Workplace Representation

Employee representation varies across Europe, combining both representation through local union bodies and works councils – or similar structures elected by all employees. In the 27 EU states plus Norway, there are four states where the main representation is through works councils with no statutory provision for unions at the workplace; eight where representation is essentially through the unions; another 11 where it is a mixture of the two, although sometimes unions dominate; and a further five where unions have been the sole channel, but legislation now offers additional options. In many countries new national legislation implementing the EU’s information and consultation directive has complicated the picture. One common feature of most states is that unions play a central role.

The formal structures

There are important differences in the formal structures for employee representation at the workplace in the 27 EU member states and Norway.

In four states – Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands – the main workplace representation is through works councils, elected by all employees, and the law makes no provision for workplace structures for unions.

In 11 others – Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain – the law, or, in the case of Norway, the basic agreement, provides for both union and works council structures to exist at the workplace at the same time. However, there are major differences between the countries in this group. In some, like Greece and Portugal, works councils exist more in theory than in practice, and the situation seems similar in the Czech Republic, where, for a period, works councils could only be set up if there was no union. In Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia, the rights and duties of the works council and the local union body overlap to some degree. Spanish works councils undertake collective bargaining and are closely tied to the union, and in Belgium and France, the union is clearly the dominant partner. In Poland works councils – a relatively new structure in the country – were at the start in most cases chosen by the union. However, legislative changes mean that they are now being elected. In Norway, works councils exist alongside union representation in larger companies, but their role is essentially to improve competitiveness, rather than represent employees.

Five states – Bulgaria Estonia, Ireland, Latvia and the UK – could in some ways be seen as fitting into the same pattern. In all of them, unions in the past provided the only channel for representation, but now there is the legal possibility of elected employee representatives being in place alongside the union. One key difference between this group and countries like Belgium and France is that the legal rights of these elected representatives are very limited. The law defines degree how they should operate in Bulgaria, Estonia and Latvia, while in Ireland and the UK this is left to negotiated agreements.

In the remaining eight states – Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Romania and Sweden – workplace representation is essentially through the unions in the first instance, although the rights they enjoy vary considerably. There are exceptional arrangements for workers without union representation, but the union primacy remains. In Finland for example, employees can elect non-union representatives only if there are no union representatives for that group of workers, or where non-union employees are in the majority. In Malta, if a union is later recognised for a group of workers who were previously not covered by a recognised union, the term of office of any elected non-union representatives ends, and they are replaced by union representatives. In Lithuania too, an elected works council can only be set up if there is no union and it ceases to exist at the end of its term of office if a union is subsequently set up.

The introduction of these exceptional arrangements for employees not covered by unions is largely a consequence of the implementation of the EU directive on national level information and consultation (2002/14/EC). The directive has been the major factor in changing the rules for employee representation at the workplace and it has certainly added to the complexity of the structures. However, it has not been the only factor. A change of government resulted in a change in the relationship between works councils and unions in Slovakia in 2007, while in both Poland and the Czech Republic, decisions by the respective constitutional courts in 2008 reinforced the position of the works councils at the expense of the unions. In the Czech Republic, the court ruled against the provision that the works council had to be dissolved if a trade union was subsequently set up. In Poland, it was the arrangements under which the union could choose the works councils members which were held to be unconstitutional.

Over and above these variations in structure, there are further differences in the powers of workplace representatives, the thresholds from which they exist and the resources at their disposal. These are examined in the country sections.

The role of unions

One common thread that runs through most of the states is the important role that trade unions play in workplace representation. This is clear from the Nordic countries and Italy, where the union channel is the only channel; and it is clear from those countries with just works councils, where union candidates take a clear majority of seats, as in Germany or the Netherlands. In many of the countries where both structures exist at the same time, unions play a key role. This is the case in France and Belgium, where the individuals involved are often the same and the unions dominate, and in Greece and Portugal, where works councils are relatively rare and are most frequently found in strongly unionised workplaces. The position is less clear cut in Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia.

A union presence is also critical for effective representation at the workplace in those countries without strong legislative support for unions, such as the UK and many of the states in Central and Eastern Europe. In these states, the evidence suggests that without unions, there is little workplace representation – a situation which the recent legislation implementing the EU directive on information and consultation seems unlikely to change.

L. Fulton (2011) Worker representation in Europe. Labour Research Department and ETUI (online publication)