If a clause of an agreement establishing a European Works Council provides for a minimum representation of delegates from countries other than that of the parent company, does this imply that there can be no additional representatives from those countries? A decision handed down on 28 January 2020 by the Court of Paris, based on the principle of balanced representation provided for in the European Works Council directive and the intention of the parties, states that this clause sets a minimum for representation, not a maximum limit.
This dispute is rooted in a conflict between two French trade union organisations (more precisely regarding the move of a significant portion of the CFDT delegation to the CGE-CGC union). This same dispute had already given rise to a first case (see article n°11112). In the present case, it was a question of interpreting an article on the functioning of the Axa European Works Council (June 29 2009 version) which states: “The GEWC (Group European Works Council) shall have a twelve-member Bureau: this group consists of a Chairperson, a Vice-Chair (appointed by the Chairperson), a Secretary and 9 salaried GEWC members elected by him, five of whom must be from countries other than France.”
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