News

In general the bill transposes the directive 1:1:

· Definitions on Information and consultation copied

· Recital 16 defining transnationality is taken over in the explanations to the law

· Agreements in force which have been revised during the transposition period as well as old Art. 13 agreements are not subject to the recast directive. The only exceptions are renegotiations due to significant changes.

The German bill goes beyond the directive in several points:

· The select committee can decide upon the qualification needs in-between the annual meetings.

· A non exhaustive catalogue on significant changes has been included. These are (1) merger of companies, (2) division of companies, (3) relocation of companies in a MS or third country; closedown of companies, (4) relocation or closedown of company sites impacting the EWC composition.

· The explanations clarify that the recast directive is applicable to Art. 6 agreements not revised during the transposition period. Therefore those EWCs will be subject to the improved definitions and the right for training, even if the EWC agreement does not mention it.

No changes regarding:

· frequency of meetings (annually)

· sanctions

· thresholds

· right for trade unions to participate in meetings

Further procedure:

· The legislative procedure will start now (2 chambers of parliament, groups).

· The new law is expected to come into force before the end of the transposition process.

The bill will be made available by ver.di on their website soon: http://mitbestimmung.verdi.de/europaeischer_betriebsrat/revision_der_ebr-richtlinie_1

Author: Nathalie Glück/Social Development Agency