European Works Councils on the Periphery? A Case Study of a 'Global Economic Outpost'

European Works Councils (EWCs) are now an established part of industrial relations structures in approaching 600 multinational companies with potentially 10,000 or more employee participants(EIRR 2000). They have become the object of considerable expectation as, variously, vehicles for the development of a European industrial relations system, corporate communication networks or the basis for international trade union solidarity. They are equally the focus of wide ranging academic speculation, case study analysis and survey research. The empirical data that has been generated has served to support the development of a series of ‘models’ of EWCs that are commonly related to the initial expectations to their role.