European works councils will have to be established in companies and groups of companies of a significant overall size and with a significant presence in at least two different Member States. It is clear that the number of affected companies, undertakings or establishments and certainly the overall number of affected workers is very high. European works councils are therefore an important phenomenon in European industrial relations. Practitioners and academics the world over need a handy instrument providing easy access to information regarding the European Directive and its significance and implementation in Member States of both the EC and the EEA. This book provides such a tool with regards to Belgium. The national legislation of Member States remains of the utmost importance, even though the establishment of a European works council within a given Community-scale undertaking or group as such is not governed by national, in this case Belgian, law. The involvement of Belgian employees in the transnational information and consultation process will, to a large extent, be subject to Belgian law in those European works councils that are established in companies or groups with subsidiary establishments in Belgium. In those cases, for example, Belgian law determines who will represent the Belgian employees in the negotiations of the Special Negotiating Body, and Belgian law determines the protection of the employee representatives in terms of wages and dismissal, etc.In light of all this, a combined study of both the European Directive and the Belgian implementing legislative measures is warranted.

This policy brief considers the lack of European Works Councils through a Belgian perspective. It discusses Belgian companies who are currently engaged in establishing one or have developed 'functionally equivalent' structures. The remaining companies are confronted with serious obstacles to establishing a European Works Council, principally: (i) a lack of knowledge about them, (ii) weak and time-consuming national-level information and consultation processes, and (iii) a low perceived added value of transnational information and consultation. It evaluates what needs to be done in order to increase the number of EWCs and what trade unions need to do in order to raise awareness on the importance of EWCs at European level.

This title was first published in 2001. The emergence of the European Works Councils (EWCs) is one of the most important developments in international industrial relations and the most significant intervention by the European Union in the industrial relations field. This volume is the second of three studies into the establishment and operation of EWCs conducted by the authors. It examines the development of a typology of EWCs and explores the prospects for establishing networks of EWCs, using case studies drawn from the food, banking and insurance sectors. The book is an informative text for researchers, academics and practitioners who wish to locate empirical material and practical experience in a developmental and theoretical framework.

This book covers the key themes related to the introduction, growth development and future of European Works Councils: the European Works Council Directive itself, European Works Council Agreements, Employers' strategies for managing European Works Councils in practice and trade union strategies for the development of European Works Councils. The book features contributions from key writers in the field and covers both theoretical models and questions of practice.

This book gives an overall picture of the industrial relations in Belgium.

This book examines the integration of major trade unions from the six biggest countries of EU's Eastern enlargement into EU governance structures. Based on extensive empirical research, including more than 150 in-depth interviews, statistical data collection, document research, and eight detailed case studies, the contributions describe the activities and perceptions of the trade unions under investigation and the different levels of engagement, including European umbrella organizations, interregional cooperation, and European Works Councils. The book thus contributes to political science research on interest representation and Europeanization as well as sociological research on labor relations.