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Before the crisis, in the crisis, and beyond: the upheaval of collective bargaining in Germany

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  • Steffen Lehndorff

    (Institut Arbeit und Qualifikation (IAQ), University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, steffen.lehndorff@uni-due.de)

Abstract

The explanation of what has been called the ‘German employment miracle’ has much to do with the broad turn in German collective bargaining towards emergency coalitions at firm level, embedded in a larger environment of ‘crisis corporatism’. To understand this recent move, including its lessons and its limits, and to assess potential changes in the near future, it is useful to take into account the upheaval that took place within the collective bargaining system in the pre-crisis period. This article argues that there are good reasons to believe that very soon German collective bargaining will be at the crossroads again. The choice for unions and works councils will be either to return to traditional mixtures of concession bargaining and bargaining on retrenchment measures, or to revitalize their membership base in pursuit of ‘high road’ deals. A corner-stone for any revitalization strategy will include political pressure for a reformed back-up for collective bargaining by a renewal of statutory collective agreement extension procedures.

Suggested Citation

  • Steffen Lehndorff, 2011. "Before the crisis, in the crisis, and beyond: the upheaval of collective bargaining in Germany," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 17(3), pages 341-354, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:treure:v:17:y:2011:i:3:p:341-354
    DOI: 10.1177/1024258911410797
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Seifert, Hartmut & Brehmer, Wolfram & Bogedan, Claudia, 2011. "Wie krisenfest sind betriebliche Bündnisse zur Beschäftigungssicherung?," WSI-Mitteilungen, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 64(2), pages 51-59.
    2. Zachert, Ulrich, 2009. "60 Jahre Tarifvertragsgesetz - Eine rechtspolitische Bilanz," WSI-Mitteilungen, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 62(4), pages 179-184.
    3. Bispinck, Reinhard, 2009. "Tarifpolitischer Jahresbericht 2008: Tarifpolitik in der Finanzmarktkrise," WSI-Mitteilungen, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 62(4), pages 210-217.
    4. Kohaut, Susanne & Ellguth, Peter, 2008. "Tarifbindung und betriebliche Interessenvertretung: Aktuelle Ergebnisse aus dem IAB-Betriebspanel 2007," WSI-Mitteilungen, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 61(9), pages 515-519.
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    Cited by:

    1. Cody, John, 2015. "How labor manages productivity advances and crisis response: A comparative study of automotive manufacturing in Germany and the US," GLU Working Papers 32, Global Labour University (GLU).
    2. Anne Dufresne, 2015. "The trade union response to the European economic governance regime. Transnational mobilization and wage coordination," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 21(2), pages 141-156, May.

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