Trade union representatives welcomed being involved in EFRAG's consultation process on the draft standards and said that it was a positive development that collective bargaining was explicitly mentioned in the standards but also suggested areas that needed more clarification.
Stefan Clauwaert, from the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), said the standards will help the development of labour laws and social laws by helping unions and member states to "identify what the problems are based on reliable information".
However, he added: "There are still some standards where some fine tuning into reporting might be required and to get more information on how trade union and workers reps are involved in in the governance."
Mario Enrique Sanchez Richter, from the Spanish Worker's Commission or Comisiones Obreras (CCOO), said particularly welcomed the inclusion of disclosures on the existence of trade unions and the possibility of creating trade unions.
Richter compared the inclusion of the trade unions in the ESRS with the trade union context in the USA: "As you probably know, certain companies in the US are clearly against setting up trade unions and that's why we've been very active, trying to counteract those trends."
He suggested that the informal economy needed to be better covered and that collective bargaining should be included in every report.