Vogel, Sandra

At the end of July 2010, Rainer Bruederle, Germany’s Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, proposed in a press report (in German) [1] that companies in need of skilled labour should be allowed to offer cash premiums to foreign skilled workers as an incentive. At the end of August 2010, he presented a ministry working paper (in German) [2] on the issue and discussed it with representatives of 17 business associations. The paper suggested several lines of action. The first is to develop a suitable immigration policy, in order to recruit skilled foreign workers. The second calls for better integration of existent labour resources in Germany, for example women, older workers or people with an immigrant background. As indicated by the results of a recent company survey (in German) [3] by the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK [4]), every second company is already facing difficulties in filling vacant positions. [1] http://www.handelsblatt.com/newsticker/politik/bruederle-will-lockpraemie-fuer-auslaendische-fachkraefte;2627277 [2] http://www.bmwi.de/BMWi/Navigation/Presse/pressemitteilungen,did=356696.html [3] http://www.dihk.de/inhalt/informationen/news/meldungen/meldung012759.html [4] http://www.dihk.de/

In Germany, different wage agreements in one establishment have to date only been allowed in a few sectors. In the transportation and health care sectors, unions succeeded in organising highly homogeneous occupational groups. These groups have the economic power to take effective strike action. Examples of this situation include: the collective agreement negotiated between the airline Lufthansa and the Cockpit Association (VC [1]), a pilots’ union, in 2001 (*DE0106226F* [2]): the collective agreement concluded by university hospitals and the doctors’ union Marburger Bund (MB [3]) in 2006 (*DE0607019I* [4]); and the fight of the German Engine Drivers’ Union (GDL [5]) for a separate agreement for engine drivers at the Deutsche Bahn railway company in 2007/2008 (*DE0804049I* [6]). [1] http://www.vcockpit.de/ [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined-industrial-relations/lufthansa-pilots-pay-dispute-draws-to-close [3] http://www.marburger-bund.de/ [4] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/doctors-strike-ends-in-new-collective-agreement [5] http://www.gdl.de [6] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/collective-agreement-finally-reached-for-german-engine-drivers

On 21 April 2010, the Mining, Chemicals and Energy Industrial Union (IG BCE [1]) and the German Federation of Chemicals Employers’ Associations (BAVC [2]) announced in a press article (in German) [3] the conclusion of a new collective agreement in the sector. It runs for 11 months and will cover 550,000 employees in 1,900 establishments between 1 April 2010 (retrospectively) and 1 June 2010, depending on the region. [1] http://www.igbce.de/portal/site/igbce/ [2] http://www.bavc.de [3] http://www.bavc.de/bavc/web/web.nsf/id/li_pi_21042010-st1.html

The Institute for Employment Research (Institut für Arbeitsmarktforschung, IAB [1]) of the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit, BA [2]) hosts the IAB Establishment Panel (IAB-Betriebspanel [3]), from which it derived the latest data on collective bargaining [4] coverage and employee representation. The panel is a representative survey of about 16,000 establishments. [1] http://www.iab.de/ [2] http://www.arbeitsagentur.de/ [3] http://www.iab.de/de/erhebungen/iab-betriebspanel.aspx/ [4] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/collective-bargaining

On 8 April 2010, an initiative called ‘HessenTransfer’ was launched by the Hessian branch of the Confederation of German Trade Unions (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund Hessen, DGB Hessen [1]) and the Confederation of Hessian Employers’ Associations (Vereinigung der hessischen Unternehmerverbände, VhU [2]). In cooperation with the Ministry for Labour, Family and Health (Hessisches Ministerium für Arbeit, Familie und Gesundheit, HMAFG [3]) of the west-central German state of Hesse and the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit, BA [4]), the initiative was set up at regional level to support local companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). [1] http://www.hessen.dgb.de/ [2] http://www.vhu.de/ [3] http://www.hmafg.hessen.de/ [4] http://www.arbeitsagentur.de

In recent years, the German labour market has undergone profound reforms. For example, rules on social welfare benefits and temporary agency work [1] have been reorganised (DE0409204N [2], DE0608049I [3], DE0212203N [4]). While these reforms were undertaken to stimulate job creation, among other things, they also triggered a public debate on the possible negative consequences of flexible forms of employment. [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/temporary-agency-work [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/major-protests-against-cuts-in-unemployment-assistance [3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/employers-call-for-reform-of-law-on-unemployment-assistance [4] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/new-law-passed-on-temporary-agency-work

At the end of December 2007, the previous German centre-right left-wing coalition government issued a decree on mandatory working conditions for mail delivery services. The decree enabled the government to introduce a national minimum wage for large parts of the mail delivery services which were included in the Posted Workers Act (/Arbeitnehmer-Entsendegesetz/, AEntG [1]) (*DE0712039I* [2]). [1] http://bundesrecht.juris.de/aentg_2009/index.html [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/minimum-wage-for-mail-delivery-workers

The pact on apprenticeships (/Ausbildungspakt/) – that is, the vocational training agreement between the federal government and several umbrella organisations of employer and business associations – was established in 2004. Extended in 2007, the pact will run until 2010 (*DE0802029I* [1]). Apart from the federal government and the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit, BA [2]), the following employer and business associations are parties to the pact: the German Confederation of Employers’ Associations (Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbände, BDA [3]), the Federation of German Industries (Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie, BDI [4]), the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag, DIHK [5]), the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks, ZDH [6]) and the German Association of Liberal Professions (Bundesverband der Freien Berufe, BFB [7]). The signatories to the pact agreed to create more apprenticeship positions and improve the career prospects of young people. [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/pact-on-apprenticeships-exceeded-objectives-in-2007 [2] http://www.arbeitsagentur.de [3] http://www.bda-online.de/www/arbeitgeber.nsf/ID/home [4] http://www.bdi-online.de/index.htm [5] http://www.dihk.de [6] http://www.zdh.de/english.html [7] http://www.freie-berufe.de/

The last general parliamentary election in Germany, which was held on 27 September 2009, brought to an end the incumbent coalition government between the Social Democratic Party of Germany (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD [1]) and the conservative alliance of the Christian Democratic Union (Christliche Demokratische Union, CDU [2]) and its Bavarian associate, the Christian Social Union (Christlich-Soziale Union, CSU [3]) (*DE0510201N* [4]). The following table outlines the election results, as well as the distribution of seats in the German parliament (Bundestag [5]). [1] http://www.spd.de/ [2] http://www.cdu.de/en/3440.htm [3] http://www.csu.de/ [4] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/employers-associations-and-trade-unions-divided-on-general-election-outcome [5] http://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/index.html

On 30 July 2009, the Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Olaf Scholz, suggested prolonging the partial retirement scheme (in German) [1] for older employees run by the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit, BA [2]). BA’s programme referred to by the minister grants financial support to companies for the gradual transition of employees aged 55 years and over to retirement. For this, however, certain conditions must be fulfilled. Employees must reduce their working time to 50% of their average working hours. Moreover, the resulting vacancy or remaining working hours must be filled by a newly recruited, previously unemployed person or trainee. [1] http://www.bmas.de/coremedia/generator/34444/2009__07__30__arbeitsmarktzahlen.html [2] http://www.arbeitsagentur.de