Vogel, Sandra

The German company Vacuumschmelze (VAC [1]), headquartered in Hanau in the federal state of Hesse in central Germany, is a leading manufacturer of advanced magnetic materials. VAC employs around 1,500 staff. In a press release (in German, 22Kb PDF) [2] on 8 August 2008, the Chair of the company’s management, Hartmut Eiseler, stated that, due to volatile exchange rates and exploding energy and raw material prices, the company would not be able to generate the revenues anticipated for 2008. [1] http://www.vacuumschmelze.de/dynamic/en/ [2] http://www.vacuumschmelze.de/dynamic/docroot/medialib/documents/zusatzinformationen/presseinfos/2008/10-VAC_AusstiegTarif080808.pdf

On 28 August 2008, the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit, BA [1]) published its latest labour market report (in German, 1.2Mb PDF) [2]. The report shows that the number of unemployed people in Germany fell from 3,706,000 in August 2007 to 3,196,000 in August 2008. Compared with the previous year, employment that is subject to social security contributions has been created mostly in the following sectors of economic activity: business-related activities ( 6.2%), health and social work ( 2.8%), education ( 2.7%), transport and communications ( 2.3%), and manufacturing ( 1.9%). Jobs were lost, however, in sectors such as financial intermediation – that is, banks and insurances (- 0.9%) – construction (- 0.6%) and public administration (- 0.4%). [1] http://www.arbeitsagentur.de [2] http://www.pub.arbeitsamt.de/hst/services/statistik/000000/html/start/monat/aktuell.pdf

In April 2008, the United Services Union (Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, ver.di [1]) called for pay increases of 9.8% for 12 months affecting about 50,000 cabin and ground staff at Germany’s largest air carrier Deutsche Lufthansa. Ver.di also called for the further development of the existing agreement on a profit-related pay scheme for employees at the company. Ver.di’s chief negotiator, Erhard Ott, reinforced the trade union’s demands by claiming that the company had earned major profits in 2007, while positive earning trends were anticipated for 2008 – see WSI Tarifarchiv (in German) [2]. [1] http://www.verdi.de [2] http://www.boeckler.de/show_chronik.html?chronik_eintrag=90947.html

Corporate culture can be defined as the whole system of fundamental beliefs, norms and values that influence the effective behaviour of employees. Companies’ main challenge is how to make best use of their employees’ skills and abilities. In this context, many enterprises have already realised that an employee-oriented corporate culture is essential for encouraging employee commitment and thus also boosting economic success.

A recent study [1] by the Centre for European Economic Research (Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung, ZEW [2]) on developments in the high-technology sector in Germany in 2007 was published in May 2008. The study highlights the fact that a total of 248,000 new businesses were set up in 2007, representing a decline of 2% compared with 2006. This negative picture in terms of business creation, however, stands in sharp contrast to the latest developments in the ‘high-tech’ sector. In 2007, 19,200 business start-ups were recorded in this sector, constituting a 4% rise compared with 2006. [1] http://www.zew.de/en/topthemen/meldung_show.php?LFDNR=985&KATEGORIE=34 [2] http://www.zew.de

The reason for the protracted collective bargaining negotiations in the railways sector is the rivalry between the German Engine Drivers’ Union’ (Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer, GDL [1]) and the other two trade unions in the sector – Transport, Service and Networks (Transport, Service und Netze, Transnet [2]), affiliated to the Confederation of German Trade Unions (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, DGB [3]), and the Transport Trade Union GDBA (Verkehrsgewerkschaft GDBA [4]), affiliated to the German Federation of Career Public Servants (Deutscher Beamtenbund, dbb [5]). Transnet and GDBA are united in a formal collective bargaining association (/Tarifgemeinschaft/) based on a mutual agreement between the two trade unions. [1] http://www.gdl.de [2] http://www.transnet.org/ [3] http://www.dgb.de [4] http://www.transnet.org/ [5] http://www.dbb.de

On 20 February 2008, the federal government announced in a press statement (in German) [1] that the federal cabinet (Bundeskabinett [2]) had approved a draft bill providing for a general subsidy scheme for initial vocational training (/Ausbildungsbonus/). The bill will implement a temporary subsidy scheme for companies which create additional apprenticeship places for so-called ‘old applicants’ (/Altbewerber/). The latter are defined as young people who have failed to obtain a contract for vocational training in recent years. [1] http://www.bmas.de/coremedia/generator/24678/2008__02__20__ausbildungsbonus.html [2] http://www.bundesregierung.de/Webs/Breg/DE/Bundesregierung/Bundeskabinett/bundeskabinett.html

The German Association for Motor Trades and Repair (Zentralverband deutsches Kraftfahrzeuggewerbe, ZDK [1]) estimates that 473,500 workers, including apprentices, were employed in the sector in 2006. Regional trade associations – also known as guilds (/Landesinnungen/) – have traditionally operated as employer organisations and some continue to do so, conducting collective bargaining negotiations with the German Metalworkers’ Union (Industriegewerkschaft Metall, IG Metall [2]) or the United Services Union (Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, ver.di [3]) at regional level. The 2008 collective bargaining round in the motor vehicle repair sector (/Deutsches Kraftfahrzeuggewerbe/, Kfz-Gewerbe [4]) does not only cover pay issues, but also the issue of a more fundamental change in the employers’ collective bargaining strategy. [1] http://www.kfzgewerbe.de/verband/index.html [2] http://www.igmetall.de/cps/rde/xchg/internet [3] http://www.verdi.de [4] http://www.kfzgewerbe.de/

Forecasts indicate that the size of Germany’s total population will shrink drastically after 2020. This development, in turn, is expected to affect the supply of labour in the long run. A recent study on demographic changes (in German, 966Kb PDF) [1] by the Institute for Employment Research (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, IAB [2]) analyses the effects that a slowly shrinking and ageing population will have on the labour supply in the future. The analysis is based on data from the 2006 IAB Establishment Panel (/Betriebspanel 2006/), which offers a greater insight into the current situation of older employees in the workplace. The Establishment Panel (in German) [3] survey is regularly conducted by IAB and covers 16,000 establishments in all economic sectors. [1] http://doku.iab.de/kurzber/2007/kb2107.pdf [2] http://www.iab.de/de [3] http://betriebspanel.iab.de/

The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung, BIBB [1]) and the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin, BAuA [2]) organise an employee survey on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF [3]). The survey is conducted by the research institute TNS Infratest Sozialforschung Munich, which carried out telephone interviews from October 2005 to March 2006; the survey covers 20,000 employees who answered on a voluntary basis. [1] http://www.bibb.de/ [2] http://www.baua.de [3] http://www.bmbf.de