Workers in multinational companies are one step closer to the enforcement of their right to meaningful consultation over company decisions after a provisional trilogue agreement was found on the revision of the European Works Council (EWC) Directive. In line with the ETUC, UNI Europa welcomes the progress made on the revision.
EWCs are meant to ensure that workers’ rights to information and consultation about management decisions are upheld. However, the current directive lacks the teeth needed to uphold these rights. For example, the maximum fine in Germany is just 15,000 euros, and is no deterrent effect to a multinational company.
The deal reached between the Polish Council Presidency, the European Commission and the European Parliament on the revision of the directive is an encouraging sign, but a final assessment can only be made once the full text is available. The ETUC’s and UNI Europa’s support will depend on whether the agreed provisions meet the benchmarks set out in its resolution Ten Demands for a Modern European Works Council Directive in the Digital Era.
In particular, UNI Europa supports the ETUC’s call for significant improvements in long-standing weaknesses of the current directive:
- Effective and dissuasive sanctions, including financial sanctions linked to the turnover of the company, ensuring that penalties are proportionate;
- Injunctions that allow national courts or competent authorities to immediately halt actions by companies that violate EWC rights until proper consultation and information procedures have been followed;
- Access to justice for European Works Councils and their members, guaranteeing that EWCs have the necessary legal standing and resources to enforce their rights effectively before competent courts and authorities.
UNI Europa Regional Secretary Oliver Roethig said: “European Works Councils are an essential tool for building trade union power in multinational corporations in Europe. It is about giving workers and their trade unions a say in management decisions concerning their working conditions and future. UNI Europa, its affiliates and EWC members will push employers to engage with trade unions and champion collective bargaining, especially at sector level, in whatever country they operate. This is important in particular in Central and Eastern Europe.”
ETUC Deputy General Secretary Isabelle Schömann said: “In times of economic uncertainty caused by global trade tensions such as US tariffs and sweeping transformations driven by the green and digital transitions, workers need strong and enforceable rights. The fact that all three EU institutions have demonstrated their willingness to act on workers’ rights is a step in the right direction.”