Core EWC activities
When company decisions are taken at supranational level, the national information and consultation system does not allow workers in different Member States to organise their input together and express their views or concerns on these transnational issues. EU EWC legislation aims to bridge the gap between the increasingly transnational nature of company decision-making and the information and consultation rights of workers, which are defined and limited at national level. EWCs promote a common understanding of the transnational challenges facing large multinational companies and the involvement of employees in decision-making, with a view to exchanging information on possible solutions, facilitating their implementation and increasing the impact of strategic decisions taken by the employer.
Their potential should be fully exploited in the current context of the transition to the digital and environmental twins and profound industrial change.
Definition of information and consultation
Article 1 of the EWC Directive
Information and consultation of employees shall take place at the appropriate level of management and representation, depending on the subject under discussion. To this end, the competence of the European Works Council and the scope of the procedure for informing and consulting employees governed by this Directive shall be limited to transnational issues.
Article 2 of the EWC Directive
Information” means the communication of information by the employer to the employees’ representatives to enable them to acquaint themselves with the subject matter and to examine it; the information must be provided at such a time, in such a manner and with such content as are appropriate to enable the employees’ representatives to make a thorough assessment of its possible effects and, where necessary, to prepare consultations with the competent organ of the Community-scale undertaking or Community-scale group of undertakings;
“Consultation” means the establishment of a dialogue and exchange of views between the employees’ representatives and central management or any more appropriate level of management, at such time, in such manner and with such content as to enable the employees’ representatives, on the basis of the information provided, to express an opinion on the proposed measures to which the consultation relates, without prejudice to the responsibilities of management, and within a reasonable time, which may be taken into account within the Community-scale undertaking or Community-scale group of undertakings;
Point 22 of the Preamble to the EWC Directive
The definition of ‘information’ must take account of the objective of enabling the employees’ representatives to carry out an appropriate examination, which means that the information must be provided at a suitable time, in a suitable manner and with a suitable content, without slowing down the decision-making process in the undertakings.
Point 23 of the Preamble to the EWC Directive
The definition of ‘consultation’ must take account of the objective of enabling an opinion to be expressed which will be useful for the decision-making process, which means that consultation must take place at the appropriate time, in the appropriate manner and with the appropriate content.
Workers and their representatives must be guaranteed information and consultation at the appropriate level of management and representation, depending on the subject under discussion. To achieve this, the competence and scope of action of a European Works Council must be distinct from that of national representative bodies and limited to transnational matters.
As part of their duties, EWC members are required to report on the work of the EWC to the employee representatives or, in the absence of appropriate structures, to the workforce as a whole. (See EWC Directive, point 10.2). It is not enough to limit the reporting obligation to a general statement issued jointly by management and the EWC after EWC meetings. EWC members should not be deprived of the opportunity to communicate personally with the employees they represent without interference from management. Employee representatives will normally use established national employee representation bodies to report back to those they represent.
The EWC Directive is not very helpful in defining what information is confidential and how to deal with it. Its Article 8 leaves it to the Member States to deal with this issue. Dialogue within the EWC must be open and transparent. Confidentiality should only apply to information that has been explicitly and reasonably identified as confidential. It is not acceptable to treat all information as confidential, as this would prevent EWC members from fulfilling their duties, in particular in their communication with national employees or employee representative bodies. To avoid misuse of confidential information, central management must explain why such information must remain confidential and for how long. This obligation (also for external experts) must continue to apply after the term of office of the EWC members has expired, but only for as long as the information remains confidential.
Self assessment questions:
- How information and consultation is defined in the EWC Directive?
- How to ensure effective information and consultation process?
- How the EWC Directive deals with confidentiality matters?
