Employee representatives
Employee representatives

Employee representatives
Employee representatives
A shop steward represents a company’s employees organised under Trade Union Pro and monitors compliance with legislation and agreements.
The shop steward assists the members of their union with problematic situations and participates in developing the working community. They act as the primary negotiation representative chosen by employees. A shop steward’s term of office is mainly three years.
The occupational safety officer is an expert who supervises the implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act at the workplace as the employees’ representative. The occupational safety officer is familiar with occupational safety issues related to their workplace and participates in occupational safety inspections at the workplace.
A shop steward is usually elected for a term of three years. The term of office begins at the start of the calendar year following the election. All Pro members in the workplace have the right to stand as a shop steward candidate.
In occupational safety and health elections, employees elect their representatives for the workplace’s occupational safety and health cooperation. The occupational safety and health elections are held every two years from 1 November to 31 December, unless otherwise agreed. In occupational safety and health elections, all employees can vote and stand as candidates.


Your shop steward will give you answers to questions about your workplace. Employee representatives will also help you in situations such as inappropriate treatment. If you are unsure about who your shop steward or occupational safety officer is, contact us or your local association.
EWC is a legal opportunity for company employees to be informed and consulted. An EWC must be set up when a company has at least 1,000 employees in the EU and 150 employees in two EU/EEA countries. The EWC represents the group's European employees. The EWC representative is elected in accordance with the practice and laws of his/her home country and represents the employees of his/her home country. If there is only one seat per country, the representative is elected by a joint decision or election of all staff groups.