Proposal for a regulation
Article 34 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. If more than 500 employees of the SPE, corresponding to at least two thirds of its total workforce, work in a Member State or in Member States which provide for broader employee participation than the Member State in which the SPE has its registered office, the following provisions shall apply: a) The management or administrative organ shall take the necessary steps to open negotiations with the representatives of the employees of the SPE or its subsidiaries on an agreement covering the involvement of employees in the SPE. For this purpose, a special negotiating body shall be set up in accordance with points (b) to (d). b) The members of the special negotiating body shall be elected or appointed. When the members of the special negotiating body are elected or appointed, it must be ensured that these members are elected or appointed in proportion to the number of employees employed in each Member State by allocating in respect of each Member State one seat per portion of employees employed in that Member State which equals 10%, or a fraction thereof, of the number of employees employed in all the Member States taken together. c) The Member States shall determine the method to be used for the election or appointment of the members of the special negotiating body. In so doing they shall take the necessary measures to ensure that, as far as possible, each subsidiary or each establishment is represented on that body by at least one member. Such measures must not increase the overall number of members. d) Without prejudice to national rules laying down thresholds for the establishment of a representative body, the SPE shall provide that employees in subsidiaries or establishments in which, irrespective of the employees' wishes, there are no employees' representatives have the right themselves to elect or appoint members of the special negotiating body. e) The special negotiating body and the competent organ of the SPE shall determine, by written agreement, arrangements for the involvement of employees within the SPE. f) Subject to the provisions of point (g), the special negotiating body shall take decisions by a majority of its members. Each member shall have one vote. g) The special negotiating body may decide, by the majority laid down in sentence 4, not to open negotiations or to terminate negotiations already opened and to rely on the law applicable in accordance with paragraph 1 which is in force in the Member States where the SPE has employees. Such a decision shall halt the procedure to conclude the agreement referred to in point (f). Where such a decision has been taken, none of the provisions of the standard rules (see point (k)) shall apply. The majority required for the decision not to open or to terminate negotiations shall be the votes of 50% of the members representing at least 51% of the employees, with the proviso that these members must represent employees in at least two Member States. h) The competent organ of the SPE and the special negotiating body shall negotiate in a spirit of cooperation with a view to reaching an agreement on arrangements for the involvement of employees within the SPE. The agreement between the competent organ of the SPE and the special negotiating body shall specify at least the following: (i) the scope of the agreement, (ii) the number of members of the SPE's administrative or supervisory body which the employees shall be entitled to elect, appoint, recommend or oppose, the procedures as to how these members may be elected, appointed, recommended or opposed by the employees, and their rights, (iii) the date of entry into force of the agreement and its duration, cases where the agreement should be renegotiated and the procedure for its renegotiation. i) Negotiations shall commence as soon as the special negotiating body is established and may continue for six months thereafter. The parties may decide, by joint agreement, to extend negotiations beyond the period referred to in sentence 1, up to a total of nine months from the establishment of the special negotiating body. j) If, by the end of the period referred to in point (i), the parties have not reached agreement and the special negotiating body has not taken a decision pursuant to point (g), the rules laid down in point (k) (standard rules) shall apply. They shall also apply if the parties agree as much. k) In keeping with the provisions of points (g) and (j), the following provisions shall apply in respect of employee involvement in the SPE: (i) the employees of the SPE and its subsidiaries shall have the right to elect, appoint, recommend or oppose the appointment of one-third of the members of the administrative or supervisory body of the SPE. (ii) the special negotiating body shall decide on the allocation of seats within the administrative or supervisory body among the members representing the employees from the various Member States or on the way in which the SPE's employees may recommend or oppose the appointment of the members of these bodies, according to the proportion of the SPE’s employees in each Member State. If the employees from one or more Member States are not covered on the basis of this proportional criterion, the special negotiating body shall appoint a member from one of those Member States, if possible – where appropriate – from the Member State in which the SPE has its registered office. (iii) every member of the administrative or supervisory body of the SPE who has been elected, appointed or recommended by the special negotiating body or, depending on the circumstances, by the employees shall be a full member of the body in question with the same rights (including the right to vote) and obligations as the members representing the SPE.