EWC

1. EWC A body for workers’ and employer’s co-operation in transnational companies in European Union

2. What does EWC stand for? • EWC stands for: European Works Council.

3. What is EWC? • EWC is an official platform where the employer of a transnational European company and it’s workers’ representatives can sit down to work together and discuss important issues about their work and the company. • Companies may choose to name this platform other than EWC.

4. Is EWC mandatory? • According to the 2009/38/EC directives, EWC’s formation is mandatory when a company has at least 100 workers in an EU/ETA-country and 150 workers in at least two EU/ETA-countries. • Corresponding law in Finland is the Act on Co-operation within Undertakings (334/2007). The law is based on the older directive from the year 1994. The new directive will be implemented into the Finnish Law by early June 2011.

5. Why EWC? • EWC is a possibility for the staff representatives to learn about their company and discuss its future. • In EWCs representatives are able to compare how the laws and agreements solve work related issues in other countries.

6. How does EWC work? • Some EWC’s exists only on paper. In other words, the company has not understood how to benefit from the EWC. • Some EWC’s work very well. In these EWC’s, workers are able to influence and participate in their company’s decision making and everyone benefits from the dialogue.

7. Here’s how it works: Imagine there is a Company Ltd

8. Company Ltd has manufacturing plants in three different countries and marketing organizations in yet another three. 2 000 employees 100 employees 800 employees 50 employees 1 000 employees 150 employees

9. The company has signed an EWC agreement. That is to say the agreement on ”Group Company Co-operation”. In this agreement the total number of EWC representatives the workers have and the number of representatives allocated to each country is stated . 2 000 employees 100 employees EWC 800 employees 50 employees 1 000 employees 150 employees

10. EWC agreement • Each company has its own individual EWC agreement. • The agreement stipulates how to participate in the council, who represents whom, how the communication is to be carried out and many other details. • The terms of the agreement vary according to the laws of the nationality of the corporation. Nationality is determined by the location of the headquarter.

11. The company is usually represented by either the managing director or the personnel director or both. Managing Director knows what business plans there are. Personnel Director knows what the policy in the company’s work agreements is. Company Employees EWC Managing Director Personnel Director

12. In Finland employees are represented by an elected employees’ representative. In some countries a union officer may represent the employees. In countries where organization rates are low workers must learn how to elect a representative. The first election is always the most difficult one. It helps if good practices are shared among representatives form different countries. Company Employees EWC Managing Director Personnel Director

13. In EWC meetings, representatives can discuss for e.g. what business plans the company has. Company Employees EWC Managing Director Personnel Director

14. Our production line B is no longer profitable. We intend to sell it away. Instead we want to buy company N which will give us a new production line H. EWC Managing Director Personnel Director Company Employees

15. This would mean a personnel reduction of 600 employees in our Finnish plant and closing down our Estonian sales organization. The new company which we intend to buy, will probably be situated in Belgium and add 400 new employees. EWC Managing Director Personnel Director Company Employees

16. Our most profitable products are customized products manufactured in Production lines A and C. The tools and know-how needed for these commissions are provided by the employees from Production line B. If we were to sell off Production line B, we would also lose our strategic know-how. EWC Managing Director Personnel Director Company Employees

17. Now, this is something to think about. According to our customer survey, quality is the key to our success. Fortunately we presented this plan first to you and not the Board. We need to think about this more. EWC Managing Director Personnel Director Company Employees

18. How does EWC benefit the company? Company Employees Employees have intimate knowledge on what actually happens at work. By listening to them, management gets information it wouldn’t get from anywhere else. EWC Experience has proven, that when employees can influence their work, they will be more motivated and committed. Through the EWC, the employer can also benefit from the representatives’ knowledge of the laws, agreements and customs in different countries. Managing Director Personnel Director

19. How does EWC benefit the workers? • Employees get to be heard and get an opportunity for equal treatment even when decisions concerning their work are made in an other country. • Dialogue between representatives from different countries help employees understand their company and communication cultures in different countries. Company Employees EWC Managing Director Personnel Director

20. How does EWC benefit the employees’ representative? Company Employees • Representatives get information and an opportunity to influence the decision-making • Representatives learn to understand how employers think. • They learn languages and gain presentation skills. • Experience from working with representatives of different countries broadens one’s mind. It is a good way to learn more about union practices and collective bargaining. EWC Managing Director Personnel Director

21. How does EWC benefit a union? Trade Union Association Workers Company • In transnational companies employees are hired and fired and collective bargaining tried out. Best practices tend to set a model. This model may in time become basis of an EU directive and after that get to be implemented in work laws of all member states. EWC representatives are the forerunners, who have the opportunity to influence these practices when they are just beginning to form. EWC Managing Director Personnel Director

22. How does EWC work in practice?

23. Company agrees on an ”international co-operation within Group companies” –agreement, which stipulates for e.g. how often the EWC-representatives meet. The agreement stipulates also other important meeting practices, such as who can propose items on the agenda, time schedule of such proposals, whether it is mandatory for each country to have a representative, is there a deputy system… The 2009/38/EC Directives provides guidance on the minimum number of delegates in a meeting and directs that the EWC should meet at least once a year. There are few limitations on the quantity of delegates and the number of meetings as long as the minimum requirements are met. Company Employees EWC- meeting Managing Director Personnel Director

24. The employee representatives must always be given the opportunity to have their own meeting before and after EWC-meetings. Company Employees EWC- meeting Managing Director Personnel Director

25. For effective interaction, one or two meetings a year are not enough. In business life, plans and decisions are being made all the time. What the EU directive aims at, is that employees should have an opportunity to influence. This aim will not be fulfilled if corporate decisions are only made known to employees afterwards. Therefore annual EWC-meetings are supplemented by working committees. They consist of fewer people and can be summoned easily. It is also possible to form other work groups to take a stand on upcoming matters. Company Employees Personneltrainingworkgroup Workcommittee Annual EWC- meeting Managing Director Strategyworkgroup Personnel Director R&D workgroup

26. Employees receive information about decisions and their rationales through their own representatives. Through representatives a genuine dialogue and possibility to influence is made available to all employees. € m o a € m s k o a § l s k § l Personneltrainingworkgroup WorkCommittee m € o a s k § l l s € m o a Strategyworkgroup k § R&D workgroup

27. Employees receive information about decisions and their rationales through their own representatives. Through representatives a genuine dialogue and possibility to influence is made available to all employees. a § m t y € h Personneltrainingworkgroup Workcommittee t § m y € a h a § m h y € t Strategyworkgroup t h § m § m y € y € R&D workgroup a h a t

28. How to start EWC in a company?

29. When a company becomes a multinational company e.g. , through acquisition, either management or the employee representatives of at least two countries will propose to call a meeting of a Special Negotiation Body (SNB). The body will make the preparations for the starting of the EWC. It is not wise to wait too long for the employer to take initiative. In Europe there are about 2000 companies, where there should, according to the law, be an EWC but only about 850 where one has been established. I propose to call for an SNB meeting. Employee representative SpecialNegotiationBoard SNB Managing Director Personnel Director Employee representative I support the proposal.

30. The SNB shall be represented by at least one representative from each EU member state, where the company operates. The employees get one additional representative for each 25% of employees of the total number of employees in Europe. (This may change with the new law.) An SNB-representative represents all groups of employees in his or her country. Management Production Production workers Production workers SpecialNegotiationBoard SNB Administration Production Managing Director Workers Sales Administration Sales Personnel Director Management Sales

31. SNB negotiates the international co-operation of the Group companies. The agreement will form a base for the future co-operation function. When an agreement is achieved, the SNB will be dissolved and its work will be continued by the EWC. The same persons, however, may continue to work in the EWC. Trade unions provide support and expertise in the negotiations. Employee representative Management Production Employee representative Workers Production Employee representative Workers Production SpecialNegotiationBoard SNB Employee representative Administration Production Agreement Managing Director Employee representative Workers Sales Employee representative Administration Sales Personnel Director Employee representative Management Sales

32. What does EWC-agreement cover?

33. Total number of EWC- representatives, manner of election, duration of theirterm Number of meetings per year, wheremeetingstakeplace How long is the agreementvalid and whenmustitberenewed Agreement on Group Company co-operation Scope of financial resources, howmanydays, etc. Methods of information and communication Agenda of meetings Language, use of interpreters Group companies’ structure, financial sitution, business and employment Prospects, transfer of production, fusions…….

34. Always consult your national union when negotiating the terms of the agreement. You will benefit from their experience.