Jan Willem Goudriaan European Works Councils 1 VERDI – UNISON Seminar European Works Councils 24 February 2006 Berlin European Federation of Puiblic Service

Jan Willem GoudriaanEuropean Works Councils

1

VERDI – UNISON SeminarEuropean Works Councils

24 February 2006Berlin

European Federation of Puiblic Service Unions (EPSU)

Jan Willem Goudriaan


2 Subjects

Some Statistics

Companies in EPSU area of activities

Issues on EPSU EWC Coordinators Agenda

European Company

Political Situation – revision of the Directive

Optional Framework for transnational agreements


3EWC Database identifies companies affected by

the EWC Directive and their compliance to it

1152 1205

1835 1865

2169

784

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

2200

1995 1998 2000 2002 2004 2005

companies identified as being affected by the EWC directive

those companies that established EWCs2204


4

321

522

313 139 320

1361

23,0

43,3

61,3

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

< 5000 empl. in EEA between 5000 and 10000 empl. more than 10000 empl.

0,0

10,0

20,0

30,0

40,0

50,0

60,0

number of companies affected by the EWC Directive

number of companies having an EWC

% of affected companies with an EWC

Workforce size and compliance rates


5

9,15 million employees

39%

14,45 million employees

represented in an EWC

61%

MNCs that still have to set up an EWC

65%

MNCs that have set

up an EWC35%

23,6 million workers in 2204 affected companies

Multinationals affected by the Directive Workers in multinational companies


6New member states’ companies affected by the EWC Directive

subsidiaries in new EU member states

51,8%

no subsidiaries in new EU member

states48,2%

1142

1062

1211

8

10

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Hungary Poland CzechRepublic

Croatia

Companies in the scope of the EWC directiveheadquartered in new EU member states


7Involvement and lacking involvement of new EU member states in exisitng EWCs

subsidiaries in new EU member states

51,8%

no subsidiaries in new EU member

states48,2%

1142

1062MNCs with

operations in new EU member states but without EWC

53%

MNCs with an EWC and member or

observer from new EU member states

15%

MNCs with an EWC but without a

member from new EU member states

32%

166

272

608


8Companies involved in transnational

mergers and acquisitions between 2002 and 2004

772

175 217

1432

28.1

12.2

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

without EWC with an EWC

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

all MNCs affected by the directive

MNCs involved in an M&A between 2002 and 2004

% confronted with a transnational M&A


9 Companies in which EPSU is involved

VEOLIA (Used to be Generale des Eaux, Vivendi (Universal)

Suez (Used to be Lyonnaise des eaux, Societe Generale, Tractebel

Eon (VIAG and VEBA)

RWE Thames (Thames now being sold off again ?

CAPIO (BURE, split of Attendo)

Brambles-Cleanaway (WMX/WMI now SULO)

Waste Management International split over different companies

SAUR part of Bouygues now taken-over by private equity fund


10 EPSU European Works Council Coordinators

WHO

Representatives who hold a mandate for EPSU in EWCs

EWC Secretaries/ Presidents

Those involved in education/ training and research

Issues

Political developments

Updates on EWC work; reports from EWC coordinators

Trade union agenda Equality and improving gender balance

Communication with EWC reps/ workers

Work programmes – outsourcing; health and safety

Private Equity Funds next meeting

Etc.

Major issue for next meeting in May: Guidelines for trade union involvement in European Companies


11 European Works Council Directive Revision

Political Situation ETUC Demands Review – UNICE opposed – Commission stalls – Not a

group of countries in Council which pushes – EP was supportive but now ?

ETUC formulated a list of issues for revision such as: Improve Information and Consultation Rights Role of Trade Unions; European Federations Resources (training, debriefing…) Issues: equality, health and safety etc. Gender balance

Codification of Information and Consultation Rights likely ? I&C at national level Collective Redundancies/ TUPE European Company – I&C Court Cases Fundamental Rights (Charter)


12

Eu ropea n Com m is s ion

Em p lo ym e nt & So c ial Affa irs

Forms of transnational negotiation become a reality

•Development of European social dialogue •At company level, growing number of transnational texts and agreements concluded, more than 60 listed•Examples:

•GM, Ford, Danone, Diageo on restructuring•Arcelor,ENI, Lafarge, Vivendi on H&S•Total, Deutsche Bank, Air France, Dexia on employment, training, mobility•Unilever, GEA, Philip Morris on data protection•Volkswagen, Rhodia, Suez, Club Med, Philips, Rheinmetall on fundamental rights-CSR


13



Drivers for transnational negotiation

•Transnational M&As and restructuring•Operation of business on an international scale•Mobility of production factors, posting•Development of CSR

•Development of EWCs and transnational companies•Reinforcement of European social partners and social dialogue

Expected growing need for transnational negotiation


14



Questions raised by transnational negotiation

•Actors entitled to negotiate and procedure

•Form and content of the texts concluded

•Respect and legal effect of agreements

•Link between levels and link with national laws and agreements

•Right of association, collective action


15



Existing Community framework on transnational information, consultation

and participation

•European Works Councils in 1994:

Directive 94/45/EC extended to the UK by Directive 97/74/EC•Involvement in the European Company in 2001 : Directive 2001/86/EC•Involvement in the European Cooperative Society in 2003: Directive 2003/72/EC•10th company law transnational mergers 2005


16



Existing Community framework on transnational social dialogue

•Treaty art.138 &139 : promotion of European social dialogue, consultation of European social partners and agreements between them

•Sectoral Social Dialogue Committees

•EU Charter of fundamental rights art.28: « Workers and employers, or their respective organisations, have, in accordance with Community law and national laws and practices, the right to negotiate and conclude collective agreements at the appropriate levels and, in cases of conflicts of interest, to take collective action to defend their interests, including strike action »


17 ETUC

Optional Framework for Transnational Agreements

- Part of Social Agenda 2005-2010

- Extend social dialogue framework to company level (now inter-sectoral and sectoral)

- ETUC: so far without legal framework; agreements no legal status-hence no sanctions/ legal recourse if violated or not implemented; agreements deal with issues such as trade union rights, equality, health and safety, restructuring

- EMF and EPSU have been supportive in general

- Initiative of relevance; working method criticised (should not be a group of experts but the social partners)

- UNICE opposed – bargaining national level issue – but not consistent with practice of its members.


18 ETUC Position

Many Questions:

Binding character, extension of the agreement, sanctions and legal recourse; specialisation of the European Court of Justice in labour law – European Labour Court ?; transnational actions during bargaining and implementation; hierarchy of standards

Negotiating Mandate and Right to Sign Agreements

Trade unions (representativeness); collective actors, organisations with a mandate to represent their members; EWCs not the appropriate bodies for negotiations (lack sufficient rights for this); risk of fragmentation of bargaining

New level should fit within existing structures regarding bargaining and not undermine and replace national bargaining

Non-regression Clause

JWG: Right to transnational action

Next Step: Publication of Expert Report; consultation of the social partners

Documents

Jan Willem Goudriaan European Works Councils 1 VERDI – UNISON Seminar European Works Councils 24 February 2006 Berlin European Federation of Puiblic Service