Deutsche Bahn (DB) one of West Germany’s major employers with more than 195,000 working in Germany is one of the first companies to contribute its own ‘Co-determination PLUS’ experimental forum to the new internet platform inaugurated by Andrea Nahles, the Employment and Social Affairs Minister (c.f. article No. 10262), set up to welcome ‘experimental forums’ that focus on developing innovative forms of work organization fit for the digital age. Initiated two years ago jointly by DB management and its WC, this project aims to adapt, but not weaken, the company’s currently operating co-determination rules in line with the new and changing working conditions stemming from the digitalization process. A DB spokesperson explained to Planet Labor how this project got started, the primary new co-determination models currently being trialed within DB and the challenges facing the company.
Modernizing without weakening co-determination. DB’s ‘co-determination PLUS’ experimental forum is one of a series of projects that have been developed as part of DB’s ‘World of Work 4.0’ framework initiative, with the goal being to assist in the company’s digitalization. The project stands out both in terms of content and design. “It is not a forum in the traditional sense, such as with a campus or a laboratory, instead it is a process that commenced two years ago,” explained a DB spokesperson
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