Industrial Citizenship under Regime Competition: The Case of the European Works Councils

In: Journal of European public policy, Band 4, Heft 4, S. 643-664

Abstract

Discusses the coordination of industrial citizenship rights in European nations. Although it guarantees a labor force's right of collective participation at their place of employment, industrial citizenship is written in either company or labor law; rights founded in company law ensure participation in economic decision making, whereas those based in labor law affect managerial authority in employment relationships. The exposure of industrial citizenship rights to international competition transformed the harmonization of European industrial citizenship rights into the supranational regulation of national systems; consequently, workplace representation in company law was entirely subverted by labor law & the integration of European citizenship was displaced by maintaining the integrity of national systems. The consequences of the attempt to coordinate European citizenship are identified as incomplete inclusion, the continuation of competition, & the gradual erosion of national regimes that will accelerate erosion in European nations with lower citizenship standards. It is concluded that a successful integration of citizenship rights will be more market- & efficiency-oriented & internally diverse than present national regimes. 37 References. J. W. Parker