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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

V rámci svojho mandátu podporovať dialóg medzi sociálnymi partnermi nadácia Eurofound viac než 40 rokov sleduje a analyzuje vývoj v systémoch pracovnoprávnych vzťahov na úrovni EÚ a v členských štátoch EÚ. Táto hlavná správa vychádza z práce vykonanej v tejto súvislosti počas posledného programového

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)

United Kingdom: Report identifies key levers for improving workplace productivity

Amid the extensive debate about the UK’s relatively poor productivity record, a recent report from Acas identifies seven key factors for improving workplace productivity: well-designed work; skilled managers; effective conflict management; clarity about rights and responsibilities; fairness

Germany: Survey on works council elections in 1,600 companies

A high turnout of voters marked the latest works council elections in Germany, underlining their importance to the German industrial relations system. However, a study published in January 2015 shows that they remain male-dominated, with women holding only 25% of the seats. Two-thirds of works

Ireland: Steady union density decline over last decade

There has been a steady decline in union density in Ireland since 2003, according to a new study by Frank Walsh, School of Economics, University College Dublin.

Hungary: New act restricts worker representation in the law enforcement sector

Unions have criticised the new act governing law enforcement services as undermining the activity of interest representation organisations.

Sweden: Fall in union density

Sweden has a tradition of high trade union density rates, but the share of Swedish workers who are members of a trade union has dropped in the last decade from 80% to 70%. This might seem high from a global perspective, but Sweden is also one of the countries where unionisation is declining most

Germany: Trade union membership more stable in 2014

Following years of declining membership, trade union numbers in Germany began to stabilise in 2014.

Malta: Armed forces allowed to join union

Members of the armed forces, police, department of civil defence and prison wardens have been given the right to join a trade union – but not to strike.

France: Companies establish single database for works councils' consultations

The Employment Safeguarding Act requires companies to establish such a database to store information of an economic and social nature.


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 november 2019
Data results (1)
24 október 2023
Reference period:

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