Lower hurdles, increase protection: the cabinet wants to make it easier to set up works councils


Lower barriers, increase protection
Cabinet wants to facilitate the establishment of works councils

41 percent of employees in the west and 36 percent in the east are represented by a works council. Too little, says Minister of Labor, Heil. A new law should now make it much easier to set up a company. In addition, the minister makes a declaration of war on slowing companies.

The hurdles for establishing a works council in companies are to be lowered. The Federal Cabinet has initiated a corresponding reform by Labor Minister Hubertus Heil. Among other things, better protection against dismissal for employees who campaign for the establishment of a works council and simpler rules for works council elections are planned. Trade unions welcomed the project and criticism came from employers. After the cabinet, the law still has to pass through the Bundestag and Bundesrat, where, according to the Federal Ministry of Labor, approval is not required.

“We want there to be more works councils in Germany again,” said Heil. Employees should be encouraged to set up such bodies. The law is a clear announcement to employers who want to prevent the establishment of works councils. “I am saying this with a view to some US corporations that trample on co-determination rights. Anyone who tries to prevent works council elections, harass works councils or hinder their work has made me a staunch opponent.”

According to the draft law, the number of works councils and the number of employees represented by a works council has declined since the 1990s. According to this, there is still such a body in around every tenth company that could have a works council. 41 percent of employees in the west and 36 percent in the east are represented by works councils. To set up a works council, a company must have at least five employees. The committee has a say in relation to employers, for example with regard to working hours and breaks.

Protection against dismissal already in the planning phase

The draft law states that it is conceivable that employees, especially in small companies, deliberately refrained from establishing a works council. In addition, the formalities of the regular election process could represent an inhibition threshold. “On the other hand, reports are increasing that in some companies employers are using drastic measures to prevent the establishment of works councils,” it continues. The obstruction of works council elections is not an isolated case. Reference is made to surveys by trade unions, according to which employers try to hinder works council elections, for example by intimidating possible candidates.

An improved protection against dismissal for employees who invite to a works council election is now specifically planned. So far, protection against dismissal has been provided for the first three people who invite, in future there will be six people. And even before an invitation, when employees are thinking about and planning a works council election, protection against dismissal should apply if the persons concerned submit a certified declaration that they want to set up a works council and start preparing.

In addition, the thresholds for drawing up an election proposal will be lowered. In companies with up to 20 employees, for example, so-called supporting signatures should no longer be necessary for nominations and in companies with up to 100 employees only two supporting signatures should be required.

The draft law also provides for an expansion of the rights of works councils: they should have a say when it comes to the design of mobile work in the company. It is also made clear that the rights of the works council when planning work processes and setting guidelines for personnel selection also apply if the company relies on the use of artificial intelligence.

Employer: bureaucratic burden

Unions welcomed the plans. The chairman of the industrial union building-agrarian-environment, Robert Feiger, spoke of a “milestone for more co-determination”, especially with regard to the handicrafts. Works councils are still a rarity in sectors such as the construction industry and building cleaning. The second chairwoman of IG Metall, Christiane Benner, sees the passage of the law by the cabinet as a first step in the right direction. But she called for further steps for more participation.

Criticism came from the economy. The Confederation of German Employers’ Associations spoke of a “further bureaucratic burden”. And: “The thousandfold successful cooperation between the company partners to cope with the current health crisis shows very impressively that this partnership does not require unilateral tuition from the legislature.”

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