Definition
Workers’ control refers to the direct or indirect involvement of workers in the production process and the management of an enterprise. This intervention is carried out through workers’ own forms of organisation (such as councils, committees, trade unions, etc.) and can take different degrees of intensity.
Scope
Workers’ control encompasses a broad range of areas, from the organisation of production to working conditions, and from decision-making processes to enterprise policies. In this sense, workers are not merely providers of labour power, but collective actors actively intervening in the production process.
Distinction
Workers’ control differs from worker participation and workers’ self-management:
Worker participation refers to the limited and institutionalised involvement of workers in management.
Workers’ control involves a more direct intervention in the production process through grassroots organisations.
Workers’ self-management refers to a situation in which both ownership and management are entirely in the hands of workers.
Historical example
One of the most well-known examples of workers’ control is the factory committees that emerged in Russia in 1917. Through these committees, workers directly intervened in both production and enterprise management.
Assessment
Workers’ control can be understood as a practice that emerges within capitalist production relations while carrying the potential to partially transform them. In this sense, it can be seen both as a form of struggle and as an intermediate form in the transition towards alternative production relations.