Proposals to combat the underlying inequalities in businesses need to deal with the power structures. Other European countries have worker directors as standard, and in some countries this is required by law. EU works councils could be extended in two dimensions: by increasing the range of firms ... more
Proposals to combat the underlying inequalities in businesses need to deal with the power structures. Other European countries have worker directors as standard, and in some countries this is required by law. EU works councils could be extended in two dimensions: by increasing the range of firms they apply to (my ideal would be to see all companies and non-profit organisations required to have worker input); and by extending the powers employees have (imagine the changes in income inequality if the compensation committees of the boards of public companies had to have worker directors, and any proposal on directors' pay had to get their support).
The concept of democracy in businesses should also be extended to customers and service users. That would be easy with frequently used retail services -- for instance, turning all supermarkets into co-ops (like The Co-op in the UK). We should research how we might extend that to other businesses -- for example, if I fly with Ryanair, how can I get a right to participate in the distribution of the surplus the company generates?