Multinational companies operating in Europe will be able to maintain the status of European Works Councils (EWCs) set up according to voluntary agreements (so called ‘pre-directive’ or article 13 agreements) following the adoption at first reading by the European Parliament and an agreement reached by the Council of Ministers on 17th December. Currently, nearly half (48,9%) of the total number of currently active EWCs within the European Union have been set up on this basis, that is, according to Article 13 of the original Directive (or art. 3 of directive 97/74/EC in case of the UK and IE companies) rather than article 6, which lays out more formal criteria.

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See also the European Works Council database

(December 2008)

In recent years, throughout Europe, increasing concerns have been raised about the relocation of production and jobs. What is the extent of relocation and what are its qualitative impacts? Away from the spotlight of individual cases and anecdotal evidence, `relocation`, proves to be a complex phenomenon. The aim of this book is to explore the complexity of the new forms of international division of labour within the enlarged EU. To understand how these complex processes work, regional considerations and sector-specific features are analysed along with the impact on employment. On the basis of the findings implications for trade union strategies are drawn out in the concluding chapter.

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(December 2008)

Globalization of business operations, changing working life and the role of an enabling welfare state: Comparative experiences from the Nordic countries and Slovenia.
The conference will sum up results from the Sixth Framework Programme Translearn-project on current socio-economic dynamics by placing welfare state policies at the core of innovation policies, thus suggesting a bridge between Social Europe and Competitive Europe.

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(December 2008)

The ETUI has published its latest update of data outlining the number of established European Companies (SEs) across the EU.

The data shows that over the last few months the total number of SEs has risen from 182 (June 2008) to 284 (October 2008). While the number of “normal SEs” i.e. SEs with a clear business purpose and containing employees has risen to 58 (+17), the number of “UFO SEs” i.e. SEs for which no clear business purpose is indicated and where the number of employees is unclear has more than doubled 118 (+67).

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(December 2008)

Yota Kravaritou passed away on 10 October 2008 at the age of 64. It is with the deepest sadness and true sorrow that the ‘transnational trade union rights’ experts group of the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) takes leave of her.

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(December 2008)

The latest edition of the Collective Bargaining Newsletter, the newsletter that presents short up-to-date information on collective bargaining developments across Europe with internet links to full information.

It is edited by Maarten van Klaveren from the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies – AIAS, in cooperation with the ETUI.

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(December 2008)

The liberalisation and privatisation of public sector activities have been the subject of heated debate since the 1970s. The chapters in this volume contribute to this debate by analysing the effects of liberalisation and privatisation on productivity and service provision, employment, wages and working conditions in a number of European countries. The focus is on the service sector, which has been the main source of employment growth in recent years.

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(November 2008)