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Germany

Background information on industrial relations in Germany

• 19 Dec 2008
  Germany: Germany: Temporary agency work and collective bargaining in the EU

  The significance of temporary agency work is still increasing. Both the number of agencies and the number of temporary agency workers has grown since 2004. The equal treatment clause of the Temporary Employment Act, which provides the relevant regulatory framework, has led to the country-wide coverage of temporary agency work by three competing collective agreements. The agreements have allowed the agencies to deviate from the equal treatment clause.

• 11 Dec 2008
  Germany: Industrial relations in the public sector – Germany

  This report presents an overview of industrial relations in the central government and public sector in Germany.

• 08 Dec 2008
  Germany: Education summit calls for more training for young migrants

  In October 2008, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, opened a special summit meeting on education. Among other things, Chancellor Merkel called for greater investments in education in order to raise the numbers of both school leavers with qualifications and highly-qualified professionals. New research results from the Institute for Employment Research underline the need for such measures, especially with regard to young adults with a migrant background.

• 08 Dec 2008
  Germany: Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Railways sector – Germany

  The aim of this representativeness study is to identify the respective national and supranational actors (i.e. trade unions and employer organisations) in the field of industrial relations in the railways sector in Germany. In order to determine their relative importance in the sector’s industrial relations, this study will, in particular, focus on their representational quality as well as on their role in collective bargaining. The study is divided into two parts: the first part deals with railway transport operation, based on research carried out in 2006; the second part focuses on rail infrastructure, based on research completed in 2007.

• 02 Dec 2008
  Germany: Agreement on partial retirement in metal and electrical industry

  In September 2008, the employer association for the metal and electrical industry in Baden-Württemberg and the German Metalworkers’ Union negotiated a new collective agreement on partial retirement covering about 800,000 employees in the region. The new agreement will take effect on 1 January 2010 and cannot be cancelled before 31 January 2016. The accord entitles up to 4% of employees in metal and electrical establishments in Baden-Württemberg to partial retirement under certain circumstances.

• 24 Nov 2008
  Germany: Survey examines extent of relocation and outsourcing

  The 2007 works council survey conducted by the Institute of Economic and Social Research examined the incidence of relocations and outsourcing in establishments with 20 or more employees and a works council. The results show that, between 2005 and 2007, relocations were planned in almost 8% of establishments with works councils, while outsourcing took place in a further 11.5% of such establishments. The results also give an insight into other factors relating to relocation and outsourcing, such as the role of works councils and the employment impact of such measures.

• 24 Nov 2008
  Germany: Strikes at Vacuumschmelze trigger change in relations with employer organisation

  In the summer of 2008, news spread that the company Vacuumschmelze (VAC) had changed its membership status with the regional employer organisation, Hessenmetall, in the state of Hesse. As a result, VAC was no longer bound by future collective agreements signed by Hessenmetall. After several rounds of negotiations with the German Metalworkers’ Union and strike action at VAC sanctioned by the Labour Court, the company decided to renew its full membership of Hessenmetall.

• 07 Oct 2008
  Germany: Employment prospects positive despite slow economy

  According to the latest labour market statistics, employment prospects have not deteriorated in Germany, although early signs of an economic downturn have emerged since the spring of 2008. Nonetheless, policymakers and social partners continue to discuss how to avert the looming economic slump. While employer organisations call for contributions to the unemployment insurance scheme to be lowered, trade unions are demanding greater public investments.

• 23 Sep 2008
  Germany: Germany: Industrial relations developments in Europe 2007

  Collective agreements in Germany generally include a high degree of wage flexibility. Hundreds of collective agreements provide various so called opening clauses which allow under certain circumstances companies and trade unions to agree on deviations of the collectively agreed rates of pay (and most often working time). A number of agreements include provisions to allow lower rates of pay for new entrants or employees which have been unemployed for a longer period before recruitment. Other opening clauses allow the bargaining parties at company level to delay or cancel annual bonuses in case the company concerned is in financial difficulties. There are numerous agreements containing provisions on performance related pay.

• 22 Sep 2008
  Germany: New collective agreement for retail trade after protracted dispute

  In July 2008, after more than a year of dispute and strike action, the bargaining parties in retail trade in Baden-Württemberg concluded a new collective agreement for the sector’s employees. It provides for a general pay increase of 3% with effect from 1 April 2008, and the social partners reached a compromise on the contentious issue of bonus payments for work during unsocial hours. The framework collective agreement is to remain unchanged until at least the end of 2010.

• 15 Sep 2008
  Germany: New wage agreement for ground staff at Lufthansa

  In August 2008, Lufthansa, the largest German airline, reached a compromise with the United Services Union on a new collective wage agreement for the company’s ground staff. After several days of strike action leading to many flight cancellations, the social partners agreed to a total pay rise of 7.4% to be implemented in two steps, initially on 1 July 2008 and then on 1 July 2009. The agreement affects about 34,000 employees at Lufthansa.

• 20 Aug 2008
  Germany: Interim report on 2008 bargaining round

  In June 2008, the Institute of Economic and Social Research presented its interim report on Germany’s 2008 round of collective bargaining. The study evaluates the collective agreements concluded in the first half of 2008, affecting about 25% of all employees covered by such agreements. Calculated on an annual basis, the average increase in wages and salaries will amount to about 3.3% in 2008, which is above the average pay increase of 2.2% in 2007.

• 07 Aug 2008
  Germany: Germany: representativeness of the European social partner organisations – Sea and coastal water transport

  The sea and coastal water transport sector plays a minor part within the German economy. According to the dataset of the Federal Statistical Office (destatis), 21,392 employees are employed in the sector. Most of them are male (male employees: 17,021; female employees: 4,371). The sea and coastal water transport sector is the domain of the United Services Union (Ver.di). The unions TRANSNET and GDBA are furthermore united in a formal collective bargaining association (Tarifgemeinschaft) based on a mutual agreement between the two unions. Involvement by TRANSNET and GDBA relates to Deutsche Bahn subsidiary Scandline, i.e. excluding the outsourced catering services at Scandline ferry-boats which is the domain of the Trade Union of Food, Beverages, Tobacco, Hotel and Catering and Allied Workers (NGG). The German Shipowner Association (VDR) conducts bargaining negotiations for the employers in the sector. The sector is covered by a framework collective agreement and a collective wage agreement concluded by Ver.di and VDR.

• 15 Jul 2008
  Germany: Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Post and courier services sector – Germany

  The aim of this representativeness study is to identify the respective national and supranational actors (i.e. trade unions and employer organisations) in the field of industrial relations in the post and courier services sector in Germany. In order to determine their relative importance in the sector’s industrial relations, this study will, in particular, focus on their representational quality as well as on their role in collective bargaining.

• 09 Jul 2008
  Germany: Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Manufacture of sugar – Germany

  The aim of this representativeness study is to identify the respective national and supranational actors (i.e. trade unions and employer organisations) in the field of industrial relations in the sugar manufacturing sector in Germany. In order to determine their relative importance in the sector’s industrial relations, this study will, in particular, focus on their representational quality as well as on their role in collective bargaining.

• 03 Jul 2008
  Germany: Employee financial participation in companies

  Marked differences exist in the distribution of profit-related pay schemes and employee share ownership according to economic sector and size of establishment. While works councils consider the majority of such schemes as a chance for employees to take advantage of good business results, they are also aware that these forms of ownership involve risks. These are some of the findings of a works council survey published in June 2008 by the Institute of Economic and Social Research.

• 26 Jun 2008
  Germany: Female entrepreneurs underrepresented in high-tech sector

  In May 2008, the Centre for European Economic Research published a study analysing new developments in the high-technology sector. After years of decline, the ‘high-tech’ sector in Germany witnessed a number of business start-ups in 2007. However, female entrepreneurs remain underrepresented in the sector. To counter this trend, the study’s authors say that the natural sciences should be promoted among young women at school and university. This idea is supported by the social partners.

• 26 Jun 2008
  Germany: Apprentices’ pay differs according to sector and region

  In May 2008, the Institute of Economic and Social Research published a review of the remuneration for apprentices in Germany. Differences in the levels of pay were found not only by sector, but also by region. For instance, regional differences are marginal in the metalworking industry, but are particularly marked in the private transport and construction sectors.

• 03 Jun 2008
  Germany: Social plan for redundant workers agreed at Nokia plant in Bochum

  At the end of April 2008, the Nokia management and works council signed a social plan for the workers of the company’s site in Bochum in western Germany which is to close by the end of June 2008. Since Nokia has announced the plant’s closure and relocation of production lines to Hungary and Romania in January, the decision has been heavily criticised by the works council, the trade unions, and local and regional authorities.

• 03 Jun 2008
  Germany: Social partners sign new package of agreements for chemicals industry

  In mid April 2008, the social partners in the chemicals industry signed several collective agreements. The whole package of agreements comprises a substantial pay increase for the next 25 months, an agreement to smooth the transition from work to retirement and a commitment by the employers to increase the number of initial vocational training places over the next two years. Both the trade union and employer organisation welcomed the new deal.

• 29 May 2008
  Germany: Collective agreement finally reached for German engine drivers

  In mid April 2007, after about a year of negotiations, the rank and file members of the German Engine Drivers’ Union (GDL) finally approved the results of the collective bargaining round with the German rail company Deutsche Bahn (DB). In July 2007, the rail workers’ trade unions had already negotiated a collective agreement with DB, covering 134,000 employees, However, GDL secured an independent collective agreement for about 20,000 engine drivers at DB in the spring of 2008.

• 09 May 2008
  Germany: New collective agreements for public service employees

  In March 2008, the United Services Union signed a new package of agreements on pay and working time for the public services sector with representatives of the German government and municipal employers. The agreements, which cover the period 2008–2009, provide for an average wage increase of about 5% for all federal and municipal employees in public services. In exchange for the pay rise, the trade unions had to accept an increase in the standard weekly working time in western Germany.

• 30 Apr 2008
  Germany: Social partners slam proposed subsidy scheme for vocational training

  The federal government plans to introduce a general subsidy scheme for initial vocational training. The scheme provides a financial incentive for companies to create additional apprenticeship places for young people who have successively failed to conclude a vocational training contract. However, employer organisations and trade unions reject the planned subsidy scheme and have called for major changes to the draft bill.

• 22 Apr 2008
  Germany: Trade union membership decline arrested in 2007

  According to the Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB), membership of its affiliated trade unions declined by 2.2% in 2007, falling to 6.44 million members. Although overall membership continued to decline, the unions managed to minimise their losses compared with previous years. The German Metalworkers’ Union remained the largest DGB-affiliate with 2.3 million members followed by the United Services Union with 2.2 million members. Women’s union membership remained unchanged at 31.9%.

• 07 Apr 2008
  Germany: Steel industry workers get highest pay increase in 15 years

  In February 2008, the bargaining parties of the northwestern German steel industry agreed on a new package of collective agreements. The provisions of the new agreements comprise a €200 one-off payment and a general pay increase of 5.2%, with effect from 1 March 2008. The parties also agreed to conclude a new framework agreement on pay scales by June 2009. Later in the month, the pilot agreement was also adopted for the eastern German steel industry.

• 07 Apr 2008
  Germany: New trade associations in motor repair sector pose threat to collective bargaining

  In March 2008, in the run-up to the 2008 collective bargaining round in the motor vehicle repair sector, the daily business newspaper ‘Handelsblatt’ reported on structural changes in the sector. In 2007, many regional trade associations annulled existing collective agreements, with some ceding collective bargaining authority to new employer organisations. The German Metalworkers’ Union fears that these changes will erode the association-level agreement in the sector.

• 10 Mar 2008
  Germany: 2007 collective bargaining round examined

  In January 2008, the Institute for Economic and Social Research presented its annual report on Germany’s 2007 collective bargaining round. The study evaluates collective agreements concluded in 2007, affecting some 9.1 million employees. The average increase in collectively agreed wages and salaries was 2.2% in 2007, which was above the 1.5% increase of the previous year. According to the Federal Statistical Office, actual gross wages and salaries only rose by 1.3% in 2007.

• 10 Mar 2008
  Germany: Pact on apprenticeships exceeded objectives in 2007

  At the end of January 2008, the outcome of the fourth year of the pact on apprenticeships was presented. The parties involved, including the federal government and several umbrella organisations of employer and business associations, stated that increasing efforts had been undertaken to create new vocational training places. The trade unions’ umbrella organisation, however, doubted that the pact had led to a noticeable improvement in the training prospects of young workers.

• 04 Feb 2008
  Germany: Survey adds fuel to debate over managers’ wages

  A survey by the German Managers’ Confederation shows that the level of managers’ net wages depends on the link between age and career advancement. The responses also suggest that female managers may earn less than their male counterparts. The survey was published in the context of a public debate on the appropriateness of managers’ remuneration in large companies. However, the German chancellor has stated that no regulations on capping salaries are to be introduced.

• 04 Feb 2008
  Germany: Companies use profit sharing as employee incentive device

  A representative survey conducted by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research reveals that companies have implemented profit-sharing schemes mainly in an attempt to boost employee efforts, creativity and willingness to adapt. However, only 11% of companies in manufacturing and affiliated industries share their profits directly with the majority of staff. Adherence to multi-employer collective agreements reduces the likelihood of a profit-sharing scheme being introduced.

• 04 Feb 2008
  Germany: Pay issues to be top of the agenda in 2008 bargaining rounds

  It is expected that the main focus of the 2008 bargaining rounds will be pay issues. According to an overview issued by the Collective Bargaining Archive of the Hans Böckler Foundation, the trade unions’ demands for pay increases in the various sectors of the economy are set to range between 4.5% and 10.2% in the first quarter of 2008. The public sector is the first sector to begin negotiations.

• 01 Feb 2008
  Germany: Representativeness of the social partners: Gas sector – Germany

  The aim of this representativeness study is to identify the respective national and supranational actors (i.e. trade unions and employer organisations) in the field of industrial relations in the gas sector in Germany. In order to determine their relative importance in the sector’s industrial relations, this study will, in particular, focus on their representational quality as well as on their role in collective bargaining.

• 14 Jan 2008
  Germany: Fostering the employment of older workers in the future

  The Institute for Employment Research recently published its latest findings on the situation of older employees in the workplace. The study reveals that employees aged over 50 years represented only a small proportion of new recruits in 2006. Moreover, the number of establishments that implemented policies to foster the employment of older workers decreased between 2002 and 2006.

• 08 Jan 2008
  Germany: Minimum wage for mail delivery workers

  At the end of November 2007, the government announced its intention to introduce a minimum wage in the postal services sector, with effect from January 2008. The minimum wages will be binding for all workers involved in mail delivery services and the agreed hourly rate will range between €8 and €9.80, depending on the occupational category and region. Following the decision, some competitors of the market leader Deutsche Post announced that they would be forced to retreat from the market, to a certain degree, as they could not afford to pay the new rates.