You never know until you ask (blog 4/25)
25 years of EWC directive, 25 years of EWC Service
For many European Works Councils (EWCs) it is a struggle to get the right information, and to get it on time. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised when I experienced something completely different.
We were in the office of the Austrian subsidiary of a multinational company. The company had announced its plans to sell its Austrian activities and had duly informed the EWC. The Select committee was, together with the Austrian EWC members, discussing the possible impact for the business and the employees.
“And what about Slovakia”, one of the Austrians said. “Slovakia?”, we had not heard that this country would be involved too. “Well”, the Austrian representative explained; “There are 25 employees in Slovakia, working solely for Austria; will they also be part of the divesture?” This was not discussed before since the Slovakian EWC seat had never been filled. We did not know how to find out more about the Slovakian situation, until one Austrian representative suggested: “The two managers responsible for the activities in Slovakia actually sit in this office, I can ask them what they know. Especially one of them is quite an open guy”, he added.
We invited this manager, who was happy to share his knowledge with the Select Committee and the other members of the EWC, and he explained exactly what activities the Slovakian colleagues were performing. He told us that the management in Austria was quite worried about what the mother company intended to do with this. He also promised the group assistance to establish contacts with the Slovakian colleagues.
This of course was an exception. Nevertheless, how often do we really try?
Have you ever received information from an unexpected soured? Please share with us.
Sjef Stoop, EWC trainer and advisor
