Schulten, Thorsten
Municipal pact for jobs in Wuppertal local administration
27 Detsember 1998
On 1 December 1998, the city of Wuppertal and the Public Services, Transport
and Traffic Union (Gewerkschaft Öffentliche Dienste, Transport und Verkehr,
ÖTV) signed a "framework agreement for a municipal pact for jobs"
(Rahmenvertrag über eine kommunales Bündnis für Arbeit) for the
municipality's 5,000 or so employees. The central aim of the pact is the
creation of new jobs in the local administration through a reduction and
improved distribution of working time. In particular, the pact provides for:
Employers propose changes to banking collective agreements
27 November 1998
On 5 November 1998, the employers' association for private banks,
Arbeitgeberverband des privaten Bankgewerbes, announced a new programme which
seeks to reform the collective agreements applying to the 475,000 employees
in Germany's banking sector. Against the background of a steadily
intensifying competition - arising from rapid changes in technology, the
opening of new markets and the entrance of non-banking competitors into the
banking business - the banks see a great need for a high degree of
flexibility and adaptability, which they believe might be too restricted
under the current collective agreements. Therefore, the banking employers
have presented a programme which includes five guidelines for a restructuring
of collective bargaining in the sector:
New pact for jobs at Deutsche Bahn AG
27 Oktoober 1998
On 14 October 1998, the board of Deutsche Bahn AG, the company works council
and the trade union for the railway sector, Gewerkschaft der Eisenbahner
Deutschlands (GdED), concluded a new "pact for jobs"
(Beschäftigungsbündnis) for the 260,000 or so employees of the German
railway company. The new agreement succeeds an earlier employment pact, which
was concluded in 1996 and will be terminated at the end of 1998.
General elections in Germany - how trade union members voted
27 Oktoober 1998
In the September 1998 general election, the former opposition parties - the
Social Democrats (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD) and the
Greens (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) - gained a majority of 21 seats in the
German Parliament (Bundestag). The Conservative/Liberal coalition - which was
composed of the Christian Democrats (Christlich Demokratische Union, CDU),
its Bavarian associate party Christlich Soziale Union, (CSU) and the Liberals
(Freie Demokratische Partei, FDP) - lost its majority after 16 years in
power.
Above-average number of potential far-Right voters among union members
27 September 1998
August 1998 saw the publication of a new study of "the potential voters for
extreme right-wing parties among trade union members in Germany", conducted
by the election poll institute Infratest dimap on behalf of the television
and radio station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) ("Das rechtsextreme
Wählerpotential bei Gewerkschaftsmitgliedern, Eine Untersuchung von
Infratest dimap im Auftrag von WDR 22, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Köln, August
1998).
Territorial employment pacts in Germany - the example of Zeitz
27 Juuli 1998
In a recent study, the Institute for Economics and Social Science
(Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut, WSI) has analysed the
development of "local and regional employment pacts" in Germany ("Lokale und
regionale Beschäftigungspakte in Deutschland", Astrid Ziegler, in
WSI-Mitteilungen 9/97). The initiative for these pacts came from the European
Commission, whose "territorial employment pacts" initiative aims to stabilise
local and regional labour markets in selected European regions by promoting
consensus and cooperation between all relevant local actors. In 1997, the
Commission approved 89 territorial employment pacts, of which nine were in
various regions in Germany. The German pacts are listed in the table below.
Agreement on the changeover to the euro in metalworking
27 Juuli 1998
On 30 June 1998, the metalworkers' union, IG Metall, and the Gesamtmetall
metalworking employers' association concluded a collective agreement "on the
conversion of currency-related provisions in collective agreements in the
framework of the currency changeover from the DEM to to the euro"
(Tarifvertrag über die Umstellung währungsrelevanter
Tarifvertragsbestimmungen im Rahmen des Währungsübergangs von DM auf Euro
[1]).
[1] http://www.boeckler.de/wsi/tarchiv/iwl/euro-tv.htm
Differences persist in holidays and holiday bonuses in 1998
27 Juuni 1998
According to a recent study of 1998 provisions by the Institute for Economics
and Social Science (Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut, WSI),
most employees in Germany receive a collectively agreed holiday bonus, though
there are significant sectoral differences in the amount of the bonus. While
most employees are due 30 days' paid leave per year, the average annual
holiday bonus for a blue collar worker in a middle-range income group ranges
between DEM 205 and DEM 3,043.
Preliminary results of the 1998 works council elections
27 Juuni 1998
Between 1 March and 31 May 1998, works council [1] elections took place in
approximately 33,000 German companies. According to the Works Constitution
[2] Act §§ 13 (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz), works council elections should
be held every four years.
[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/efemiredictionary/works-council-2
[2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/efemiredictionary/works-constitution-0
Volkswagen sets up a world group council
27 Juuni 1998
On 13 May 1998, the group board of the German-owned automobile corporation
Volkswagen (VW) and the Volkswagen European Works Council announced the
foundation of a "VW group world council" (VW-Weltbetriebsrat). Volkswagen is
thus one of the first important multinational companies officially to create
and recognise a global joint employee representative structure for its
280,000 employees worldwide, working in around 35 production sites on four
continents.