Works councils

In some European countries, the interest of employees is enacted by means of the legal system. For example, in the Netherlands and Germany, statutory provisions ensure that employees play an important role in corporate governance through their seats on works councils and even main boards. Therefore, in some companies it is possible that employees may have a greater influence on management decisions than some investors. 

The representative of the works council we interviewed had tried hard to find some evidence for toluene use within its company. Like VW, the BSHG has a whole section dealing exclusively with environmental and health and safety standards. Even with the help of one representative of this OSH and ENV so tion, we only could find one product used in the company that contained toluene. Here, as in so many other compmiies of the metal sector, toluene has been successfiilly substituted, in order to avoid extensive and expensive legal obligations and because of the availability of suitable alternatives. 

HSW Act 1974 in the UK and the Robens approach underpinning it/ It was therefore a framework Act with detailed Safety Regulations that had formed part of the 1934 Safety Act left in place (somewhat at odds with the general character of the new Act and the xraderlying principle of self-relimice). It also set up the tripartite Arboraad (Work Environment Council), within the Social and Economic Council and the powers of works councils were expanded in the area of OHS. 

Unions are most effective where they are most centralized, but many concerns of the workforce are local and would tend to be ignored by a national or international body negotiating broad standards of wages and employment. The need for independent shop-level representation is universal and has been addressed by a variety of mechanisms, union-based (like the British combine, a local coalition of separate union locals), company-based (like quality circles), and independent. My main interest here is in the last option, in particular the works council now being considered for general adoption in the United States. 

Works councils are elected by the workforce, much as union officers are elected, but they are not part of a larger organization and their duties are ultimately consultative, since they lack the ability to call a strike. It... 

The studies lasted 1 week per department Before the study, the respective members of the staff and participating subdepartments (management, works council, design-department, CAD) were briefed in detail rr arding the purpose, extent, and duration of the study. 

European Council, 1989. The Introduction of Measures to Encourage Improvements in the Safety and Health of Workers at Work. Council Directive 89/391/EEC, Brussels. 

European Council, 1998. The Protection of the Health and Safety of Workers from the Risks Related to Chemical Agents at Work. Council Directive 98/24/EC, Brussels. 

Technical supervisors must co-operate with officials of the State Trade Supervisory Office and with the works council of any firm they visit. The nature and extent of this co-operation is governed by regulations issued by the Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs. 

As already mentioned in 19 all enterprises with over 20 workers are obliged to appoint one or more safety representatives. The appointment is executed together with the works council and must be announced to the employees and the Berufs-genossenschaft. More than three safety representatives form a safety committee. 

Acknowledge other stakeholders (e.g., other organizations representing workers are also present in the workplace) besides trade unions (e.g., public works councils, employees safety councils, public education officials). 

This work was supported by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. References... 

Committee on Bioprocess Engineering, National Research Council, Putting Biotechno/ogy to Work Bioprocess Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1992, pp. 2—22. 

Medical Research Council Working Party on Mild to Moderate Hypertension, Tancet, ii, 539 (1981). 

CIA 1990. A Approach to the Categorization of Process Plant Hazard and Control Building Design. Prepared by Working Group 3 of the Major Hazards Steering Group. Issued by the Safety Committee of the Chemical Industry Safety and Health Council of the Chemical Industries Association, Eondon. 

Something rather different was the set of 7 volumes of the International Critical Tables masterminded by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, edited by Edward Washburn, and given the blessing of the International Research Council (the predecessor of the International Council of Scientific Unions, ICSU). This appeared in stages, 1926-1933, once only when Washburn died in 1934, the work died with him . This last quotation comes from a lively survey of the history of ICSU (Greenaway 1996) this book has an entire chapter devoted to Data, and Scientific Information . 

We are grateful to the Swedish Natural Science Research Council for financial support. The support by the Swedish Materials Consortium 9 is acknowledged. The Center for Atomic-scale Materials Physics is sponsored by the Danish National Research Foundation. Part of work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, contract number W-7405-ENG-48. 

Overall direction of the Institution is vested in its Council, but committees and panels of members carry out much of the Institution s detailed work. Branches and divisions of the Institution are run by their own committees, which arrange programs of visits, lectures and other appropriate activities, spread throughout the year. Non-members are very welcome to attend most Institution events. The Institution publishes its journal. The Plant Engineer, and other technical information, and organizes national conferences and exhibitions. 

An obvious solution would be to undervalue the work done, in order to avoid a claim from the client. The case of Lubenham Fidelities and Investment Co v. South Pembrokeshire District Council (1986) took care of any tendency to undervalue. In that case, the Court of Appeal ruled that the contractor might sue the architect in tort for any damages suffered by him because of the negligent valuation. 

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