SEED Project: Strengthening European Works Councils in the face of the challenges of the Green and Digital Transitions

Author: Editor

2025/12/16 at 11:28 AM

The project Strengthening the operational effectiveness of EWCs in developing and implementing strategies for dispute prevention and resolution between workers and central management at multinational corporations, SEED, co-financed by the European Union, began its journey just over a year ago, with the participation of seven organisations from five European countries(1), which has provided added value: its multi-professional and multinational nature.

The objective of SEED has been to identify the needs and requirements to improve the effectiveness of European Works Councils in crisis management and conflict prevention in the face of the new challenges posed by the double transition: Green, with the implementation of the European Green Deal, and Digital, with reformulations of work dynamics and the emergence of new forms of employment.

It was also intended to increase the capacity of European Works Councils (EWCs)(2) and strengthen their activities to prevent and resolve any conflicts that may arise. In this article, we will highlight the activities carried out during the implementation of the project and the results obtained.

A Research Phase was carried out (3) to analyse the current participation of workers in EWCs and the effectiveness of information and consultation systems, as well as to learn about the application and impact of the ecological and digital transition and, once situations of labour conflict have been detected as a result of these transitions, to monitor the ways in which they are resolved in the different participating countries.

The research phase has allowed us to draw some conclusions about the improvement needs of EWCs, which we can specify as follows:

• There is widespread ignorance of European and national legislation on workers’ rights to information and consultation.

• The social dialogue that takes place is highly consultative in multinational companies, with no collective bargaining.

• Collective agreements regulating the employment conditions of workers have very limited coverage in some countries.

• There is widespread misinformation about the twin transition and its impact on the world of work, with the green transition being considered to have more negative effects for workers with changes in working conditions, job losses, wage cuts, lack of qualifications or mismanagement by the employer.

• The implementation of EWCs is very low and their capacity for action is very limited: little autonomy; difficulty in accessing information; lack of effective protection mechanisms and guarantees; poor training of workers’ representatives; and lack of an effective consultation system and out-of-court dispute resolution systems, as the most prominent.

As a result of these conclusions, the discussions produced in the International Focus Group (09.04.2025), Recommendations and Good Practices have been developed to improve the effectiveness of EWCs and ensure the participation of workers in the resolution of labour disputes that may occur due to the implementation of the double transition.

Although the development of these recommendations has been difficult due to the different systems of labour relations and negotiating structures of the partners, a common element has been pursued: to increase the real capacity of the EWCs and strengthen their activities to prevent and resolve any conflicts that may arise.

It has been highlighted that there is the possibility that an EWC can act as a mediator in a labour dispute, to resolve conflicting situations that may arise prior to the judicial sphere; although it will be necessary to expand its powers, together with the strengthening of information and consultation systems and the guarantee that this information is adequate and without restrictions, allowing the consideration of labour dispute situations and the search for a negotiated solution.

SEED partners have welcomed the new Directive, although they believe that further progress is still needed on some aspects that have not been fully resolved, to make workers’ representation in large multinational companies more effective and to facilitate the creation of EWCs, improving their funding and increasing the protection they enjoy. (4)

In addition, the analysis of all the improvement needs identified, and the development of common recommendations, has provided another element of added value to the SEED project: Developing sustainable cooperation between the social partners involved in the debate and implementation of this future new Directive.

Prepared by: Angel Lozano Hidalgo, Project Expert 27 November 2025