Works Councils Research Articles

Multinationale Unternehmen aus den BRIC-Staaten investieren in deutsche Firmen: Auswirkungen auf die industriellen Beziehungen

Often, investments from emerging economies in firms in industrialized countries evoke concerns among the employees in the targeted firms. Many of them are afraid of losing their jobs, or fear that the new owners could undermine existing social standards. Up to now, little is known about how such investments affect industrial relations in targeted countries. Using the example of investments from the BRIC-countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) in German firms, this paper analyses whether employees’ fears are well founded. To this end, four different factors are considered. These include: (1) the situation of the target firms in the run-up to an acquisition and the employees’ reactions to the takeover, (2) the investors’ knowledge of the current system of industrial relations, (3) the day-to day interactions with the new owners, and (4) the patterns of communication between works council representatives and the new owners. The empirical part of the article is based on an analysis of quantitative data as well as the application of problem-centered interviews with members of work councils, trade union representatives as well as managers.

Labour geographies of the platform economy: Understanding collective organizing strategies in the context of digitally mediated work

AbstractThe article examines the geographies of collective labour struggle in the platform economy. It distinguishes between the unique spatial features associated with place‐based work and crowdwork to examine the divergent collective organizing strategies developed therein. Taking works councils, collective bargaining and multi‐enterprise agreements as three examples of social dialogue, the article considers why different types of platform workers gravitate towards particular strategies, analyses the regulatory frameworks within which these workers' collective struggles are bound, and assesses the propensity for these expressions of solidarity to improve the terms and conditions of platform work.

Transnational employee voice and knowledge exchange in the multinational corporation: The European Company (SE) experience

The European Company ( Societas Europaea, SE) regulations include the highest mandatory provision for negotiation of transnational employee voice. What are the effects of transnational employee voice, enacted at works council and board levels, on knowledge exchange within the multinational corporation? This qualitative study of globally active SEs incorporated under the SE regulations that have ‘dual-forum’ transnational employee voice addresses that research gap. Our main contribution reveals that, over time, transnational employee voice facilitates multifaceted knowledge exchange, both widening the platform and strengthening relations for intra-multinational corporation collaboration. Alongside expressing labour interests as intended, dual-forum transnational employee voice stimulates managers and employees to develop mutually beneficial competencies and trust. These aid multilateral knowledge exchange. That knowledge, which includes factors affecting employees and quality of organizational and work life, also includes insights into country-specific market, industrial and operational issues. Importantly, dual-forum transnational voice fosters development of a participatory culture across the multinational corporation. Robust multifaceted knowledge exchange generates better-informed and more productive decision-making that yields plural socio-economic value.

Careless whispers: confidentiality and board-level worker representatives

PurposeThe article focuses on the role that ‘confidential information’ plays in relation to the work of board-level worker representatives, and their interaction with other worker participation mechanisms. Thus, the purpose of the paper is to explore the implications of confidentiality of board-level information for effective worker participation. The main argument is that if board-level worker representatives are excessively constrained by confidentiality provisions, their capacity to work effectively is brought into question.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research was undertaken on a sample of 12 public limited companies in Slovenia. In each company, three interviews were conducted: with the CEO or board member, with a board-level worker representative and with a works councilor, who was not a board-level worker representative (36 interviews in total). Each of these interviewees has a particular role, and interest, in handling confidential information. Thus, a method of triangulation by groups was employed. The interviews were conducted at the company premises during October and November 2017. The results were analysed by the content analysis method.FindingsThis research confirms that in the majority of companies, nearly all of the material and information discussed by the board is deemed to be ‘confidential’. Consequently, communication between board-level worker representatives and the works council is rendered difficult, if not impossible. The results indicate an urgent need to redefine the concept of confidentiality and to reinforce the level of communication between management boards and works councils.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is limited to one country, which, by no means, is fatal, as international comparisons, although of greater breadth, often lose some depth of analysis (especially, for example, where there are differences in legal contexts). Although the issues discussed in the paper are of relevance to all those with an interest in worker participation mechanisms, they cannot be generalised mostly due to national specificities.Originality/valueThe question of confidentiality as between the board, board-level worker representatives, works councils, trade unions and other form of worker representation, despite its importance, has been raised quite rarely in research. In this research, three groups of stakeholders (CEO/board member, board-level workers representative and works council members) have been covered, with the aim to extend the understanding of how confidentiality obligations impact relationships between these.

Trust and Workplace Performance

AbstractUsing European Company Survey data, this article explores the relationship between trust and establishment performance under works councils, on the one hand, and union bodies on the other. Trust is initially measured using the individual survey respondent's assessment of the ‘contribution’ of the other side. Although the rating of the employee representative is favoured over that of management as less subject to feedback from performance, the potential endogeneity of employee trust in management is also modelled. Next, a preferred inverse measure of trust (or dissonance) is constructed from the discrepancy between the assessments of the two sides of the quality of workplace industrial relations. Employee trust is associated throughout with improved establishment performance, and conversely for the dissonance counterpart. In their presence, neither type of workplace representation is superior to the other.

Works councils, training activities and innovation: a study of German firms

Building on the notion of general and specific human capital proposed by Becker (1962), the paper highlights the importance of employee training practices undertaken in firms as an important tool for human resource and knowledge management and focuses on the role of works councils as a specific form of employee representation system therein. Using establishment data on various aspects of training practices and innovation activities in Germany, the paper examines the degree, type and extent to which establishments invest in employee training and finds significant differences for firms with and without works councils. Specifically, findings suggest that works councils are related more with the provision of generalized training rather than in firm-specific technical training of employees. In addition, the paper finds strong support for using works councils as an instrument for a firm’s total training activities that correlate with innovation, and weak support when we consider only generalized training and innovation. Finally, no significant relation is found between training practices and radical innovativeness of firms after accounting for reverse causality.

Management Practices and Establishment Performance Under Non-Union Workplace Representation

This paper brings together two factors deemed important correlates of firm performance: advanced management practices and works councils. The country sample comprises nations where workplace representation is via a works council. The Management Questionnaire of the 2013 European Company Survey defines our full sample of mixed establishments (with and without councils) and its sister Employee Representative Questionnaire is used to derive a much smaller matched sample of works council plants. The outcome indicators are subjective measures of financial performance and the growth in labor productivity. For the full sample, we report that better management practices are strongly related to improved establishment performance, with no suggestion that works council presence influences that association one way or another. Works council presence is, however, negatively associated with financial performance and labor productivity growth. Distinguishing between councils based on managements’ views of their type suggests that this negative association is likely attributable to unconstructive and delaying councils. Irrespective of works council type, the association between management practices and the performance indicators remains positive. Analysis of the smaller sample again confirms the favorable link between management practices and establishment performance. Circumstances in which the employee representative has a favorable view of the general work climate or expresses trust in management coincide with an improved financial situation if not higher productivity growth. Mutual distrust is negatively associated with financial performance situation but unrelated to labor productivity growth.

Works councils, training activities and innovation: a study of German firms

Building on the distinction between general and technical human capital proposed by Becker (1962), the authors undertake a cross-sectional analysis on the role of works councils in the provision of workplace human resource training for innovative management in medium and large-size private sector establishments in Germany. Results from the first part of the empirical analysis confirm theoretical predictions that works councils are strongly and positively correlated with the provision of general training, while no such relation is found with respect to technical training. Addressing next the potential endogeneity issue, results from an instrumental variable estimation on the correlation between training types and innovation performance provide support that works councils are an effective instrument for promoting general training for incremental innovation in establishments, whereas technical training is found to correlate significantly with radical innovation when instrumented by the share of apprentices.

Labour unions and right-wing populism in Germany

10 | International Union Rights | 27/1-27/2 FOCUS | RIGHT-WING POPULISM, TRADE UNIONS, AND FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS Labour unions and right-wing populism in Germany The first step in dealing with right-wing populism in the world of work is to acknowledge that even workers are not immune to right-wing social populist demagogy. Workers also adopt right-wing thinking and vote for right-wing parties in elections. In Germany, 15 percent of labour union members voted for Alternative für Deutschland (AfD, English: Alternative for Germany) in the federal elections (2017), while in the eastern German states the figure was 22 percent. Right-wing parties are trying to get influence in all parts of society, and accordingly are also focusing on the world of work. In doing so, they are attacking labour union work: they accuse the unions of cooperating too closely with employers at the expense of workers. The increase in votes and power of right-wing parties is a problem for labour unions. However, if other associations, organisations, companies and parties had taken the same consistent stance and commitment against right-wing extremism as the labour unions, right-wing extremism would not have disappeared, but it would certainly not have been as strong. Shop stewards, works councils and labour unions make a decisive contribution to balancing interests in companies and keeping a culture of respect and recognition alive. The labour union confrontation with right-wing extremism is a conflict of interpretation and meaning, and it is a communicative confrontation how to reach people and persuasiveness are at stake. Social Populist Ideology of the AfD Within the AfD, it is above all the openly völkisch (fascist) wing around Björn Höcke that is pushing a social-populist demagogy to attract workers for the AfD. Real social grievances are being addressed and workers should believe that ‘social patriotism’ (Björn Höcke) from the right might help against social inequality. The originally dominant ‘neo (national) liberal’ orientation of AfD is thus called into question by an openly nationalist tendency within the party. In the course of this reorientation, the social question has become more important within AfD in recent years. Other ‘new-right’ actors around the ethnicauthoritarian network One Percent for Our Country are also trying to gain a foothold at the company level. In the works council elections in 2018, they tried to create a social basis in the companies by winning seats on works council committees. Even though this campaign was only modestly successful, as expected, the number of extreme right-wing works councils increased. In almost all state elections in recent years and in the 2017 federal elections, AfD was able to achieve above-average electoral success among labour union members and especially among workers. The party wants to consolidate and expand this success in cooperation with other extreme right actors presenting themselves as ‘advocates of the workers and the socially weak’. The agitation is carried out with right-wing social-populist demagogy and national ‘anti-capitalism’ directed against labour unions, capital and globalisation. The labour unions of the DGB are the central opponents. Although the successes of the extreme right so far have remained very manageable, the right-wing works councils and the development of a specific right-wing approach to workers are a new challenge for the DGB and its affiliated unions. The AfD: From neo (national) liberal welfare cuts to national social policy? The AfD began as a party with a neo (national) liberal core in the spirit of German ordo-liberalism in terms of economic and social policy. Its implementation would have called into question central achievements of the labour movement, would have sharpened essential areas of the welfare state and would have considerably worsened the initial situation of dependent employees in the struggle between capital and labour over the distribution of produced values. However, the changes in the 2017 federal election platform compared to 2016 already showed the party’s search for a combination of neo(national)liberal / ordoliberal welfare state cuts with the social-populist support necessary for parts of its electorate. In particular, the inner-party current of the openly völkisch-nationalist wing tends towards...

Overcoming the Paternalistic Firm – Codetermined Family Businesses: A Paradox? Comparing Cases from Sweden and Germany

The purpose of this comparative case study is to understand codetermination in two family firms. Thereby, this study aims at exploring the role of employee-representatives in two non-listed family businesses. Empirically, this study draws on an interpretive case study of two family businesses. Its findings extend earlier research, by exploring and introducing the phenomenon of codetermination in the family business literature. Codetermination is explored with the perspective of paternalism as analytical lens. Theoretically, the study draws on the control-collaboration paradox which helps understanding the phenomenon of codetermination. The study reveals different types of codetermination, i.e., the works council and the board of directors. The implications of these types are highlighted and discussed. Findings highlight the need for professional governance structures in order to facilitate cooperation between family owners, the management, and employee representatives. Professional governance allows handling the paternalistic ideological underpinnings which can otherwise prevent continued firm success, leading to unsolved conflicts.

TRANSNATIONAL REPRESENTATION BY EUROPEAN WORKS COUNCILS IN THE PASSENGER AIRLINE INDUSTRY

Mergers and acquisitions have reduced the number of European Works Councils (EWCs) in the airline industry over the past two decades. In addition, start-up low-cost airlines have been reluctant to form EWCs. Only 5 of the 11 eligible transnational passenger airlines have established EWCs. This limited number of airline EWCs reduces airline employees' opportunity to be involved in strategic decision making in areas such as tourism. All of the available EWC agreements provide the opportunity for management and employee member consultation, the offering of opinions, and providing information related to European transnational operations. The Lufthansa Group and the International Airlines Group EWC agreements contain more subject areas for discussion than the Air France-KLM agreement. Only the Lufthansa Group EWC agreement includes the topic of environmental protection.

Collective bargaining complexity in Vietnam

8 | International Union Rights | 27/4 FOCUS | TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN ASIA In 2018, Vietnam ratified the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Transpacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade agreement1. It is said this marks a paradigm shift for Industrial relations development in the country. Trade unionism will be competitive as a result of provisions that require State Parties to permit independent workers’ representatives. In Vietnam this means, for the first time, the prospect of unions operating outside of the VGCL umbrella. How will this affect the landscape of trade unionism? Will strengthening collective bargaining agreements lessen wildcat collective actions? Will the model prove to be adversarial, or anarchical, or highly interventionist, while the overarching governing principle of social and political stability is the focus of the nation? Will the model of Work Councils support stable, sound industrial relations? It is undeniable that the CPTPP brings pros and cons for Vietnam’s industrial relations system. On one hand, a more competitive trade unionism brings more information flow, and thus real possibilities of for challenging what the philosopher Habermas called the ‘colonised life world’. This comes from the legitimacy pertaining to independent workers’ representatives who are acknowledged by law. On the other hand, with competitiveness set up, it is a challenge for seeking agreement from what is likely to be a prolonged decision-making process. Especially where unions are not on the same frontier, this could make up the risks of fallacious arguments against the worker’s representatives and jeopardise a sound industrial relations environment, creating additional costs for running the system and chaotic challenges for business. The challenge is the need to set up a viable social dialogue platform that facilitates negotiations, which could be expressive and factual while heading to substantive outcomes, maintaining a certain unity and enforcement of agreements, while reducing unnecessary costs to the social partners. Vietnamese Culture of dialogue The legislation provides mechanisms for participation in social dialogue and negotiations, but it is worth noticing certain cultural distinctions of the Vietnamese that determine certain social interactions in practice. It is commonly known that in direct dialogue, any disagreement shall not be shown on the face – at least not in a direct way – but will rather be disguised by silence and or a diluted smile; this is misunderstood as ‘agreement’ by opponents2. In such a context, procedural talks or negotiation is a burden if workers have to take follow up dialogue or actions to get what they want. However, one should not infer from this that people are mostly not in favour of disputes. Another matter is that the Vietnamese have a pragmatic and purposeful mindset, and tend to want to achieve and solve things quickly. This leads to what is at face value a seemingly contradictory fact; that collective actions - like wildcat strikes - are quickly launched and solved, whereas cooperative joint problem solving is beset by impatience and hesitancy over face-to-face dialogue that can easily fall into ad-hominem arguments, which destroy collaborations and relationship in the long run. This challenge for a trade union officer is to develop a sensitive capacity to guess people’s ideas, summarise them, and take important practical tactics to get things done in favour of workers without involving too many stakeholders on joint-decision making. Versatile Trade Union Officers In Vietnam, it is by law the responsibility of business owners and the upper level trade union to encourage workers to establish a trade union in any new business entity with more than five workers. The interim trade union was commonly formed based on the lists of personnel selected and proposed by management and approved by the upper-level trade union for a maximum of 12 months. Following this, every five years the trade union must approve a grass-roots officer nominated and selected in a workplace, with three conditions: credits from stakeholders; votes by workers; and authorisation by the upper-level trade union. The workplace trade union chairman thus plays a ‘3 in 1’ role of company mediator officer, state policy executor, and representative of workers. It is assumed that in this particular design, the grassroots unions are given the responsibilities of harmonising relationships and have access to knowledge that...

Non-Union Employee Representation Programs and Their Application in South Korea

한국을 포함한 다수 국가들의 노동조합 조직률은 지난 수십 년간 하락추이를 보이고 있다. 그렇다고 근로자의 삶의 질이 향상되어서, 노조필요성이 낮아지고 그 결과 노조가입률을 낮추었다고 보기는 어렵다. 이러한 현상에 대해 해외 학계에서는 기존의 노동조합에 대한 대안으로 비노조근로자대표제도(Nonunion Employee Representation Program, 이하 NERP)에 대한 연구가 활발하게 진행되고 있다. 그러나 국내에서는 노사협의회 외에는 별다른 연구가 진행되고 있지 않아서, 본 연구에서는 NERP에 대한 이론적 논의와 주요 유형을 살펴보고 우리나라에서의 적용과 그에 필요한 과제를 제시하였다. 이를 위해서 먼저 근로자대표제도에 대해 네 가지 관점에서 정리하고, 거래비용 관점에서 NERP를 분석하였다. NERP란 비노조 상황에서 근로자대표들이 사용자와 일터관련 이슈들을 논의하는 것으로, NERP 지지자들은 NERP가 근로자의 권리 확보와 협의와 참여를 통한 권한 강화로 노사 공동의 이익을 증진함으로써 회사의 생산성을 제고한다고 주장하는 반면에, 비판론자들은 NERP가 잘 운영된다고 해도 조직의 성과를 향상시키는 데는 한계가 있으며, 오히려 근로자들에 대한 통제강화와 노조회피 수단으로 활용된다고 주장한다. NERP는 19세기말 산업민주주의를 달성할 수 있는 수단으로 제시된 바 있으며, 최근 들어서는 여러 선진국에서 노동조합 조직률 하락에 따라 많은 관심을 보이고 있다. 하지만 NERP는 국가별로 법과 제도, 경영관행, 문화에 따라서 많은 차이를 보이며, 다루는 이슈나 기능 등에서도 많은 차이를 보인다. 본 연구에서는 NERP의 대표적인 유형으로 근로자평의회(works councils), 노사협의위원회 (우리나라의 노사협의회와 유사한 형태), 일터파트너십, 상호이익조직, 그리고 고충처리 위원회 등을 살펴보았다. 마지막으로 이상의 논의를 바탕으로 어떻게 우리나라에 NERP를 활성화할 수 있는가에 대해 시사점과 적용을 위한 과제를 정리하였다. 구체적으로 기존 노사협의회의 설치요건, 산업안전을 위한 위원회 운영의 확대, 징계위원회 공정한 운영 등과 같은 이슈에 대해 정리하였으며, 본 연구의 한계점과 향후 연구방향을 제시하였다.For over a century, non-union employee representation programs (NERPs), such as works councils, joint consultative committees, and mutual gains organ-izations, were not accepted as positive alternatives to labor unions in most countries. However, with globalized competition, the 4th industrial revolution driven by artificial intelligence, big data, and robotics, and workers’ increasingly negative attitudes toward labor unions, scholars have begun to take an interest in NERPs. Nevertheless, Marxists and criticalists treat NERPs as amounting to workers’ pseudo-participation in work processes and decision making. Recently, however, many scholars have changed their attitudes toward NERPs with the decreasing density of unions. To improve the level of quality of life for workers, NERPs can act as good alternatives in low-density union environments. Works councils account for the most representative form of NERP, but there are many other NERP examples, such as joint consultative committees, workplace partnerships, and mutual gains organizations. In addi-tion, grievance committees can also be treated as NERPs. The first thing to consider in utilizing NERPs in South Korea is to revise the current law on labor-management committees. Second, issues such as massive redundancy and restructuring, and not just issues relating to safety and health, can be handled through NERPs. In Germany, for instance, workers’ representatives can veto decisions on redundancy issues. Third, governments add incentives for good and exemplary NERPs by alleviating the cost burdens of setting up NERPs. Additionally, governments can hinder employers from avoiding union recognition by allowing the transformation of NERPs into labor unions.

Niewyśniony sen o europejskich radach zakładowych. Jak związki przegrywają z korporacjami ponadnarodowymi

Niewyśniony sen o europejskich radach zakładowych. Jak związki przegrywają z korporacjami ponadnarodowymi

What is said in European Works Councils stays there

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study how employee representatives in European Works Councils (EWCs) treat confidential information and how such strategies might improve the EWC functioning. Design/methodology/approach Building on interviews of several case studies of EWCs, this paper brings together insights from industrial relations and occupational psychology literature. Findings The results show that through actively challenging the management, an EWC can reduce the amount of information labelled as confidential and become freer to communicate with their rank and file. Actively challenging management, however, does not seem to impact the openness of the management to give early and complete information. Research limitations/implications The paper is based on several case studies, which limits the generalisability of the findings. The results, however, indicate that research is required on how challenging confidentiality can incite managements to provide earlier information. Practical implications The research show clearly the potential but also limitations for employee representatives in actively challenging the management over what information is confidential. Social implications This study studies a universally difficult topic for employee representatives: how to handle confidential information. The findings show that EWCs have little levers to force management to provide early information. For this, more structural change is needed. Originality/value This study is the first to focus exclusively on the issue of confidentiality in EWCs. This is a central concern for employee representatives, but research, until now, has not given much insight in which strategies work.

Toward dialogic accounting? Public accountants’ assistance to works councils − A tool between hope and illusion

Abstract French law allows works councils (WCs, mandatory bodies representing employees and having both economic and social rights in firms with more than 50 employees) to be assisted by public accountants (PAs) to help them understand the accounting and financial information received from managers. The aim of this assistance is to strengthen the democratic role of the WCs in firms. The purpose of this research is to examine whether and how the PAs’ assistance to WCs leads to the emergence of a form of agonistic democracy by contributing to an evolution in firms’ uses of accounting. We conducted a qualitative study with 36 semi-structured interviews with both PAs and WC members. Our results indicate that, under certain circumstances, the assistance provided by PAs can support dialogue between the WC members (“laypersons”) and the managers (“experts”) in WCs, which can be viewed as “hybrid forums” (open spaces where heterogeneous groups come together to debate socio-technical choices). The confrontation between different ideological orientations that inevitably arises can contribute to a dialogic use of accounting, which is promising for developing an agonistic democracy within organizations. However, PA assistance to a WC must be carefully handled because of the risk that managers will instrumentalize it. When this happens, accounting is still used in a monologic (as opposed to dialogic) form in firm management. The risk is that genuine participation by WC members remains illusory.

Az üzemi tanács mint önálló adatkezelő

n most cases, the employer is the only one identified as a data controller in connection with employment relationships, even though other actors of employment such as the trade unions and the works councils also process data in relation to their activities carried out based on and in compliance with the Labour Code. Even so, while the data processing of the trade union does not raise any particular questions compared to other data controllers, issues do arise in connection with the works council. Works councils undeniably process the employees’ personal data in order to carry out their activities and fulfil their tasks, though without own assets and organisation separate from the employer’s, data processing of the works council could be attributed to the employer and considered as if it was the employer’s data processing, which would settle most of the possibly arising questions such as liability for infringing data protection rules. However, after the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the EU came into force in 2018, the definition of the data controller changed and includes now so-called “other bodies” as well, even if these bodies lack legal personality. Thus, the works council itself shall be considered as data controller which means that it must execute the obligations set in data protection rules. Despite the fact that based on the GDPR rules the works council shall be considered as data controller independent from other data controllers including the employer, this fact seems to be unknown for all relevant bodies, even for the data protection authority. Possibly because the works council is still thought to be a part of the employer’s organization and thus it is not obvious that the transfer of data between the employer and the works council is limited and conditional as they are two independent data controller, obliged to guard the employee’s relevant data even from one another. Hence, it is important to emphasize that the works council itself is an independent data controller in order to ensure a high level of protection for the employees. The aim of this paper therefore is to prove that the works council is clearly an independent data controller by analysing the relevant Hungarian and EU rules

Do works councils improve the quality of apprenticeship training? Evidence from German workplace data

PurposeWorks councils have the legal right to participate in a firm’s training process and, where necessary, call for a replacement of training instructors. The purpose of this paper is to empirically test whether works councils are associated with a higher quality of apprenticeship training – or its inputs or outputs – in Germany.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use two representative cross-sectional surveys of German workplaces in 2007 and 2012/2013 that were conducted by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training in Germany. To account for selection on observables, the authors apply nearest neighbor matching models to estimate the extent to which works councils are associated with training quality.FindingsThe results shed light on the influence of works councils on the quality of apprenticeship training in Germany. Based on a quality model, the authors show that works councils are associated with a (moderately) higher output quality of apprenticeships, particularly with respect to the share of retained apprentices. However, the authors do not find empirical evidence for a positive association between works councils and input- and process-quality indicators.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the identification of causal effects due to the existence of works councils is difficult and cannot be fully addressed in the analysis, the authors can use a number of important control variables at the workplace level. The results suggest that a works council only plays a moderate role in enhancing the quality of the German apprenticeship system.Originality/valueThe authors provide the first direct empirical evidence of how the existence of a works council is associated with the input-, process- and outcome-quality measures of the German apprenticeship system.

Worker representation and temporary employment in Germany

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of key labor institutions on the occurrence and extent of temporary employment.Design/methodology/approachIn a new departure, this study uses a zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) model given that most establishments are non-users of either fixed-term contracts (FTCs) or temporary agency workers.FindingsThis study examines the potential impact of works councils and unions on the use and intensity of use of FTCs and temporary agency work. There is a little indication that these variables are correlated with the use/non-use of either type of temporary work, especially in the case of FTCs. Collective bargaining displays different relationships with their intensity of use: a negative association for sectoral bargaining and FTCs and the converse for firm-level bargaining and agency temps. Of more interest, however, is the covariation between the number of temporary employees and the interaction between works councils and product market volatility. The intensity of use of agency temps (FTCs) is predicted to rise (fall) as volatility increases whenever a works council is present. These disparities require further investigation but most likely reflect differences in function, with agency work being more directed toward the protection of an arguably shrinking core and fixed-term contacts encountering resistance to their increased use as a buffer stock. The two types of temporary employment are seemingly non-complementary, an interpretation that receives support from the study’s further analysis of FTC flow data.Research limitations/implicationsThe non-complementarity of the two types of contract is the hallmark of this paper.Originality/valueThe first study to deploy a ZINB model to examine both the occurrence and incidence of temporary work.

Do German Works Councils Counter or Foster the Implementation of Digital Technologies?

Abstract As works councils’ information, consultation and co-determination rights affect the decision process of the management, works councils play a key role in the implementation of digital technologies in establishments. However, previous research focuses on the potential of digital technologies to substitute for labor and its impact on labor market outcomes of workers. This paper adds the role of industrial relations to the existing literature by analyzing the impact of works councils on the implementation of digital technologies. Theoretically, the role of works councils in the digital transformation is ambiguous. Using establishment data from the IAB Establishment Survey of 2016 combined with individual employee data from the Federal Employment Agency and occupational level data about the physical job exposure, empirical evidence indicates an ambivalent position of works councils towards digital technologies. The sole existence of works councils is associated with statistically significant lower equipment levels with digital technologies. However, works councils seem to foster the equipment with digital technologies in those establishments, which employ a high share of workers who are conducting physical demanding job activities. Thus, this study highlights the importance of establishment-level workforce representation for the digital adoption process within Germany.