Compared to many other western industrialised countries, Germany has the image of being a high-wage economy with a relatively low inequality of incomes and living standards. This is mainly the result of the German system of branch-level central collective bargaining (Flächentarifvertrag), where

The Institute for Economics and Social Science (Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut, WSI) has recently published its annual examination of the previous collective bargaining round. It paints a rather mixed picture of 1996, a year in which collective bargaining was overshadowed by

According to a recent analysis by the Institute for Economics and Social Science (Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut, WSI) basic wages and salaries in western Germany grew on average by about 2.3% in 1996. Thus, pay increased by about 0.8 percentage points above the inflation rate

On 6 February 1997, the Bundesverband Druck employers' association and the Industriegewerkschaft Medien trade union signed two new nationwide collective agreements for the 130,000 manual workers in the German printing industry. The first agreement covers the general developments of wages, and the

At the end of 1996, the major trade unions and employers' associations signed the Second National Agreement on Continuing Training (II Acuerdo Nacional de Formación Continua), which was later endorsed by a tripartite agreement between these organisations and the Government. The new agreements build

On 31 January 1997, the Second National Agreement on Temporary Employment Agencies was signed. This is the second agreement reached in this sector since the activity of temporary employment agencies (TEAs) in Spain was approved in 1994. It will remain in force until 31 December 1999.

Industrial action has accompanied trade unions' pay demands in Spain's public administration since late 1996, and the threat of further action has been made if negotiations are not started immediately.

February 1997 saw a major strike in Spain's road transport sector. The dispute was well supported, mainly in the north of the country, but was called off without winning many concessions from the Government.