European Works Councils are vital, but most multinational companies do not support it

By UGT Internacional

 The European Works Councils (EWCs), their difficulties in accessing information and acting accordingly, and the perception that only a minority of companies treat the members of these committees with respect and seriousness are some of the issues raised. analyzed at the international conference that closed the project entitled: “CEE: the proper management of economic information as a key to productive communication and negotiation.” A project in which UGT has participated, together with union experts from Poland, Italy, Spain and Bulgaria, which was published in June and whose main objective is to provide support to the European Works Councils in order to make better interlocutors of the governing bodies of the companies.

UGT underlines, among the conclusions of this report, that in Europe, there are still different realities in terms of labour relations, but that, in any case, EWCs everywhere face common problems largely rooted in the legal environment.

In addition, there are serious problems in the processing of information. Thus the vast majority of companies see the European Works Councils as a necessary evil, but few treat their members with respect and seriousness and hinder the information and consultation of these Committees. All this implies a structural asymmetry of power between the management of the companies and the representatives of the workers..

Source: https://www.ugt.es/los-comites-de-empresa-europeos-son-vitales-pero-la-mayoria-de-las-multinacionales-no-lo-admiten