Unions and Works Councils are not mutually exclusive. All companies that have a recognized Union will have a Works Council too. A Works Council is entirely com

Unions and Works Councils are not mutually exclusive. All companies that have a recognized Union will have a Works Council too. A Works Council is entirely company specific. A Union is usually concerned with an entire sector and deals with company-specific issues only a limited way. In practice the Union organisations often provide assistance and advice to a Works Council, even to companies in which they are not active as a Union.