German Court Affirms Co?Determination for Malta?Based Airline Staff at Berlin Airport
03.07.2026 - 04:53:12 | boerse-global.de
A regional labour court in Berlin?Brandenburg has ruled that the works council of a foreign airline operating at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) has a legally binding say over duty rosters. The carrier is registered in Malta and has its group headquarters in Ireland, yet the court found that German co?determination law applies to its crew based in Germany. The decision reinforces that jurisdiction follows where staff actually work, not where the employer is letterboxed.
The ruling lands as Germany wrestles with the future of worker participation in an era of digital tools and cross?border teams. In a parallel move, the state parliament of Mecklenburg?Vorpommern passed an amendment to its Staff Representation Act on 1 July that explicitly authorises hybrid meetings for personnel councils. The same reform lowers the voting age in staff council elections to 16, an attempt to make public?sector representation more attractive to younger employees. Those councils will now also gain more flexible co?determination rights over working hours, conditions and organisational changes.
Volkswagen Conflict and Coalition Reform Stoke Union Anger
At Volkswagen, tensions are escalating. Management is reportedly exploring a shift to a holding?company structure, which labour observers interpret as an effort to weaken the special co?determination rights held by the state of Lower Saxony. The carmaker has outlined plans to cut up to 60,000 positions and close several German plants. IG Metall has vowed “massive resistance”.
Meanwhile, the federal coalition’s reform package, agreed by the cabinet committee on 1 July, adds fresh friction. It promises tax relief for low and middle incomes starting in 2027, but unions are incensed by other measures: an extension of fixed?term contracts without a substantive reason to up to four years, and the abolition of telephone?based sick?note certification. Worker representatives say these moves attack established employee protections.
Supervisory Boards Shift from Auditor to Strategic Partner
A changing role for supervisory boards was under discussion at the fea summit. Experts there argued that boards need to evolve from ex?post controllers into strategic dialogue partners for management. A newly published guide aims to help them engage more actively in strategy?setting.
Digital Collaboration Tools Move into the VR Space
On a separate front, Discord has officially launched on the Horizon Store for Meta Quest headsets. Available for Quest 3 and Quest Pro, the app lets users join voice and text chats inside virtual environments without leaving their VR application. Gameplay can also be streamed onto a virtual second screen. Early user ratings average 3.2 stars, with complaints about instability and frequent crashes; text input without an external Bluetooth keyboard is described as cumbersome. Despite the glitches, the release marks another push to embed collaboration tools in the metaverse beyond recreation. Separately, on 1 July, Zoom Spaces went live with AI?powered features for physical office rooms.
