ABSTRACT
The first decisive steps towards the establishment of European Works Councils (EWCs) were taken in the mid-1980s with a number of voluntary agreements – initially in French undertakings – which provided for the setting up of European information committees. The EWC is a institution in industrial relations, novel in its transnational character, and unique in international comparison. Both its origins and its potential for future development have a dynamic quality which is reflected in the approach and methods employed in this study. The choice of countries – France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom – was determined by the overall research strategy. The selection not only embraced the four largest members of the European Union, with comparable levels of economic development and performance, but also encompassed four countries whose national systems of industrial relations are representative of the spectrum of systems found in Europe, both in their variation and the specific configuration of their variables.
