Training materials
Presentations from the first seminar in Sofia
First ELEX training, Sinaia, Romania, May 2008
Second ELEX training, Sinaia, Romania, September 2008
EWC agreements
Agreements covering Romanian Undertakings
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The project ELEX aims at preparing Bulgarian and Romanian EWC representatives.
Trade unionists in Bulgaria and Romania are facing new challenges as their countries integrate into the European Union. The social dialogue is a vital element of the new European-level industrial relations environment for these countries. In particular, company level social dialogue through EWCs will have an impact on a wide range of trade union reps and officials beyond the national officers and representatives who are likely to be involved in sectoral and intersectoral social dialogue. Trade unionists need to understand how EWCs work and the potential for trade unions to use EWCs to co-ordinate their responses on major issues such as restructuring. This means not just a comprehension of the legal background to EWCs, how they are established and the general provisions for how they should operate in theory, but also how they operate in practice and how they have been used to represent workers at transnational level during organisational restructuring.
At the end of June in Kiten about 20 Bulgarian Trade union activists took part in the Second ELEX seminar.
!!! - The background study of ELEX project for Bulgaria can be downloaded from here
www.ewc-elex.eu/wp-content/uploads/Background_Study-for-Site-19_12_2008.pdf
!!! - On the 13th of July 2008 was published the 2nd issue of EWC News for 2008 - see http://www.ewc-news.com/en022008.htm
Contacts
Working Lives, Research Institute, London Metropolitan University, UK
Richard Pond
r.pond@londonmet.ac.uk
Professor Steve Jefferys
s.jefferys@londonmet.ac.uk
ASTREES, France
Claude Emmanuel Triomphe
ce.triomphe@astrees.org
Christophe Teissier
c.teissier@astrees.org
FAST Foundation, Bulgaria
Mira Kovacheva
mirak@fast-bg.org
Vassil Kirov
vassil.kirov@gmail.com
LAND Training and Consulting, Romania
Laurentiu Andronic
qland@lclicknet.ro
Resources
In this part of the site you can find various useful documents concerning EWC.
On the right side of the page you can see the topics.
Land
LAND TRAINING & CONSULTING was set up in June 2005 aiming to contribute to the sustainable development of enterprises and local communities, based on the enhancement of industrial relationship and social dialogue as well as of the relevant performances in such fields as quality, environment and occupational health.
LAND TRAINING & CONSULTING has developed partnerships with social partners at national and regional level, public institutions and local authorities as well as with centers of expertise in vocational training, quality, environment and occupational health.
Aiming to achieve its scope, LAND TRAINING & CONSULTING is carrying out activities of consultancy and training, studies as well as round tables, seminars or conferences that focus on such issues as social dialogue, industrial and employment relationship.
The fields of current action of this organization are:
-Restructuring of enterprises and mitigation of its possible consequences at community level
-Social dialogue at sector, regional and local level
-Management of quality, environment and occupational health
-Project management and accession to European structural funds
LAND TRAINING & CONSULTING Team:
-Laurentiu Andronic, Managing Partner
-Luminita Vintila, Project Responsible
-Network of co-workers in the relevant fields of expertise
FAST
The Foundation for Advanced Social Trust (FAST) was established in Sofia on 16 December 2005 as the successor of the team that has been - and is continuously - working on the project Social Dialogue fully financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation .
The goals of the foundation are in brief:
Enhancement of the social dialogue by strengthening the institutional capacity and increasing the social partners’ knowledge to perform meaningful negotiations;
Encouragement of the practices for professional training and qualification, continuous vocational training and lifelong learning;
Encouragement of the good practice and promotion of the innovations with regard to the social dialogue and labour market;
Promotion of the social partners’ role in local and regional development;
Promotion of activities related to the enterprises’ corporate social responsibility.
ASTREES
ASTREES was born October 20th 2007 from the merger between “Développement et Emploi” and the “European University of Work” in order to contribute in a challenging manner to rebuild the social foundations of work and employment. ASTREES is a place for discussions and innovation, an independent structure with two main assets. First of all, ASTREES brings together all actors of social mutations: companies, trade-unions, associations, academics, Medias, experts and specialists. Secondly, ASTREES relies on a national and international network. ASTREES carries out various activities such as studies and publications, innovative experiments, training, debates and conferences in the field of work and employment. Our current activities are:
- local labour markets, what they offer in terms of job creation and career paths
- new challenges in human resources management, such as the impact of sustainable development policies, health concerns and intergenerational cooperation
- the evolution of labour standards and workers’ representations
ASTREES’ board of directors is open and dynamic. It includes representatives of companies, trade unions, NGOs, public authorities, universities and research institutes, legal and specialist consultancy firms. Paul Calandra, Director Antée SAS, formerly World HR Director THOMSON-CSF Group is the chairman of the board.
ASTREES is:
Jean-Marie BERGERE: general delegate Claude Emmanuel TRIOMPHE: European and international development Jean-Luc CHARLOT: project manager Christophe TEISSIER: project manager Régis BOURGEAT: project manager Jacqueline CARLINO-BERTRAND: assistant Claire PIOT : assistant
WLRI
The Working Lives Research Institute (WLRI) was opened in 2002 and is a centre for research and teaching, based at the London Metropolitan University. The Institute undertakes socially committed academic and applied research into all aspects of working lives, emphasising equality and social justice, and working for and in partnership with trade unions. The WLRI emphasises the way changes in work are experienced and shaped by workers and workers’ organisations, recognising the centrality of race, gender, sexuality and disability to their experiences. In acknowledging that work is contested and the subject of political choices, the Institute aims both to further academic understanding and to inform and support the policies of trade unions, social movements and public and private sector organisations. http://www.workinglives.org/
About the project
Background
This project meets the specific demands of the 04.03.03.03 budget heading by planning and implementing transnational training sessions to help worker representatives in Romania and Bulgaria understand, support and take part in European Works Councils. The project involves expert trainers, researchers and EWC representatives from the UK, France, Bulgaria and Romania and has the support, in particular of Unite, the UK’s largest private sector trade union with a wealth of experience in working with EWCs. The project is also supported by seven trade union organisations in Bulgarian, including the two main confederations – Podkrepa and CITUB – as well as two trade union organisations in Romania – including the national confederation – Cartel Alfa.
Context
Trade unionists in Bulgaria and Romania are facing new challenges as their countries integrate into the European Union. The social dialogue is a vital element of the new European-level industrial relations environment for these countries. In particular, company level social dialogue through EWCs will have an impact on a wide range of trade union reps and officials beyond the national officers and representatives who are likely to be involved in sectoral and intersectoral social dialogue. Trade unionists need to understand how EWCs work and the potential for trade unions to use EWCs to co-ordinate their responses on major issues such as restructuring. This means not just a comprehension of the legal background to EWCs, how they are established and the general provisions for how they should operate in theory, but also how they operate in practice and how they have been used to represent workers at transnational level during organisational restructuring. This project will provide a for union organisations in Bulgaria and Romania to extend the training to a broader range of trade unionists in more sectors.
Activities and expected results
The project envisages training Bulgarian and Romanian actual or potential representatives in EWC. On the basis of background study, done in Bulgaria and in Romania and analysis of training needs, trainings will be held in both countries. National helpdesks to support the reps are established. Website with all the necessary information is published in 3 languages.
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