Vogel, Sandra

During the recent collective bargaining round in Germany’s metal and electrical sector, four topics dominated the social partners’ agenda; wages, temporary agency work, apprentices and demographic change.

After a seven-year adjustment period, the German labour market was opened to Czech, Estonian, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Slovak and Slovenian workers on 1 May 2011. The new legislation enabled people from these countries to move freely to Germany to take up work and settle. As the first anniversary of the regulations passed on 1 May 2012, the Institute for Employment Research (IAB [1]) took a closer look at the immigration data available from the Federal Employment Agency (BA [2]) and examined the effects of the new law. [1] http://www.iab.de/ [2] http://www.arbeitsagentur.de

When the global economic and financial crisis hit Germany, several labour market instruments helped to stabilise German employment. The measures mainly consisted of extending short-time working schemes (*DE0904039I* [1], *DE0909029I* [2]), reducing working hours saved up in employees’ working time [3] accounts and exercising wage restraint in collective agreements concluded during the crisis. These measures are thought to have spared the German labour market a drastic rise in unemployment. The latest data from the Institute for Employment Research (IAB [4]) now indicate they are no longer in widespread use. [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/new-allowances-for-short-time-work-in-bid-to-offset-economic-crisis [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/high-costs-of-short-time-working-for-companies [3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/working-time [4] http://www.iab.de/

At the end of 2011, the Institute for Employment Research (IAB [1]) released its latest findings on the female employment situation in Germany (in German, 452Kb PDF) [2]. As earlier research has shown, career breaks play a major role in widening the gender pay gap [3]. They can also have a negative effect on the participation rate of women in further training, worsen their prospects for promotion and reduce their pension entitlements. [1] http://www.iab.de/ [2] http://doku.iab.de/kurzber/2011/kb2311.pdf [3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/gender-pay-gap

In 2006, the then German government proposed gradually raising the statutory retirement age from 65 to 67 years. At the time, the coalition was made up of the conservative Christian Democratic Party (CDU [1]), its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU [2]), and its coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party (SPD [3]). [1] http://www.cdu.de/ [2] http://www.csu.de/ [3] http://www.spd.de/

An ageing workforce and shortage of skilled labour in the chemical industry are of great concern to social partners within the sector. A company survey by the German Federation of Chemicals Employers’ Associations (BAVC [1]) highlights measures already being used to retain skilled workers. The social partners in north east Germany have even concluded a new collective agreement which deals specifically with demographic change. [1] http://www.bavc.de

At the beginning of November 2011, a group of employers’ organisations presented new data on developments in vocational training in Germany. They had come together in 2004 to set up the Pact on Apprenticeships (/Ausbildungspakt/), designed to create more apprenticeship positions (*DE0407105F* [1]). [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/training-levy-law-avoided-by-pact

During the spring and summer of 2011, the United Services Union (ver.di [1]) called for the introduction of a minimum wage in Germany. Together with the Union of Food, Beverages, Tobacco, Hotel and Catering and Allied Workers (NGG [2]), ver.di advocates a minimum wage of €8.50. Ver.di Chair Frank Bsirske pointed out in a press release (in German) [3] that nearly one million people, including 400,000 full-time employees, had to supplement their low incomes with public allowances. NGG Chair Franz-Josef Möllenberg added that only a minimum wage could protect workers from a reduction in the standard of living. [1] http://www.verdi.de/ [2] http://www.ngg.net/ [3] http://www.verdi.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/++co++e712f9e2-669a-11e0-715a-001ec9b05a14

On 11 August 2011, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis [1]) released new youth unemployment figures (in German) [2]. They showed that in June 2011 the youth unemployment rate in Germany was 9.1%, with 430,000 young people aged between 15 and 24 out of work. This is higher than the average German unemployment rate of 6.1% for those aged 15 to 74 years. The young are also more likely to have flexible employment relationships when they do find work, with 27.3% holding a fixed-term contract in 2010 compared with 7.9% of the total employed population aged 15 to 64 years. These figures exclude those still at school or in (vocational) training. [1] http://www.destatis.de/jetspeed/portal/cms [2] http://www.destatis.de/jetspeed/portal/cms/Sites/destatis/Internet/DE/Presse/pm/2011/08/PD11__293__132,templateId=renderPrint.psml

In July 2011, the Employers Association for Insurance Companies in Germany (AGV [1]) and the United Services Union (ver.di [2]) signed a new collective agreement for the insurance industry, affecting around 160,000 office employees. Negotiations were accompanied by several token strikes. According to a press release (in German) [3] by ver.di, in June and July 2011 around 10,000 and 7,700 insurance employees respectively took part in industrial action. [1] http://agv-vers.de/ [2] http://www.verdi.de [3] http://presse.verdi.de/pressemitteilungen/showNews?id=ef3650ec-aed4-11e0-407b-001ec9b03e44