Areas of Conflict and the Role of Works Councils in the Digital and Green Transitions

56 per cent of companies report that implementing such innovations often leads to workplace conflicts as a result of the reorganisation they involve. In four out of ten firms, disputes between management, employees and the works council, and within the workforce itself, revolve around such aspects of work organisation as personnel planning and the use of flexible forms of employment. In 46 per cent of enterprises currently engaged in reorganisation, the classification of jobs is the subject of heated discussion. Econometric analyses of the 29th wave of the IW Personnel Panel conducted by the German Economic Institute in 2022 show that there are only certain conditions under which works councils can mediate and mitigate the friction caused by digital and ecological change. Nor is there any evidence that companies with worker representation are more active in digitalising their processes or more committed to implementing climate and environmental protection. There is no significant difference between enterprises with and without worker representation in the number of digital technologies they have recently introduced or the environmental and climate protection measures currently in place. The thesis that the digital and green transitions necessarily require an increase in the number of works councils and an expansion of workers’ representation rights therefore lacks empirical support.