European works councils

European Works Councils (EWCs) exist since 1996. EWC's rights and obligations are founded upon the EWC Directive of the European Union. Their rights and obligations are also based on the implementation laws on a national level for member states of the European Union, Norway and Liechtenstein. These laws make clear under which circumstances and conditions EWCs can be founded. Although the legislation is not legally binding in Switzerland, it still applies in cases where Swiss companies have founded EWCs, or because European companies have accepted (voluntary) Swiss representatives within the EWCs. In such cases, the EWCs have the right to be actively informed and consulted in substantial matters concerning the workforce in at least two countries.

Page index :

• European Works Councils – an introduction
• For Secure Jobs in the Building and Wood Industries
• For Secure Jobs in the Building and Wood Industries
• Euro Forum Holcim - Plenary meeting 2009 in Paris - striking balance of a difficult year 2009
• Plenary session of the European work council (Euro Forum) of Holcim 2006
• First World Cement Conference from 22 to 23 June 2007

European Works Councils – an introduction

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	ENGL	European Works Councils – an introduction	3 MB

For Secure Jobs in the Building and Wood Industries

EFBWW/BWI Platform of Action for a Social and Green Europe

In most European countries, the construction industry was hit very hard by the worldwide economic crisis. Up to this year construction activity in Europe will be decreasing by ca 13% compared with 2008. With a decrease of nearly 40%, the fall in new residential construction is disastrous. More than 2 million jobs at risk.

The latest Document can be downloaded right here:

For Secure Jobs in the Building and Wood Industries

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	ENGL	For Secure Jobs in the Building and Wood Industries	60 KB

Euro Forum Holcim - Plenary meeting 2009 in Paris - striking balance of a difficult year 2009

This year's plenary meeting of Holcim's Euro Forumtook place in Paris in November 2009. About 30 workforce representatives from all over Europe participated in this meeting. These representatives stand for about 20'000 Holcim employees coming from 13 European countries. The latest Newsletter can be downloaded right here:

Plenary session of the European work council (Euro Forum) of Holcim 2006

In last year's plenary session of the European work council (Euro Forum) of Holcim, 26 workers' delegates and observers from 12 European countries participated. They represented altogether approximately 17'000 persons employed. Here you can download the latest Newsletter.

First World Cement Conference from 22 to 23 June 2007

First World Cement Conference from 22 to 23 June 2007 in Portugal

BWI in cooperation with the EFBWW and ICEM carried out the first World Cement Conference from 22 to 23 June 2007 in Portugal. Around 60 participants from European Works Councils and international trade union representatives from Lafarge, Holcim, Cemex, Heidelberg, Italcementi, Buzzi from 16 countries from all continents attended the meeting. Jan Voets from ACV Belgium stated on behalf of all participants that "exchanging information and setting up trade union networks in the cement sector are key as follow up to the meeting".

Hans Baumann, chief economist of the Swiss union Unia identified trends and developments in the world cement industry. China doubled its cement production (1,100,000 To.) within 2001-2006. Today, China is the biggest cement producer worldwide followed by India (155,000), USA (101,000), Japan (68,000), Russia (54,000), Korea (52,000) and Spain (50,000). The four biggest groups, Holcim (Switzerland), Lafarge (France), CEMEX (Mexico) and HeidelbergCement (Germany) produce more than 1/5 of the world cement (with China) and 1/3 of the world cement (without China). Baumann sees challenges for workers and their unions in the continued merging and restructuring process in the cement sector. Globalization to emerging markets and low cost regions is often driven by reducing costs for environmental requirements and labour standards.

Participants reported about exploitative situations in their companies. In Latin America, a 70-80 hours week is very common and the salary is not enough to have a decent life. In Asia, management-labour relations are commonly seen as conflicting and far away from social dialogue as this is the case in many European countries. Particularly in developing countries, frequent cases of violations of workers and trade union rights exist. Sub-contracting and outsourcing are observed in all regions leading to a division of the labour force; outsourced workers earn less money and work more hours for the same work they carried out before.

For Rolf Gehring, health and safety expert of the EFBWW, all companies must formulate an occupational health and safety policy (ohs) and an ohs management system, defining responsibilities, planning, training and measuring performance in which workers have a say through health and safety committees at all levels of the companies and include contractors and subcontractors. Albert Tien (Holcim) Tim Walter (Lafarge) and Mario Mora (Italcementi) placed a high priority on ohs, confirmed that their companies live up to these requested standards and developed a systematic approach for its implementation. However, it was noted that practical implementation in cement plants might be sometimes difficult especially regarding sub-contractors.

Marion F. Hellmann, BWI responsible for International Framework Agreements (IFA) noted that Storebrand’s (leading Scandinavian Investment Company) environmental and social performance analysis qualified Lafarge, Holcim and Italcementi as "best in class". "However, these companies also have to guarantee workers' rights and social dialogue at their subsidiaries and with their contactors especially in developing countries." For Christian Herrault, chief of human resources at Lafarge "We have to be pro-active if we want to be competitive as company in the long term”. Lafarge signed an International Framework Agreement two years ago with BWI and ICEM. Mario Mora from Italcementi announced that his company is also planning to sign an IFA with the BWI.

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