Landmark agreement on information and consultation rights

Landmark agreement on information and consultation rights reached by TUNED, the EPSU-led trade union delegation, and EUPAE for central government.

(21 January 2016) The Social Dialogue Committee for Central Government Administrations ( SDC CGA) signed an agreement on 21 December which sets out a general framework of common minimum standards on information and consultation rights of workers and civil servants in central government on matters of direct concern to them.

This brought months of controversial, sometimes tough, but in the end successful negotiations in the SDC CGA , to an end.

The text is available in EN and soon in other languages. To become effective the Commission must now transpose the Agreement into a directive for adoption in Council. TUNED and EUPAE have called upon the Commission to conduct this transposition as quickly as possible.

This is good news for millions of government employees who have so far been excluded from the EU information and consultation legal framework and whose fundamental rights to be informed and consulted have been taken away by a number of EU governments. The agreement fills in a legal vacuum at EU level by providing minimum requirement for the employers to inform and consult trade unions on restructuring, health and safety, working time and work life balance policy. It should also help regain rights at national level and help maintain those that are still in place. It shows that against all criticism, social dialogue can work at EU level with a view to reinforce social dialogue at national level. -

For the press release