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Digitalisation, unions and participation: the German case of ‘industry 4.0’

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  • Thomas Haipeter

Abstract

This article tackles the question of how labour representatives cope with the implementation of ‘Industrie 4.0’ in German manufacturing plants. Digitalisation of manufacturing is going along with challenges for employment, work organisation and working conditions. The article analyses one of the main strategies German unions have developed, the project ‘Work 2020’, which was to raise works councils' awareness of the workplace impact of digitalisation, improve their knowledge of the changes, raise their capacity to respond and, finally, lead to the negotiation of workplace agreements on this issue with employers. The results of the analysis show that a strong interplay between unions and works councils and the activation of works councils by the unions have become indispensable preconditions for coping with the new challenges both of digitalisation and of the ongoing erosion of the German system of labour relations.

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  • Thomas Haipeter, 2020. "Digitalisation, unions and participation: the German case of ‘industry 4.0’," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 242-260, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:51:y:2020:i:3:p:242-260
    DOI: 10.1111/irj.12291
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    2. Caroline Lloyd & Jonathan Payne, 2023. "Trade unions, digitalisation and country effects: A comparative study of banking in Norway and the UK," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 29(4), pages 325-345, December.
    3. Valeria Cirillo & Matteo Rinaldini & Jacopo Staccioli & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2023. "Trade unions' responses to Industry 4.0 amid corporatism and resistance," PSL Quarterly Review, Economia civile, vol. 76(305), pages 91-120.
    4. Jonathan Payne & Caroline Lloyd & Secki P. Jose, 2023. "‘They tell us after they've decided things’: A cross‐country analysis of unions and digitalisation in retail," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 3-19, January.
    5. Prem Borle & Kathrin Reichel & Susanne Voelter-Mahlknecht, 2021. "Is There a Sampling Bias in Research on Work-Related Technostress? A Systematic Review of Occupational Exposure to Technostress and the Role of Socioeconomic Position," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-22, February.
    6. Virginia Doellgast & Ines Wagner & Sean O’Brady, 2023. "Negotiating limits on algorithmic management in digitalised services: cases from Germany and Norway," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 29(1), pages 105-120, February.
    7. Cetrulo, Armanda & Cirillo, Valeria & Landini, Fabio, 2022. "Organized Labour and R&D: Evidence from Italy," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1195, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    8. Grybauskas, Andrius & Stefanini, Alessandro & Ghobakhloo, Morteza, 2022. "Social sustainability in the age of digitalization: A systematic literature Review on the social implications of industry 4.0," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    9. Caroline Lloyd & Jonathan Payne, 2021. "Fewer jobs, better jobs? An international comparative study of robots and ‘routine’ work in the public sector," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 109-124, March.
    10. Alexander Lammers & Felix Lukowski & Kathrin Weis, 2023. "The relationship between works councils and firms’ further training provision in times of technological change," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(2), pages 392-424, June.
    11. Armanda Cetrulo & Giovanni Dosi & Angelo Moro & Linnea Nelli & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2023. "Automation, digitalization and decarbonization in the European automotive industry: a roadmap towards a just transition," LEM Papers Series 2023/36, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    12. Martin Krzywdzinski & Detlef Gerst & Florian Butollo, 2023. "Promoting human-centred AI in the workplace. Trade unions and their strategies for regulating the use of AI in Germany," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 29(1), pages 53-70, February.
    13. Krzywdzinski, Martin & Gerst, Detlef & Butollo, Florian, 2022. "Promoting human-centred AI in the workplace. Trade unions and their strategies for regulating the use of AI in Germany," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue OnlineFir, pages 1-1.
    14. Janine Berg & Francis Green & Laura Nurski & David A Spencer, 2023. "Risks to job quality from digital technologies: Are industrial relations in Europe ready for the challenge?," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 29(4), pages 347-365, December.
    15. Julie M É Garneau & Sara Pérez-Lauzon & Christian Lévesque, 2023. "Digitalisation of work in aerospace manufacturing: expanding union frames and repertoires of action in Belgium, Canada and Denmark," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 29(1), pages 139-154, February.
    16. Krzywdzinski, Martin & Pfeiffer, Sabine & Evers, Maren & Gerber, Christine, 2022. "Measuring work and workers: Wearables and digital assistance systems in manufacturing and logistics," Discussion Papers, Research Group Globalization, Work, and Production SP III 2022-301, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    17. Kerstin Rego, 2022. "Works councils and the digitalisation of manufacturing: Opportunity or threat for their power position?," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(4), pages 1911-1933, November.
    18. Toon Van Overbeke, 2023. "Conflict or cooperation? Exploring the relationship between cooperative institutions and robotisation," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(3), pages 550-573, September.
    19. Bürgisser, Reto, 2023. "Policy Responses to Technological Change in the Workplace," SocArXiv kwxn2, Center for Open Science.
    20. Mari Božič & Annmarie Gorenc Zoran & Matej Jevšček, 2021. "Industry 4.0 and Proactive Works Council Members," Data, MDPI, vol. 6(5), pages 1-17, April.

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