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The management of the US group Aptar and its special negotiating body (SNB) will meet on 15 February to review the draft agreement establishing its European Works Council. The group has appointed the French branch of its UK subsidiary as its representative for the purpose of negotiating the agreement which, as a result, will be governed by French law. The EWC will have 17 seats and one representative for each country with at least 20 employees. The UK representative will sit on the European Works Council for the first four years of its term, and negotiations will commence in year three with a view to reaching a decision on this representative’s future on the EWC. The main delegations come from France (4,647 employees and 7 seats) and Germany (2,156 employees and 4 seats). The EWC covers just over 7,800 employees in the EU. The draft agreement contains a highly detailed clause on the EWC’s powers and cites two topics to be focused on in greater depth: “occupational health and safety” and “sustainable development and the environment”, which will be covered at two training days. Members will be allowed 64 hours per year to perform their duties. This figure rises to 96 hours per year for executive committee members and 128 hours for the secretary. EWC members are at liberty to select whatever training body they choose to deliver a two-day course during the EWC’s term. The EWC is entitled to commission an expert of its choosing to execute a mission costing up to 60,000 euros per year. It can also seek assistance from an expert nominated by IndustriAll Europe, which has already supported the SNB during the negotiations. As far as we are aware, this is the first draft agreement to take account of the risk of a pandemic, by granting permission for the EWC to hold remote meetings (either via videoconferencing or hybrid meetings, attended by some members in person) in the event of a public health crisis, and in exceptional circumstances.
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