In recent years IR scholars have attempted to understand how European works councils (EWCs) function. There exists a common consensus that there is much room for improvement. One key problem, maybe even the main problem, concerns the hold that national industrial relations practices continue to have over EWC delegates. This article argues that even though a high degree of suspicion existed among BMW and Rover delegates in the first exchanges following the foundation of the BMW EWC, a sense of empathy and respect for each other’s respective ways of doing business eventually prevailed. Undoubtedly, this was more noticeable among British trade unionists.
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