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7/31/2019 Comparative View of State Towards Worker's Participation in Decision Making
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Vishruti Nandel
Comparative View of State Towards WorkersParticipation in Decision Making
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Workers Participation in
Germany
France
U.K.
Italy
U.S.A.
Yugoslavia
U.S.S.R.
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Co-Determination (Germany) Gives equal rights to employees representatives in all matters concerning
the undertaking
Implicit sharing of power philosophy
Co-determination Act 1951
Applies to all undertakings employing >1000 workers in
Coal mining
Iron and steel industries
Industrial undertakings in Germany are governed by
Supervisory boards which, in turn, appoint Managing Boards
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Supervisory Boards
Usually consist of 11, 15 or 21 members
11 members
5 elected by
shareholders5 - representatives of
employees
2: employees working in undertaking
2: appointed by unions operating in the
undertaking
1: appointed by the union from outside the
union and outside the undertaking
11th member is elected by
shareholders after being proposed
by Supervisory board
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Managing Boards
Appointed by Supervisory boards
Must include a labour director
Appointed by supervisory boards ( approval of majority of
members representing employees)
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Works Constitution Act, 1952
Industries other than coal mining and iron and steel
One third of members of supervisory boards
In joint stock companies
In companies employing >500 workers Elected by secret ballot by workers employed in undertaking
concerned
Among workers representatives at least 2 must be employed in the
undertaking
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Works Councils
All units employing 5 workers
Operates at plant level : close to workers
Consist only of workers representatives ( elected every 3 years)
Have right to seek information provided trade secrets are not endangered
Co-determination rights in matters like
Hours of work
Vocational training
Administration of welfare services
Fixation of job and piece rates
Conduct and behaviour of employees Discuss following issues with management but ultimate authority rests
with management
Re-grouping or transfer of employees
Recruitment
Retrenchment Dismissal etc.
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Studies have shown most employees concerned had limited perception of co-determination.
In response to insistent demands of German trade unions for extension of full co-
determination to all industries
Govt. appointed a committee in 1968
To look into past experience and suggest bases for further thinking
Report
Agreed to principal of extension of worker participation in decision making but not
in form of full co-determination
Favour of Supervisory Boards
12 members
6: represent shareholders
4: elected by workers
These 10 co-opting for 2 more members
Not in favour of Managing Boards
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France: Works Committees
Trade unions : weaker and divided
Initiatives towards greater worker participation have come from Govt.
Syndicalism: extreme doctrine of workers self government
After WWII: Production Ecommittees or Management Committees set up
Took over running factories which had been abandoned by owners
Since 1946, all undertakings employing 50 workers are required by law to
set up Works Committees Although public sector is exempted, works committees exist in most
public undertakings
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Number of elected members may be increased by mutual agreement
Elections are held every 2 years
If, in an election, number of voters is less than half of total number of eligible voters, asecond election is held
Anyone may stand for election irrespective of trade union support
Trade union
Sponsor candidates for election
Send observer to meetings of works committees
Works Committees
Consultative bodies excepting welfare activities which are administered under their
supervision
Canteens
Libraries
Medical and safety services
Housing societies etc.
Chairman of Works Committee ( Head of Undertaking)
3-11 selected members (acc. to no. of workers employed in
undertaking)
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Have right to receive information
Be consulted on economic matters concerning undertaking
In joint stock companies: right to send 2 representatives to attend meetings of BOD
Issues related to terms and conditions of employment and individual or collecitve
grievance are excluded from their purview
Assessment
Disappointment is a dominant feeling
activities in social field have given positive results
Developed a sense of responsibility and readiness among staff
Results in economic field are generally failures
In majority of cases Works Committees have been a formality
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U.K.: Joint Consultation U.K. has relied on varying degrees to advance worker participation on
Joint Consultation
Collective Bargaining
Joint Consultation
Traced back to Whitley Commission of 1916
Recommended establishment of
Joint industrial councils in well organized industries
Works committees representatives of the management and workers in individual
establishments
Joint Committes at
Plant level
District level
Regional level
National level
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Arrangements for consultation are flexible and vary from industry to industry
Joint committees consist of
Representatives
Management
Appointed by chief executive
Employees
Appointed by secret ballot
Engineering and Iron and Steel Industries
Chosen from shop stewards
Coal mining
Nominated by National Union of Mineworkers Number of representatives from both sides are not always equal
No. of management representatives is often less
Primary objective : promote Co-operation
Advisory in character
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Joint Consultation has not succeeded to the extent expected
Joint committees are bypassed in favour of direct talks with trade union leaders
Indifferent and suspicious attitudes of both employers and trade unions to joint
consultative bodies
Employees Shareholding and Profit sharing schemes
John Lewis Partnership : successful for 5 decades
Number of firms adopting such schemes are small
Collective Bargaining
Much stronger and older institution in Britain Plant level bargaining has become more prominent in recent past
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ITALY: Commissions(Management Committees)
Like German works councils but without the strength of unified trade
union
Elected by both organized and unorganized workers on basis of
competitive union slates
In theory they possess important consultative functions
Rarely exercised
In 1950s management frequently manipulated these bodies as spurious
bargaining agents so that they could refuse recognition to union
organizations in plants
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BENELUX Countries
Unions are strong
Netherlands
Made Works council obligatory in all plants employing over 100
workers
Belgium
Belgium General Confederation of Labour, January 1971
Made decisions to increase employees control
In both countries, Joint decision making has tended to be at national levelrather than plant level
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U.S.A. : Collective Bargaining
Collective bargaining is seen as a road to industrial democracy
Workers acting through the union can influence terms and conditions of employment and
other matters
A typical trade union is associated with
Grievance procedures
Settlement of disputes through arbitration
Continuous Bargaining
Creation of joint union- management bodies to study and report complex issues
Fast pace of negotiation during collective bargaining does not permit a through
examination of all important problems
Joint study groups examine such matters and recommend mutually acceptable solutions Already exist in steel, automobile, meat-packing, glass and electrical equipment
industries
Profit sharing schemes have evolved
Scanlon Plan
Help management in solving problems
Reward: share in savings effected
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Yugoslavia: Self-Management Law of 1950
Works council should be constituted in every firm
If total number of employees in a firm
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U.S.S.R.: Workers as Partners inManagement
Realistic management device intended to achieve double objectives of
Uninterrupted production and continuously increasing productivity
Industrial democracy
Production will not be allowed to suffer
To humour the fanciful demands of trade unions
Management will not be allowed to dictate whatever they like to
Industrial relations have evolved as a realistic system in light of needs of
the nation and development of the economy
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Trade unions got greater share in the administration after WWII
Statues of 1958 & 1971
Principal economic task of nation
Not merely production
Increase effectiveness of social production
E.g. planning of plants & construction projects
Jointly by management and trade union
Standing Production Conferences
Function under the guidance of trade unions
Make recommendations on all questions of organisation of work and
production
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All matters of major importance for the operation of enterprise are decided only with
participation of trade union
Profits
A part goes to state
Rest remains with enterprise
Development fund
Incentive fund for industrial and office workers
Fund for social and cultural advancement
Dispensed by management and trade union committee jointly
Trade unions
Have right to conclude collective agreements (embodied in Labour Code)
Right to request progress reports
File report against managers who fail to fulfill their duties
Results of fulfillment of collective bargaining are periodically reviewd jointly