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SindNova is a recognized non-profit association that has been involved in studies, training and information for forty years with the aim of deepening and promoting the culture and tools of worker participation in companies.

Industrial relations, working conditions, European Works Councils, the protection of workers' health and safety and sustainable development are the main areas of competence of the Institute.

On these topics SindNova promotes and organizes in Europe comparison initiatives and high-profile national and international study and training projects.

Toward a Green and Just Transition in the Metal Sector.

On April 3, 2024, Madrid will be the stage for the first event under the European MEET project coordinated by Sindnova, which aims to explore and promote a green and just transition in the metal sector, focusing on improving the involvement of members of the European Works Council in multinational companies.

Four European countries involved: Italy, Spain, Turkey and Hungary representing different economic and industries, are joining together in a joint action to address the challenges and seize the opportunities of the transition to a more sustainable and inclusive metal sector.

The workshop will also represent an opportunity to establish new collaborations and synergies among stakeholders stakeholders in the four countries, thus helping to strengthen cooperation transnational cooperation in the field of green transition.

The European Parliament approves the law on Artificial Intelligence (AI) - March 13, 2024

The regulation, the result of an agreement reached with member states in December 2023, establishes obligations for AI based on the possible risks and the level of impact. It aims to "protect fundamental rights, democracy, the rule of law and environmental sustainability from high-risk AI systems, while promoting innovation and ensuring Europe's leadership in the field." Legislation is planned to outlaw certain AI applications that threaten citizens' rights; these include biometric recognition systems, the indiscriminate extrapolation of facial images from the Internet or from recordings of CCTV systems to create facial recognition databases. On-site and school-based emotion recognition systems, social credit systems, predictive policing practices (if based solely on profiling or assessment of a person's characteristics), and systems that manipulate human behavior or exploit people's vulnerabilities will also be banned.

There are also clear obligations for other high-risk AI systems (which could cause significant harm to health, security, fundamental rights, the environment, democracy, and the rule of law). Included in this category are: uses related to critical infrastructure, education and vocational training, employment, basic public and private services (e.g., health care, banking, etc.), certain law enforcement systems, migration and border management, justice, and democratic processes (as in the case of systems used to influence elections). For these systems there is an obligation to assess and mitigate risks, maintain records of use, be transparent and accurate, and ensure human oversight. Citizens will have the right to file complaints about AI systems and receive explanations of decisions based on high-risk AI systems that affect their rights.

The regulation must now be submitted for final review by the lawyer-linguists and should be finally adopted before the end of the legislature (procedure of rectification). In addition, the law still needs to be formally approved by the Council. It will enter into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal of the EU and will begin to apply 24 months after its entry into force, except for: prohibitions on prohibited practices, which will apply from six months after entry into force; codes of good practices (nine months later); rules on AI systems for general purposes, including governance (12 months); and obligations for high- risk (36 months).

European Works Councils Europei
(EWC)

The EWC, European Works Council, is a transnational representative body through which workers and their representatives can exercise their rights to information, consultation and participation in multinational companies.
SindNova has acquired, over the years, a significant
knowledge and expertise in the EWC establishment and monitoring process. The institute annually organizes training courses for EWC members aimed at strengthening knowledge that is transversal and functional to roles and at acquiring skills and tools useful for reading company changes.

Research and study

The research and study activity moves along four main lines of study:
- The industrial scenarios, the competitiveness and the processes of technological and organizational innovation of companies.
- Information and consultation rights and participation of workers in companies, both in the local and transnational dimension
- The health and safety of workers, the dissemination of good prevention practices and safety management systems
- Corporate social responsibility, sustainable development,
environmental defense.

Continuous training

The SindNova training courses have as a priority objective that of strengthening the skills of the workers, the "know-how" aimed at supporting the dialogue on central issues for company development. The Sindnova staff "co-designs" and contextualizes the training course following a specific analysis of the company situation.

Organisation coaching

Organizational coaching is coaching for the organization, not for the individual. The organization uses the coach to address a critical issue, initiate a change or achieve specific results. The analysis of the cultural context is a fundamental requirement for achieving the intended objectives.

TURN project "Addressing industrial relations towards circular economy in metal, chemical, textile, energy and construction sectors"

At a time when sustainability has become a global priority global, the European TURN project aims to explore the action and reaction of the countries involved toward the transition to the circular economy model in the sectors of chemical, textile, energy, engineering and construction sectors.
The main goal of TURN is clear: to improve and adapt the production systems of these sectors in line with the European action plan for the circular transition. This means moving away from the linear model of "take, produce, discard" and embracing a circular approach that makes the most of existing resources, minimizing minimizing waste and environmental impact.
Raising workers' awareness that the system of
production system of which they are a part respects nature and the environment is crucial to ensuring the success of the transition. In addition, providing them with skills and tools to dialogue with the company on this goal is essential to ensure a harmonious and inclusive transition.
Through community-level analysis and research, as well as in comparative terms, the project will identify convergences and differences in the response of industrial relations systems in the EU, its its member states and in the candidate countries. This will enable the development of approaches and strategies tailored to each context, ensuring a footprint local and global at the same time.

BASE project "From Basic knowledge to Advanced Skills for European Works Councils’ members and HR and Industrial Relations specialists"

Active worker involvement, in the modern business situation, has become a key factor in the growth and success of companies. In this context, the European BASE project has the ambitious goal of providing specific expertise and key information on existing legislation on information and consultation rights in order to ensure the full involvement of workers in business decisions.
A central element of this project is the realization that workers and their representatives must be directly involved in company decisions before they are made. This means that labor unions and worker representatives, including at the company level, must be equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand and anticipate upcoming changes and maintain an ongoing dialogue with management.
This dialogue not only fosters a more collaborative work environment but also helps to increase corporate competitiveness. Workers' rights to information and consultation constitute fundamental European social rights that have a positive impact on conflict resolution and improved internal company communication.

In the context of today's labor scenario, in which worker participation and voice are key elements for effective and sustainable business management, the European MEET project aims to create an opportunity for discussion, in-depth analysis and training on issues of crucial importance to operators and stakeholders in the engineering sector.
The MEET project intends to export, share and improve, the positive experiences made, from the national to the European level, to gather good practices of similar initiatives on the issues of sustainable development, circular economy and energy saving, in order to create a synoptic synthesis framework that brings out the significant features of the role of the EWC member and workers' representatives in the face of these issues.
Central to the initiative is the goal of formulating concrete proposals for strengthening workers' rights to information, consultation and participation, actively involving actors at different levels, from the company level to the national and European levels.

The social partners have always played roles in shaping and making European Union (EU) law and policy. Yet those roles have varied importantly over time depending on the politics in Europe’s capitals and EU institutions as well as the changing structural challenges faced by European societies. This project will offer a new understanding of the social partners’ shaping and making of Social Europe: building from milestone foundations to consider possible futures.
Reconstructing EU history to understand better the past and
to assess if the fundamental law and policy roles accorded to the social partners in the EU fit with the current social and labour-related challenges facing the EU, and to advance proposals that prepare and adapt the relevant EU acquis to the fast-changing nature of work.

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European Works Councils Europei
(EWC)

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