On 29 April 2019, the French group Korian (52,000 employees) signed an agreement creating a European Works Council; this is a first in Europe in the sector providing care services for the elderly and infirm. The special negotiating body was made up of representatives of German, Belgian, Italian and French employees. It was supported by the European trade-union federation EPSU.
This agreement adopts a wide-ranging definition of “transnational questions”, and they include decisions “taken in a Member State which, following feedback, might be duplicated in whole or in part in other Member States of the group”. The agreement also provides for ad hoc and two permanent working parties to “facilitate and deepen the work undertaken by the body”. One of them is devoted to the issues of employment, training and skills, and the other to quality of life at work and to health and safety.
Management is also required to state the reasons why a particular piece of information should remain confidential and vis-à-vis which public, and for how long. The council is entitled to “challenge the confidential status of a piece of information and to call on central management to reconsider its position”.
(Published in IR Notes 119 - 8 May 2019)
Korian: Agreement on the establishment of a European Works Council in the Korian Group
Date of publication
29 April 2019
Available language
French | German | Italian | Spanish
Country/countries concerned
European Union
Categories
Agreement | European Works Council | IR Doc
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