European Works Councils in Central and Eastern Europe

In spite of the lockdown caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus, the new EU-funded project has been started by the Institute of Public Affairs in March 2020.

The project entitled “Improving the equality and level of the representation of employees through organizational assimilation and the efficient use of the EWC instrument by parties interested in industrial relations” encompasses partners from the Central and Eastern Europe, namely form Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Poland and Romania.

It aims at:

•    Increasing the efficiency of the employee-representation system through the assimilation and implementation of information, best practices and specificities of the EWC instrument.
•    The consolidation of transnational cooperation in order to ensure a permanent exchange of information and a common claims agenda, in order to ensure a coordinated representational process within the EWC.
•    Identifying the framework of the level of understanding of EU law and policies by trade unions by carrying out qualitative analysis across 5 Eastern European countries
•    Increasing the level of expertise and know-how of trade unions regarding EU law and policies in the area of industrial relations through trainings and exchanges of best practices.
The first project meeting took place on 19th March 2020 during which details of research methodology and project management were discussed among the partners. 

The project is co-funded by the DG Employment, Social Affairs and Social Inclusion of the European Commission.