A
works council or ‘betriebsrat’
is
an organization representing workers or employees in companies,
businesses and corporations which functions as local/firm-level
complement to national labor negotiations. Betriebsrat
has variant names in many countries. In many European countries
including Britain
it is called Joint Consultative Committee;
in
Germany and Austria it is called Betriebsrat;
in
France it is known as Comité d'Entreprise; in Spain it is popularly
known as Comité de empresa; in Belgium works council is called
Conseil d'Entreprise; and in Luxembourg it is called Comité Mixte. Works
councils primarily exist for three main reasons. Firstly, to reduce
workplace conflict by improving and systematizing communication
channels; secondly, to increase bargaining power of employees at the
expense of employers by means of legislation; and lastly, to correct
market failures by means of public policy. Betriebsrat
is
very successfully implemented in Germany.
In
Germany betriebsrat
was
formed based on the
Works
Constitution Act. In the Weimar
Republic,
the
Works
Councils Act of 1920
laid
down the rights
and
obligations
of
the
works
as
workplace
representation
of
workers.
Post World War II, the rights were regulated in 1952 and adopted as
the Works Constitution
Act.
Usually employees of a firm/company (with minimum 5 permanent
employees) are elected to represent the
interests of employees through involvement and participation in
specified operational decisions. Election
of council members is done by company employees for a term of four
years. Necessarily the council representatives are not required to be
union members. They can be formed in companies where neither the
employer nor the employees are organized. Works council or
betriebsrat
members may be
also be
appointed to the Board of Directors. There
are many institutes that help build successful and knowledgeable
speakers across all industries who form a part of the works council.
From the extensive judicial database, the speakers can gain
information on particular decisions, judgments, case law on all
issues that are of interest to their company specific scenario.
Practical tips for many issues are cited in the database to guide the
representatives to gather insight. The institutes offer courses that
teach the council members practical tools that help them manage
company situations. Council members of different companies can meet
and discuss to exchange information with colleagues from other
companies to better solve their issues. Such institutes help you
serve your work council in an effective manner.