A works council is a "shop-floor" organization representing workers, which functions as local/firm-level complement to national labour negotiations. Works councils exist with different names in a variety of related forms in a number of European countries, including Germany (Betriebsrat), the Netherlands and Belgium (Ondernemingsraad), France (Comité d'Entreprise), Belgium (Conseil d'Entreprise) and Spain (Comité de empresa).

One of the most commonly-examined (and arguably most successful) implementations of these institutions is found in Germany. The model is basically as follows: general labour agreements are made at the national level by national unions (e.g. IG Metall) and national employer associations (e.g. Gesamtmetall), and local plants and firms then meet with works councils to adjust these national agreements to local circumstances.

Works council representatives may also be appointed to the Board of Directors.

European Works Council

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On 22 September 1994, the European Council of Ministers decided on a Directive (94/45/EC) on the establishment of a European Works Council (EWC) or similar procedure for the purposes, of informing and consulting employees in companies which operate at European Union level.

The EWC directive applies to companies with at least 1000 employees within the EU and at least 150 employees in each of at least two Member States.

Further reading

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• Thelen, Kathleen. 1993. West European Labor in Transition: Sweden and Germany Compared. World Politics 46, no. 1 (October): 23-49.
• Turner, Lowell. 1998. Fighting for Partnership: Labor and Politics in Unified Germany. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.

See also

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• Workers' council

External links

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• European Commission - European Works Council legislation

Betriebsrat | Comité de empresa | Comité d'entreprise | Ondernemingsraad | Rada pracowników