S.L. 452.107 Art. 7Content of the agreement.

(1) The central management and the Special Negotiating

Body shall negotiate in a spirit of cooperation with a view to reaching a written agreement on the detailed arrangements for implementing the information and consultation of employees provided in regulation 1(2).

(2) Without prejudice to the autonomy of the parties, the written agreement mentioned in regulation 1(2) shall determine:

(a) the undertakings of the Community-scale group of undertakings or the establishments of the Community-scale undertaking which are covered by the agreement;

(b) the composition of the European Works Council, the number of members, the allocation of seats, taking into account where possible the need for balanced representation of employees with regard to their activities, category and gender, and the term of office;

(c) the functions and the procedure for information and consultation of the European Works Council and the arrangements for linking information and consultation of the European Works Council and national employee representation bodies, in accordance with the principles set out in regulation 3(2);

(d) the venue, frequency and duration of meetings of the European Works Council;

(e) where necessary, the composition, the appointment procedure, the functions and the procedural rules of the select committee set up within the European Works Council;

(f) the financial and material resources to be allocated to the European Works Council;

(g) the date of entry into force of the agreement and its duration, the arrangements for amending or terminating the agreement and the cases in which the agreement shall be renegotiated and the procedure for its renegotiation, including, where necessary, where the structure of the Community-scale undertaking or Community-scale group of undertakings changes.

(3) The central management and the Special Negotiating Body may decide, in writing, to establish one or more information and consultation procedures instead of a European Works Council, in which case, the agreement must stipulate by what method the employees’ representatives shall have the right to meet to discuss the information conveyed to them: Provided that this information shall relate in particular to transnational questions which significantly affect workers’ interests.

(4) An agreement referred to in sub-regulations (2) and (3) shall not be subject to the subsidiary requirements of the Schedule, except to the extent that the parties provide in the agreement that any of those requirements are to apply.

(5) The Special Negotiating Body shall remain in existence until its function to negotiate for an agreement to establish a European Works Council or an alternative information and consultation procedure ceases.