The right of employees to nominate representatives to the Board of Directors or to the Supervisory Board currently exists in 18 of the 25 EU member states. Though the extent of this right and its specific characteristics differ a great deal from country to country, it is obvious that in many EU member states statutory participation rights at board level constitute an essential element of the national corporate governance system. Via these representatives workers gain access to information and influence at the place where decisions of strategic importance for the company are taken or endorsed. This representation at board level may be one additional means of ensuring that the interests of the workforce are respected, for example during restructuring processes.

With the legislation on the European Company (SE) and the European Cooperative Society (ECS), participation rights at board level become an integral part of the negotiations between management and worker representatives from different member states on the question of how workers are to be involved in company decision-making processes. Moreover, the planned EU directives on cross-border mergers (10th Directive) and on cross-border transferral of company seats (14th Directive) also make reference to to the rights foreseen in the SE legislation. One of the consequences of these legislative acts will be that the information and consultation rights already well established at European level will in many cases be supplemented by internationally composed “worker delegation” on the board of directors or supervisory board. While offering new opportunities for influencing company decision-making processes, this also constitutes major challenges for worker representatives and their trade unions.

The conference aimed to promote the idea of worker participation at board level in transnational companies such as the European Company (SE). It brought together experts, practitioners, trade union officials and political decision-makers from both the 25 EU member states and the European level to discuss the meaning and experiences of worker participation rights at transnational level and the role these can play in building up the European Social Model.

In several presentations and a panel discussion – in each case followed by joint debates – the following topics were addressed:

• The meaning of statutory worker participation in company decision-making



• Organising effective cross-border cooperation between worker representatives and their trade unions – existing experiences



• Worker board-level representation – a snapshot. First findings of a nine-country survey



• Panel discussion: How does Worker Participation contribute to the achievement of Social Europe?