Manufacturers urge government to resist changes to legislation on European Works Councils

Release date: 28/11/2003

Britain' s manufacturers have urged the UK government to reject attempts by the European Commission (EC) to amend the legislation on European Works Councils (EWCs) when it reviews the Directive later this year

Responding to the DTI discussion paper on "The UK Experience of European Works Councils", the EEF (Engineering Employers' Federation) argues that it is too early a stage to assess the benefits to multinational companies from their EWCs. In addition, not only is it clear that there is little enthusiasm for them amongst employers and employee representatives, but evidence suggests they are relatively expensive to operate and involve a considerable amount of time and effort.

Commenting on the Commission's\~forthcoming review, David Yeandle, EEF Deputy Director of Employment Policy,said:

"Creating the necessary level of trust and confidence for effective information and consultation to take place is a lengthy process, particularly when it involves\~people from Member States with very different employee relations systems, histories and cultures.

"Since this is about to be made more complex by the EU' s enlargement and, there is a clear lack of enthusiasm for EWCs amongst both employers and employee representatives, it is too early to consider changes to this Directive."

The reasons why the EEF believes the EWC Directive should not be changed are:

		The transnational nature of EWCs means that they involve management and employee representatives from a number of Member States which often have quite different employee relations systems, histories and cultures. Many EWCs have still only been operating for a few years and, since they are still evolving, it would be inappropriate for changes to be made at such an early stage. This evolution will inevitably be prolonged by the forthcoming enlargement of the EU and companies will need further time to extend their arrangements.
		The practical experience of EEF members with EWCs is that there is no underlying demand from either management or employee representatives for changes to be made to the EWC Directive. In addition, nearly two-thirds of the multinational companies that are within scope of the EWC Directive have still not received a formal request to establish an EWC from the required number of employees or their representatives. This demonstrates quite clearly that there is currently only limited employee support for the establishment of EWCs.

However, the EEF has argued that employers would value the publication of some examples of "good practice", illustrating the different ways in which companies have addressed issues concerning their EWCsThe DTI is currently reviewing the operation of this Directive in the UK. Following this, it is anticipated that the commission will launch a consultation document on reviewing the Directive later this year.