Information and Consultation
The rights pertaining to information and consultation of the workforce under Community law are currently some of the most fragmented in the EU legislative body. In total, more than 15 directives deal with information and consultation in some kind of a general or specific sense. Currently four major European directives form part of the social acquis in this regard: the directive on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work (89/391/EC), the directive on European works councils (94/45/EC); the directive on employee involvement in the European Company (2001/86/EC), and the European framework directive on information and consultation (2002/14/EC). Besides this general frame, a range of directives secure the right of information and consultation of workers in specific situations, such as in case of collective redundancies (98/59/EC), transfer of undertaking (2001/23/EC).
ETUI project: Fitness Checking the Information and Consultation of Workers (ICW) Directives
The most recent development in the European Commission’s better regulation agenda is a so-called ‘fitness check’ of EU legislation in selected policy fields. As a pilot exercise, three information and consultation Directives are under scrutiny: Directive 98/59/EC on collective redundancies, Directive 2001/23/EC on transfers of undertakings (focusing on Article 7 - information and consultation of workers), and Directive 2002/14/EC on information and consultation.
more ...Overview
The European directives are a clear expression of the willingness to make employees citizens in their places of work. The same intention is reflected in the EU Charter of fundamental rights (referred to in the Lisbon Treaty) which gives information and consultation rights the status of a basic right of European citizens. However, such fragmentation creates confusion and legal insecurity for both workers and their representatives as well as for management, compounded by the fact that most directives are poorly implemented.
more ...Contact
Isabelle Schoemann
Senior Research officer, ETUI
tel + 32 2 224 07 24 and
+ 49 421 200 5020
