European companies depend well on Betriebsrat!

Betriebsrat is a German term which literally means ‘works council/ works committee’ in English and ‘délégué du personnel’ in French. The origin of this functional committee is in Germany/ Austria. In Germany almost 2/3 rd companies have the Betriebsrat councilors designated for representing the interests of the employees. This concept has gained its importance because of its baseline of looking after the well being of the mostly neglected but highly productive part of the company. While making the decisions it is mainly the management which plays an important role, the workers are represented by the union leaders in the board. They may not have the best of workers interests. They also may misinterpret workers demands, as their personal interests can hinder to see things in correct perspective. Considering these points, the workers were first educated after the revolution in 1848/ 49. The plight of the workers was lessened. Thereafter there were many attempts to enhance the living conditions of the workers by granting them various rights. But so far there was no authorized body which would have a base line for crafting the protection of rights policies for workers.

Then Betriebsrat came into existence on 15th May 1919 through the “ Law on establishment of Betriebsrat” in Austria. It was the first body with official foundation for the enforcement of protection right for the workers. It was the beginning of new era for the workers. They became more aware of their rights. Their voice was represented by a legal body which had common interest across the country. Thus workers’ unions took a backseat. Such councils were on rise in the other parts of Europe as well. Immediately after Austria, Germany took steps to form such council, which would solely represent the perception of workers. Today almost two third of German companies have these bodies. These councils have members elected among the permanent employees of the companies. They are aware of very details of the company, because of their experience working in that company.

These footsteps were soon followed in other countries like Switzerland and France. Switzerland does not any such representation in the company, but a similar functioning body called “employee representation” with comparatively less rights. In France, this term is used in more elaborate way. The company has an independent committee which is headed by the manager. His rights include those of information and consultation only. He is not entitled for any kind decision making. This committee, being an independent entity in company, has its own budget for expenditure.