European and international framework agreements: new tools of transnational industrial relations

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 505-525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Volker Telljohann ◽  
Isabel Da Costa ◽  
Torsten Müller ◽  
Udo Rehfeldt ◽  
Reingard Zimmer
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Social Regulation ◽  
European Level ◽  
Works Councils ◽  
Transnational Companies

In recent years transnational framework agreements (TFAs) at global and European level have emerged as a new tool of regulation within transnational companies. Based on an outline of the origins of TFAs, a quantitative overview of TFAs and an analysis of the strategies pursued by global and European union federations in concluding TFAs, this article discusses whether and how these new tools advance the internationalisation of industrial relations. The article concludes that a whole range of sector- and company-specific conditions must exist for a TFA to be signed. Where they exist, TFAs give global and European union federations as well as European Works Councils a recognised place in the area of global social regulation, and there are cases in which they have successfully been used to solve local conflicts. Research carried out by the authors suggests that TFAs, if used strategically, have the potential to contribute to the development of international industrial relations at company level and even, in the long term, to facilitate the trade unions’ organising activities. However, because of the small number of TFAs, currently fewer than 150, their contribution to the internationalisation of industrial relations has so far remained limited.

scholarly journals International framework agreements: new paths to workers' participation in multinationals' governance?

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Schömann ◽  
André Sobzack ◽  
Eckhard Voss ◽  
Peter Wilke
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Negotiation Process ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Social Regulation ◽  
International Level ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
The Impact

This article describes the results of a major study on the impact of codes of conduct and international framework agreements (IFAs) on social regulation at company level. The limits of labour legislation at the national, as well as the international, level provide a strong motivation for both multinationals and trade unions to negotiate and sign IFAs. IFAs offer a way to regulate the social consequences of globalisation and to secure adherence to labour and social standards. They thus form part of the growing political debate on the international working and production standards of private actors. Examination of the negotiation process, the motivations of the parties, and the content of the agreements and implementation measures provides valuable insights into the impact of IFAs on multinationals' behaviour in respect of social dialogue and core labour standards. Finally, the article highlights the influence of such agreements on public policy-making and the limits of private self-regulation at European and international level, addressing the growing and controversial debate on the need for supranational structures to regulate labour standards and industrial relations.

scholarly journals From social regulation of competition to competition as social regulation: transformations in the socioeconomic governance of the European Union

2017 ◽  
pp. 53-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonios Roumpakis ◽  
Theo Papadopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Social Regulation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Wage Setting ◽  
Regulatory Changes ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Right ◽  
New Procedures ◽  
The Eu

This chapter studies the character of contemporary socioeconomic governance in the EU. It draws on empirical evidence capturing the type and extent of regulatory changes in the fields of industrial relations, corporate governance, and the coordination of macro-economic policy in the EU. The effects of these changes are long term, cumulative, and mutually reinforcing and should be seen as integral elements of a relatively coherent project to establish a form of transnational polity in Europe that privileges competition as its regulatory rationale. Indeed, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has been institutionally prioritising market freedoms and competition over labour rights, and especially the right to collective action in an emerging transnational regulatory field in the EU. Meanwhile, the new procedures of European macro-economic coordination construe national wage setting, collective bargaining institutions, and, more generally, social policy as adjustment variables serving primarily the purpose of promoting or restoring member states' economic competitiveness.

scholarly journals European Works Councils Experiences

2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 65-80
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Skorupińska
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Employee Participation ◽  
European Level ◽  
Works Councils ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
15Th Anniversary ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
The Right ◽  
Transnational Company

In September, 2011 there was 15th anniversary of the implementation of the first EU directive creating European Works Councils (EWCs). This is also the year when the new version of the directive was put in force, i.e. Directive 2009/38/EC. EWCs are a form of indirect employee participation on European level which guarantees workers the right to information and consultation. The employees’ representatives of all undertakings of transnational company were given the opportunity to voice their opinion about the decisions to be made by central management of the company. In this article three major topics are discussed: the role of European Works Councils in EU countries, the range of these institutions of employee participation on European level and changes in EWCs’ functioning introduced by the new EWC directive. The main aim of the paper is to present diverse patterns of these institutions as well as to attempt the evaluation of EWCs effectiveness and their influence on the system of industrial relations in Europe.

Last best: experiences of Dutch European works councils

1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 302-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulke Veersma
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Information Disclosure ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
National Level ◽  
European Level ◽  
Works Councils ◽  
High Standards ◽  
Enterprise Policy

Dutch works councils are bodies of workers' representation that are equipped to influence enterprise policy at the national level. Possibilities for information disclosure, training and for the resolution of disputes through the court are. in broad terms, well established. The introduction of European Works Councils (EWC)1, however, look more time than in other countries. Nevertheless, the Directive has had its effects in the Netherlands since the first EWC was installed at the ING bank in April 1996. EWCs now operate in many Multinational Corporations (MNCs). In this article the first experiences of European Works Councils (EWCs) are reported. EWCs were surveyed on, among other things, the main impediments to their effective functioning at the European level, Furthermore, the article addresses the question of what strategies are being developed. Dutch MNCs appear to be generally behind with the establishment of EWCs. Another general conclusion of the survey is that, with the establishment of the EWC, different elements of industrial relations from other countries are being introduced, which can be seen as a first step towards the europeanisation of the system of national works councils in the Netherlands. It has yet to be seen if Dutch works councils will be able to maintain their relatively high standards, and possibly raise them to match those of other European countries, or whether a downgrading harmonisation has been put into force. More comparative research, which has to cover a longer period of lime, is required to point out whether the last will be the best at the European level.

scholarly journals Besteuerung digitaler Unternehmen – die schwierige Suche nach einem europäischen Ansatz

IG ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-185
Author(s):  
Daniel Klein ◽  
Christopher Ludwig ◽  
Christoph Spengel
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Level ◽  
Tax Reforms ◽  
Member States ◽  
Digital Services ◽  
Permanent Establishment ◽  
Interim Measure

In March 2018, the European Commission introduced two Directive proposals to target tax challenges in the era of digitalization. The first Directive proposal suggests to introduce a digital services tax of 3 percent on gross revenues from digital services as an interim measure. The second one proposes as a long-term solution to extend the permanent establishment concept to create a virtual permanent establishment if a corporation has a “significant digital presence” in a country. So far, a lack of consensus among the member states of the European Union has made successful legislation on the European level unlikely. Despite the absence of an intra-community agreement, several member states have implemented the Directive proposal of a digital services tax with various adaptions unilaterally. These actions contradict the efforts to develop agreeable tax reforms on a multilateral level. The article at hand critically evaluates the current European reform proposals.

scholarly journals Profesinių sąjungų ir darbo tarybų veiklos santykis Lietuvoje ir Europos Sąjungoje

Teisė ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 51-64
Author(s):  
Nerijus Kasiliauskas
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Theoretical Level ◽  
Member States ◽  
Works Councils ◽  
New Member States

Straipsnyje1 nagrinėjamas papildomų darbuotojų atstovų institucionalizavimas Europos Sąjungos vals­tybėse ir Lietuvoje. Straipsnio tikslas – nustatyti profesinių sąjungų ir darbo tarybų veiklos santykį. Norint įdiegti realiai veikiančią papildomą darbuotojų atstovavimo sistemą, nepakanka priimti vien darbo ta­rybų įstatymą. Todėl daugelio naujųjų Europos Sąjungos valstybių, ir Lietuvos, teisėkūra yra tik teorinio, o ne praktinio lygmens, ir darbuotojai, be profesinės sąjungos atstovavimo, retai naudojasi papildoma atstovavimo galimybe. In the article author analyses the institution of workers’ subsidiary representatives in Lithuania and the European Union. The purpose is to describe relations between trade unions and works councils. To esta­blish an effective subsidiary system of workers’ representation an adoption of a Law on Works Councils is not enough. In many cases in new member states of European Union and Lithuania also an adoption of legal acts is of a theoretical level only, and not a practical one, as workers, beside a representation by a trade union, rarely use a subsidiary channel of representation.

scholarly journals Trade Union Channels for Influencing European Union Policies

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bengt Larsson
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Organizational Resources ◽  
Access Points ◽  
European Trade ◽  
Eu Policies

This paper analyzes what channels trade unions in Europe use when trying to influence European Union (EU) policies. It compares and contrasts trade unions in different industrial relations regimes with regard to the degree to which they cooperate with different actors to influence EU policies, while also touching on the importance of sector differences and organizational resources. The study is based on survey data collected in 2010–2011 from unions affiliated with the European Trade Union Confederation and from below peak unions in 14 European countries. Results of the survey show that the ‘national route’ is generally the most important for trade unions in influencing EU policies in the sense that this channel is, on average, used to the highest degree. In addition, the survey delineates some important differences between trade unions in different industrial relations regimes with regard to the balance between the national route and different access points in the ‘Brussels route’.

scholarly journals Still ‘Regime Competition’?

2007 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 615-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria Pulignano
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Multinational Corporation ◽  
European Level ◽  
Works Councils ◽  
Motor Industry ◽  
Research Outcomes ◽  
Plant Level ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Union Competition ◽  
Cross National

This article studies trade unions’ response to transnational change in a large multinational corporation within the motor industry in Europe. We show how the use of the European Works Councils (EWCs) as a forum for European negotiation did not counter the management’s effort to whipsaw trade unions, such as to play off workers against each other in local negotiations. This seems to suggest that the effort to network and coordinate between employee representatives, and to negotiate with management through ‘active’ EWCs is ineffective at controlling inter-union competition in cases of transnational restructuring. Hence, research outcomes illustrate that an analysis of the impact of European-level agreements on plant level is requested in order to assess the effectiveness of ‘active’ EWCs in forging cross-national links.

The failure of a new form of employee representation: Polish works councils in comparative perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Skorupińska
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Channel Model ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Consultation Process ◽  
Works Councils ◽  
Employee Representation ◽  
Dual Channel ◽  
New Form ◽  
The Relationship

Works councils were introduced in Poland in 2006, changing the system of employee representation from a single-channel model to a dual-channel model. However, they have not succeeded in promoting social dialogue and creating a strong institution for employee participation. I draw on a quantitative study to analyse why their role in Polish industrial relations is so marginal. I focus on the relationship between trade unions and the new ‘democratic’ councils and information and consultation process itself.

scholarly journals The European Social Dialogue in the Shadow of Hierarchy

2008 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
STIJN SMISMANS
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Principal Agent ◽  
European Level ◽  
Public Intervention ◽  
Social Dialogue ◽  
Legislative Action ◽  
Collective Agreements

ABSTRACTThe European social dialogue provides for the signing of collective agreements between employers’ associations and trade unions organised at the European level. Effectiveness to a great extent depends on the shadow of hierarchy, which is cast by the threat of legislative action and by ensuring implementation of collective agreements through public intervention. The need for the shadow is illustrated by the initial priority given to statutory agreements and the problems of implementation of more recent non-statutory agreements. While the shadow of hierarchy is important to ensure the effectiveness of social dialogue, social dialogue procedures are not characterised by strong principal-agent relationships. In particular, non-statutory agreements stem from a bottom-up private sector-inspired tradition of industrial relations. Even in the case of statutory agreements, the European Commission, as principal, does not appoint the agent and the delegation is implicit rather than explicit. Moreover, successful delegation entirely depends on whether the agents reach agreement between themselves. While the Commission could revoke delegation if Community objectives are not realised and by setting statutory criteria for implementing an agreement, its room for manoeuvre is limited for reasons of political pragmatism.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document