Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 22 June 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

European Works Councils and Related Irish Legislation: Discussion

Mr. Tom Hayes:

Yes. All over the place. The view taken by most of the major multinationals I deal with is that they engage with their employees as their employees want them to engage. For instance, companies will have works councils or betriebsräte, or call them what you will, across Europe. They will have union representation across Europe and they will engage with unions across Europe. If their employees express an interest in joining a union, and do so in sufficient numbers as provided for in the law in the individual countries, then they will engage with them.