Torsten Müller (senior researcher at the European Trade Union Institute) co-authored a study on “Transnational company agreements and the role of European Works Councils in negotiations” together with Hans-Wolfgang Platzer and Stefan Rüb from the University of Fulda / Germany. Based on 82 telephone interviews with EWC members in the metalworking industry, they aimed at analyzing the emergence and dynamics of transnational company agreements at European level, both formal agreements and informal arrangements. For Planet Labour, Torsten Müller describes the key findings of the study and also the importance of informal arrangements concluded “below the radar screen” and for the first time revealed by empirical research.
- What do you consider as the key findings of your empirical research?
Torsten Müller. Two key findings can be highlighted. First, as regards formal European company-level agreements, we found that between 12-15% of the over 300 companies that have European works councils in the metalworking industry have concluded formal agreements. This more or less confirms the findings of official lists drawn up, for instance, by the European Commission. We found some additional cases that have not been
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