ETUI-REHS Education & UNI-Europa Seminar:
European Works Councils in a
Globalised Economy
Vilnius 12-14 October
2007
|
ETUI-REHS Education & UNI-Europa Seminar:
|
|
|
This event had the support of the European Union |
|||
| The participants |
 |
 |
 |
Trade union representatives from 10 countries gathered in Vilnius debated the role of European Works Councils in a Globalised Economy and how those workers' representation bodies could promote trade union rights.
Mrs Bernadette Segol welcomed the participants and stated the objectives of the seminar:
 |
To analyse and improve the trade union coordination of EWC in UNI-Europa sectors |
|
To develop common trade union strategies for EWC to monitor CSR principles related to Global Framework Agreements, ILO & Global Compact principles and OECD guidelines for MNC |
|
To examine how existing trade union networks in EWCs can become the core of trade union network beyont Europe. |
Jean-Claude Le Douaron, Education Officer at the European Trade Union Institute for Research, Education, Health and Safety introduced the programme and the activities of his institute.
Ivonne Jackelen, UNI-Europa presented the new toolbox developed by UNI aiming at promoting Responsible Business. (Download her presentation from the Seminar document section of this Web Site).
How the OECD guidelines for MNCs can be used in the context of EWCs in order to improve the information and consultation procedure and in some cases to defend trade union rights was presented by Ian Methven, UNITE. (Download his presentation from the Document section of this Web Site).
 |
 |
 |
 |
After those introductions the participants compared company codes of conduct with the principles of the OECD guidelines and came to the conclusions that Codes of conducts from MNCs when unilaterally adopted by management:
|
tend to put lower requirements on company HR policies in regard to trade union rights |
|
there is often a lack of follow up mechanism to monitor their implementation |
|
the involvement of trade unions and workers' representative is not reflected. |
The participants also debated about the various ways to influence the contents of such Codes of conduct by making reference to the principles enounced in the OECD guidelines.
Neil Anderson, UNI Telecom explained why Global Framework Agreements are a way to improve trade union rights and terms and conditions for the workforce (download his presentation from the Documents section of this Web Site).
It is in deed not always easy to convince the management of a MNC to sign a Global Framework Agreement. Global Alliances have to be organised in order to pressure management, said Adriana Rosenzvaig, UNI Graphical. European Works Councils can be an important component of a network, sharing information and coordinating actions. (Download her presentation from the Documents section of this Web Site).
 |
 |
 |
 |
Taking action - Global Agreement and Global Alliance for EWCs and unions
On the basis of three case studies, the participants discussed how trade union representatives in European Works Councils could act to safeguard workers' right when companies are subcontracting, outsourcing, or not recognising trade unions in some of their activities.
The debate in the working groups resulted into the following recommandations:
National trade unions should:
|
promote and inform their members and representatives about Global Framework Agreements (GFA) |
|
disseminate information about UNI and UNI-Europa policies regarding MNCs |
|
organise training activities for their EWC reps, trade union officials and shop stewards in order to improve cross-border trade union cooperation |
|
appoint contact persons responsible for EWC and MNCs issues, preferably with foreign language skills |
UNI-Europa and UNI could
|
disseminate information to their affiliates about the state of play of EWCs in the various sector |
|
organise transnational training activities about EWC, Global Framework Agreements and existing or needed Global Alliances |
|
provide member organisations with model agreements for SNBs and GFA |
|
organise the exchange of good practices of trade union cooperation and coordination around EWCs, GFA and Global Alliances. |
|
Develop materials to be used in transnational as well national training activities |
It was also emphasised
|
that initiatives regarding GFA and Global Alliances should involve representatives at company level and shouldn't be taken over the head of the concerned workforce and their reps |
|
for the time being EWCs are the only transnational workers' representation bodies that can be enforced with help of legislation and as such they constitute an asset the trade unions should exploit. But this requires commitment of resources and manpower at national, European and International level. |
Some useful links:
Global Framework Agreements and MNCs on UNI Web Site
European Trade Union Confederation: documents on EWC issues