Tarifbindung und betriebliche Interessenvertretung: Aktuelle Ergebnisse aus dem IAB-Betriebspanel 2017

Collective bargaining and works councils: data on coverage and development from the IAB establishment panel 2017 In this article the authors present the dispersion of collective bargaining agreements according to firm size and industries using the latest data from the IAB establishment panel. In 2017 about 49 % of the workforce in west and 34 % in east Germany were employed by firms that were bound to collective agreements. From the beginning of the data collection in 1996 coverage has been distinctly declining, although less pronounced during recent years. Looking at co-determination at plant level, a distinct downward movement in works council coverage in recent years has to be started. In the private sector of west Germany a new all-time low has been reached with only 40 % of the workforce covered within the framework of legally established employee representation. In east Germany, last year’s mark of 33 % confirms an all-time low. Examining both levels of employee participation together the authors mainly address the extensive gaps in co-determination on the shop-floor (betriebliche Vertretungslücken) and additionally completely blank spots with no collective agreement at all.