Tarifbindung und betriebliche Interessenvertretung: Ergebnisse aus dem IAB-Betriebspanel 2015

In this article we present the dispersion of collective bargaining agreements according to firm size, industries and federal states using the latest data from the IAB establishment panel. According to this data, in 2015 about 51 percent of the workforce in west and 37 percent in east Germany are employed in firms that are bound to collective agreements. From the beginning of data collecting in 1996 up to the present time coverage has been distinctly declining, even though less pronounced during recent years. Looking at co-determination at the plant level we find that coverage by works councils has hardly changed since last year with 42 percent of the workforce in the private sector of West Germany and 33 percent in East Germany. However, in the long run a distinct downward movement is also apparent here. Examining both levels of employee participation together we mainly address the extensive gaps in co-determination on the shop-floor (betriebliche Vertretungslücken) as well as the completely blank spots in various branches of the economy where no collective agreements exist at all.