Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the 'Proposal for a Council Directive establishing a general framework for informing and consulting employees in the European Community'
Date: 1999-07-07
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: EU employment policy, worker consultation, worker information, worker participation

C 258/24

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

10.9.1999

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Council Directive
establishing a general framework for informing and consulting employees in the European
Community’

(1999/C 258/07)

On 18 December 1998 the Council, acting in according with Article 2(2) of the Protocol on Social Policy,
asked the Economic and Social Committee for an Opinion on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was instructed to draw up the
Committee’s opinion on the matter, adopted its opinion on 15 June 1999. The rapporteur was
Mrs Engelen Kefer.

The Committee adopted the opinion set out below at its 365th Plenary Session held on 7 and 8 July
1999 (meeting of 7 July) by 99 votes to one, with 10 abstentions.

1. General comments

Opinions vary among Committee members as to the appropri-
ateness of the European Commission’s Proposal for a Council
Directive establishing a general framework for informing and
consulting employees in the European Community:

the proposal

is
Some ESC members take the view that
incompatible with the subsidiarity principle and that it also
infringes the principle of proportionality by interfering excess-
ively with national provisions. Other members take the view
that — though improvements are needed, particularly a
reduction in the minimum number of employees and the
inclusion of the public sector — the proposal would rectify
shortcomings in the laws of the individual Member States by
establishing a coherent legal framework at EU level, thereby
counteracting the problem of incomplete EU legislation on
informing and consulting employees and meeting one of the
prerequisites for successfully implementing the processes of
change.

Notwithstanding these differences of opinion,

1.1.
Committee wishes to make the observations set out below:

the

1.2.
Under the European Social Charter and the 1989
Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights of Workers,
employees and their representatives have a basic social right
to be informed and consulted on decisions which might have
important consequences for them, as a fundamental provision
of the European social model; account must, however, be
taken of the various practices prevailing in the EU Member
States (1). This basic right derives from an appreciation of the
fact that employees and their representatives have an active
role to play in the operation of enterprises. In this context the
special role played by SMEs must be taken into account.

1.3.
The act of recognizing and promoting the social rights
of employees and their representatives makes a decisive
contribution towards strengthening the social dimension and
also helps to prevent excessive distortion of competition as a
result of differences in the practices adopted by the individual
Member States. This social dimension serves to ensure a more
effective operation of the internal market.

(1) See ESC opinion on basic Community social rights (OJ C 126,

23.5.1989, p. 4).

The Davignon Report (2), the Green Paper on a new
1.4.
work organization in a spirit of partnership (3) and the
Gyllenhammar Report (4) have all stated that the processes of
informing and consulting may have a beneficial effect on the
readiness of employees and their representatives to accept
industrial restructuring. The Committee expressly endorses
this view. We must have qualified, motivated employees if
we are to safeguard future economic competitiveness. The
employment strategy hammered out at the European Council
in Luxembourg rightly underscored the important role played
by the social partners in modernizing work organization and
their important role in ensuring the adaptability of enterprises.

It is vital for enterprises to pursue a real, effective and
1.5.
far-sighted employment policy if
the issue of economic
restructuring is to be tackled with a view to ensuring competi-
tiveness. Far-sighted employment policy can however only
be developed in collaboration with employees and their
representatives — it cannot be achieved in the absence of
this collaboration. The process of informing and consulting
employees is making a key contribution towards securing a
readiness by employees and their representatives to success-
fully implement the process of change; this process is already
provided for in the following Community instruments: Council
Directive 92/56/EEC of 24 June 1992 amending Council
Directive 75/129/EEC of 17 February 1995 on the approxi-
mation of the laws of the Member States relating to collective
redundancies; Council Directive 98/50/EC of 29 June 1998
amending Council Directive 77/187/EEC relating to the safe-
guarding of employees’ rights in the event of transfers of
undertakings, businesses or parts of businesses; and Council
Directive 94/45/EC of 22 September 1994 on the establish-
ment of a European Works Council. This process is the way to
unlock the innovative capacity of employees and strengthen
the competitiveness of enterprises.

1.6.
The process of informing and consulting employees
can help to achieve the objectives of the EU and the Member

(2) Final report of the Expert Group on European Systems of Worker

Involvement, p. 5 et seq.

(3) COM(97) 128 final, p. 3 et seq.
(4) Final report of the High Level Expert Group on the Economic and
Social Impact of Industrial change, p. 9 et seq., page 23 et seq.

10.9.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 258/25

States as set out in Article 136 of the EC Treaty. These
objectives are as follows:

— promotion of employment;

— improving living and working conditions with a view to

achieving upward harmonization;

— proper social protection;

— dialogue between management and labour (‘social dia-

logue’);

— the development of human resources with a view to

achieving lasting high employment;

— the combating of exclusion.

2. Specific comments

On the basis of the abovementioned criteria, the Committee
takes the view that the principles set out below provide the
basis for an effective procedure for informing and consulting
employees and their representatives:

If the social dialogue and other forms of consultation
2.1.
are to be strengthened, it is essential that employees and their
representatives are both regarded as and treated as partners.
With this end in view, a comprehensive information and
consultation policy will have to be pursued; employee rep-
resentatives will also have to have an adequate degree of
independence vis-à-vis management and to receive adequate
briefing.

Comprehensive information should be provided in
2.2.
good time and on a regular basis by the appropriate level of
management. The information should cover, in particular, any
new technical developments as regards working procedures
and any changes in work organization and the general
operation of enterprises, which have important consequences
for employees; it should also address the impact on employees

Brussels, 7 July 1999.

and their representatives of measures being considered by
management. The information and consultation should also
be extended to cover areas which have a direct bearing on the
rights of employees and their future, such as measures relating
to equality of opportunity and health and safety at
the
workplace.

If information and consultation are to be effective, it is
2.3.
essential that employee representatives make known their
views before final decisions are taken by management, thereby
enabling these views to be taken into account when the desired
course of action is being determined.

2.4. With a view to achieving an approach based on
partnership and consent, the information to be provided
must also cover the further development of the activities
of enterprises and their economic and financial situations.
Information on investment which is of fundamental import-
ance to the future of enterprises and the future situation as
regards employment should also be included.

2.5.
Bearing in mind that information and consultation
procedures should be a key tool for ensuring the effective
organization of enterprises, it is essential that employees and
their representatives have the opportunity to put forward
proposals, particularly in matters relating to the safeguarding
of jobs, the structure of employment and the expected trend
in employment in enterprises. In these cases, too, efforts
should be made to reach agreement before decisions are taken
by enterprises.

An approach based on partnership is also a vital means
2.6.
of ensuring that decisions may be implemented with the
minimum possible conflict. It is only by acting in this way and
by securing the compliance of the workforce that appropriate
priority can be given to the highly important field of vocational
training.

2.7.
The Committee points out that effective application of
an information and consultation procedure is of critical
importance to the implementation of change. This process is
being applied to differing extents in the various EU Member
States.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Beatrice RANGONI MACHIAVELLI