IR Notes

On 3 December, the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs adopted the negotiating mandate for launching inter-institutional discussions on revision of Directive 2009/38 on European Works Councils. The vote on this mandate was originally scheduled for April of this year, to coincide with the adoption of the report submitted by German MEP Dennis Radtke (EPP), but was then postponed to ensure that it would be adopted by a large majority. This choice proved to be a wise one, as the mandate was adopted with 36 votes in favour, 11 against and 3 abstentions, and it was supported by virtually all parties other than the far-right, with the exception of one EPP MEP. Representatives of the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission will commence inter-institutional negotiations (the “trilogue”) as early as January 2025, with a view to adopting the revision of the directive. “We’re going to discuss the most consensual articles first, so that the difficult points – such as the sanctions regime applicable to breaches of the EWC’s right to be informed and consulted – are kept back to the end”, says MEP Gabrielle Bischoff (S&D), who will be one of Parliament’s negotiators. As the positions of the Council (see General approach) and Parliament are not too far apart, it seems realistic to anticipate that the text will be adopted during the second half of 2025, which would mean the Member States having to transpose it by the end of 2027, if all goes to plan. However, the employers’ organisations, which are opposed to a binding text, will not give up the fight and may try to convince Member States that are not affected by this issue very much (i.e. those with few or even no companies covered by the directive) to oppose the adoption of a new text.

Inclusion of persons with disabilities: : On 2 December, the Employment and Social Affairs Council adopted Conclusions on fostering social inclusion of persons with disabilities through employment, reasonable accommodation and rehabilitation. The Council points out that the employment gap of persons with and without disabilities in the EU was 21.5 pp in 2023, compared to 22.7 pp in 2014 (see press release). The conclusions call on Member States to adopt “measures, including the setting of qualitative or quantitative national targets, for increasing the employment rate of persons with disabilities in order to reduce the gap between the employment rates of persons with and without disabilities”. They are also urged to promote “the employment of persons with disabilities in an inclusive open labour market by fostering equal treatment and supporting the possibility of and opportunities for taking advantage of flexible working arrangements (such as flexible working hours, part-time employment, teleworking, project-based employment or even job-sharing) that provide personalised working conditions and flexibility, with the involvement of social partners while respecting their autonomy”. For its part, the Commission is asked to “consider launching actions aiming to help employers better understand and accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities in order to ensure their participation and inclusion”.

> Note: On 4 December, the European Trade Union Confederation condemned the fact that in some EU Member States, people with disabilities can still be paid less than the minimum wage set by law or by collective agreements. It is calling on Member States to use the implementation of the EU directive on minimum wages to eliminate such discriminatory pay laws and ensure payment of at least the minimum wage or collective agreement wage (see press release).

Labour shortages : On 2 December, the Employment and Social Affairs Council adopted Conclusions on labour and skills shortages in the EU: Mobilising untapped labour potential in the EU. Among other things, these conclusions call on the Member States to “improve health and safety at work, especially by addressing mental health, work-related psychosocial risks and wellbeing at work”, and to “promote fair and decent working conditions, and employment on a stable basis”. Countries should also “continue strengthening social dialogue and enable effective collective bargaining, while respecting the role and autonomy of social partners, to improve working conditions and to tackle the challenges brought about by labour and skills shortages” (see press release). The document calls on the Member States to help groups underrepresented in the labour market to access employment in fields where there is a shortage of workers, by particularly targeting women, low-skilled workers, older workers, young people, people with an ethnic minority background, and persons with disabilities.

Directive on improving the quality of traineeships : On 2 December, the Member States failed to agree a common position on the proposal for a directive regulating trainees’ working conditions. More than 10 countries, including Germany, Italy and Poland, rejected the compromise text put forward by the Hungarian presidency of the EU, arguing that it lacked ambition. They also received the support of Roxana Mînzatu, the Commission’s new Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness, who emphasised that the text put forward by Hungary was not good enough to improve trainees’ working conditions or to tackle the issue of bogus traineeships. The Hungarian presidency must now decide whether to overhaul its text in depth or to content itself with passing the file on to the Polish presidency of the EU, which commences on 1 January.

Artificial intelligence : At the end of November, the Executive Committee of the IndustriAll Europe trade union federation adopted a new trade union strategy on artificial intelligence (AI) in the world of work. It includes a policy brief on AI and a number of practical recommendations to coordinators and worker representatives in EWCs and SEs. These initiatives are based on a study of digitalisation and AI in the workplace performed by Syndex (see press release). Isabelle Barthès, Deputy General Secretary of IndustriAll Europe, would like the provisions of the EU Platform Directive covering algorithmic management to be extended to all workers, and “as regulation cannot solve everything, our trade union strategy presents guidance on how trade unions during social dialogue with employers can address the impact of AI systems at work, securing workers’ rights in the face of this rapidly evolving technology.”

Decree on harmful substances : The decree on harmful substances, which entered into force on 5 December, is intended to improve health and safety in the workplace. Its provisions now cover activities involving the use of carcinogenic substances, and are aligned with European standards. The rules governing asbestos have also been revised (see press release).

Overtime working by part-time employees : The Federal Labour Court has ruled that part-time workers have the same rights as their full-time colleagues when it comes to overtime working (see press release). A clause in one collective agreement has been deemed discriminatory, as it disadvantages part-time employees (who are mostly women) for no objective reason, by failing to specify that any hours worked beyond their contractually agreed period are to be paid as overtime. Following the recent case law established by the EU Court of Justice, the Federal Labour Court declared this clause invalid (see IR Notes 235). It also granted the female complainant the sum of 250 euros as compensation for this discrimination. The Verdi trade union has expressed its support for this decision (see press release).

Child employment : A regulation introduced on 10 October has allowed young people aged under 16 to benefit from more flexible employment rules with effect from 18 November. It allows 13 and 14 year-olds to work later on non-school days (up to 8pm in the evening rather than 7pm) and also to work on Sundays. These new provisions will continue to involve close supervision: the child’s legal representative and the company’s works council or workers’ representation council will both have to give their permission (see press release).

Retirement age : in 2026, the statutory retirement age will be raised to its highest-ever level: 66 years and 9 months. This means that people will have to work two months longer than in 2025 to qualify for a full state pension. Since 2015, the statutory retirement age has been based on changes in the life expectancy of a 65-year-old, as calculated by the Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE). The same indicator is used to determine the reduction in pension applicable to persons taking early retirement. Based on INE data, this reduction will be fixed at 16.93% in 2025, which is a significantly higher figure than the 15.8% rate applicable in 2024. However, persons who are aged at least 60 and already have 40 years’ worth of contributions, will not be subject to this new higher rate. They will continue to be bound by the current rule, whereby at the time they retire, they are subject to a 0.5% reduction for each month they are below the statutory retirement age (see article in Publico).

A new EWC (1): : On 9 December, the German subsidiary of the Japanese group Tokai Carbon (4,200 employees), which is specialised in carbon and graphite products, and a special negotiating body assisted by the IndustriAll Europe trade union federation, concluded an agreement setting up a European Works Council. The agreement contains an adaptation clause, to be implemented at the time the future revised EWC directive is adopted. The EWC will be comprised of representatives of German, French, Italian and Polish employees. They will also represent temporary workers (who are on a contract lasting longer than three months), apprentices and trainees. Matters on which the EWC will be kept informed and consulted include: reducing the group’s carbon footprint; environmental and social issues; sustainability-related responsible corporate governance (including the sustainability report); and social responsibility. Another item of note is that prior to disclosing any confidential information, management will explain: “whether this is to be treated as confidential; why; vis-à-vis whom; and for how long it must remain confidential”.

A new EWC (2) : On 29 October, the management of the German-Austrian family-run group Lohmann & Rauscher (5,400 employees), a global leader in the field of medical devices and hygiene products, signed a European Works Council agreement covering 12 countries. The EWC’s main delegations are from Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. The EWC is entitled to establish working parties (mainly meeting on line). AI and digitalisation are mentioned as examples of topics on which the EWC might be kept informed and consulted. The text sets operating rules covering virtual meetings, in particular, to protect the confidentiality of discussions.

Merger : Following the acquisition of Ideal Standard by the Villeroy & Boch group in February 2024 (see press release), the question has arisen regarding the future of the existing EWCs of these two bathroom product manufacturers, which now form a group with 13,000 employees in Europe. On 26 August, the group’s management and a special negotiating body signed an amendment to the Villeroy & Boch EWC agreement, taking a pragmatic approach. The number of seats has been increased to accommodate three Bulgarian members without cutting the number of seats allocated to other countries, and a six-member select committee has been created, to include the three members making up the select committee of Ideal Standard’s EWC. The new EWC recently held a meeting in Bulgaria. The next aim is to open a more wide-ranging renegotiation of the agreement, in late 2025, with a view to accommodating the changes contained in the future revised European directive.

Work-life balance : The management of Safran and trade-union negotiators appointed by the IndustriAll Europe trade union federation have concluded a European framework agreement entitled “Family Life-Working Life”. This is the third European framework agreement signed by the aircraft equipment manufacturer, following those covering career and skills development and professional integration of young people. The new agreement bestows new rights on employees, such as those who are also carers: they will be entitled to work part-time, on a basis of between 50% and 80%. The text includes measures making it easier for employees to deal with situations in their personal life, such as: receiving medical assistance with procreation; adopting children; support with pregnancies that do not reach full-term; and assigning pregnant women who work nights to a day-time job while maintaining their basic wage. The agreement has been sent to trade union federations that are members of IndustriAll Europe, for approval. We will be able to publish it once it has been officially signed, in January.

Relationships with trade unions : On 4 December, the postal and logistics group DHL adopted a new OECD protocol governing dialogue with the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and UNI Global Union. The protocol was signed by the German National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (see UNI Global Union and ITF press releases). The first protocol was signed in 2016, for the purpose of settling disputes between trade unions and the DHL group, and agreeing on a responsible social dialogue between the parties. The new text provides for the holding of annual regional dialogue meetings between the parties.