Perspektiven alter(n)sgerechter Betriebs- und Tarifpolitik

Existing research points to a still considerable gap between the level of public and scientific debate about the necessity to implement better working conditions for an ageing workforce, and the corporate reality. The article tries to shed some light on that gap by examining the problems of companies as well as their current measures in the Metalworking and Electrical Industry, in Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, and in Retailing, respectively. The empirical findings show noticeable differences between sectors, but also between the perspectives and orientations of management and works council. They point to the tension between a necessary long-term perspective of age-oriented work policies and economical short-termism, but also to the legacy of the institutionalization of early retirement in Germany. Some new collective bargaining agreements try to facilitate the need to offer early-retirement schemes for those workers that still work under very demanding conditions, on the one hand, and to foster a sustainable age-orientation of corporate work and personnel strategies.