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The EU directive on European Works Councils allows workers' representatives to receive privileged company information on the basis that it will be used for negotiation with the employer. However a case from Denmark has highlighted the limits to this right. A Mr. Grongaard was the employee-elected member of the board of RealDanmark, a finance house. He informed Mr. Bang, the general secretary of the relevant trade union, that the firm was about to merge with Danske Bank. Mr. Bang told his union colleagues, one of whom bought shares and was convicted of insider dealing. Now the advocate general has given his opinion that disclosure is only allowed to 'experts' to help them perform their functions. These experts may include general secretaries or other union officers.
The part time workers directive seeks to prevent discrimination against those on less than full-time hours. But what is part time work ? A Ms. Wippel was engaged by an Austrian company to work on a task by task basis when her circumstances allowed it. Because her hours were flexible and her rights to sick and holiday pay uncertain compared to a full time worker, she demanded monetary compensation. Now the ECJ has ruled that although she was a 'worker' for the purposes of EU equal pay legislation, it is for national law to determine if she was covered by the part time directive. Also, because it is not possible to compare her situation to full or part time workers at the same company, there is no discrimination against her either on the grounds of gender or hours of work.
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