Survey examines industrial relations at establishment level in 1999/2000
Published: 27 February 2001
In February 2001, the Institute for Economic and Social Research within the Hans Böckler Foundation (Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut in der Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, WSI) presented the first results of its recent /Works Council Survey/ (published in a special issue [1] of /WSI-Mitteilungen/, Vol. 54, No. 2, February 2001). The WSI survey was carried out, for the second time, at the end of 1999 and beginning of 2000 and included a representative number of establishments with 20 or more employees. The principal aim of the survey is to give a current overview on the situation of works council [2] s in Germany and to monitor industrial relations at establishment level.[1] http://www.boeckler.de/ergebnis/wsim.cgi?action=1heft&sel=71[2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/efemiredictionary/works-council-2
In February 2001, Germany's WSI research institute presented the first results of its recent Works Council Survey 1999/2000 which – among other matters - contains current information on the relations between works councils and employees, employers and trade unions. The data indicate that works councils receive firm support from both employers and employees, but also identify deficits in industrial relations at establishment level regarding direct employee involvement, employers' acceptance of works councils' rights and trade union support for works councils.
In February 2001, the Institute for Economic and Social Research within the Hans Böckler Foundation (Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut in der Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, WSI) presented the first results of its recent Works Council Survey (published in a special issue of WSI-Mitteilungen, Vol. 54, No. 2, February 2001). The WSI survey was carried out, for the second time, at the end of 1999 and beginning of 2000 and included a representative number of establishments with 20 or more employees. The principal aim of the survey is to give a current overview on the situation of works council s in Germany and to monitor industrial relations at establishment level.
The survey covers structural information about the establishments and works councils covered, as well as a broad range of industrial relations topics such as employment policy, vocational and continuing training, working time policy, pay policy and collective bargaining and social policy. A special evaluation of the WSI Survey data also deals with the relations between works councils and employees, employers and trade unions (see "Betriebs- und Personalräte zwischen Belegschaft, Arbeitgeber und Gewerkschaft, Ergebnisse der WSI-Betriebs- und Personalrätebefragung 1999/2000", Marlies Dorsch-Schweizer and Thorsten Schulten, in WSI-Mitteilungen Vol. 54, No. 2 (2001)). This feature presents selected data from that evaluation, which is of particular interest against the background of the current debate on the reform of the Works Constitution Act (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz, BetrVG), which governs works councils (DE0102242F).
Relations between works councils and employees
In general, works councils seem to be well established among the workforce. One strong indicator of the high acceptance of works council among employees is the very high turnout at the works council elections. According to the WSI survey, on average about 80% of employees participated in the most recent works council elections in spring 1998 (DE9810180F) - see table 1 below. The turnout was even higher in smaller companies.
| Size of establishment | Turnout |
|---|---|
| 20-50 employees | 92% |
| 51-100 employees | 87% |
| 101-200 employees | 84% |
| 201-500 employees | 77% |
| 501-1,000 employees | 71% |
| More than 1,000 employees | 73% |
| Total | 80% |
Source: WSI Works Council Survey 1999/2000.
In order to establish contact with employees, works councils use a broad range of methods and instruments - see table 2. The most important method, which is implemented by an overwhelming majority of 93% of the works councils surveyed, is direct personal dialogue with individual employees. The use of works council notice-boards and works council information bulletins are also relatively widespread. In addition, about half of the works councils cooperate with trade union workplace representatives. In contrast, only a quarter of works councils make use of modern communication technology, such as e-mail, to inform employees. The largest deficit, however, lies in actively involving employees in the work and tasks of the works council. For example, only 13% of the works councils have working groups in which other employees participate.
| Direct personal dialogue with individual employees | 93% |
| Works council notice-board | 85% |
| Meeting employees at their workplace | 72% |
| Written works council information to the employees | 67% |
| Cooperation with trade union workplace representatives | 51% |
| Works council office hours | 39% |
| 23% | |
| Contributions to company newspapers | 20% |
| Participation of employees in works council working groups | 13% |
| Others | 16% |
Source: WSI Works Council Survey 1999/2000.
Relations between works councils and employers
Regarding the relations between works councils and employers, the WSI survey draws a differentiated picture. For 64% of the works councils, it is regarded as part of their normal business that "employers sometimes" try to hinder works councillors' participation rights - see table 3 below. Only 21% of the works councils said that their rights are fully respected, while 13% of the works councils described a more conflict-oriented climate, as the employers "often" try to hinder works councillors' participation rights. In smaller establishments, the proportion of works councils reporting more conflict-oriented relations is a little higher than in larger ones. The majority of the works councils, however, seem to be able to resolve conflicts with the employer, since only a minority takes the conflicts to an arbitration committee (16%) or the labour court (24%).
| Size of establishment | Never | Sometimes | Often |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20-50 employees | 17% | 62% | 19% |
| 51-100 employees | 21% | 58% | 19% |
| 101-200 employees | 19% | 66% | 14% |
| 201-500 employees | 18% | 68% | 12% |
| 501-1,000 employees | 27% | 58% | 14% |
| More than 1,000 employees | 23% | 71% | 5% |
| Total | 21% | 64% | 13% |
Source: WSI Works Council Survey 1999/2000.
The differentiated picture of works council-employer relations is supported by the employers' differing information policies - see table 4 below. In one-quarter of the establishments surveyed, employers were found to conduct an open information policy whereby the works councils usually receive information without asking. Another 30% of works councils usually obtain their information after a first request to the employer, while a further 24% have to request information regularly. Finally, in 18% of the establishments, the employers seem to hold information back, so that the works council has to refer to its statutory information rights. The degree of openness of the employers' information policy increases on average with the size of the establishment.
| Works council usually receives information without asking | 25% |
| Works council receives information after the first inquiry | 30% |
| Works council regularly has to request for information | 24% |
| Works council has to demand for information with reference to its legal information rights | 18% |
Source: WSI Works Council Survey 1999/2000.
Relations between works councils and trade unions
Although Germany has a "dual system" of interest representation, there has traditionally always been a very close relationship between works councils and trade unions. According to the WSI survey, more than three-quarters of the works councillors surveyed (76%) are members of a trade union affiliated to the German Federation of Trade Unions (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, DGB). A further 7% of the works councillors are members of non-DGB trade unions and about 16% are non-unionists.
In practice, however, the relations between works councils and trade unions vary - see table 5 below. In nearly two-thirds of establishments, the works councils seem to have a relatively close level of cooperation with the unions and receive support from them either "regularly" (38%) or at least "sometimes" (22%). In contrast, in one-third of the establishments the situation seems to be more problematic, since the works councils receive trade union support "only after a request" (33%) or even "never" (4%). Obviously, trade union support is much more frequent in larger than establishments than in smaller ones.
| Size of establishment | Regularly | Sometimes | Only after request | Never |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20-50 employees | 17% | 28% | 42% | 12% |
| 51-100 employees | 27% | 25% | 42% | 4% |
| 101-200 employees | 45% | 19% | 29% | 6% |
| 201-500 employees | 41% | 28% | 28% | 2% |
| 501-1,000 employees | 40% | 21% | 38% | 0% |
| More than 1,000 employees | 55% | 15% | 26% | 2% |
| Total | 38% | 22% | 33% | 4% |
Source: WSI Works Council Survey 1999/2000.
Overall, the majority of works councils give high marks to the quality of trade union support. According to the WSI survey, about half of the works councillors assess the trade unions' work as "very good" (17%) or "good" (36%), while only 9% describe it as "poor". The remainder think that it is either "satisfactory" (24%) or "sufficient" (13%).
The reasons for a more critical assessment of trade union support are, in the view of the works councils, that it is:
not sufficiently oriented to the interests of the employees (23%);
too rare (20%);
beyond the ability of the union to handle the problems (16%);
too slow (14%); and
too general (10%).
Despite the criticisms, the majority of the works councils surveyed wish to have more support from trade unions - see table 6 below. The most important topics on which the works council requested more trade union support are "employment security" (44%), "working time" (43%) and "pay" (34%). Regarding the forms of this support, the works councils called in particular for "immediate help in urgent conflict situations" (53%) and for unions to "organise an opportunity to exchange views with other works councils from other areas and other companies" (38%).
| Topics | Forms | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment security | 44% | Immediate help in an urgent conflict situation | 53% |
| Working time | 43% | Organising opportunity to exchange views with works councils from other areas and other companies | 38% |
| Pay | 34% | Special training courses | 34% |
| Dismissal protection | 30% | Special work material | 28% |
| New technologies | 26% | . | . |
Source: WSI Works Council Survey 1999/2000.
Commentary
The findings of the WSI Works Council Survey 1999/2000 show that works councils are relatively stable institutions of co-determination at establishment level, which still receive strong support from a majority of employees and employers. On the other hand, the WSI survey also identifies three main deficits in establishment-level industrial relations:
the direct involvement of employees and their active involvement in the work of works councils;
the attitude of some employers to works councils' co-determination rights. There is still a significant number of establishments with strongly conflictual industrial relations in which the employers often try to hinder the works council's participation; and
although there is still a very close relationship between works councils and trade unions, there are also significant numbers of works councils which lack trade union support.
All three deficits are of particular importance in small and medium-sized companies and underline the need for new legal provisions, as are currently being discussed regarding the revision of the Works Constitution Act (DE0102242F). (Thorsten Schulten, Institute for Economic and Social Research, WSI)
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2001), Survey examines industrial relations at establishment level in 1999/2000, article.
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