Strukturwandel und Zukunft der Interessenvertretung im Handwerk

The structural change of the skilled crafts sector in Germany has led to a polarisation of enterprise structures: A rapidly growing number of micro-enterprises are emerging besides large scale, pan-regional skilled craft companies which operate in new business areas that cross traditional sector boundaries. At the same time, macro-level collective bargaining policy structures are being eroded: The withdrawal of the skilled-crafts companies from the collective bargaining associations has led to a widespread disappearance of industry-level agreements and increased the number of single company agreements. These changes have consequences for the employee representation: Within the large crafts companies, cross-company representation forms, such as general or group works councils, are gaining importance. The works councils have to establish an organisation that is both effective and suitable to the network-like structures of the companies and increasingly find themselves in the role of collective bargaining policy makers. In order to adequately support the works councils with their increasingly complex tasks, the union needs to adjust its support structures which will significantly alter the division of tasks inside the union.