Dossier : Labour inspectorate : crossed perspectives from France and Switzerland
Joint Company Inspection in Geneva: lessons in labour market control from a trade union initiative
Alessandro PELIZZARI, Aris MARTINELLI et Nicolas PONS-VIGNON
While labour inspectorates have been under pressure from changes in the labour market for several decades, collaboration with trade unions (co-enforcement) appears to be a promising avenue for improving employee protection. This article looks at the establishment of the Joint company inspec-tion (IPE) in the Swiss canton of Geneva, which is the outcome of a trade union initiative in a context marked by increased competition following the opening of borders to employees from the European Union. It contributes to the debates on relations between trade unions, employers’ associations and public authorities in the area of labour market control, and highlights the central role played by trade unions in strengthening inspection and the protection of employees.
Keywords: Switzerland, labour inspectorate, co-enforcement, trade unions, industrial relations, tripartism.
Between objectives and conditions on the ground: the legitimacy of middle managers at the labour inspectorate in the era of the new public management?
Anaïs BONANNO
By studying the ways in which control unit managers (RUC) at the labour inspectorate try to maintain their authority over their subordinates, this article examines the ambivalent role of middle managers in the operationalisation of new public management. Ten years after the inauguration of their role, control unit managers broadly reach for work evaluation measures; as for the control agents under their supervision, while they maintain broad professional independence, many of them have internalised the merits of the quantification of work. However, against a context of budget austerity, the managerial authority of control unit managers is maintained in other ways, in the day-to-day support of agents and management of shortages. The resulting time constraints highlight the uneasy coexistence of two professional value criteria, a tension which many control unit managers resolve at the cost of intensifying their work.
Keywords: Labour inspectorate, new public management, middle managers, management by objectives, hierarchical relations.
Dossier : European Work Councils: issues of Brexit and of the new EWC directive
Brexit and European Works Councils: an issue for negotiation
Anna FRISONE, Marcus KAHMANN, Patrick WITZAK, Federico FUCHS, Kevin GUILLAS-CAVAN, Marco HAUPTMEIER and Markus HERTWIG
The British government’s decision to leave the European Union (EU) cast doubts over the application of European legislation for businesses operating in the United Kingdom, including the legislation governing European Works Councils (EWC). As a result, multinational businesses based in the UK have to transfer their EWC to a member state. Additionally, EWC agreements in multinationals operating in the UK may be renegotiated downward with regard to the representation of the country. This article examines the impact of Brexit on EWCs through a comparative analysis at an international level, based on 64 multinationals and 16 detailed monographs of businesses. It focuses on the EWC agreement renegotiation processes in businesses legally impacted by Brexit, and reveals an uneven distribution of regulatory outcomes of these negotiations depending on the country in which the EWC is established.
Keywords: Brexit, European Works Council (EWC), European directive, multinational business, collective bargaining.
Words from stakeholders: the state of social dialogue in European Works Councils on the eve of the new directive
Against the backdrop of an amendment to the European Works Councils (EWC) directive, IRES’ research team as part of the project “European Works Councils after Brexit: Institutional Stability, Change and Demise in Transnational Employment Relations (EWCaB)” organised a round table on April 3rd, 2025 bringing together experts and EWC actors at IRES. They were invited to both provide appraisals of social dialogue within EWCs and identify the necessary levers of action to maintain and develop the activity of EWCs.
Keywords: European Works Councils (EWC), European directive, social dialogue.
The institutionalisation of remote working in France after the health crisis: an analysis of the different models of collective bargaining
Jens THOEMMES
Based on an analysis of 107 company agreements signed between 2017 and 2024, this article shows how the institutionalisation of remote working is transforming the organisation of work in France. Three findings emerge. Firstly, the empirical analysis reveals a growing differentiation of practices, with three distinct models – restrictive, integrative, and transformative – characterised by significant variations in material support provided and exclusion criteria. Secondly, the health crisis marks a turning point in redefining the objectives of remote working, with increased emphasis on health and business continuity issues. Thirdly, the institutionalisation of remote working has created a new category of “non-remote workers”, defined through multiple exclusion criteria, some of which, such as seniority, part-time status, or contract type, reveal arbitrary selection mechanisms.
Keywords: company agreements, remote working, organisation of work, health crisis.