Nationwide, only half of all employment relationships are regulated by collective bargaining agreements – just a quarter in retail. The union sees politics as an obligation.
The Verdi union has drawn attention to the decline in collective bargaining coverage in Germany. There are nationwide collective bargaining regulations for only 51 percent of employees, said Verdi chairman Frank Werneke on Friday in Berlin.
In some sectors, collective bargaining coverage is even significantly lower. In trade, for example, only 25 percent of employees have collective bargaining protection. “And that after an initial situation in which we still had practically 100 percent collective bargaining coverage at the end of the 1990s,” said Werneke. It looks similarly weak in terms of care.
From the trade unions ‘point of view, the employers’ associations are jointly responsible for this. “A real will to stabilize the collective bargaining agreement is less and less noticeable on the employers’ side,” said Werneke. He therefore sees politics as an obligation. Among other things, simplified regulations for the general obligation of collective agreements are needed, demanded the Verdi chairman. In addition, public contracts should only be awarded to companies in which collective agreements have been agreed.
Verdi sees the citizens on his side in these questions: According to a representative survey, 86 percent of those questioned would have rated the decreasing collective bargaining coverage as negative. According to Verdi, around 70 percent of those surveyed supported the demand to make public contracts dependent on collective bargaining agreements.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
