Works councils should always have a copy of the Works Constitution Act ready.
Foto: dpa/ Christian Charisius
Every works council member should have a copy. Employers don’t like it that much when this is used as an argument, because the workforce has a number of rights to have a say in relation to capital: the Works Constitution Act, or BetrVG for short. It is celebrating its 50th birthday these days. It has been in force since January 19, 1972, although reference is currently usually made to its entry into force on January 18. In the age of digitization, its content is no longer the subject of the conflicts of interest between capital and work, which the body of laws is actually intended to help regulate.
To be more precise, it is the 50th anniversary of the major reform of the Works Constitution Act. She provided the basic legal framework for operational co-determination. Because there was already a works council law in the Weimar constitution. After the Second World War, Control Council Law No. 22 formed the basis for the works constitution until it was replaced in 1952 by the first works constitution law.
“After 50 years, it is time for another comprehensive reform of the works constitution,” said DGB boss Reiner Hoffmann on Tuesday. “So that works councils can continue to do good work, we need a real change towards more democracy and a say in the companies.” In the course of the works council modernization law passed last year, there have already been minor improvements in codetermination. And the SPD, Greens and FDP are planning more.
For the Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB), however, these projects are merely “good first steps” that are not sufficient. “Works councils must be able to have more say in decisions – especially with a view to the upcoming transformation towards a sustainable and digital economy,” explains Hoffmann. This applies in particular to co-determination rights in job security, personnel planning, digital forms of work and further training.
What is not enough democracy in the company for the representatives of the employees is of course too much for the lobby of the bosses. »The Works Constitution Act is now 50 years old. In real life, that’s not an age, but in politics and legislation it’s a reason for a balance sheet – and undoubtedly for a new start, at least a dust removal,” wrote the President of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA), Rainer Dulger, in a letter last week Guest article in the »Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung«.
What Dulger means by “dust removal” is to put pressure on works councils to make decisions. It bothers him that there are no fixed deadlines for works council approvals. “This can lead to very costly delays due to lengthy internal procedures, especially when introducing or updating technical innovations,” complains the employer president. He demands that the works councils should only have three months to answer questions regarding working hours and means of communication. “In addition, the negotiations should last no more than two months, and the arbitration board should take no more than one month,” says Dulger. According to Dulger, the bosses should then have the right to carry out the corresponding measures for the time being.
“The proposal to be able to temporarily carry out co-determination activities following the deadline would open the door to ruthless restructuring at the expense of the employees,” warns Left Party member of the Bundestag and trade union expert Pascal Meiser to “nd.derTag” regarding the employer’s demands. Many of these demands would lead to a decisive weakening of works councils. “What is needed instead is a fundamental update of codetermination that better protects works councils, strengthens codetermination and also expands codetermination on fundamental economic issues,” says left-wing politician Meiser.
Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil announced an update at the weekend that might make it difficult for bosses to violate the co-determination rights of works councils: Disrupting or obstructing the establishment of works councils should become a so-called official offence, i.e. prosecuted as a criminal offense in the future even without a report being filed will.
Whether there are enough public prosecutors to pursue all these violations is another matter. But at least it’s cause for celebration.
