Vogel, Sandra

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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