Formation, development and current state of industrial democracy in Germany

Walther Müller-Jentsch
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Walther Müller-Jentsch: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany

Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 2016, vol. 22, issue 1, 45-62

Abstract: The article covers the history and development of German co-determination (works councils and board-level representation). The first section addresses the terminology of industrial democracy by comparing the different meanings in English and German industrial relations vocabulary. This is followed by a section on the history of the institutions of worker committees, works councils and board-level representation in German industries, beginning from the first voluntary introduction of worker committees by social-minded employers through the periods of the Kaiserreich and the Weimar Republic and on into post-war Germany. A third section addresses the present role and functions of works councils, including their learning process by interaction with management and their symbiotic relationship with the trade unions, followed by a section on the differences and similarities between works councils and human resource management. The last section analyses the changes and current trends in the field of shop-floor participation, works councils and board-level representation.

Keywords: Industrial democracy; co-determination; works councils; industrial relations; Germany (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:treure:v:22:y:2016:i:1:p:45-62

DOI: 10.1177/1024258915619294

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