The complaint was first reported by our colleagues at the Irish trade publication IRN. Ireland’s Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU) has filed a complaint with the European Commission about the inadequacy of the law transposing the European Works Council Directive into domestic law. The union claims that workers lack the means to make sure the requirements of the directive are respected. What makes the complaint more significant is that it comes as many companies that had placed their EWCs under UK law are migrating their bodies so they fall under Irish legislation, following Brexit. If the Commission proves sympathetic to this request, it could put pressure on the Irish government to change its legislation.
With this complaint, the SIPTU expects the European Commission, which is responsible for ensuring that member states respect EU directives, will put pressure on the Irish government to change its legislation, which according to the union fails to honour the spirit of the directive.
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