Towards a European Labour Identity

Book excerpt: Since 1996 a growing number of European employees have access to a European works council (EWC), a transnational employee body designed to complement national forms of labour representation . This volume brings together a hep hive of contributors who present valuable new insights into how employee representatives from different European countries perform their jobs as members of European Works Councils in an attempt to develop some sense of a common European labour identity The transnational character of the EWC makes it an ideal microscopic structure through which the wider discourse surrounding identity – especially when associated with globalization, Europeanization, and mobility – can occur. ‘Towards a European Labour Identity’ examines not only the workings of the EWCs, utilising individual case studies, but also analyses and asses the link with the broader discussions on European identity as well as European trade union co-ordination and solidarity.