Worker participation online: Website and EWC data services

Description

The ETUI-REHS offers two topical high-quality internet services in the field of worker participation to its public: the worker-participation. EU website (1) and the EWC Data service (2). The website is designed as an umbrella project of the ETUI-REHS to present its activities in the field of worker participation and to reprocess and make its research outcomes available to a broader public. Contents will be delivered by members of all three departments. Moreover, a non-public section of the website will serve as platform for the internal dialogue of the SEEurope network and the newly created EWC NETwork in collaboration with the European Industry Federations (EIF). In spring 2006 the new ETUI-REHS website www.worker-participation.eu will be online. The website answers to the growing demand for information on transnational aspects of worker participation on the one side and the increasing relevance of internet resources on the other.

The website picks up the main issues on workers’ participation from the European agenda. For this reason also newsletters on various topics (e.g. SE, Company law, EWC) are provided on an irregular basis (every 1-2 months). Some important (and rather “stable”) contents will be translated into other languages (French, German) to facilitate the use of the website for non-English speakers.
The EWC data service consists of two parts: the database of EWCs and the database of multinational companies (MNC) falling within the scope of the Directive 94/45. Moreover the database includes numerous contacts to EWC members, national coordinators and trade union officers. The two databases are thus an important tool for analyses in the field of EWC. In 2006/2007 the database has been converted into a MySQL database. Whereas the main publication was so far a CD-ROM, from now on the contents of the databases will be available online and queries can be made online.

The updating of the database will thus be done continuously and the new data is available immediately. In order to deliver a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of developments and tendencies in the field of EWC, a cooperation with an external assistant throughout the whole year will be necessary in order to check and update the existing records of the MNC Database. For the purpose of updating the records in the MNC database, a cross-check of the data will be made with external company databases. With the SE Works Councils and the board-representation systems established in SEs it becomes necessary to integrate European Companies into the database service. Currently, the ETUI-REHS is the institution that has probably the best overview of SEs having been established in Europe and the agreements on worker involvement in SEs. The SE company fact sheets produced within the SEEurope project provide an excellent overview on the dynamics in this field. In order to benefit from the new technological possibilities the SE data service will be integrated into the EWC/MNC Database.

Researchers

Irmgard  Pas

Data processing manager
phone: +32 (0) 2 224 0511

Dr. Norbert  Kluge

Senior researcher. Head of the ETUI-REHS SEEurope project
phone: +32 (0) 2 224 05 08

Romuald  Jagodzinski

Researcher
phone: +32 (2) 224 04 73

Stefan  Clauwaert

Senior researcher, ETUI-REHS
phone: +32 (0) 2 224 05 04

Isabelle  Schömann

Senior Researcher, ETUI-REHS - NETLEX Coordinator
phone: +32 (0) 2 224 07 24 and + 49 421 200 5020

Michael  Stollt

Researcher
phone: +32 (2) 224 07 61

Jeremy  Waddington

Project Co-ordinator of the ETUI-REHS, Research
phone: + 44 161 306 8797
Last modified: 11 May 2007
EN