Abstract
The transnational organization of workers makes use of different institutional configurations and modes of action. This text analyzes one of these forms of organization: European Works Councils (EWCs). These structures reveal how information and consultation processes in EU-scale enterprises can enhance transnational labor participation. Based on the sectoral impact of the EWCs in Portugal, this text emphasizes two dimensions of analysis: on the one hand, a formal and quantitative dimension associated with a content analysis of EWCs agreements involving workers' representatives in the metallurgical, chemical and financial sectors. On the other hand, a qualitative dimension resulting from interviews with workers' representatives in EWCs seeking to show good practices associated with their operation. In this case, the EWC of Volkswagen Group deserves special attention. It is argued that effective labor transnationalization will always have to promote a trade-off between handling persistent obstacles and maximizing emerging good practices. In this sense, even being a reality, whose path is already made, the EWCs proceed in building, as heretofore (and perhaps even more so in the context of economic crisis), a more cohesive transnational labor identity.
Keywords:
European Works Councils; Obstacles; Sectoral agreements; Portugal; Best practices