About
OBES has a rich activity record in the field of promoting information and consultation both nationally and internationally.
During discussions with trade unionists in the framework of field work and as a result of STRENGTHENING INVOLVEMENT transnational workshops, OBES has perceived there is undergoing a serious change in the topics of information and consultation, predominantly in medium and large-scale companies. Consequently, there is a change in the needs of trade unionists for acquiring competences that will allow them to cope with these new challenges as far as information and consultation is concerned.
The above challenges have to do with changes in technology, in the organisation of work, in the demands of environment protection and the recent changes of legislation (mainly Regulation 2016/679 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data). Subjects such as process of hiring personnel, Human Resources Core, Global Employee Data Base, monitoring of everyday work of employees in subsidiary companies by the mother company, criteria of appointing persons responsible for staff evaluation at the intermediary levels, between the direct manager of the staff up to the central management of the mother company, monitoring staff (drivers and accompanying staff) operating the truck fleet of a company are only some of the emerging challenges for information and consultation at national but also at European level.
To our knowledge there is a big contradiction here. On one hand, these challenges are already present in several companies and need special knowledge from the side of trade unions and employees’ representatives in order that they can cope with them, they are able to undertake an in-depth assessment of their possible impact in order to express a documented opinion during consultation with the management. On the other hand, the trade union movement has not tackled this sort of topics yet.
Overall objective of the project is empowering and capacity building of employees’ representatives to face better these challenges for I&C. Capitalising on the previous work and partnerships, the project “Information and Consultation - New Challenges” aims to meet the need of trade unionists, work councils’ and EWCs’ members to learn more and better how to move in praxis to cope with these challenges for information and consultation procedures in their companies. This will be attained through collecting and exchanging experiences and expertise of employees’/workers’ representatives in several member states regarding information and consultation on these topics, reflecting on possible answers and responses to these challenges, as well as by organising capacity building activities for representatives of trade unions, work councils and EWCs.
Co-applicants are the Bulgarian Confederation PODKREPA, the Italian Federation FAI CISL and the French Federation CFE-CGC AGRO. Associate partner is the Association of SA and Ltd Companies, a major employers’ organization in Greece.
The specific objectives of the project are:
- To discuss the challenges that emerge regarding information and consultation, which derive from changes in work organisation, technology, environmental policies and data protection in the involved countries
- To identify problems and good practices and derive suggestions and recommendations for the more effective use of information and consultation rights
- To develop case studies and an online repository with tips, recommendations and case studies addressed to representatives of employees
- To organize a series of transnational and bilateral workshops/discussion groups, between employees' and employers’ representatives, with the aim to exchange information and good practices regarding new challenges for information and consultation legislation and practices in Greece, Italy, Bulgaria and France
- To organise a final transnational conference in Greece and bring visibility to the implications of the changes in technology, environment protection policies, EU and national legislation on GDPR and national labour Laws.
