Germany: Powerful Works Councils & Balanced Efforts

This episode of the Wild Side podcast is a whistle-stop tour of Germany designed to give you enough knowledge to ask the right questions of your German colleagues. Germany is the world's most successful exporting nation due to domestic efficiency likely due to its co-determination rights, sectoral collective bargaining system, and the fact that works councils have existed there since 1919. Today, German companies employ true employee relations experts, and understanding employee relations is a right of passage for every German HR leader and most line managers, and they, by and large, do it well.

Key Takeaways:

• In 1919, German employers were in favor of Works Councils. [3:08]

• An economic, political, and social profile of Germany. [4:26]

• The vital role of works councils and supervisory boards in Germany. [7:41]

• How German employer-employee relationships differ from other EU nations. [9:55]

• Germany’s sectoral collective bargaining system. [12:25]

Resources: 

HR Policy Association

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