Works Councils

As the influence of labor unions declines in many industrialized nations, particularly the United States, the influence of workers has decreased. Because of the need for greater involvement of workers in changing production systems, as well as frustration with existing structures of workplace regulation, the search has begun for new ways of providing a voice for workers outside the traditional collective bargaining relationship. Works councils—institutionalized bodies for representative communication between an employer and employees in a single workplace—are rare in the Anglo-American world, but are well-established in other industrialized countries. The contributors to this volume survey the history, structure, and functions of works councils in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Poland, Canada, and the United States. Special attention is paid to the relations between works councils and unions and collective bargaining, works councils and management, and the role and interest of governments in works councils. On the basis of extensive comparative data from other Western countries, the book demonstrates powerfully that well-designed works councils may be more effective than labor unions at solving management-labor problems.

This title was first published in 2001. The emergence of the European Works Councils (EWCs) is one of the most important developments in international industrial relations and the most significant intervention by the European Union in the industrial relations field. This volume is the second of three studies into the establishment and operation of EWCs conducted by the authors. It examines the development of a typology of EWCs and explores the prospects for establishing networks of EWCs, using case studies drawn from the food, banking and insurance sectors. The book is an informative text for researchers, academics and practitioners who wish to locate empirical material and practical experience in a developmental and theoretical framework.

Originally published in 1928, this book examines the growth of the German Works Councils from the institution of the Work Councils Act in 1919 up to 1926, and the effect the councils had on industrial relations. Guillebaud also includes translations of relevant legislation and other documents concerning the establishment and organisation of such councils in various companies and industries. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in trade union history or in the economic history of the early Weimar Republic.

"This book gives employers a clear understanding of Dutch employment law, with practical and legal information on the hiring and firing of employees, terms and conditions of employment, workplace issues, and the rights of works councils. It offers practical guidance to in-house counsel and lawyers who deal with Dutch labour law and codetermination issues, and also serves to facilitate communication between foreign business persons and their Dutch counsel." "This is a handbook for Dutch employers, in-house counsel, and employment and labour lawyers representing foreign companies with business interests in the Netherlands." --Book Jacket.

The creation of European Works Councils is arguably the most important measure taken in global industrial relations in recent years. Adopted with the primary goal of facilitating European-level workers’ participation in information-sharing and consultation in multinational companies, EWCs have also been central to a wide-ranging process of institution-building at the European level. European Works Councils charts the growth in the number of EWCs and the development of practices associated with EWCs between 1994, when legislation on EWCs was adopted, and 2009, when the initial legislation was amended. Drawing on original, large-scale, survey data, the book shows that the quality of information and consultation is generally poor, thus bringing into question the soft touch legislative approach to employee participation of the European Commission. The reforms implemented within trade union organizations to accommodate the development of EWCs are explored, together with the initiatives taken to extend the role of EWCs beyond information and consultation to incorporate negotiation. Articulation between EWCs and trade union organizations is shown to be integral to EWCs as institutions of information and consultation, and as a means to influence managerial decision-making. Similarly, the development of EWCs is shown to be a process contested by employers’ organizations and managers on the one hand and labour organizations on the other. The character of this contestation ensures that the category ‘EWC’ includes a wide range of institutional forms and practices.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this monograph on the Netherlands not only describes and analyses the legal aspects of labour relations, but also examines labour relations practices and developing trends. It provides a survey of the subject that is both usefully brief and sufficiently detailed to answer most questions likely to arise in any pertinent legal setting. Both individual and collective labour relations are covered in ample detail, with attention to such underlying and pervasive factors as employment contracts, suspension of the contracts, dismissal laws and covenant of non-competition, as well as international private law. The author describes all important details of the law governing hours and wages, benefits, intellectual property implications, trade union activity, employers’ associations, workers’ participation, collective bargaining, industrial disputes, and much more. Building on a clear overview of labour law and labour relations, the book offers practical guidance on which sound preliminary decisions may be based. It will find a ready readership among lawyers representing parties with interests in the Netherlands, and academics and researchers will appreciate its value in the study of comparative trends in laws affecting labour and labour relations.