EUROPEAN UNION: An EU information and consultation directive, which was finalised on December 17, stipulates that companies in the European Union employing more than 50 people must consult their workers on all major decisions, ranging from restructuring to measures likely to lead to significant changes in work organisation or contractual relations. The workers must also be kept informed of the company's economic situation.
Failure to comply with the terms of the directive, which will come into effect in three years' time, is expected to lead to "effective, proportionate and dissuasive" penalties.
The EU social affairs commissioner, commenting on the legislation, said that companies would now have to "respect their workers at least as much as they respect their shareholders."