• About EIRO
• Annual reports
• Comparative Information
• EU level developments
• Browse by:
  • Country
  • Sector
  • Date
• Industrial relations links

Germany

Background information on industrial relations in Germany

• 17 Dec 2009
  Germany: Coalition deal gets mixed reactions from social partners

  In October 2009, the Christian Democratic Party and Liberal Democratic Party reached a deal to form a new government in Germany. The coalition agreement includes some tax relief for companies and families, and rules out introducing a statutory minimum wage. It also includes provisions for a partial uncoupling of employer and employee health insurance contributions. Employers welcomed the agreement, whereas trade unions criticised plans for wealth redistribution.

• 17 Dec 2009
  Germany: New collectively agreed minimum wage for industrial cleaners

  In October 2009, following 10 days of strike action, the bargaining parties in the industrial cleaning sector reached a new collective agreement on pay. The agreement covers some 860,000 workers. It provides for general pay increases in January 2010 and 2011, resulting in minimum hourly wage rates of €8.55 in western Germany and €7.00 in eastern Germany. Both parties want the government to extend these agreed minimum wage rates to all employers in the sector.

• 17 Dec 2009
  Germany: Employers view apprenticeship pact positively despite crisis

  In October 2009, commenting on the pact on apprenticeships, the Federal Employment Agency issued data showing that at the end of September 2009 unfilled vocational training positions outnumbered unplaced applicants. While employers welcomed these results, the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB) criticised the pact’s shortcomings. DGB highlighted that too many young adults aged 20–29 years had still not successfully completed a vocational training programme.

• 02 Dec 2009
  Germany: Companies strive to maintain employment in economic crisis

  The manufacturing sector in Germany has been more severely affected by the economic crisis than banking, where the crisis began. Nonetheless, only few companies adversely affected have laid off workers, with most companies freezing recruitment plans and introducing cost-cutting programmes instead. Efforts to avoid dismissals are also reflected in the fact that about one in five companies have introduced short-time working or temporarily cut wages or working hours.

• 02 Dec 2009
  Germany: General election results fuel debate between social partners

  The federal elections held on 27 September 2009 brought to an end the previous coalition government between the conservatives and social democrats. The conservatives, who remain the largest group in parliament, have formed a new centre-right coalition government with the liberals. The latter have called for fundamental reforms, such as tax cuts and higher thresholds for employment protection. The social partners are divided about the election outcome.

• 07 Oct 2009
  Germany: New data on bargaining coverage and works councils in 2007

  In 2008, the Institute for Employment Research published new data on bargaining coverage and works councils based on a representative sample of German establishments. In 2007, 39% of establishments in western Germany and 24% in eastern Germany were covered by a collective agreement, revealing a decline in bargaining coverage in the west and a slight increase in the east. Overall, 10% of establishments had a works council, while 8% had other forms of employee representation.

• 05 Oct 2009
  Germany: High costs of short-time working for companies

  Estimates by the Institute for Employment Research show that the residual costs to be borne by companies adopting short-time working amount to 24%–35% of regular labour costs. These residual costs may increase if a collective agreement provides for a supplement to the allowance. The adoption of short-time working has so far had a favourable impact on the unemployment rate, but it may come to an end unless the volume of orders recovers in the coming months.

• 25 Sep 2009
  Germany: New package of agreements for social and childcare workers

  In late July 2009, following months of industrial dispute, the United Services Union and the German Union of Education agreed with the Municipal Employers’ Association on a new package of agreements covering some 220,000 public employees working in kindergartens, day-care centres, as well as the youth welfare service and social agencies. The agreements include provisions on occupational health protection and a grading system providing for higher wages for most employees.

• 22 Sep 2009
  Germany: Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Steel industry – 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 steel industry 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.

• 18 Sep 2009
  Germany: Germany – Greening the European Economy: responses and initiatives by Member States and social partners

  The economic stimulus packages, which are a comprise by the Christian-Democratic and Social-Democratic government, provide some incentives for energy reduction and climate protection, , but an increase in green jobs is not a specific objective. Whereas the Confederation of German Trade Unions has some years of history in conceptualising ecological industrial restructuring and green job creation, currently, as of May 2009, there are no new major initiatives by neither the trade unions nor the employers’ organisations to promote green jobs.

• 16 Sep 2009
  Germany: Young workers to substitute for older employees

  In July 2009, the Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs proposed extending the partial retirement scheme for older employees run by the Federal Employment Agency for another five years. Employers retaining a successful trainee or recruiting a new trainee are to be supported by the scheme. The minister argued that older and younger employees could thus be protected from unemployment during the current economic crisis. However, the proposal sparked a heated debate among the social partners.

• 15 Sep 2009
  Germany: Germany: Flexicurity and industrial relations

  Views of the collective bargaining partners differ widely on what can be termed a flexicurity approach. Both parties criticise public policy measures at place which increasingly have been shaped by the influence of the employer organisations. Collective bargaining has resulted in various flexicurity provisions. However, results are hard to achieve as security is low on the agenda of most employer organisations. Social problems accumulate in private service sectors, where collective bargaining is at its weakest. Trade unions thus voice demand for more regulation, which is rejected by the employer side.

• 31 Aug 2009
  Germany: Low rate of entrepreneurship reported

  In June 2009, new research was published on entrepreneurial activity in Germany. As the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor shows, Germany still has a low rate of business start-ups. Although starting a business can be a viable alternative to dependent employment and helps to create new jobs, many Germans are reluctant to go into business for fear of failure or due to lack of the knowledge required. Both employers and trade unions support different programmes linking schools and companies.

• 19 Aug 2009
  Germany: Interim report on 2009 bargaining round

  In June 2009, the Institute of Economic and Social Research presented its interim report on Germany’s 2009 round of collective bargaining. The study evaluates the collective agreements concluded in the first half of 2009, 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% in 2009, which is slightly above the average pay increase of 2.9% in 2008.

• 10 Aug 2009
  Germany: New agreement after brief bargaining round in retail sector

  In June 2009, the bargaining parties of the North Rhine-Westphalian retail trade sector concluded a collective agreement that serves as a pilot agreement for other bargaining regions in German retail. The wage accord runs for 24 months and contains no opening clauses. After a four-month pay freeze, it provides for wage increases of 2% from 1 September 2009 and 1.5% from September 2010. Additional one-off payments are to be made in 2010 and 2011.

• 30 Jul 2009
  Germany: Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Tanning and leather 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 tanning and leather 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.

• 28 Jul 2009
  Germany: New agreement on job security at Schaeffler Group

  On 26 May 2009, a new agreement on job security was signed at the German car component manufacturer Schaeffler Group. The agreement negotiated with the German Metalworkers’ Union precludes redundancies until 2010. In return for this job guarantee, personnel costs at Schaeffler are to be reduced by €250 million. The agreement has to be considered in light of the global financial crisis as well as Schaeffler’s takeover of the automotive supplier Continental in August 2008.

• 21 Jul 2009
  Germany: New collective agreement reached in construction sector

  In late May 2009, the social partners in Germany’s construction sector reached a new collective agreement on pay increases and minimum wages. The provisions are based on a proposal by the mediators in the negotiations and were unanimously accepted by representatives of both the trade union and employer organisations.

• 02 Jul 2009
  Germany: Germany: Multinational companies and collective bargaining

  A relatively high proportion of multinational corporations (MNCs) are estimated to be covered by collective agreements due to their size. However, their impact on collective bargaining can be distinguished neither from the general influence of larger firms nor from the impact of intensified international competition. Prominent cases show that MNCs, works councils and unions have made unobtrusive use of opening clauses in sector agreements, while some relocation decisions have provoked strong resistance on the part of employees.

• 29 Jun 2009
  Germany: Decline in trade union membership lowest in recent years

  According to the latest figures from the Confederation of German Trade Unions, the membership levels of its affiliated trade unions dropped by 1.1% in 2008. This is the lowest decrease since 1992–1993. The German Metalworkers’ Union reported no decline and the German Union of Education even managed to increase its membership by 1.2% compared with 2007. The overall share of young trade union members increased slightly, from 7.2% in 2007 to 7.4% in 2008.

• 29 Jun 2009
  Germany: Vocational training pays off

  At the end of March 2009, the German social partners commented on the employment prospects for apprentices in 2009. Although the economic downturn is affecting companies’ employment strategies, a severe decline has not yet occurred in the number of apprenticeship positions available in the labour market. In fact, a newly published study shows that it pays companies to maintain their vocational training programmes.

• 29 Jun 2009
  Germany: Increase in number of strikers but fewer strikes in 2008

  Institute of Economic and Social Research data published in April 2009 reveal that industrial action in Germany in 2008 involved 1.6 million striking workers – about one million more than in 2007. However, the estimate of 542,000 days not worked was about 25% less than in 2007. On the other hand, the official records of the Federal Employment Agency counted just 154,052 strikers, amounting to 131,679 days not worked; incomplete reporting may explain this disparity.

• 15 Jun 2009
  Germany: Cost-cutting plan agreed in return for limited job guarantee at Daimler

  In late April 2009, the company works council and management of the German car manufacturer Daimler agreed on a cost-cutting package that will save the company €2 billion in labour costs. In return for a number of concessions concerning working time and pay, the company granted a limited job guarantee. The agreement follows a previous cost-cutting package concluded at the company in 2004.

• 15 Jun 2009
  Germany: New collective agreement in metalworking sector

  In April 2009, the social partners in the metal and electrical industry signed a new collective agreement on short-time work, training and employment protection for Baden-Württemberg. The social partners have extended the new rules on short-time work introduced by the federal government by establishing two new models to compensate workers on short-time work for lost wages. In addition, rules on the renewal of fixed-term contracts have been relaxed due to the economic crisis.

• 15 Jun 2009
  Germany: New allowances for short-time work in bid to offset economic crisis

  On 1 February 2009, new rules for short-time working allowances granted to companies took effect. The new regulations are part of two rescue packages to fight the global economic crisis, by stimulating overall demand. The new rules on short-time working allowances aim to provide relief to employers and safeguard employment. Employers and trade unions welcomed the new regulations as a step in the right direction, while disagreeing on what further measures should be taken.

• 21 May 2009
  Germany: New collective agreement for public sector

  In March 2009, a bargaining association led by the United Services Union and the Employers’ Association of German Länder reached agreement on a new collective agreement on pay for public sector employees, including apprentices, in almost all the federal states. A series of strikes prior to the agreement involved in particular teachers in eastern Germany. The agreement also provides for an adjustment of pay scales in eastern Germany to those of western Germany by January 2010.

• 06 May 2009
  Germany: Germany: Representativeness of the European social partner organisations – Personal services sector

  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 personal 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.

• 28 Apr 2009
  Germany: Germany: Wage flexibility and collective bargaining

  Variable payment schemes (VPS) are more widespread in banking and insurance than in other sectors, such as manufacturing. Irrespective of the sector concerned, however, profit-sharing, bonus and appraisal schemes do not, usually, refer to multi-employer agreements that govern other aspects of the remuneration system. Opening clauses, however, allow for the derogation of collective standards and/or the ability to make the level of bonuses contingent upon the firm’s performance. Whilst employers’ associations have, in general, called for the further extension of VPS within the framework of multi-employer collective agreements, unions are rather reluctant to replace regular wages, in part, by VPS.

• 28 Apr 2009
  Germany: Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Hospitals – 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 hospital 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.

• 31 Mar 2009
  Germany: Germany: ‘Wage formation’

  The German system of wage formation is still dominated by sectoral collective bargaining. There is no state intervention in collective bargaining. Contrary to most European countries Germany has no statutory minimum wage. In the IT industry there is no overall pattern of collective bargaining. Some companies are covered by sectoral collective agreements, some by company level collective agreements and an unknown- albeit not insignificant- number of enterprises is not engaged in collective bargaining at all.

• 18 Mar 2009
  Germany: 2008 bargaining round examined

  In January 2009, the Institute for Economic and Social Research presented its annual report on Germany’s 2008 collective bargaining round. The study evaluates collective agreements concluded in 2008, covering about 11.1 million employees. Some 3.7 million employees received pay increases in 2008 which had already been agreed in previous years. The average increase in collectively agreed wages and salaries was 2.9% in 2008, while actual gross wages and salaries rose by 2.3% in the same year, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

• 09 Mar 2009
  Germany: The impact of the information and consultation directive on industrial relations — Germany

  Successive German governments have shared the opinion that there was no need to transpose Directive 2002/14/EC, since the German legislation on codetermination and in particular the Works Constitution Act (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz) from 1972 (with changes) went beyond the requirements of the Directive concerning information and consultation. This view is shared by the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA) whereas the Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) identifies a number of deficits with regard to the implementation of the Directive, which are in particular related to the limited scope of the Works Constitution Act.

• 02 Mar 2009
  Germany: Collective agreement for Deutsche Bahn employees concluded

  At the end of January 2009, after only two weeks of negotiations, the German rail company Deutsche Bahn and the three trade unions representing workers in the railways sector concluded a new collective agreement for engine drivers and other rail workers. The four parties agreed on substantial pay rises, including a lump-sum payment, as well as new working time arrangements for shift workers. The settlement, which came into effect on 1 February, will last for 18 months.

• 13 Feb 2009
  Germany: New pay agreement signed in metalworking industry

  In November 2008, collective bargaining parties in Baden-Württemberg’s metalworking industry signed a new pay agreement. The settlement, adopted as a ‘pilot agreement’ in the other bargaining regions, provides for a one-off payment of €510, a general pay increase of 2.1% on 1 February 2009 and a second increase of 2.1% on 1 May. The second pay increase can be delayed by way of voluntary works agreement for up to seven months. A further one-off payment of €122 is due in September.

• 06 Feb 2009
  Germany: Germany: Collective bargaining and continuous vocational training

  The regulation of continuous vocational training (CVT) is highly dispersed and only affects a small proportion of CVT activities in Germany. Collective agreements are of minor significance for the incidence of CVT. Over the last years, agreements on CVT have been concluded in some sectors that cover a significant number of employees. They, however, do not provide an individual right to participate in training programmes that are funded by the employer. Whilst unions have called for more extensive legislation to promote CVT activities, employers’ associations oppose any claims for more extensive regulation.

• 04 Feb 2009
  Germany: Minimum wages in postal services sector suspended

  On 18 December 2008, the higher administrative court of the federal states of Berlin and Brandenburg suspended the introduction of minimum wages in the postal services sector. The United Services Union regrets the court’s decision and even called for the introduction of nationwide minimum wages. However, a new establishment survey by the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce shows that the introduction of minimum wages would lead to a decline in employment in many industry sectors.

• 20 Jan 2009
  Germany: Economic Council put forward proposals to counter economic downturn

  In view of the global economic downturn, the German Council of Economic Experts expects that the German economy will at best stagnate in 2009. The experts have proposed short-term measures to stimulate domestic demand and increase potential output. They are also calling for further labour market reforms to combat high unemployment. While the social partners welcome the proposals for stimulating domestic demand, they are divided over the proposed labour market reforms.

• 14 Jan 2009
  Germany: Social partners endorse training schemes for disadvantaged young people

  In recent months, the social partners have highlighted the importance of vocational and other training measures for young people, as these can significantly improve their chances of finding a job and securing higher wages. In Germany, a growing number of school leavers have been unable to take up an apprenticeship or enter the labour market over the past few years. To reverse this trend, special training programmes for young people have been set up, which are sorely needed according to a study by the Bertelsmann Foundation.