Industrial democracy refers to systems and practices that allow workers to have a voice or participate in decision-making within the workplace or industry. It's based on the idea that employees should have a say in matters that affect their work lives, ranging from operational decisions to broader organizational policies. Key features of industrial democracy are: 1) worker participation - employees contribute to decision-making processes, 2) collective bargaining - through trade unions or worker councils, workers negotiate wages, working conditions, etc., 3) co-determination: in some systems (like in Germany), employees have representatives on company boards, 4) workplace democracy: In more radical forms, workers might manage or own enterprises collectively (e.g., worker cooperatives).

Benefits of industrial democracy are: increased job satisfaction and morale, better employer-employee relations, a more innovative and committed workforce, greater transparency, and reduced conflicts. Two notable and long-lasting examples of industrial democracy are Germany’s co-determination model, where law guarantees that employees have seats on supervisory boards of large companies, and Mondragon Corporation, a workers’ cooperative in Spain with 70,000 workers who own and manage the business collectively.

References:

Castoriadis. Political and Social Writings: Volume 1, 1946-1955 (1988);

Political and Social Writings: Volume 2, 1955-1960 (1988);

Political and Social Writings: 1961-1979: Recommencing the Revolution: From Socialism to the Autonomous Society (1992);

Dahrendorf. Class and Conflict in an Industrial Society (2022, in German 1957);

Fromm. The Sane Society (1955);

     -     Socialist Humanism (1965);

Sklair. Capitalism and its Alternatives (2002);

Webb. Industrial Democracy (1897).