Employee Representatives in European Organizations

Worldwide, and also within the European Union, there is a strong debate on the conditions for a creative social dialogue in organizations. The problem-solving potential of this formal dialogue between employer and employee representatives is crucial and has already been shown in different organizations, however, is not always easy to achieve. In this chapter, we first discuss the role of social dialogue in Europe and the changes that currently take place. Then we present the framework of the studies forming the base of this book: the New European Industrial Relations (NEIRE) model. This model focuses on outcomes and key factors contributing to creative social dialogue in European organizations. At the end of the chapter we briefly describe the results of surveys and interviews gathered from more than 700 human resources managers in eleven European countries, participating in this project.