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Contrary to prevalent arguments in the literature on Iranian work councils ('showras'), this article contends that the push for councils was a premature initiative. While political repression was a very important factor in the defeat of council movement, the demise of the movement stemmed mainly from the weaknesses of the Iranian working class and the left, from the nature and structure of the councils and from the objective conditions in which they were operating. Questioning the theoretical and conceptual basis of workers' councils and worker control, the article points to different forms of industrial democracy as the only viable option for articulating the demands of working people.

German works councils have experienced a growing importance in recent years. They are endowed with numerous opportunities of participation ranging from simple information rights to extensive codetermination rights according to the Works Constitution Act (WCA). Since they are mandatory but not automatic, the initiative of the employees is necessary to install a works council in firms with five or more permanent employees. Works councils are committed to improve working relationships and thus they may also increase firm performance. Not without reason works councils can be regarded as a central element of the industrial democratization. Due to their direct contact with the employees of a firm, they seem to be better suited to represent employees' interests towards the management of a firm. Nevertheless, most of the previous studies with regards to works councils' economic effects examine issue such as productivity, innovations or profitability which are of particular interest for the management of a firm. This dissertation aims to counter this problem by providing comprehensive analyses concerning the employee level. At first, the focus is laid on the relationship between works councils and the incidence of both overtime work and working time accounts. Based on the GSOEP, a yearly representative longitudinal survey of individuals living in Germany, the main results show that works councils are negatively correlated with the existence of overtime work. This can in particular be pronounced for men and unskilled and semi-skilled blue collar workers. In addition, works councils are negatively related to the number of overtime hours. Concerning subgroups of employees, works councils are associated with a reduced number of overtime hours of both men and white collar workers. While both paid and unpaid overtime work is less likely for employees with a works council, time-off or a combination of time-off and paid overtime work is more likely in such firms. Turning to flexible working time accounts as an important ...