{
  "id": 5123142,
  "title": "Mitbestimmung im Betrieb: Arbeitgeber: Mitwirkung von Betriebsräten auf den Prüfstand",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/mitbestimmung-im-betrieb-arbeitgeber-mitwirkung-von-betriebsraten-auf",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-02T16:00:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/mitbestimmung-im-betrieb-arbeitgeber-mitwirkung-von-betriebsraeten-auf-den-pruefstand/100251600.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "Workplace participation: Employers seek to limit and speed up the involvement of works councils in certain situations to have greater freedom in crisis management and company restructuring. Work employer president Rainer Dulger emphasized the need for Germany to become faster, more efficient, and less bureaucratic. The goal is a reform of the Employment Constitution Act, which governs the participation of workers in companies. Specifically, the German Association of German Employers' Associations demands the \"putting certain existing participation rights to the test.\" Works council involvement in \"social matters\" is often slow, leading to necessary adjustments such as introducing new working methods or health protection regulations being \"dangerously hindered,\" according to a BDA paper. \"One-sided rule-making authority\" is necessary for employers in particularly urgent situations, who should be able to make binding decisions alone without the consent of the works council or a settlement body in emergency cases. \"When orders are lost, digitalization is delayed, and competitiveness wanes, it ultimately also comes down to employment,\" said Dulger. \"Ultimately, it is about employment for companies to be able to make urgent decisions without having to wait for a settlement body's decision.\" The BDA paper fundamentally holds that the Employment Constitution Act must be consistently oriented towards speed, reliability, and decision-making capability. For participation and settlements, deadlines should be set. Currently, the works council can \"substantially delay negotiations on a compromise and a social plan and, for example, block urgently necessary restructuring in the company,\" complained the employers. The solution proposed by the employers is that if there is no agreement with the employees within a certain period, they should be able to \"legally decide alone.\" Works councils could later verify this. Smaller works councils with fewer employees might also be desired. Instead of relying solely on collective bargaining agreements, employers and employees should organize their cooperation in \"operational structural agreements.\" Additionally, electronic works council elections and virtual meetings should be possible. Works councils should bring the interests of employees, but they should not be \"co-managers,\" said Dulger. Procedures that did not provide additional protection and merely delayed necessary changes should be put to the test. These proposals are likely to receive little opposition from trade unions. A study by the employer-affiliated German Economic Institute (IW) had found that only seven percent of businesses had a works council, primarily large enterprises. Only one in three private sector employees is still represented by a works council; in 1996, it was still one in two.",
  "summary": "Betriebsräte haben gesetzlich festgelegte Rechte, im Unternehmen mitzubestimmen. Den Arbeitgebern geht vieles zu langsam, manches auch zu weit. Sie dringen auf eine Reform.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}