What are the main tasks that federations perform?

Every industry federation is part of a federation structure with several levels within the National Federation of Worker Councils, which represents every worker in every worker council in the whole economy.

The industry federations play an important role in the development and investment planning. They provide estimates of the expected future development of technology, and they make decisions about how necessary changes in industry outputs should be achieved, by closing or creating new worker councils or by increasing or reducing existing worker councils’ production capacities.

During the annual planning procedure, members in each industry federation could be delegated the task of approving or rejecting other members’ production proposals. The federations may establish special committees for reviewing proposals that are not socially efficient, when there is a reason to believe that the numbers do not tell the whole story or in situations when this could be justified. They may also help struggling worker councils by temporarily directing people from successful worker councils to those struggling.

Together with representatives from the consumer federations, Industry federations also have a prominent role in case an annual plan needs to be renegotiated or adjusted during a year due to changed circumstances.

Finally, industry federations have a responsibility to make sure that the goods and services that worker councils produce hold a comparable standard and reach the criteria that the industry has set. For example, light bulbs need to meet standards relating to size, quality, electrical current, performance, etc, that are set by the industry.