European Trade Union Institute emphasises the benefits of workplace democracy for workers, companies and political democracies

In its annual ‘Benchmarking Working Europe’ report, the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) publishes an overview of the economic and social situation in the continent. In the 2019 edition of the report, which has just been published, the trade union research institute dedicates a chapter to workplace democracy, the forms in which it exists and, particularly, this phenomenon’s link with both company performance and the good health of our political democracies, with studies and figures to illustrate this.
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The interdependence of workplace democracy and civil democracy is a phenomenon covered by the 2016 European Social Survey, an international study that has been carried out across Europe every two years since 2001. The larger scope employees have to decide on the way their work is organised and to influence the strategic decisions of their company, the more likely they are to vote in elections in their country. The study indicates that 79 per cent of those with autonomy and influence vote, but t

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