European Parliament legislative resolution on the Council common position for adopting a European Parliament and Council directive on establishing a general framework for improving information and consultation rights of employees in the European Community (9919/1/2001 - C5-0388/2001 - 1998/0315(COD))
Date: 2001-10-23
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: European undertaking, job security, labour law, worker consultation, worker information

9.5.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 112 E/119

Tuesday 23 October 2001

10. Informing and consulting employees ***II

A5-0325/2001

European Parliament legislative resolution on the Council common position for adopting a Euro-
pean Parliament and Council directive on establishing a general
framework for improving
information and consultation rights of employees in the European Community (9919/1/2001 ’
C5-0388/2001 ’ 1998/0315(COD))

(Codecision procedure: second reading)

The European Parliament,

(cid:17) having regard to the Council common position (9919/1/2001 (cid:17) C5-0388/2001),

(cid:17) having regard to its position at first reading (1) on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the

Council (COM(1998) 612) (2),

(cid:17) having regard to the Commission’s amended proposal (COM(2001) 296) (3),

(cid:17) having regard to Article 251(2) of the EC Treaty,

(cid:17) having regard to Rule 80 of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:17) having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on Employment and

Social Affairs (A5-0325/2001),

1.

2.

Amends the common position as follows;

Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

COUNCIL
COMMON POSITION

AMENDMENTS
BY PARLIAMENT

Amendment 1
Recital 22a (new)

(22a) Member States should take measures to guarantee
that employees’ representatives are elected by employees or
designated by employees’ organisations only and have a mini-
mum, renewable term of office.

Amendment 2
Recital 26a (new)

(26a) More stringent, dissuasive penalties and specific judi-
cial procedures applicable in the case of decisions taken in
serious breach of the obligations under this Directive should
be established.

(1) OJ C 219, 30.7.1999, p. 223.
(2) OJ C 2, 5.1.1999, p. 3.
(3) OJ C 240 E, 28.8.2001, p. 133.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

9.5.2002

Tuesday 23 October 2001

COUNCIL
COMMON POSITION

AMENDMENTS
BY PARLIAMENT

Amendment 3
Article 2, point (ea) (new)

(ea)

‘social partners’ means the competent representative
trade union organisation, the employees’ representatives,
as provided by law, the employers’ organisation and/or
the employer;

Amendment 4
Article 2, point (f)

(f)

‘information’ means transmission by the employer to the
to enable
representatives of data in order
employees’
them to acquaint themselves with the subject-matter and
to examine it;

(f)

‘information’ means transmission by the employer to the
employees’ representatives and/or employees of all rel-
evant data on the subjects referred to in Article 4,
in
order to enable them to acquaint themselves with the sub-
ject-matter and to examine it, before the decision is taken;

Amendment 5
Article 2, point (g)

(g)

‘consultation’ means the exchange of views and establish-
ment of dialogue between the employees’ representatives
and the employer.

(g)

‘consultation’ means the exchange of views and establish-
ment of dialogue between the employees’ representatives
and the employer during the planning stage of a decision
in order to ensure the procedure is effective and to allow
influence to be exerted on the decision-making process.

Amendment 6
Article 3, paragraph 3a (new)

3a. Member States, without prejudice to existing national
law or practice, shall foster and promote social dialogue also
in small and medium-sized enterprises which do not fall
under the scope of this Directive.

Amendment 7
Article 4, paragraph 2, point (a)

(a)

information on the recent and probable development of
the undertaking’s or the establishment’s activities and economic
situation;

(a)

information on the recent and probable development of
the activities and economic and financial situation of
the
undertaking or the establishment, in particular as regards
investment, production, sales and structure as well as
strategic plans,
to organisational
including changes
structures and market developments;

Amendment 8
Article 4, paragraph 4, point (c)

(c) on the basis of relevant information to be supplied by the
employer and of the opinion which the employees’ repre-
sentatives are entitled to formulate;

(c) on the basis of information to be supplied by the employer
in accordance with Article 2(f) and the opinion which the
employees’ representatives are entitled to formulate;

9.5.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 112 E/121

COUNCIL
COMMON POSITION

Tuesday 23 October 2001

AMENDMENTS
BY PARLIAMENT

Amendment 9

Article 4, paragraph 4a and 4b (new)

4a. Member States shall ensure that,
if the implemen-
tation of a decision will have significant adverse con-
sequences for employees, the final decision may be postponed
for an appropriate period at the request of the employees’
representatives so that consultations may continue with the
aim of avoiding or mitigating such adverse consequences.

4b. Member States shall ensure that,
if the implemen-
tation of a decision will have significant adverse con-
sequences for employees, in particular a decision on transfers,
relocations, the closure of an establishment or undertaking or
large-scale redundancies, employees’ representatives may, in
the event of failure to reach agreement and where appropri-
ate, meet the relevant bodies of the undertaking one more
time.

Amendment 10

Article 5

Member States may entrust management and labour at
the
appropriate level, including at undertaking or establishment
level, with defining freely and at any time through negotiated
agreement the practical arrangements for informing and con-
sulting employees. These agreements, and agreements existing
on the date laid down in Article 11, as well as any subsequent
renewals of such agreements, may establish, while respecting
the principles set out in Article 1 and subject to conditions
and limitations laid down by the Member States, provisions
which are different from those referred to in Article 4.

Member States may entrust the social partners at the appropriate
level, with defining freely and at any time through negotiated
agreement the practical arrangements for informing and con-
sulting employees. The social partners may conclude agree-
ments respecting the general objectives laid down by the
Directive and subject to generally applicable conditions laid
down by the Member States. Where legislative arangements
and/or statutory minimum standards at national level do not
exist, such agreements may contain rules and arrangements
which provide for fuller rights for information and consul-
tation than those laid down by this Directive.

Amendment 11

Article 7

Member States shall ensure that employees’ representatives,
when carrying out their functions, enjoy adequate protection
and guarantees to enable them to perform properly the duties
which have been assigned to them.

Employees’ representatives shall, when carrying out their func-
tions, enjoy adequate protection and guarantees to enable them
to perform properly the duties which have been assigned to
them.

In particular, employees’ representatives shall be entitled to:

(a) enjoy legal protection against disadvantage in respect of
their career, wage and training during their term of
office and for six months thereafter, and

(b) receive appropriate and continuing training,

including
paid leave
regular meetings
training, organise
among themselves and with all the employees and use
the undertaking’s internal computer networks.

for

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Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

9.5.2002

Tuesday 23 October 2001

COUNCIL
COMMON POSITION

AMENDMENTS
BY PARLIAMENT

Amendment 13
Article 9a (new)

Article 9a

Public administration

Member States shall examine in cooperation with the social
partners appropriate ways to implement the principles laid
down in this Directive in public administrations.

Article 10

Transitional provisions

Amendment 15
Article 10

Deleted

Notwithstanding Article 3, a Member State in which there is,
at the date of entry into force of this Directive, no general,
permanent and statutory system of information and consul-
tation of employees, nor a general, permanent and statutory
system of employee representation at the workplace allowing
employees to be represented for that purpose, may limit the
application of the national provisions implementing this
Directive to:

(a) undertakings employing at least 150 employees or estab-
lishments employing at least 100 employees until … (*),
and

(b) undertakings employing at least 100 employees or estab-
lishments employing at least 50 employees during the
two years following the date in point (a).

(*) Five years after the entry into force of this Directive.

11. Exposure of workers to risks arising from physical agents ***II

A5-0320/2001

European Parliament legislative resolution on the Council common position for adopting a Euro-
pean Parliament and Council directive on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding
the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (vibration) (16th individual
Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC) (7914/1/2001 Rev. 1 ’
C5-0293/2001 ’ 1992/0449(COD))

(Codecision procedure: second reading)

The European Parliament,

(cid:17) having regard to the Council common position (7914/1/2001 Rev. 1 (cid:17) C5-0293/2001),

(cid:17) having regard to its position at first reading (1) on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the

Council (COM(1992) 560) (2),

(1) OJ C 128, 9.5.1994, p. 146.
(2) OJ C 77, 18.3.1993, p. 12.