Représentation au niveau européen
Since Switzerland is a member of neither the EU nor the EEA there is no obligation to adopt directives which concern the representation of employees. There are therefore no legal provisions on the implementation of Directive 94/45/EC on European works councils or Directive 2001/86/EC on SE works councils.
European works councils
The Swiss trade unions have from the outset been active in trying to set up European works councils in Swiss companies affected by Directive 94/45/EC. Out of around 100 Swiss companies which come within the scope of Directive 94/45/EC, 40 have an active European works council. In almost all cases, it has been possible to delegate employee representatives from the Swiss parts of companies to these bodies. In these undertakings, experts from Swiss trade unions often assist the European works councils. In addition, there are also numerous groups with their headquarters in the EU or in other countries and subsidiaries in Switzerland, which also permit employee representatives from Switzerland.
As a rule, in Swiss establishments it is the staff committees which elect representatives to the European works council.
European Company
This enterprise form does not appear to be particularly attractive to Swiss companies. So far, three Swiss undertakings – Clariant, SwissRE and Alpiq – have established a European Company.
