Standard practice in Germany, certainly. Sarcastic comments about the UK being different (bless) ignores the reality that it's not the case in the US either, or indeed lots of other countries.
Something which more or less works in Germany doesn't necessarily work elsewhere, whether in union relations or economics - as you're doubtless finding out in Portugal right now.
The union/board relationship model they use has been looked at in the UK over many years, but whilst there are advantages to it, there are also many, many disadvantages.