Sustainable Automation Journey

Often consisting of employees of the company, the working council monitors compliance with labor laws. In order to really get a grip on the topic of automation and sustainability, you need to work closely together with the works Council.

A first step to get the buy-in from the works council is to get in touch and discuss upcoming changes. In the following, we will show why the collaboration between the leaders and the working council is of high importance.

Working with the works council is always negotiating about employees, development plans, and perspectives of the workers. In order to get them on board, long-term planning is needed and also alternatives have to be provided.

With the coming automation, the fear of losing jobs is always present. But there are some options on the table that should be considered before. The tendency to work four days a week (or even three) has been cycling around in society for years now and is enjoying increasing popularity.

Also, retraining of employees could be an option. This includes a new job position that is closely related to a robot operator or manager. But it could also include the relocation to a new department. And also, new jobs will emerge once robots are more present in the warehouse. For all of the mentioned examples, grants, funds, and scholarships exist that help companies with these initiatives.

If it is inevitable that you have to reduce the workforce, this should always be accompanied by a social plan considering the duration of affiliation with the company, age, and all these well-known factors. In addition to that, companies should also contact business partners in their network to offer employment opportunities.

In the end, everything depends on a good relationship between the management and the works council.