We at the Joint Working Center RUB/IGM accompany works councils during the process of introducing AI in the company. We focus on identifying aspects relevant to participation that need to be taken into account when using AI systems in the work context. Through regular participation dialogues with employee representation organs, we are able to explore the individual challenges of modernization processes and at the same time also build a bridge between research and practice. In the sense of a research transfer approach, we structurally incorporate empirical knowledge from practice.
Cooperation 🤝
Together with the employees’ council of Doncasters Precision Castings-Bochum GmbH, we are now working towards a company agreement on AI, in which the criteria developed for a human-centered implementation of AI are to be specified in a legally binding manner.
Workflow 📈
The follow-up workshop in July 2023 followed on from the orientation workshop in 2022 and serves to identify operational fields of action. The cooperation with Doncaster’s work council led to exciting application-based findings for co-determination research: Work councils benefit from best practice examples and will need a sample company agreement as a basis in the future to then adapt it to individual circumstances.
Network 🗣
The AI strategy of Deutsche Telekom’s Group Employee Council, which we had the pleasure of visiting at its headquarters in Bonn in January 2023, provided essential insights in this context. The Digi Roadmap, which was developed on the basis of an AI manifesto between the Group Employee Council and the employer, shows how new AI systems can be implemented and controlled for the benefit of employees.
Transfer 💡
In the course of HUMAINE, a master company agreement for employee councils is to be developed that is tailored to the specific characteristics of artificial intelligence and thus also ensures “good work” in the future.
