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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)

Trade union federations announce merger plans

Before 1990, Hungary had just one trade union federation, the National Council of Trade Unions (SZOT). In 1990, political change brought the country’s first democratically elected government, and allowed more trade unions to be formed. Not only were sectoral trade unions established, but also a

21 srpnja 2013
Article
Agreements
Social partners
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Major changes afoot for biggest union federation

Key decisions were taken about the structure of the biggest employee organisation in the Netherlands, the Dutch Trade Federation (FNV [1]) which has 1.3 million members, at a conference held on 8 and 9 October 2012. [1] http://www.fnv.nl/english

14 srpnja 2013
Article
Participation at work
Social dialogue
Social partners
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Union campaign targets precarious work

In April 2013, Malta’s General Workers’ Union (GWU [1]) conducted a campaign against precarious work practices. The campaign was targeted mainly at companies in the cleaning sector and providers of security services. [1] http://www.gwu.org.mt

19 lipnja 2013
Article
Health and well-being at work
Pay and income
Labour and social regulation
Social protection
Employee representation
Working conditions and sustainable work
Working time
Working conditions

Cross-industry bipartite social dialogue established

Bipartite social dialogue was established at cross-sector level in Slovakia in February 2013. Senior representatives of the country’s social partners in industry and construction signed a /contract on cooperation/ on 31 January 2013.

19 lipnja 2013
Article
Social dialogue
Employee representation
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Pay to rise in electronics industry after strike action

More than 14,000 Slovenian steel and electronics workers at 102 companies took part in a strike on 23 January 2013 in support of their wage demands (*SI1301041I* [1]). The strike was organised by the Steel and Electronics Industries Union of Slovenia (SKEI [2]), which is a member of the Union of

10 lipnja 2013
Article
Agreements
Collective bargaining
Industrial action
Pay and income
Labour and social regulation
Social partners
Employee representation
Working conditions
Industrial relations
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Job cuts at restructuring flag carrier airline

Iberia, the Spanish flag carrier airline, currently employs nearly 20,000 people. In 2010, it became part of the holding company International Airlines Group (IAG [1]), the third largest worldwide commercial airline by revenue. [1] http://www.iairgroup.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=240949&p=index

23 svibnja 2013
Article
Agreements
Collective bargaining
Restructuring
Pay and income
Social dialogue
Employee representation
Working conditions
Industrial relations
Working conditions and sustainable work
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Information and consultation case highlights corporate complexity

A general framework for informing and consulting employees was introduced by the EU Directive 2002/14/EC [1]. The regulations were transposed into UK law by the Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations 2004 [2] (*UK0502103N* [3]). The regulations’ collective provisions are

15 svibnja 2013
Article
Industrial action
Participation at work
Labour and social regulation
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Workplace representation reforms proposed

Draft legislation based on a consultative document prepared by Luxembourg’s Ministry of Work and Employment, Social dialogue within companies (in French, 288Kb PDF) [1], is intended to reform social dialogue [2] within businesses in the country. The Luxembourg Government [3] has passed the draft of

25 travnja 2013
Article
Agreements
Industrial action
Health and well-being at work
Participation at work
Skills and training
Social dialogue
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

Inter-union transfer agreed following staff moves

An agreement has been reached to change the union membership of 700 workers redeployed from Ireland’s state training agency FÁS to the Department of Social Protection. The staff were transferred early in 2012 under the terms of the Public Service Agreement 2010–2014 (324Kb PDF), also known as the

18 travnja 2013
Article
Social partners
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue

First workplace elections in very small enterprises

The rules on representativeness [1] in France (*FR0808039I* [2]) were reformed by the Law of 20 August 2008 (in French) [3]. The reform meant trade union organisations have to receive at least 10% of the votes cast (at company level) and 8% of votes in the sectors and on an interprofessional level

18 travnja 2013
Article
Social partners
Employee representation
Industrial relations
Industrial relations and social dialogue
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 studenog 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 listopada 2023
Reference period:
2019

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