Definition
Workers’ self-management refers to a form of production and organisation in which the ownership of the means of production and the management of the enterprise are entirely in the hands of workers, and decisions are made collectively and democratically.
Scope
Workers’ self-management is not limited to intervention in the production process; it encompasses the entire functioning of the enterprise. Production planning, investment decisions, distribution of income, working conditions, and management processes are all based on the collective decisions of workers. In this framework, workers are not only providers of labour power but also the owners and managers of the enterprise.
Distinction
Workers’ self-management differs from workers’ participation and workers’ control in the following ways:
Workers’ participation refers to the involvement of employees in management at limited and institutionalised levels.
Workers’ control refers to workers’ intervention in production processes and management decisions through various mechanisms.
Workers’ self-management, by contrast, goes beyond these forms and denotes a situation in which ownership and management are entirely in the hands of workers.
Historical examples
Experiences of workers’ self-management have emerged in different forms across various historical periods and geographical contexts. In the 20th century, the Yugoslav self-management model stands out as an example institutionalised at the level of the state. By contrast, the collectivisation experiences that emerged during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39), particularly in Catalonia, point to more grassroots forms of self-management. The workers’ self-management experience at the Lip watch factory in France in the 1970s represents an important case at the level of a single enterprise. More recently, the movement of empresas recuperadas (worker-recuperated enterprises) in Argentina constitutes one of the most prominent contemporary examples.
Evaluation
Workers’ self-management can be understood as a form of production and organisation that goes beyond capitalist relations of production. It aims to overcome the separation between labour and capital. However, factors such as market conditions, competitive pressures, and financial constraints pose significant challenges to the sustainability of self-management experiences.