CEC 2008 Conference in Toulouse (France)

"Managers' role in European Works Councils and other information, consultation and participatory bodies"

The balanced presence of all professional categories inside European Works Councils is key to the EWCs success, thus the participation of executives and managers in the Surveillance Committees and Boards of European Companies is necessary.

European Works Council (EWC) started being established with the implementation of a European Directive in 1994. 2008 represented a main step in the evolution of this Directive as it was the year of its revision. Employee organisations were asking for more responsibility and autonomy to go to EWCs, whilst employer organisations were more skeptical.

Several reasons pushed CEC to organise this conference then and there: of course the pending revision of the EWC Directive, but also the upcoming French Presidency of the EU as of 1 July 2008, the debate and the representativity of trade unions in France and the labour court elections in France taking place by the end of 2008.

The conference was organised with the support of CEC French member CFE-CGC, and Airbus hosting the event. It took place on 5 and 6 June 2008 on the Airbus site of Toulouse (France). Following debates and dicussions at the conference, CEC published a communication on amendements proposals for the EWC recast Directive.

Discussions were lead by several keynote speakers: among them, Jean Lapeyre, Expert in charge of the EU French Presidency and former Secretary General of ETUC, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, European deputy for Germany, Claudio Stanzani from the Social Development Agency, Tony Smith, Advisor in intercultural management, Jean-Paul Jacquier, Advisor and Teacher at the University of social sciences of Toulouse, François Fatoux, Managing Director of the observatory concerning the Social Responsibility of companies and Nicole Notat, former Secretary General of CFDT in France and Vigeo President.

Case studies (L'Oréal, Airbus, Volvo, Syngenta, SCOR and BASF) were exposed with regard to the European Works Councils' performance.