Ian Fitzgerald is a senior researcher in the Sustainable Cities Research Institute at Northumbria University. His general research interest has been workplace industrial relations. He has published in the areas of quality management, the fire service, European Works Councils and Higher Education., John Stirling is Director of the Work and Employment Research Centre at Northumbria University. He has research interests in trade unions in general and trade union education in Part Icular. He is co-editor of Trade Union Education in Europe (2000) and has published widely on European Works Councils.

‘The collection is a fantastic one not because it fills a gap in the literature, but rather because it does so for the most part using research of the highest quality … On this basis I am truly confident t suggest that Fitzgerald and Stirling’s book is required reading for anyone interested in works councils at the European Level.’ – Work, Employment and Society, 2005

• Chapter 1 Introduction, IanFitzgerald; Part 1 Understanding European Works Councils; Chapter 2 , PaulKnutsen; Chapter 3 European Works Councils, Miguel MartinezLucio, SydWeston; Chapter 4 ‘Thriving on diversity’ revisited, SjefStoop; Part 2 Assessing the Directive in action; Chapter 5 The practical and legal problems of European Works Councils, WillyBuschak; Chapter 6 Implementing the Directive, RichardHume—Rothery; Chapter 7 Negotiating European Works Councils, MarkGilman, PaulMarginson; Chapter 8 Putting the European Works Council Directive into practice, Antonia S.McAlindin; Part 3 European Works Councils; Chapter 9 Managing European Works Councils from outside Europe, SatoshiNakano; Chapter 10 Bringing it all back home, RachelAnnand; Chapter 11 Organising across borders, BarbaraTully; Part 4 The future of European Works Councils; Chapter 12 Connecting andcommunicating, JohnStirling; Chapter 13 The limits and possibilities of European Works Councils in the context of globalisation, DougMiller; Chapter 14 Organising in the global economy, JaneWills;