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WORKERS SUBJECT TO collective redundancies have new rights under a directive adopted at the beginning of September. The directive, catchily called 98/59/EC, replaces the 1975 Collective Redundancy Directive and it's 1992 amendment. It is designed to give greater protection to workers in the event of large scale redundancies, where the posts go as well as the workers. The directive requires that employers contemplating mass dismissals should consult with workers representatives, that the talks cover ways and means of avoiding such redundancies or mitigating their consequences, and gives representatives a legal right to an explanation in writing. Direct employers will not be able to excuse a lack of information by blaming the head office of its parent company.
Member states can decide themselves whether a situation meets any of the collective redundancy definitions supplied by Commission. The directive will not apply where collective redundancies involve fixed-term contract workers except where these occur before the contracts expire. It also will not apply to public sector workers or to seafaring crews. The definition of what is a collective redundancy has also been modified to include all forms of contract terminations, provided there are at least five redundancies. Member states retain the right to apply or introduce laws or collective agreements which are more favourable to workers. The new directive was brought in because the old rules created anomalies, particularly in situations where a parent company makes the decision to dismiss rather than the direct employer. No implementation date has been given.
The provisions
Where an employer is contemplating collective redundancies he is required to begin consultations with workers' representatives in good time with a view to reaching an agreement. Such consultations should, at least, cover ways and means of avoiding collective redundancies or reducing the number of workers affected or mitigating the consequences by the use of social measures aimed at redeploying redundant workers. During the consultation, employers must notify workers' representatives in writing of:
These provisions will apply irrespective of whether the decision regarding collective redundancies is taken by the immediate employer or an undertaking controlling the employer. In the event of a failure to supply such information, it will not be a defence for an employer to claim that the relevant information had not been provided by the controlling undertaking.
The OECD forecasts continued growth for the EU in the next two years. They predict growth rates at 2.7% for 1998 and 2.8% in 1999. Inflation is predicted to remain steady at 1.8% this year and 1.9% next year.
TONY BLAIR and Jacques Santer launched a European information service in the summer. The service, Europe Direct, is available via a dedicated phoneline and website. EU citizens can ask general questions about EU issues, learn about jobseekers rights in the EU and access a database of Community jobs. The service in future will be supported by a call centre, a wide range of publications including a guide on how to exercise your EU rights at local, national and European level and a one-stop shop for business.
We tested the service on your behalf and asked the following questions:
In response, we received a 'progress report' for 1997 which
suggests Blair and Santer were actually RE-launching the service.
Anyway, 9,130 questions were received that year, most in English;
averaging at 760 per month. The service had 15 times as many emails
as faxes, phonecalls and letters put together. The cost of the
service remains a mystery.
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