DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETENCIES OF SOCIAL PARTNERS AND CONDUCTING NATIONAL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS TO ENHANCE THE SETTING UP THE EUROPEAN WORKS COUNCILS IN CEE REGION
(EWCs for CEE)
Although EWCs have long decades of tradition in Western Europe, they have no traditions in Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. EU countries participating in project belong to the CEE region: Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, and Romania. (Wikipedia: Central and Eastern Europe is a geopolitical term encompassing the countries in Northeast Europe (primarily the Baltics), Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Europe (primarily the Balkans), usually meaning former communist states from the Eastern Bloc and Warsaw Pact in Europe. Scholarly literature often uses the abbreviations CEE or CEEC for this term.[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_and_Eastern_Europe .
The EU eastern expansion had a major impact on industrial relations and other institutional features in CEE since they became new member states, however, EWCs are still especially rare bodies in MNs operating in CEE region, where they struggled to integrate into industry (Czarzasty, 2024; Czarzasty et al.m 2020; Sippola, 2009). According to the Martin Myant, EWCs serve as the primary form of international communication at the company level, and union representatives pin significant hopes on them (Adamczyk & Surdykowska, 2024). However, they prove ineffective when employee representatives lack ties to trade unions and are instead appointed or suggested by management (Myant, 2023). The employees’ representatives value the EWC as it enables direct contact between local trade unions and headquarters, with a possibility sometimes by-passing local management. However, there are still no one EWCs headquarters in 4 participating countries; Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, and Romania.
More than half of all EWC is established in firms, headquartered in Germany, France, UK, Sweden, Netherlands. And very striking, however is very low number of EWCs set up in new EU member states joined the EU after 2004 (Lithuania-Latvia joined EU 2024, Bulgaria -Romania joined EU 2027), although worker representatives from those new member states must participate in the system of transnational information and consultation.
The novelty of the proposed action is that it focuses on the strengthening of setting up of EWCs in MNs acting in Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria and Romania (countries covering CEE region), which are oft destination of outsourcing of services and the production of goods of multinational corporations.
As such, it would be expected that there would be a lot of EWCs hosted in Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria and Romania and that workers’ representatives would be extremely proactively involved in participating and organizing such meetings to ensure that their members who work at the same company as their Western states’ counterparts would receive the same degree of protection and remuneration. However, the reality is distinctly different due to a combination of different factors:
- Due to the unions themselves: trade union density in the region is quite low – Bulgaria (about 15%), Lithuania (about 8%), Latvia (about 10 %), with only Romania (at 20%).
- Low level of awareness of stakeholders on the setting up and good functioning of EWCs on undertaking level. There is a better degree of awareness about the benefit of EWCs in trade unions confederations however on undertaking level there is very high insufficient of practical knowledges and awareness in common of both: workers and employers regarding the setting up EWCs, operations of EWCs and benefits of EWCs.
- Declarative National policies: taking over the best practices of other (old) EU countries, implementing gained social partner recommendations Governments of LT, LV, BG, RO raises the possibility of reducing the large gap between the EWCs developed in old and new EU member states. Governments, together with national social partners and related institutions should develop more practical and effective regulations on the establishment of EWCs, mechanisms
Proposed action ensures guidance for improvement of the setting up of EWCs in participating countries and fostering greater cross-border cooperation in CEE region to related issues
Additionally, EWCs for CEE project aims to identify the needs and requirements to improve effectiveness of setting up the EWCs by conducting COMPREHENSIVE QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: collecting data, analysing existing practices and taking over the best experience of involved EU level experts, project provide valuable insights for development of improved national policies and regulations related to supporting the setting up of EWCs services in Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Romania. These national policy recommendations will influence more practical and effective decision-making processes at the national level of participating countries and will be suitable for application to the entire CEE region. Research is easily applicable in other countries of the whole CEE region, empowering them to actively engage in the setting up and good functioning of European Works Councils in CEE region processes. Lastly, the research’s work will serve as valuable information on producing policy proposals with actionable recommendations with the aim of generating tangible outcomes at the setting up and good functioning of EWCs for future initiatives for Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria and Romania.