EWC Academy - Academy for European Works Councils and SE Works Councils

Seminar for European Works Councils and SE Works Councils

(Level 1 and level 2)

2 - 5 April 2024, Montabaur Castle

Since 2009, we have held our basic seminar once a year: the EWC introductory days for beginners and the consultation seminar for advanced learners. Some of the participants still have the idea of ​​setting up a European Works Council, others want to know about the design of transnational consultation procedures. One seminar module deals with workplace representation and collective bargaining in the most important EU countries.

Report from the last seminar in Montabaur

 

Programme:

 

The practical work of an EWC

European works councils have existed for many years. However, unlike the legislation on national works councils, the EWC Directive does not contain many mandatory requirements on the com-position and functioning of the body. The company´s social part-ners enjoy a considerable amount of freedom in regulating all the details, which must be defined and documented in a pan-European company agreement (EWC agreement).

  • Introduction: the current EWC landscape
  • The legal basis (EU Directive and national transposition laws)
  • How do European Works Councils organise their work?
  • How can local works councils in individual countries be involved?
  • Opportunities for EWC action during restructuring
  • To whom do the legal minimum standards apply and to whom do they not?
  • What can be expected from judicial proceedings?
 
Industrial Relations in EU countries

Should a works council in an international company wish to work together with employee representatives in other countries, alongside the language barriers there will also be intercultural communication problems lying in wait. A basic knowledge of the respective labour law and participation cultures is therefore important. This seminar module deals with the different systems of workplace representation (focused on France and Great Britain).

  • What are the tasks of workplace representatives in other countries?
  • What models of workplace representation exist?
  • How do works councils operate when they have no co-determination rights?
  • How do employers relate to their works councils?

 

The core activity of the EWC: Information and Consultation

The blueprint for the EWC Directive is not based on German co-determination but on the French philosophy of information and consultation. French-style European Works Councils are consequently on familiar ground and make the most of their rights. They analyse all the company business figures with the support of consultants before rendering their opinion. What are non-French works councils able to learn from this?

  • Definition and practicalities of information and consultation under the EU Directive
  • The characteristics of an extensive consultation procedure "à la française"
  • Working groups: Procedure for a restructuring based on a practical case study
  • How can alternative scenarios be elaborated during consultation?
  • Developing a reporting and warning system

 

  Basics of German co-determination for non-German participants

   (only on request)

  • Tasks of the German works council
  • Participation rights at the workplace
  • Co-determination in the supervisory board

 

Our speakers:

Dr Werner Altmeyer
Managing Director of the EWC Academy

 

 

 

 

Udo Verzagt
Former Chair of Hewlett-Packard's European Works Council

 

 

 

Rainer Appel
Consultant of the EWC Academy in reorganisation and restructuring issues

 

 

 

 

Organisational matters

Programme with registration form

Venue:
Montabaur Castle

Montabaur is situated on the high-speed rail-link half-way between Frankfurt and Cologne and can easily be reached from Frankfurt International Airport in 30 minutes by high speed train (from Brussels in 2.5 hours / from Amsterdam or Basel in 3.5 hours). The town is known throughout the country for its strikingly yellow castle, where our seminar takes place. Montabaur Castle, a 4-star conference hotel and training centre, is located just 1 000 meters away from the train station.

Seminar fee:
€ 1,745.-
plus VAT
The price includes seminar participation and the entire catering during the seminar. German VAT will be added.
No VAT will be charged, if the invoice address is outside of Germany and you provide us with an European Union VAT Registration Number.

Accommodation at Montabaur Castle:
€ 126.-
per night incl. breakfast and VAT

Some opinions of our seminar participants:

    • "Our agreement is not that bad, we have to live it."
    • "I'll have an idea on what's going to happen in the next six months."
    • "I now feel more confident when it comes to my EWC work."
    • "The workshop was a good preparation for our negotiations."
    • "All Euro Works Councils are struggling with the same problems."
    • "Have gained much clarity. Is our agreement really a reflection of the practice?"

(Click to enlarge the picture)

 

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