Die Zusammensetzung von Betriebsräten: Ergebnisse aus der WSI-Betriebsrätebefragung 2015

The article describes the personnel composition of works councils‘ members using the representative WSI works council survey 2015. In addition to socio-demographic characteristics this survey allows us to investigate full-time works councils, their terms of office, their forms of employment and union density. The second step of this article involves comparing the characteristics of the members of the works councils with the personnel composition of the respective workforces. This comparison enables us to demonstrate which groups are under- or overrepresented in the works councils. Our findings suggest that whereas the level of educational attainment of works council members corresponds largely to that of the workforce, other characteristics are underrepresented in the works councils; women are less likely to be works council members than men. Employees with migrant backgrounds represent about 17% of the workforces, but only 8.5% of the works councils’ members. Temporary workers are underrepresented: the proportion of temporary workers on works councils represents only a tenth of the numbers of those employed.