EWC agreements under review: arrangements in companies based in four countries compared

The provisions of the agreements establishing European Works Councils may facilitate or constrain their subsequent development as effective mechanisms of employee interest representation at a transnational level. Using information on 386 voluntary, Article 13 EWC agreements, the article investigates three issues: the extent to which there is provision for a trade union role; how far there are formal provisions equipping employee representatives to exercise their functions; and whether agreements put in place practices which will enable the employee side to sustain independent activity, and liaison with management, on a continuing basis. Although a trade union role has been secured in the operation of perhaps a majority of EWCs, there is considerable variation in the formal capacity of employee representatives to exercise their role and develop an active European-level structure. For each of the issues considered, the article compares the provisions of agreements concluded in multinational companies based in France, Germany, the UK and the USA. It is concluded that some differences in provision probably result in equivalent practice, but that others are likely to underpin differences in actual practice.