The EFBWW is strong contributor to the ETUC´s More Democracy at Work campaign. The goal is to push the European Commission, Parliament and Council to revise the EU´s framework for information, consultation and participation in favour of workers. Particularly, the EFBWW demands a revision of the EWC directive 2009/38/EC. Together with the other European sectoral trade union federations and the ETUC we have formulated 10 demands to change the directive.
The EFBWW calls for:
- effective and dissuasive sanctions WHEN COMPANIES DISREGARD EWC RIGHTS, including a right to a temporary suspension of company decisions.
- Ensuring access to justice AND LITIGATION FOR EWCs and Special Negotiating Bodies (SNBs).
- The role of “representatives of competent recognised Community-level trade union organisations” TO be reflected in the subsidiary requirements.
- Efficient coordination between local, national and European levels. AN EWC must deliver its opinion before consultation is finished, be able to communicate with the national level AND HAVE THE necessary resources and rights, such as access to sites.
- A comprehensive definition of “controlling undertaking” to include contract management, franchise systems and joint ventures. Objective criteria to determine the location of the “representative agent” and “central management” to avoid regime shopping and use of letterbox companies.
- STOPP exempting old, so-called voluntary (Pre-Directive, “Article 13”) agreements. END Double standards AND BRING them into the scope of the Directive.
- Improve and clarify the rules for negotiations with SNB (clear timeframe for the first SNB meeting, pace of SNB meetings, clear obligation of central management to establish an EWC if subsidiary requirements are to apply.
- The concept of “transnational character of a matter” (recitals 12 and 16) should be consolidated and incorporated in the main body of the Directive.
- Prevent the abuse of confidentiality clauses by clarifying more precisely on what grounds, under what circumstances and how long a company may withhold information.
- Strengthen the subsidiary requirements to improve thepractical functioning of the EWC (e.g. rights and means of Select Committee, enlarged list of topics).