higher-level consultative committees, and an

Netherlands: New legislation on management pay

The entry into force of the Clawback Act at the start of 2014 in the Netherlands makes possible the reduction of executive bonuses and severance payments, and the reclaiming of payments ('clawback') after they have been awarded, if they are deemed unfair. It applies to all public limited companies

Cleaners urged to join fight against low wages

A cross-union network, the Critical Trade Network (KRAY [1]), has been highly critical of traditional Finnish trade unions for being too ‘consensus-orientated’ and lacking real interest in tackling the problems of low pay. [1] http://www.kriittinen.fi/

Trade unions’ initiative promotes social dialogue

In November 2010, the National Trade Union Confederation Meridian (CSN Meridian [1]), and the Farmers’ Federation (FAF [2]) started a joint project to promote social dialogue in rural areas of Romania. The three-year project, Together for the development of social dialogue in Romania, was co


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 studenog 2019
Data results (1)
24 listopada 2023
Reference period:

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