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The ERC: a key role in the company

Employees often only come into contact with employee representatives (ERs) when they are faced with unsolvable challenges in the company. But what are the actual tasks of an ER in a company?
from Tanja Tanneberger · published on June 19, 2024

In this article, we will give you an overview of the most important rights and duties of an ER in Switzerland.

 

Legal basis and provisions

In Switzerland, the Participation Act regulates the rights and obligations of employee representatives. It aims to promote and strengthen employee co-determination in companies. Employee representatives are representatives elected by the employees.

Responsibilities and areas of activity

  1. Representation of interests vis-à-vis management: The employee representatives usually hold regular meetings with the management. It is the voice of the workforce vis-à-vis the company management. It is committed to protecting and promoting the interests of employees by actively communicating concerns, problems and suggestions for improvement. It also plays an important role in negotiations on working conditions, wage rounds or operational changes to ensure that the needs and rights of employees are taken into account. This may involve issues such as collective redundancies and consultation procedures or the drafting of internal regulations.
  2. Advice for employees: The employee representatives offer advice and support in the event of conflicts in the workplace or in matters relating to labour law. If the company is subject to a collective labour agreement, it can rely on this. If labour law issues go beyond the knowledge of the employee representatives, it is advisable to seek professional help. Staff associations such as Angestellte Schweiz (Employees Switzerland) can help and provide assistance.

If you have any questions about the collective labour agreement of the MEM industries, contact our chatbot including avatar. Talk directly to Kaiu about the CEA MEM.

The ANV meets regularly with the management

Conclusion

Employee representatives play an important role in shaping working conditions and ensuring fair wages. Through active participation and negotiations, employee representatives make a significant contribution to improving the world of work.

If you are interested in becoming an employee representative at your company, please get in touch with the relevant representative.

More on the subject of wage policy and sucessful co-determination 

Influence of employee representation on wage policy

- Employee representatives have a significant influence on wage policy. They campaign for fair wages and negotiate wage increases and other financial benefits to ensure fair pay for all employees.

 

Examples of successful co-determination

- One example of successful co-determination is the introduction of flexible working time models through negotiations between employee representatives and company management. If a successful result is achieved from the employees' point of view, this can improve the work-life balance of employees in the long term.

- Other examples include cooperation between the HR department, legal department and employee representatives when negotiating internal company regulations. The ANV is committed to improvements for employees.

Author

Tanja Tanneberger

Tanja Tanneberger

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