Vogel, Sandra
Unions push for minimum wage in the postal sector
20 December 2007
On 31 October 2007, the Federal Network Agency for Electricity, Gas,
Telecommunications, Post and Railways (Bundesnetzagentur [1]) issued a press
release (in German) [2] providing information on the number of employees in
the postal sector. The preliminary results of its survey show that the former
monopoly holder, Deutsche Post AG, employs 162,938 persons. Of these workers,
122,437 work as drivers, delivery personnel or sorters. Deutsche Post’s
competitors employ around 40,000 workers. This latter figure is expected to
rise, since 200 questionnaires have yet to be returned.
[1] http://www.bundesnetzagentur.de
[2] http://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/enid/ba1557d86b8ebf7076f953155c73dd41,0/Presse/Pressemitteilungen_d2.html#12697
Social Democratic Party chair sparks debate on recent labour market reform
04 November 2007
At the beginning of October 2007, news of Kurt Beck’s move away from
positions formerly held by the German Social Democratic Party
(Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD [1]) first reached the public.
On 1 October 2007, the /Financial Times Deutschland/ (FTD [2]) newspaper
stated that Mr Beck would seek to reverse a key piece of former chancellor
Gerhard Schröder’s reform programme called /Agenda 2010/.
[1] http://www.spd.de/menu/-1
[2] http://www.ftd.de
Shortage of skilled labour in industrial sectors
19 August 2007
On 5 July 2007, the Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, Michael
Glos, emphasised in a government policy statement (in German) [1] the current
lack of skilled labour in some sectors of the economy. He argued that this
labour shortage could hamper future economic growth. To address the issue,
Minister Glos called for increased support for education and vocational
training. Such measures could encourage people into employment by
strengthening their employability and their professional competencies.
Furthermore, he said, the German government should judge whether it would be
appropriate to adopt a new immigration policy that would grant skilled
foreign workers easier access to the German labour market .
[1] http://www.bmwi.de/BMWi/Navigation/Presse/reden-und-statements,did=210264.html
Federal Labour Court redefines rules for work stoppages
15 July 2007
In 2003, the German Metalworkers’ Union (Industriegewerkschaft Metall, IG
Metall [1]) went on strike, protesting against the closure of a plant owned
by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen GmbH, a manufacturer of printing machines. At
the time, IG Metall went on strike for over five weeks and called for various
provisions that would safeguard workers’ interests. In response, the north
German regional metalworking sector employer organisation, Nordmetall [2],
sued IG Metall for striking unlawfully. On 24 April 2007, the Federal Labour
Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG [3]) finally ruled in favour of IG Metall.
[1] http://www.igmetall.de/cps/rde/xchg/internet
[2] http://www.nordmetall.com
[3] http://www.bundesarbeitsgericht.de
Traineeships: a barrier or stepping stone to employment?
27 May 2007
In 2005, the German weekly newspaper /Die Zeit/ published an article entitled
‘Generation traineeship’ (in German) [1], which called for an
investigation into the scope, background and usefulness of traineeships that
are performed by university graduates. Furthermore, it looked at the
motivations of young professionals who apply for traineeships. Among other
things, the article concluded that, while in the past traineeships offered
people the opportunity to gain professional experience, trainees nowadays
seem only to serve as a cheap and well-trained labour force.
[1] http://zeus.zeit.de/text/2005/14/Titel_2fPraktikant_14
Social partners point to pitfalls in business start-up subsidy scheme
27 May 2007
In 2002, the federal government established the commission on ‘Modern
services in the labour market’ which became known to the public as the
Hartz Commission (*DE0203204F* [1], *DE0212203N* [2], *DE0302105F* [3]). The
Commission presented a reform proposal for the national labour market policy.
Among other things, it recommended the restructuring of the Federal
Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit, BA [4]) as well as a better use
of its labour market instruments.
[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined/federal-employment-service-to-be-reformed
[2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/new-law-passed-on-temporary-agency-work
[3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/new-legislation-promotes-minor-jobs
[4] http://www.arbeitsagentur.de
Ongoing efforts to combat illegal employment
06 May 2007
On 30 March 1957, the Act to Combat Illegal Employment (/Gesetz zur
Bekämpfung der Schwarzarbeit und illegalen Beschäftigung,/ SchwarzArbG (in
German) [1]) came into effect. The act was subsequently revised in 2004, but
its effectiveness has since been called into question by recent research
results. A press article (in German) [2] by the Cologne Institute for
Economic Research (Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft Köln, IW Köln [3])
highlights the findings of the institute’s recent study on illegal
employment. In particular, it reveals that approximately 13 million German
citizens increased their income by earnings from illegal employment in 2006.
[1] http://www.aufenthaltstitel.de/schwarzarbg.html
[2] http://www.iwkoeln.de/default.aspx?p=pub&i=2007&pn=2&n=n2007&m=pub&f=4&ber=Informationen&a=20067
[3] http://www.iwkoeln.de
New collective agreement signed in chemicals industry
26 April 2007
On 8 March 2007, the Mining, Chemicals and Energy Industrial Union
(Industriegewerkschaft Bergbau, Chemie, Energie, IG BCE [1]) and the German
Federation of Chemicals Employers’ Associations (Bundesarbeitgeberverband
Chemie, BAVC [2]) concluded a new collective agreement for the chemicals
industry (summary in German) [3]. The new agreement is to last for 14 months.
It comes into force at varying stages across the various national regions
(/Länder/), taking effect in the different regions between 1 January and 1
April 2007.
[1] http://www.igbce.de/portal/site/igbce
[2] http://www.bavc.de
[3] http://www.boeckler.de/cps/rde/xchg/SID-3D0AB75D-8A88C91B/hbs/hs.xsl/16637.html
Government sets minimum wages for cleaning industry
26 April 2007
The introduction of industry-specific minimum wages has been widely discussed
by the Christian Democratic Party (Christlich Demokratische Union, CDU [1])
and the Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD
[2]), which together comprise the current federal government. With regard to
industrial cleaning, the coalition government approved a draft bill to extend
the Posted Workers Act (/Arbeitnehmer-Entsendegesetz/, AEntG [3]) to the
cleaning industry during the summer of 2006 (*DE0609049I* [4]). Since the act
has, until now, only been applied in construction-related industries, these
recent developments in the cleaning sector have also been closely watched by
the social partners in other sectors.
[1] http://www.cdu.de
[2] http://www.spd.de/menu/-1
[3] http://bundesrecht.juris.de/aentg/index.html
[4] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/posted-workers-act-extended-to-industrial-cleaning
Unions and workers protest against plan to raise retirement age
07 March 2007
In November 2006, the coalition partners of the federal government agreed to
the gradual increase in the statutory retirement age from 65 years to 67
years between 2012 and 2029. In future, only employees who have contributed
to the statutory pension insurance for 45 years will be entitled to receive
the full pension at 65 years of age. Others will either have to work until
they reach 67 years of age or be prepared to face pension cuts under certain
circumstances (*DE0612039I* [1]). To become binding law, the federal
government’s reform plan will, on 9 March 2007, have to be approved by the
German parliament (/Bundestag/).
[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/employees-face-pension-cuts-following-rise-in-legal-retirement-age