Brussels, 17/02/2009 (Agence Europe) - Member states are expected to improve implementation of the directive on worker consultation and information, in particular in the current context of the financial crisis and given the consequences that the crisis will have in terms of company restructuring, mergers and relocation. Such is the message delivered in the own-initiative report by Jean-Louis Cottigny (PES, France) on application of Directive 2002/14/EC establishing a general framework on worker information and consultation in the European Community. Mr Cottigny is to present the content of the report on Wednesday 18 February during plenary session in Strasbourg.
Given that the European Union has 23 million businesses employing fewer than 250 people (SMEs represent 99% of companies and employ over 100 million) and that the European institutions have the duty of guaranteeing and improving workers' rights to information and consultation, Jean-Louis Cottigny concedes that transposition of the directive in question has been considerably delayed in a number of member states. He points out, however, that the impact of this directive is obvious in countries where no general worker information and consultation system existed hitherto.
The Cottigny report: - urges the Commission to take measures as soon as possible to ensure the directive is correctly transposed into member states' national law and to initiate infringement proceedings against those that have not transposed the directive or that have transposed it incorrectly; - underlines that a number of member states have not taken into account in their measures to transpose the directive some young workers, women working part-time and workers employed for short periods on fixed-term contracts; - calls on the member states to give a precise definition of the term “information” by allowing workers' representatives to examine data provided, and not to simply wait for the end of the information procedure if decisions taken by companies have direct consequences on workers. Member states that do not have “effective, proportional and dissuasive sanctions” are urged to introduce such sanctions; - invites the Commission to examine the requirements for coordination of the six directives and the regulation on worker information with a view to possibly making changes to eliminate overlapping and contradictions. (G.B./transl.jl)