The project DIRECT II, promoted by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria, 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. The project seeks also to continue to explore some of the practices of direct participation, which are introduced under traditional technologies and to compare them with the practices of direct participation, which are introduced as a result of the introduction of new technologies. The project is aiming to research if direct participation in management even in the introduction of new technologies, can improve efficiencies, productivity, better work organization and the commitment of the workforce, including opportunity for workers to suggest ideas for organisational innovation; contribute to improving workers qualifications and skills; humanise the working environment through, for example, the introduction of flexible working time; improved occupational health and safety; allow for flexibility in executing tasks, including job rotation and homeworking; as well as appropriate forms of remuneration relating to the introduction of new technologies.
The project will include various research activities, round tables and workshops, including a final conference. Dissemination of the results will be through publications and the creation of a project website. The main target groups are trade union representatives at company level; other workers representatives; workers and employees; enterprise managers; trade union and employer organisations at the EU and Member State level; and national and EU policy-makers.
Workplace democracy has been an important focus of European trade union since the 1980s. There are several main forms of workers’ participation, which have been implemented as a means of improving the workplace democracy during the following 40 years, in particular financial participation, representative participation and direct participation. It is an important focus of the European trade union movement (see ETUC Resolution Strategy for More Democracy at Work) and of employers’ and management activities, expanding the use of forms of direct and indirect democracy as managerial approaches.
Workplace democracy, especially direct workers’ participation in governance (management), besides improving labour motivation and efficiency of production/services, can also be used to humanise work and the working environment and also increase job satisfaction and workforce development. It is a system of work organisation that allows for the input of employees into the day-to-day operations of the enterprise. It can include both consultation and delegation arrangements in the workplace, which includes both individual and group participation. The promotion of direct participation can be a competitive strategy for an enterprise, contributing to continued economic recovery within the EU and making European enterprises more competitive in the global marketplace by been more efficient, lowering production costs, allowing for greater innovation and providing for increased commitment among employees. Many previous studies have shown that all forms of workplace democracy, especially direct participation in governance, result in improved worker motivation and increased productivity.
With the rapid advance and application of digital technologies EU workplaces are changing rapidly. To stay competitive, to retain market share and, most importantly, maintain employment levels, companies and workers must adapt to these changes. In this context, digitalisation refers to integration and application of different digital technologies and innovations across the social and economic fields, such as: computerisation, automation, robotics, manufacturing technologies, social media, etc.
When the need to stay competitive and profitable requires enterprises to introduce new technologies, either in manufacturing or service business sectors, this can result in significant organisational change that present management with a range of challenges. They are concerning the reorganisation of enterprise and management structures, allowing greater autonomy of employees, investing in up-skilling of the workforce and/or recruiting essential expertise, requiring flexibility and co-operation from both sides (including workers’ representatives and trade unions), to prevent a ‘trial and error” approach to the introduction of the new technology.
Previous surveys and projects have led to the conclusion that direct participation is most often associated with a certain type of organisation of production and labour, such as lean production, ‘Toyota’ type systems and others, mostly group forms of work organisation, that aim to achieve a reduction in the cost of materials, energy, technological discipline, etc. New forms of work organisation are tied to innovative technical and technological solutions, but can also be applied to more traditional technical and technological processes, that requires a high degree of autonomy for individual workers.
Only concentrating direct participation within the context of management styles, without taking into account the level of employee satisfaction, work motivation and working conditions, can lead to increased work intensity (not always compensated by higher incomes ), exhaustion and "burn out", conflicts in the allocation of work tasks, in some cases resulting in a reduction of the workforce, redundancy or reassignment , as well as a limitation on workers' rights to representation and protection of their interests (working hours, health and safety at work, remuneration, job security, etc.) including through trade unions.
This does not mean a formal ban on trade unions or a restriction on forms of representative democracy (including information and consultation rights), nor is it confirmed by data from previous projects and studies. On the contrary, the strong engagement of workers with certain types of organisation of production and of labour and the high intensity of work can practically limit the scope for another representation.
Alternatively, direct participation in management, even in cases of the introduction of new technologies, can improve efficiencies, productivity, better work organisation and commitment of the workforce, including opportunity for workers to give ideas for organisational innovation; contribute to improving workers qualifications and skills; humanise the working environment through, for example, the introduction of flexible working time; improved occupational health and safety; allow for flexibility in executing tasks, including job rotation and homeworking (where possible); as well as appropriate forms of remuneration relating to the introduction of new technologies.
Consequently, the introduction of new technologies allows management and employee representatives, working together, to make the choices best suited to their particular enterprise and business sector, such as the selection of hardware, the design and configuration of software, and the organisational changes required for the use of the technology systems selected. The choices made can have important implications for the success of the technology change, its impact on employment levels, the reorganisation of the workforce, the skill needs and the quality of working life.
Achieving such a work environment would be more effective if it is associated with forms of representative participation, such as provision of information and consultation by management, health and safety committees, options for advisory or full participation in supervisory or management bodies etc., as well as representation by trade unions for the process of collective bargaining.
It is possible to conclude from the findings of the DIRECT project (2017-2018) (http://www.direct-project.org) that direct participation in management, even when viewed more as a managerial approach, is more widespread and produces better results for both employers and employees in enterprises with a good system of industrial relations and representative participation (i.e. trade union organisations, collective agreements and active systems for information and consultation, for example, works councils).
All these objectives meet the general objective of the Call for Proposals as they are focused upon the understanding of the existing and new challenges and develop initiatives in the field of information, consultation and direct and indirect workers’ participation. The intended exchange of information and best practice examples among the targeted countries correlates to the priority objective a) of the Call which builds upon creating favourable conditions for setting up mechanisms arising from the application of EU law on employee involvement. The objective of expanding and deepening the study of direct workers’ participation meets the objective b) and c); while the objective of promoting direct participation practices and positive outcomes for social development and economic effects in the partner countries and other EU countries meets the formulated objective c). To make recommendations for the actions of the EU and national institutions for the promotion of direct and indirect employee participation is also in line with the specific objectives b) and c).
To reach the above described aims and operational objectives the project will implement a set of activities, which will be organised in a duration of twenty-four months (01/2020 – 01/2022). The main activities will be divided into eight work packages, providing a clear time frame and defining the responsibility and involvement of each co-applicant, as follows:
The research methodology will be developed by the project research team, led by the Bulgarian research team leader, which will provide the guidelines, instructions and content for the data collection and research at national level and the requirements for the content and structure of the national reports, the Comparative report and the Handbook of Good Practice Guidelines.
The project will examine direct participation in two business sectors (one services sector and one manufacturing sector) through an agreed survey questionnaire, followed by an agreed number of interviews with management and employee representatives in a number of enterprises operating in these business sectors in the participating EU Member States.
In order to promote the project outcomes, all the findings from the research and analytic activities will be presented and reviewed during the six National Workshops, the three European Round Tables and the Final International Conference.
The project is divided into three phases:
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).
The overall coordination, management and monitoring will be implemented by the lead applicant CITUB and all the guidelines, requirements and content of the research and analytic activities will be provided and coordinated by the Project Research Team Leader who is also a representative of CITUB and the project external expert. In all the activities of the project the branch and regional structures of the national trade union confederations and employers’ organisations are expected to take an active part.
The Bulgarian research team leader will be supported by an external expert – Kevin P.O’Kelly who was part of the project consortium in all the preceding 4 projects (his CV is attached to the paper copy of the application documents- the folder of CITUB). While the national project partners are all experts and practitioners in their respective information and consultation and industrial relations systems, there is a requirement for the project to have an overview of how these arrangements fit within EU-level social dialogue, employee involvement and workers’ rights legislation and practice. The selected external expert will provide this requirement through his long experience and expertise in EU social dialogue systems and legislation. The roles and responsibilities of the external expert will be the following:
There will also be contributions by some experts, representing the Associate organizations – BIA and RHUL, other representative national social partners, other EU Member States, the European institutions, such as the ETUC, BUSINESSEUROPE, and European Industry federations during the three European Round Tables, the six National Workshops and the Final Conference.
The involvement of the co-applicant organisations, their roles and responsibility will be strictly defined in the preparatory phase of the project, but in general all co-applicants will share a common engagement and will have to implement very identical task in each co-applicant country, namely:
The research will be undertaken in three stages:
The project will examine direct participation in two business sectors (one services sector and one manufacturing sector) through an agreed survey questionnaire, followed by an agreed number of interviews with management and employee representatives in a number of enterprises operating in these business sectors in the participating EU Member States. Also a number of workers in some of the enterprises would be interviewed as part of the national case studies.
Only enterprises in which all or a substantial percentage of the workforce is unionised will be investigated, one important aspect of the project will be the attitude and support (or opposition) of trade unions to direct participation. As direct participation is very often introduced through negotiations, there is evidence that it is enhanced by the presence of trade unions within the enterprise.
National workshops will be held in each of the participating Member States to discuss the provisional findings of the national study with social partner representatives, academics and representatives of the relevant government ministries. There will be an emphasis on ‘good practice’ examples of the various forms of direct participation as part of the national workshops. Three European Round Tables will be held, following three of the six project Steering Committee meetings to discuss the European dimensions of the research and to compare the data and ‘good practice’ examples.
A final international conference will be held to present and discuss the overall outcomes of the project, to disseminate the key findings, to encourage a broader debate on the benefits of direct participation, as a means of empowering employees to the advantage of both the workforce and the enterprise.
Start: 1.02.2020
End: 1.02.2020
Objectives and approach
The project steering committee (PSC) and the Project Research Team (PRT) will be established during the kick-off meeting. They will comprise of one representative from each co-applicant organizations. The PSC will be responsible for the overall management of the central activities and tasks, key decision making and project coordination. The PRT will be responsible for the overall management of the central activities and tasks, key decision making and project coordination. PSC and PRT will comprise of one representative from each co-beneficiary organization – CITUB, FDV, IDEAS, SEK, 1 Mayo, KRIB and SGH.
Proposed activities
7 PSC meetings with the participation of PRT – during the PSC meetings representative from the Associated organizations – BIA and RHUL; the external expert Kevin P. O’Kelly will also take part. During the kick-off meeting the PSC will provide a scheme of work and distribution of tasks (work packages). The PSC will produce a detailed schedule of work and be responsible for quality and time management. The PSC will present dissemination and mainstreaming plan and a strategy for risk management; It will implement continuous and final evaluation; prepare all necessary implementation and financial reports; organize the venues, participants, speakers, etc. for the various events, organize the participation of medias for the different events, organize publications and visibility of the project, develop the project leaflet; coordinate the online platform.
Results
Organized and carried-out 7 PSC meetings; established and coordinated PSC and PRT; signed Internal Cooperation Agreements; developed detailed project planning, communication and dissemination strategy; coordinated and implemented project activities; defined financial regulations and rules, establishment and elaboration of a continuous control, monitoring and reporting systems, evaluated and monitored project; prepared interim and final implementation and financial reports; project leaflet; maintained and coordinated web-site and network.
Start: 1.03.2020
End: 1.03.2021
Objectives and approach
With regard to the proposed methodology the project will examine direct participation in two business sectors (one services sector and one manufacturing sector) through an agreed survey questionnaire, followed by an agreed number of interviews with management and employee representatives in a number of enterprises operating in these business sectors in the participating EU Member States. Also a number of workers in some of the enterprises would be interviewed as part of the national case studies. Only enterprises in which all or a substantial percentage of the workforce is unionised will be investigated, one important aspect of the project will be the attitude and support (or opposition) of trade unions to direct participation. As direct participation is very often introduced through negotiations, there is evidence that it is enhanced by the presence of trade unions within the enterprise.
Proposed activities
The research will be undertaken in three stages:
Stage 1 will consist of desk research on the links between direct participation and other forms of employee participation and representation, in the context of their direct influence on humanising the work environment, improving skills and workplace welfare, improving work satisfaction and worker motivation, including the impact of new technologies in the six countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Spain).
Stage 2 will consist of interviews (from 5 to 10) with selected respondents from the social partners and other organisations who may be key stakeholders in employee participation (e.g. national trade union officials, branch officials and shop stewards, employers’ associations, public policy experts etc.).
Stage 3 will consist of case studies of selected companies.
Three frameworks for the three stages will be elaborated by the PRT.
Results
Analytic Framework for the 3 stages; Developed questionnaires and instructions for interviews; Carried out research by each partner (collected figures and data according the analytic framework for the three stages)
Start: 1.03.2021
End: 1.6.2021
Objectives and approach
Documentation of all the finding from the 3 stages research into structured national reports. The PRT will define the content and structure of the National report and send clear instructions to the co-beneficiaries.
Proposed activities
During this work package each co-beneficiary should document the results of the carried out research, in a National Report. All National Reports should be translated into English. They also should be made available on the web-site of the project in their national languages and English.
Results
Framework structure and content of the national reports developed by PRT; Written, translated into English and published on the website of the project 6 National Reports.
Start: 1.5.2021
End: 30.08.2021
Objectives and approach
Organizing 6 one day National Workshops for discussion, exchange of experience and capacity building in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Italy, Ireland, Poland and Spain. The National Workshop in Bulgaria will be organized jointly by CITUB and KRIB and supported by the associate organization BIA.
Proposed activities
Defining the topics, agenda and the participants should be decided by every co-beneficiary. These items should be in line with the aims, objectives and research findings of the project. Every co-beneficiary is supposed to have 1 days’ workshop with a minimum number of participants - 25.
Results
Carried out 3 European Round Tables
Reports of the European Round Tables, conclusions and recommendations for each country published on the web-site of the project
Start: 1.06.2020
End: 20.12.2020
Objectives and approach
Organizing and carrying out 3 European Round Tables (one-day events following the second, third and fourth SC meeting) for discussion and exchange of experience with all stakeholders in the field of Information, Consultation and Workers’ participation from the hosting country and Europe, in general.
Proposed activities
The PSC should discuss and define the topics of the three European Round Tables, define the Agenda, presentations, participants, speakers, etc. and together with the hosting organization should settle down all the organizational issues like venue, dates, participants, financial issues, etc.
According the proposed budget some external experts could attend the European Round Tables.
The topics of the three European Round Tables could be changed or modified in the course of the implementation of the project and their venues and dates will be decided during the kick-off meeting. According the detailed work program the first European Round Tables is scheduled for May in Rome, the second is scheduled for September in Madrid and the third is scheduled for December in Dublin. For these events a life streaming will be organized and in this way the project could reach and be disseminated among all interested stakeholders.
Results
Carried out 6 National workshops; Reports of the workshops, conclusions and recommendations for each country which are made available on the web-site of the project.
Start: 1.06.2021
End: 30.10.2021
Objectives and approach
The objectives of this WP will be to compare the results of the national studies in a consolidated European Comparative Report with conclusions and recommendations and to develop a Handbook of Good Practice Guidelines’ to assist management and employee representatives to smoothly facilitate the introduction of new technologies based on the data analysis and research.
Proposed activities
On the basis of National reports, the conclusions and results from the carried out six National workshops and the three European Round Tables, Ekaterina Ribarova (PRT leader) with Kevin P. O’Kelly and all co-beneficiaries will summarize the results and make a comparative analysis of the national researches and define conclusions and recommendations for each country and for EU in general. During that stage some materials/analysis developed by Eurofound, ETUC (ETUI), and other research institutes and universities could be used. The research team will also develop a Handbook of Good Practice Guidelines
The Comparative Report should be published in 1400 copies and its content will be about 100 pages. Handbook of Good Practice Guidelines will be 25 pages (500 copies). CITUB will be responsible for the layout (design) of the books and also for its publishing and dissemination. The books will be written in English and translated in BG/GR/IT/ES/PL and made available on the website of the project.
Results
Developed and published European Comparative Report (translated versions of the comparative report in BG/GR/IT/ES/PL, available on the website of the project)
Developed and published Handbook of Good Practice Guidelines (translated versions of the Handbook in BG/GR/IT/ES/PL, available on the website of the project)
Start: 01.08.2021
End: 20.12.2021
Objectives and approach
The objective of this WP will be to present and disseminate the outcomes of the project to a broad audience and to make conclusions and recommendations in order to promote direct participation practices and positive outcomes for social development and economic effects in the partner countries and other EU countries;
Proposed activities
One of the main events of the project is a two days’ Final International Conference in Sofia/Bulgaria. CITUB supported by the PSC will organize the Conference – each co-beneficiary can invite some participants from their country. Also some experts from different institutions will be invited to make contributions. The PSC will define the Agenda of the Conference, the speakers, the content, interpretation, etc. All the details regarding the conference will be discussed during the sixth project meeting and decided by all partners.
The Final International Conference according the work program is scheduled for December 2021 in Bulgaria.
Results
Carried out Final International Conference; Sustainable and enlarged network of stakeholders in the sphere of information, consultation and workers’ participation.
Start: 15.02.2020
End: 1.02.2022
Objectives and approach
The objective of this WP will be to present and disseminate the outcomes of the project, to present and share the good practice examples, to distribute all the materials developed during the life-time of the project.
Proposed activities
Results