IME a (good) works council can smoothen out a lot of misunderstandings between management and employees before they blow up into real problems, especially when

IME a (good) works council can smoothen out a lot of misunderstandings between management and employees before they blow up into real problems, especially when it comes to the legal side of things. You can think of the works council as the counter-weight to HR (e.g. HR keeps employees in check while a works council keeps management in check).