Betriebsratsgründungen. Typische Phasen, Varianten und Probleme

The establishment of a works council is a collective action based on exigent social premises. The process is typically organised in five sequences: the phase of informal interest representation is followed by a sequence of latency which contains the first steps of organising; the third sequence of public formation is the most important stage of interest mobilisation. The official vote for a works council then marks the beginning of the constitution era which (not always) passes over into a fifth phase of representation capacity. A qualitative study of 54 works council implementation processes also identified five typical patterns: the works council as a protector of the company community, as a promoter of individual interest bargaining, as a provider of leverage for collective emancipation, as a representation body for selective interests and of ‘blocked participation’. The question, whether in the end of an often changeful history the new works council is able to win effective representation capacities is decided by convincing core activists, the coherence of the workforce, the management attitude as well as by union support and/or assistance from the enterprise works council.