A boost for workplace democracy in Europe The impact of the recent EU directives and national policy

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A boost for workplace democracy in Europe?The
impact of the recent EU directives and national
policy changes on employee representation in the
workplace

• European Seminar2006-11-9/10
• Leuven, Belgium

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Goal of the seminar Policy learning

• Learning the strengths and weaknesses of the own
  system by looking to others
• Challenges, solutions, trends
• Within the European social model
• (social partners role in Lisbon reform agenda)

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IR Lisbon themes
Flexicuritymeasures
Innovation
More jobs
Human capitaldevelopment
ActiveLM policies
Knowledgeeconomy
Welfare statecrisis
Productivitymeasures
Activeageing
New growthregime
Globalisation
Sustainability
Controllabour costs
QWLpolicies
IR theme?
Neworganisationof work
Competitiveness
Better jobs
Scheme based and adapted from Nadel, 2006
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About what?
Is it this?
Or this?
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About what ? Workplace democracy

• Institutional arrangements
• Employee participation
• the exercise of power by workers or their
  representatives over decisions within their
  places of employment, coupled with a modification
  of the locus and distribution of authority within
  the workplace
• Representational form workplace representation
• Activities of an institutionalised variety of
  councils, comittees, union branches, delegations,
  which share the general functioning of
  representing the conflict of interest, real or
  potential, of workers in their relations with
  management
• Trade union delegation
• Works council type chosen by rank-and-file
  workers in an undertaking in accordance to the
  rules laid down by national legislation or
  collective agreement (and whose function do not
  include activities recognized to be the exclusive
  competence of the union representation

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(No Transcript)
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Occasion EU Directive

• establishes general framework for right of
  employees to information and consultation
  involving employee representatives
• affects undertakings with 50 or establishments
  with 20 employees, depending on member states
  decision
• requires employer to inform/consult on
• business developments
• employment developments
• substantial changes in work organisation
• practical arrangements to be defined in
  accordance with national law and industrial
  relations practice

• 3 x Belgium
• Renault-Vilvoorde crucial event to trigger of
  this policy development
• Directive agreed when Belgium presided the
  European Council
• Belgium also the first country brought before the
  European Court of Justice for not transposing the
  Directive in national law

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How?

• National cases
• Question and remarks time
• Informal moments

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Thanks to the sponsors

• European Centre for Workers Questions
  (www.eza.org)
• European Commission