Led by BusinessEurope, representatives of European employers from various sectors wrote to Member States on Friday, 31 May, about European Works Councils (EWCs), asking them to take greater account of the “concerns of the European employers community”.
In fact, Member States are expected to examine the issue on 5 June; the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU was expected to submit new proposals on 31 May, but these had not yet arrived at the time of going to press.
The authors of the letter write, “We are calling on the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council and on the Member States to work further towards a general approach that adequately responds to the [...] employers key concerns”. They identify six problems.
With regard to transnational matters, they consider the wording to be too “vague”. They also believe, “[At] the very least, the Council must reinsert the word ‘substantially’ in article 1.4 of the directive to ensure adequate legal certainty.”
Concerning legal costs, the proposal that the costs related to legal disputes in civil cases should solely be borne by the employer, regardless of the outcome of the case, in itself introduces a new legal order in many Member States.
Employers also fear that the change in consultation requirements – which would allow the EWC to express an opinion before the company adopts its decision and would involve management producing a reasoned written response on this opinion before the decision is taken – will weigh down companies’ dynamism.
Link to the letter: https://aeur.eu/f/chf (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)