The first works council election at the transport company KRN was overturned by the district court of Bad Kreuznach. The election was made up on Friday. 200 employees could be elected.
The election of the works council on Friday is the second attempt. Several employees of Kommunalverkehr Rhein-Nahe GmbH (KRN) had lodged an objection to the first appointment at the end of January and were right before the Bad Kreuznach labor court. As a result, the election had to be canceled. KRN was founded in 2021 by the districts of Bad Kreuznach, Mainz-Bingen and the city of Bad Kreuznach to take over regional bus transport.
Mistakes have been made
According to the trade union ver.di, the court justified its decision by saying that the election had not been initiated in accordance with the regulations. Accordingly, the so-called election notice should have been posted in the company so that it was accessible to everyone. According to union secretary Marko Bärschneider, this did not happen.
Critic of KRN
Union secretary Bärschneider goes even further and suspects that the company KRN could have influenced the election in advance. The election notices with the information on when, where and how the election will take place were filed in folders and “hidden” between office supplies. “The stewards only found their way out of the hiding places and onto the tables in the lounge after the deadline for submitting nominations had expired,” Bärschneider criticized in an official statement.
Not enough bulletin boards?
When asked by SWR at the time, the KRN election board replied that the election notices had been placed in folders at all locations so that employees could access them. The company justified the lack of notices by saying that not all locations had suitable notice areas. That is why the forms were only laid out.
Works councils should bring more democracy into the company. But their number is decreasing. Successful examples show how a works council is worthwhile for both sides.
Employees went to court
Four employees obviously saw things differently at the time and filed a complaint with the labor court in Bad Kreuznach. Two of them were also members of the electoral board, they say.
It seems to work on the second attempt
As Bärschneider reported when asked by SWR, all criteria were met on the second attempt. Six weeks before the election date, the voter lists and the election notice with all the important information were posted at all locations. Around 200 KRN employees could have stood for election.
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