Democracy at work

Belgium is one of the few EU-15 countries with no system of involving employee representatives in the strategic management of a company. The post-second World War social pact created extensive institutions for information, consultation and collective bargaining at the company, sector and country level but did not envisage, for example, employees on... Find out more

This paper presents the results of a mapping of social dialogue and collective bargaining experiences in the European platform economy. Building on a descriptive analysis of the initiatives, the report provides insights into collective bargaining strategies and factors that have led platforms to negotiate. It focuses on empirical and legal... Find out more

In France, the legal obligation for private-sector companies to have, under certain conditions, one or two employee representatives on their boards goes hand in hand with the possibility for the company to decide to have its European Works Council (EWC) or SE Works Council (SE-WC) appoint the second member. This has become the preferred option for... Find out more

Taking up a mandate in a multinational company can be a challenging experience for trade union and workers’ representatives in countries across Europe. And when it comes to board-level representation, the challenge becomes even greater. These difficulties have largely gone under the radar of policymakers at the EU level, but the case of France... Find out more

Policy implications European Works Councils (EWC) face many limitations in terms of timing and quality of information and consultation. One way of addressing this is through communication with board-level employee representatives. The mere presence of a board-level employee representative is not related to better EWC functioning, but EWC members... Find out more