ABSTRACT
In dealing with European Works Council (EWC) developments within a particular industry, there is a strong tendency to engage in an institutional analysis of the number, content and status of agreements in the sector. However, in considering the emergence and development of EWCs in the manufacture, distribution and retailing of textiles, clothing and footwear (TCF), such an approach would be both anodyne and apolitical. As Martinez Lucio and Weston (2000) have argued:
Methodologically, the study of EWCs needs to go beyond the content of agreements, their structure or their pattern of bargaining, no matter how important these issues. The reality is that EWCs are shaped by the environing political and social context. The interconnections between different types of regulation, state support, political action and ideological projects will be crucial for the development of this new form of regulation. A broader remit in EWC research is not solely an academic issue but also a political one.
