Arbeitsbeziehungen in der Care-Arbeit: Blockierte Aufwertung?

Although the social and economic importance of care work is growing rapidly in Germany, employment in the care sector is becoming increasingly precarious and working conditions are frequently described as deteriorating, thus leading to a crisis in care work. Despite these developments the governance of care work is rarely addressed in studies relating to the care sector or in industrial relations research. Taking care of the elderly and child care as two important examples of care work, the paper analyses industrial relations and the governance of care in these fields: Can they contribute towards increasing the appreciation of employees? It is argued that the specific institutions regulating work and employment in that sector hinder the joint communication, negotiation and realisation of interests of organisations within the care sector and they challenge the established policies of unions, thus leading to new and intensified conflicts between unions and employers.