A works council is a representative body of employees within an enterprise which in most European countries has a legal status and cannot be sidestepped or dissolved by employers. Under the German Works Constitution Act (“Betriebsverfassungsgesetz”), a works council should be elected in all establishments that normally have five or more permanent employees with voting rights. The members of the works council are elected by the entire workforce, and the works council’s duties are specified by law: the works council hears grievances, ensures that the employer complies with all labour laws and collective bargaining agreements, and bargains with the employers over personnel and social matters; including hirings, transfers, dismissals, hours of work, and plant rules.
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Pioneers in world-class data access: Moving the frontier in labor data from 2004 to 2024
The Federal Employment Agency’s Research Data Centre (FDZ) at the IAB recently marked its 20th anniversary, a milestone celebrated with a keynote address by labor economist Till von Wachter. ...read more
10. April 2024 | International Labour Markets
“The Research Data Centre provides a good example for other data areas”
The FDZ is now celebrating an anniversary: for twenty years, the Research Data Centre (FDZ) of the German Federal Employment Agency (BA) at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) has provided ...read more
The 8th of March marks the annual International Women’s Day. Wages are an important factor in driving gender parity. In a video interview Professor Alan Manning talks about the gender pay gap ...read more