AI Compliance Deadline Approaches as German Works Councils Push for Early Involvement in Tech Decisions

Only two months remain until the European Union’s mandatory labelling of artificially generated content takes effect on 2 August. From that date, any deepfake or photorealistic image, video or audio recording produced by AI must carry a clear marker. Experts urge companies to embed these requirements through a “compliance by design” approach now, rather than retrofitting systems later.

The new regulation arrives as labour representatives across Germany intensify calls for a formal say in how employers deploy artificial intelligence. On 5 June, the Berlin-Brandenburg branch of the German Trade Union Federation (DGB) demanded that works councils be involved from the earliest stages of AI adoption. The demand followed criticism that the Brandenburg state administration had introduced language models without consulting its staff council. The ver.di union is pushing for binding agreements at the state level.

At the International Labour Conference in Geneva, ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo stressed that productivity gains from AI must translate into higher wages for workers. He also warned of potential job destruction — noting that an oil-price shock could eliminate as many as 14 million full-time positions globally.

New Tools for Works Council Collaboration and Sovereign Office Software

On the technology front, clarait managing director Thilo Haase announced that the HRflows application will be presented in late June. The tool digitises workflows between HR departments and works councils, aiming to provide legally secure processes for co-determination.

A separate project called “Euro-Office” is set to launch on 9 June. Backed by IONOS, Nextcloud, OpenProject and XWiki, it offers public authorities and businesses a sovereign alternative to Microsoft 365 or Google Docs. An initial version is already available on GitHub.

Internationally, CGI reported earlier in June that it had successfully implemented a cloud-based human capital management platform for the U.S. state of Utah. The SaaS solution consolidates payroll and onboarding functions that had been scattered across legacy systems.

Courts Clarify Protections for Pregnant Employees and Internal Investigations

Germany’s Federal Labour Court strengthened dismissal protection for pregnant workers this spring. A wrongful-dismissal claim can now be admitted even after the standard filing deadline if the employee did not know — and could not reasonably have known — about her pregnancy at the time.

In a separate ruling, the Lower Saxony State Labour Court upheld the legality of systematic employee surveys aimed at uncovering criminal conduct. A ban on using evidence collected that way does not apply, the court reasoned, because data protection law is not intended to shield unlawful acts.

Election Pitfalls and Auto-Industry Pressure

Advisers flagged common errors in elections for representative bodies for severely disabled employees on 5 June. Workers who are in the passive phase of partial retirement are not eligible to vote. The simplified election procedure remains limited to workplaces with fewer than 50 eligible voters.

At Volkswagen’s Salzgitter plant, works council chair Björn Harmening ruled out site closures in early June but acknowledged intense competitive pressure from Chinese manufacturers and U.S. tariffs. Meanwhile, at Continental in Korbach, Jörg Schönfelder was re-elected as works council chair. The committee has taken on a transitional mandate for a spin-off business unit.

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