§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many employees are covered by European Works Councils in(a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the UK. [39783]
§ Mr. Ian McCartneyThe European Works Councils Directive has to be implemented in the United Kingdom by 15 December 1999. Until it is implemented, there is no obligation on companies to include workers in the United Kingdom in arrangements for European-level information and consultation, although a considerable number have already done so voluntarily.
The Government do not collect information on the numbers of employees affected by voluntary arrangements or likely to be covered when the directive comes into force. From research carried out for the TUC, it appears that around 4 million workers in the United Kingdom may be covered by the Directive once it is in force here.