In February 2025, on the occasion of the renewal of Veolia's EWC, IR Share organised an initial training day mainly for new members.
The objectives of this module were to reflect on the role of a European Works Council member, to learn about the different industrial relations systems within the European Union and their impact on the functioning of the EWC or SE-Works Council, and to analyse the committee agreement in detail in light of the experience of the most experienced members, thereby enabling new members to start their term of office with a minimum of knowledge and tools
Why This Training Matters
Enabling new members to familiarise themselves with how a EWC operates and the legal framework allows them to be effective from the very first meetings.
Including modules specifically designed for new members when a EWC or SE-Works Council is established, after it has been set up or renewed, is an essential step in ensuring cohesion within the body. We also have very successful experience of shared online training, open to new members of several European Works Councils.
Who It's For
This training is ideal for:
What the Training Covers
Each training is customized to the group’s background and needs, but key themes always include:
Understanding Industrial Relations Across Europe
- National models of representation: co-determination, union dominance, etc.
- How cultural differences shape expectations and behaviours
Navigating the Legal Framework
- Core principles of the EWC and SE Directives
- Rights and obligations under European law
Understanding the EWC and SE-WC Agreement
- What are the main provisions of their agreement
- Strengths and weaknesses of their agreement
- Understanding the importance of being familiar with their EWC agreement
Become familiar with their mandate
- Understand what it means to represent all European employees
- Know how to communicate with other members and employee representatives at national level SE-WC Agreement
Learning Objectives
By the end of the training, participants will:
Understand
How national industrial relations cultures influence the EWCs functionning
Know
The legal framework of EWC/SE Directive
Be familiar
With the terms of their EWC/SE Agreement
Gain
Confidence to start their mandate with effectiveness
Trainers profiles
Frédéric Turlan
Director, Editor of IR Notes
Frédéric is an expert in industrial relations. He has an extensive experience of writing and editing industrial relations and labour law material for a practitioner and policymaker audience.
He has written numerous reports, comparative studies and analyses for Eurofound, as national correspondent for France, and for other research centres across Europe on industrial relations and working conditions issues. He also organised numerous in-house training for European Works’ Councils on EU labour law, industrial relations and other relevant issues for EWCs and transnational social dialogue.
Victoria Fonseca
Junior researcher, IR Share
Victória is a dedicated researcher in political sciences, specializing in European studies and international relations. She holds a Master’s degree in Political Sciences from Nantes Université, where her focus was on European political systems and international law.
As part of her work with both IR Share and Eurofound, Victória Fonseca actively contributes to research on social dialogue, industrial relations, and European governance. Her passion for international collaboration also leads her to support workshops for European Work Councils, aiming to foster greater alignment and understanding across diverse workplaces.
Christophe Teissier
Project manager, Ultra Laborans
Christophe trained as a lawyer and worked for the French Ministry of Research. In 2007, he joined Astrées (which became Ultra Laborans in 2023) to work on developments in social dialogue. Since then, he has been working on reinventing deliberative processes in companies, with a view to better tackling today's major societal challenges. He heads up Ultra Laborans' social dialogue expertise and European projects. In this capacity, he has developed recognised expertise at European level on issues relating to social dialogue and its players. He has been involved on numerous occasions in training members of EWCs in various sectors, notably alongside IR Share. Recently, he trained the EWCs of Veolia (2023), Suez (2023), BNP Paribas (2022), Generali (2021) and SCOR (2021).
Carole Bourner
Expert, IR Share
Carole has spent her entire professional and trade union career with Generali, an Italian insurance company with a global presence. She joined the European Works Council as a French representative in 2006, becoming deputy secretary in 2015 and secretary in 2019. She is currently a project manager for the CFDT Banking and Insurance Federation in the European and international arena and participate in the executive committees of the international federation, UNI, as well as in working groups on European Works Councils.
