Chapter V Central Works Councils and group Works Councils

Article 33

  1. Any entrepreneur who has established two or more Works Councils shall also establish a Central Works Council [Centrale Ondernemingsraad] for a number of the enterprises carried on by the entrepreneur, if this is in the interests of the proper implementation of this Act in respect of those enterprises.
  2. Any entrepreneur who has established two or more Works Councils shall establish a Group Works Council [Groepsondernemingsraad] for a number of the enterprises that he carries on, if this is in the interests of the proper implementation of this Act in respect of those enterprises.
  3. Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis to a group of entrepreneurs who have established two or more Works Councils jointly. The said group of entrepreneurs shall appoint one of their number to act on their behalf as entrepreneur for the purposes of this Act with respect to the Central Works Council or Group Works Council.

Article 34

  1. A Central Works Council shall be made up of members elected by the relevant Works Councils from among the members of each of the said Works Councils. For each member, a deputy may be elected who shall enjoy the same rights and obligations as the member for whom he deputises.
  2. If one or more Group Works Councils have been established, the Central Works Council may lay down in its Rules of Procedure that the Central Works Council, contrary to the provisions of paragraph (1), shall, in whole or in part, be made up of members elected by the relevant Group Works Councils from the members of the said Group Works Councils. For each member so elected, a deputy may be elected who shall enjoy the same rights and obligations as the member for whom he deputises.
  3. The Rules of Procedure of the Central Works Council shall specify the number of members who may be elected from each Works Council or Group Works Council. The Rules of Procedure shall also contain provisions to the effect that the various groups of persons working in the enterprises in question shall as far as possible be represented on the Central Works Council. The Works Councils or Group Works Councils concerned shall be consulted about the establishment of such provisions in the Rules of Procedure.
  4. A Central Works Council may also lay down in its Rules of Procedure that, in addition to the members mentioned in paragraph (3), the Central Works Council may also comprise representatives of enterprises which are operated by the entrepreneur or entrepreneurs mentioned in Article 33 but with respect to which they are not obliged to establish a Works Council. The Central Works Council shall specify in its Rules of Procedure the number of such representatives and the manner in which they are to be elected.
  5. If a member of a Central Works Council or his deputy ceases to be a member of the Works Council or Group Works Council by which he has been elected, his membership of the Central Works Council shall terminate automatically. The same shall apply if a representative of an enterprise as mentioned in paragraph (4) ceases to work in the enterprise in question. Any exclusion as mentioned in Article 13 of a Works Council member or Group Works Council member who is also a member of a Central Works Council shall also entail exclusion of the person in question from participation in the activities of the Central Works Council.
  6. The following Articles shall apply mutatis mutandis to the Central Works Council: 7; 8; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15, paragraphs (1), (2), (4) and (5); 16; 17; 18; 19; 20; 21; and 22.
  7. The preceding paragraphs, with the exception of paragraph (2), shall apply mutatis mutandis to a Group Works Council.

Article 35

  1. Articles 22a up to and including 32, with the exception of Articles 23c and 24, paragraph (3), shall apply mutatis mutandis to Central Works Councils and Group Works Councils, with the proviso that the said Councils may deal only with matters of common interest to all or most of the enterprises for which they have been established, regardless of whether individual Works Councils may exercise powers in relation to such matters.
  2. If individual Works Councils may exercise powers in relation to such matters as mentioned in paragraph (1), the said powers shall be transferred to the Central Works Council or Group Works Council, with the proviso that Group Works Councils shall not deal with matters that are dealt with by the Central Works Council.