Co-determination
Report: Number of works councils at low point
Works councils have legally defined rights to have a say in the company. But fewer and fewer employees are represented by a works council. The employers are not complaining about this.
There are fewer and fewer works councils in German companies. This emerges from a study by the employer-related German Economic Institute (IW) in Cologne, from which “Welt am Sonntag” quotes. Accordingly, seven percent of companies still have such employee representation. Every third employee in the private sector is represented by a works council; In 1996 it was just under every second person. The Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research of the Federal Employment Agency (IAB) came to similar results for 2023.
The head of Germany’s largest union, IG Metall, Christiane Benner, spoke in the newspaper of an “erosion of co-determination”. To counteract this, she called for improved protection against dismissal for employees who initiate works council elections, as well as effective penalties for those who obstruct elections.
The legal basis for works councils is the Works Constitution Act. From the employers’ point of view, it is bureaucratic and outdated, as Steffen Kampeter, managing director of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations, said. He mentioned “employee representation” as a simpler and more modern way to get involved in companies. However, unions criticize that they lack rights.
According to the IAB, there are still a comparatively large number of works councils in the mining, capital and consumer goods, construction and health and social sectors. The public administration with its staff councils is in the lead. There are relatively few works councils, for example, in the areas of information and communication as well as in parts of the service sector.
dpa
Source: Stern
