AGREEMENT NUMBER - VS/2020/0101 Expanding and Improving Workplace Democracy as a Prerequisite for Humanising Labour and the Work Environment – DIRECT II

The project DIRECT II is focused on trends in direct employee participation in seven EU Member States

(Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, Italy, Poland, UK and Spain) aiming to explore the impact of direct employee participation on industrial relations on company level and to explore a number of good practice examples of enterprises in the partner countries that have successfully introduced new technologies (of whatever form) with the full co-operation of employees, through a process of direct participation.

Project

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The co-applicant organisations will follow an established structure for communication, division of tasks and monitoring of the implementation of the activities developed in the framework of the previous successfully implemented joint projects by the core partners in the project Consortium (INFORMIA, INFORMIA II, INFPREVENTA and DIRECT) .

1

To expand and deepen the study of direct workers’ participation in governance in the partner countries, including unexplored sectors and businesses, where new technologies are implemented;

2

To explore in more detail the relationship between direct participation in governance and:
- humanising the work environment;
- improving skills and workplace welfare;
- improving worker satisfaction and motivation.

3

To study further the links between direct participation and other forms of employee participation and representation, in the context of the direct influence on the above mentioned aspects of work and the working environment, including the impact of new technologies

4

To study further the links between direct participation and other forms of employee participation and representation, in the context of the direct influence on the above mentioned aspects of work and the working environment, including the impact of new technologies;

5

To explore the importance of the simultaneous application of direct participation, industrial relations and trade union representation for improving the working environment and the motivation for work

6

To make a comparative analysis of the trends in the partner countries

7

To train workers, workers' representatives, trade unionists and employers on the specifics of direct participation and its links with the representative (including the trade union representation) participation, in particular in relation to the introduction of new technologies

8

To organise discussions between trade unionists and other workers' representatives, managers and employers on the role of direct participation in the context of its social dimensions at national and transnational levels by exchange of information and best practice examples

9

To develop a ‘Handbook of Good Practice Guidelines’ to assist management and employee representatives to smoothly facilitate the introduction of new technologies through enterprise level joint steering committees and joint implementation groups; for combining direct participation with other forms of representation and industrial relations as well as corporate social responsibility practices

10

To promote direct participation practices and positive outcomes for social development and economic effects in the partner countries and other EU countries

11

To make recommendations for actions by the EU institutions and the institutions of the Member States for the promotion of direct and indirect employee participation.

News, Events and Workshops

Events Final Conference

The Final Conference of the project took place on 14 July in Sofia with 78 participants. In spite the reluctance of invitees to come to Sofia in July, the use of new technologies to develop a ‘hybrid’ event, with inputs through video and zoom platforms (an issue very relevant...

Workshops Irish National Workshop

The Irish National Workshop took place on 9 and 10 May 2022 in Cork, Ireland. It was a hybrid event with 18 people participating in presence and 20 online participants. The presentations were done by representatives of the IDEAS Institute, SIPTU, ETUI, EUROFOUND, Maynooth...