On 25-26th February, 2016 the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) is organising a academic/research workshop on the EWC Recast Directive.
In 2016, the Recast Directive on the European Works Councils will be evaluated and a preparatory study has already been going on since the beginning of 2015. From all sides of the debate (ETUC, Business Europe, European Commission) studies are being prepared to evaluate the impact of this EU regulation. What has been, however, missing from the debate are fact-based insights from the side of academic research. Over the years, abundant research has been done on EWCs that is directly relevant for and should inform the upcoming policy debate.
For this reason, the ETUI set out to get together researchers active in the field of EWC and discuss their insights on how the EWC Recast directive affected (or did not affect) the world of EWCs, what was the impact of the Directive, what does evidence tell us about the way the new Recast Directive functions and how was it implemented.
This workshop will equally feed into the possible preparation of a ETUI memorandum on the EWC recast, following the example of an ETUI Memorandum 2008 preceding the adoption of the Recast Directive in 2009.
The workshop will be held in Brussels, on February 25 (14:00 – 17:00 + dinner) and 26 (9:30-12:30), following the 2016 annual European Workers’ Participation Competence Centre (EWPCC) conference (24-25 February, 2016).
The format of the meeting will not be a traditional paper presentation. We would like to get a lively and focussed discussion structured around brief presentations (5-10 min) with about 4-5 slides mostly covering the following questions:
In what kind of research on EWCs were you involved?
What does your research tell us about the (non)impact of the EWC Recast directive or how is it relevant for the ongoing/prospective debate on implementation and/or further amendments to the Recast Directive in 2016?
(e.g. importance for training issues, trade union involvement, articulation between levels, definitions of information and consultation… for a broader list see here)
Why does this matter?
Any costs linked to your participation in the workshop (travel, accommodation) will be reimbursed by the ETUI.
If you are interested in joining this workshop, please send us an expression of interest via the contact us form mentioning specifically the 'EWC academic workshop 2016'. Please include a preliminary title for your short presentation and a short explanation. Please communicate your interest before January 13, 2016.Due to a limited number of places available the ETUI will consider the most relevant submissions.