etui-industriall summer college

ETUI-industriAll Summer College

European Works Councils and Transnational Company Agreements

ETUI-industriAll Collective Bargaining & Company Policy Summer College

Sesimbra / Portugal, 11 September 2013

Dr. Torsten Müller

European Trade Union Institute - ETUI

Presentation based on...

...quantitative analysis of transnational company agreements in the metalworking industry;

● Objective: more comprehensive overview of developments in the metalworking sector going beyond qualitative analysis of well-known cases

● Method: telephone interviews with representatives of 82 EWCs (if possible with chair / deputy chair of EWC)

● German companies slightly overrepresented due to sampling method

ETUI-industriAll CB & CP Summer College, Sesimbra 10-12 September 2013

Key findings

Publically accessible documentation of existing agreements is incomplete, but the number of unreported agreements is insufficient to cast doubt on the validity of the available data.

Importance of informal arrangements involving EWCs which lack the status of formally negotiated agreements (oral agreement, minutes of EWC meeting)

Key conclusions: (1) In practice, EWCs go beyond their formal information and consultation role more frequently than is realised by academics and policymakers; (2) regulation of IR and working conditions at European company level is promoted by more companies than was hitherto believed to be the case.


Quantitative Development of TCAs

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Transnational Agreements in Metalworking Industries


15 IFAS only

Frequency of informal arrangements

1. Informal arrangements are an overlooked phenomenon: no empirical data so far.

1. In our sample of 82 EWCs we found 21 companies with informal arrangements: 26%

1. Overall spread of informal arrangements: 12-15% of all EWCs in the metalworking sector


Subjects of formal agreements and informal arrangements


Country of origin: formal agreements

Pronounced country-of-origin effect:

Formal agreements were predominantly concluded in companies whose global head office and European HQ is located in Germany and France.

Further countries: US, Netherlands and Switzerland


Location of head office: informal arrangements

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Size of companies

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(Co-)negotiators of formal agreements and informal arrangements

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Reason for formal agreements and informal arrangements

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Reasons for informal arrangements

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Why informal arrangements rather than formal agreements

1.) Refusal of management to formalise moreMost frequent obstacleOpposition from company‘s non-European HQFear of setting precedent for other companiesCultural reasons: FR or UK, WC negotiations not seen as appropriate 2.) Little interest w/in EWC to formalise more (only 20%)Subjects don‘t require further formalisationEWC lacks experience and capacity to negotiateFear of jeopardising trust relationship with managementOne country blocked formal negotiations 3.) Tradition of informal IR arrangements at company


Issues for discussion

What does this mean for relationship between EWCs and trade union?

What does this mean for application of industriAll’s procedure to deal with negotiations at European company level?

What does this mean with respect to the European Commission’s initiative to establish an optional framework for company-level negotiations


Thank you very much for your attention!!!

Dr. Torsten Müller

European Trade Union InstituteBld. du Roi Albert II, 5

1210 BrusselsEmail: [email protected]


European Works Councils and TCAs

etui-industriall summer college

Documents

transnational agreements

subjects of formal agreements

formal information

european company level

size of companies

metalworking industryobjective

country of origin

global head office