Introduction

This book examines employee involvement through representative agencies. It is less concerned, then, with direct participation other than in relation to representative participation. And since the focus is squarely upon German codetermination, or Mitbestimmung (literally, having a voice in), it is less concerned with that other form of representative involvement —unionism —than with works councils at establishment level and board level representation at company or enterprise level. That said, although works councils are formally independent of unions the links are in practice close because (in no particular order of importance) works councils are embedded within the dual system of industrial relations in Germany, most works councilors are union members, and union nominees sit alongside employee workplace representatives on company boards. It follows that the union-codetermination nexus cannot be ignored.