European Works Councils after two decades

Abstract

The European Works Council Directive was adopted over twenty years ago, and a voluminous body of research has developed on this relatively new institution. This article reviews the most cited literature in order to consider our state of understanding of this research field and to identify gaps in our knowledge. Most research has focused on a limited number of European Works Councils, mainly in manufacturing, and on labour actors. We still know little about the interplay between European Works Councils and other levels of employment relations, the role of management in their working and their effects on substantive employment relations outcomes. By taking stock of current knowledge, we aim to advance future directions and possibilities for research on this theme.

Cultural Obstacles in Transnational Trade Union Cooperation in Europe

“…If this is the general contribution of this study, the specific contribution is providing a more detailed analysis of how cultural differences can make cooperation difficult. In this, these results confirm that some of the obstacles that exist on the company level in the work of EWCs also exist in trade union cooperation in the ETUC and ETUFs, and in direct organizational networking between high-level officials (e.g., Hann et al 2017;Klemm & Weyand 2009;Klemm et al 2011;Stirling & Tully 2004;Whittall et al 2007).…”

“…This article studies cultural difficulties in trade union cooperation and transnationalization in Europe. This is a problem quite well researched on the company level in EWCs (e.g., Hann et al 2017;Klemm & Weyand 2009;Klemm et al 2011;Stirling & Tully 2004;Whittall et al 2007). However, there seems to be less research focusing explicitly on cultural differences in sector-level cooperation between trade unions, in their organizational networking and in connection to the work in European trade union federations (ETUFs) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).…”

“…;Larsson 2012;Pernicka & Glassner 2014). In addition, research on European Works Councils (EWCs) has found that linguistic skills, identity, and national and organizational rootedness and expectations may create problems for cooperation (Hann et al 2017;Stirling & Tully 2004;Whittall et al 2007).…”

The European Works Council as a management tool to divide and conquer: Corporate whipsawing in the steel sector

“…We take the scale of EWC activity as a means to assess employee involvement. EWCs are widely considered the principal arena for transnational worker participation, with substantial information and consultation rights for employees (Hann, Hauptmeier and Waddington, 2017).…”

“…European Works Councils (EWCs) constitute the most developed arena for transnational employee involvement but rarely succeed in bridging the divide between workers and corporate decision-making (Hann, Hauptmeier and Waddington, 2017;Köhler, González Begega and Aranea, 2015). Many studies have examined the divergent strategies trade unions adopt towards EWCs (Timming, 2010;Waddington, 2011).…”