Suchergebnisse

ABSTRACT
The question of workplace participation opportunities and limitations in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has gained momentum in sociological debates in Germany over the last years. Against the background of fundamental changes in the German industrial relations system, sociological research on this topic has shifted its focus from indirect to direct participation. On this basis, the paper aims to analyse and discuss the panoply of participation practices in an economic cluster in the region of Dortmund, a town in the German Ruhr Valley. The paper starts with an introduction of the empirical case, the development of the high-technology microsystems cluster in Dortmund, and gives an overview of the relevant private enterprises on the basis of three different company types. We go on to discuss the practice-orientated approach of participation which we combine with relevant sociological research results about direct and indirect participation as well as human resource management in SMEs and the New Economy. After a short overview of the methodological and empirical background of our research, we discuss the existing practices and cultures belonging to and surrounding direct and indirect participation with regard to the three types of businesses in the Dortmund cluster. The correlation between participation practices and business types is, however, not sufficient to fully describe the situation. The concept of participation cultures is therefore used as an additional concept.

In the past there has been a tendency for the subject of European Works Councils to be discussed at the macro-political level. The dominant topics of this debate were the various interpretations of the EU Directive and its transposition into national legislation, as well as the demand for comprehensive company agreements regarding the establishment of a European information and consultation procedure. Meanwhile, the question of whether and how the newly acquired room for manoeuvre for the representation of workers' interests at company level might be conceptually and efficiently fulfilled was left unanswered. Given the vast number of companies involved and empirical data collected by European works councils already in existence, it is uncertain whether all the bodies to be set up can be adequately monitored and co-ordinated. This article argues in favour of a strategy for the provision for trade union education for European works councils and sketches out the main areas of a corresponding concept. From a methodological point of view, preference is given to a mixture of cognitive, affective and action-oriented elements of training designed to enable workforce representatives to play an active role in shaping transnational contacts. Taking examples from past work undertaken by the European Trade Union College in conjunction with various European Industry Committees, it is shown that a strategy of this kind based on continuous co-operation between national trade unions, trainers and European Industry Committees can be directly translated into a successful trade union policy within multinational companies.

Many industrialized countries have introduced mechanisms to institutionalize communication between employers and labour. One such mechanism is the creation of works councils. In many countries, these works councils receive information about the company, often including accounting data. In Belgium, official regulations require that works councils should receive extensive financial and nonfinancial data. To guarantee the reliability of this information, the law provides for the intervention of an auditor to certify the information and to guarantee its completeness. However, this auditor usually also serves as the commissaire, the statutory auditor who certifies the financial statements on behalf of the shareholders. This raises the question whether the labour representatives in the works councils have faith in the auditor's impartiality. This article reports how the employees' representatives in the works council view the role of auditors and their performance. The article also concludes that cultural differences and company size both have a significant impact on industrial relations.