The European Commission will propose a major overhaul of industrial relations in the new year, in anticipation of the Union's enlargement. The overhaul is expected to provide for greater participation in social and economic policy changes by unions and employer bodies.
The Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner, Ms Anna Diamantopoulou, has confirmed to the Federation of European Employers (Fedee) that the European Commission will be consulting social partners during 2002 about an EU-wide system for disputes resolution.
According to the Fedee, the commissioner has concluded that such a mechanism is badly needed but will have to be voluntary.
It would only be used for collective disputes involving employees in more than one country, and would involve conciliation and mediation rather than arbitration.
Typical areas where the commissioner believes such a system might come into play are European Works Councils (EWC) and European company agreements that relate to pan-European collective agreements on issues such as parental leave, part-time contracts, and fixed term contracts, as well as large-scale corporate restructuring exercises.
The Irish Times understands that a consultative document will go out to the social partners at European level in the near future. Besides looking at existing EU industrial relations structures it will also look at the implications of enlargement.
Industrial relations structures in most candidate countries are underdeveloped by EU standards.
Meanwhile, SIPTU vice-president Mr Jack O'Connor has called for stronger measures to promote workers' rights at EU level. At a seminar on European Works Councils in Dublin yesterday, Mr O'Connor said the European Commission "should strengthen the EWC directive so that employers are required to engage in genuine consultation".
"The trade union movement is bitterly disappointed that the Commission did not take the opportunity offered in the April 2000 review to address the directive's serious shortcomings as identified by the unions.
"International competition, whether it is referred to as the 'single market' or as 'globalisation', is having an impact on the jobs and pay of workers here in Ireland. In the multi-national sector, managers at European level are making decisions that have very serious implications for our members.
"European Works Councils are one of the mechanisms available to us in the multi-national sector," he added. "Their importance includes the fact that they are based on both European Union law and national legislation. They provide opportunities for workers to establish links across national borders and solidarity on issues of common interest. But like many legal entitlements, the ability to access the potential, to use it and get results, needs effective organisation and resources.
"Even though the EU Directive is in need of substantial amendment, it does represent a considerable victory for the trade union movement in Europe. What we have won in Europe we have no intentions of losing here in Ireland."
SIPTU is participating in a campaign by the European Trades Union Confederation to increase worker participation.