Collective bargaining and works councils : the latest data on coverage and development from the IAB establishment panel 2011

Abstract

"In this paper we first present the dispersion of collective bargaining agreements according to firm size and industries using the latest data of the IAB establishment panel. In 2011 about 54 % of the firms in west Germany and 37 % in east Germany were bound to a collective agreement. From the beginning of data collecting in 1996 up to the present time coverage has been distinctly declining, even though lately the trend has become less clear. Closer attention is paid to those establishments that do not have formal collective bargaining coverage but nevertheless take collective agreements as a reference. Co-determination at company level drops slightly: 44 % of the workforce in the private sector in west Germany is covered by a works council and 36 % in east Germany. However, in the long run a downward movement is also apparent, although less pronounced than the coverage by collective agreements. Examining both levels of employee participation, we mainly address the extensive gaps in co-determination on the shop-floor and the distribution of 'black holes' - those sectors in the collective agreement and co-determination landscape where there is no coverage at all." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Ellguth, P. & Kohaut, S. (2012): Tarifbindung und betriebliche Interessenvertretung. Aktuelle Ergebnisse aus dem IAB-Betriebspanel 2011. In: WSI-Mitteilungen, Vol. 65, No. 4, p. 297-305. DOI:10.5771/0342-300X-2012-4-297