State GOPs: no benefits unless you shut up and obey your boss

boing
19

This is what you get if you ban and vilify worker representation.

A few USians would probably get a heart attack if they knew about the rights of a german works council (Betriebsrat):

http://www.squiresanders.com/files/Event/110cb877-897f-43b8-a30f-142a6bf00538/Presentation/EventAttachment/c82733b3-8d42-4feb-b7bb-ad5a397dbf0e/Dealing_With_German_Works_Councils.pdf

http://www.businesslocationcenter.de/en/business-location/labor-market/employment-law-and-collective-contracts-system/german-works-council-constitution-act

A short summary:

  • A works council can be elected in Germany in operations normally having at least five employees. Whether a works council should be elected in an operation is decided exclusively by the employees. Preventing a works council election in Germany is punishable under criminal law.
  • Members of the works council have special protection against dismissal. This means that their employment relationships can only be terminated with the consent of the works council committee. If the works council committee does not consent, the employer is obligated to replace the consent of the works council with a court decision.
  • As far as considered necessary by the works council, the works council is entitled to hold works council meetings during which topics of concern for the works council are discussed.
  • The employer alone bears the costs resulting from the work of the works council.
  • With regards to social matters, the works council has a comprehensive codetermination right.
    Social matters for which the works council has a codetermination right are: company rules: e.g. code of conduct, smoking bans, dress codes, name tags; beginning and end of the daily working hours including breaks; temporary reduction or extension of working hours, e.g. overtime; establishing general policies on holiday
  • The employer is obligated to inform the works council before hiring or transferring an employee and submit the necessary documents to the works council. If the works council refuses to give its consent the employer is obligated to obtain such consent to the personnel measures in court.
  • If the employer is planning on restructuring in Germany, in the case of operational changes, the employer is obligated to negotiate a reconciliation of interests before implementing the operational changes.
  • Works councils have a particularly high amount of protection. The employer should therefore, at all costs, refrain from obstructing, disadvantaging or promoting the work of the works council. If an employer violates this principle, such violations are penalised by fines or imprisonment.

Despite all this socialism the german economy seems to be doing fine …

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