by Paula Määttä

E. The role of the social partners

1. Collective bargaining

Germany has a strong collective bargaining system without legal minimum wage protection. Germany has industry level bargaining with some degree of enterprise level bargaining. Collective bargaining agreements may cover an industry in a specific region, or the entire territory of the Federal Republic for a certain industry. Collective agreements cover practically all areas of the private and public sector. Standards for remuneration, vacation, working hours, and the like are determined by such agreements. (Rubery & Fagan 1995, 41; Weiss 1994, 133-134.)

Collective bargaining covers over 70 per cent of all employees. Collective agreements also cover the entire workforce, whether unionised or not. Some part-time workers are not included in collective bargaining agreements. Part-time employees are those who work below a certain number of hours a week, for example, 15 hours in the public sector. Thus, around 16 per cent of female part-time workers are excluded. Another group excluded by most collective bargaining agreements are homemakers. (Rubery & Fagan 1994, 284; Rubery & Fagan 1995, 20, 41.)

Germany provides for effective regulation of the labour market through a set of minimum rates established by collective bargaining. Collective agreements are legally enforceable against those who are signatories (unions and employers associations). Minimum rates vary according to industrial conditions and according to the gender of the labour force. As there is no general minimum floor, there is potential for female-dominated industries to set very low minimum rates. Accordingly, there is a very high proportion of women among low paid workers. (Rubery & Fagan 1995, 16-17.)

The obligatory part of collective agreements deals with rights and duties between the contracting parties. The normative part of collective agreements directly affects the individual employment relationship. Thus, if rights embedded in normative clauses of collective agreements are violated, the individual worker or the employer to whom these clauses apply, has recourse to court assistance. Such clauses only cover union members being employed by an employer who is himself a member of the employers association which signed the collective agreement. (Weiss 1994, 36.)

Prohibition of indirect discrimination has played a major role. The use of seemingly neutral criteria in collective agreements, leading to lower wages mainly for women, has been severely restricted by Court intervention due to recognition of the concept of indirect discrimination. (Weiss 1994, 60.)

2. Trade unions and women

Unions are organized on an industry or branch basis. This means that the union is open to all employees in the industry concerned, no matter what their trade or occupation. The most important associations of employees are the individual unions organized by the German Federation of Trade Unions (DGB). Members of this Federation are not individual employees but unions. Women are under-represented at all levels of the Federations bodies. (Weiss 1994, 124-125.)

Trade unions have womens departments which concentrate on examining the obstacles encountered by women and promoting equality policies in trade union affairs. They organise special womens conferences and meetings that cater for the needs of women trade unionists. In addition, theyattempt to incorporate demands for equality into collective bargaining and agreements. (ILO, 19-23 Nov 1990, 74.)

Several unions have negotiated proportionally greater wage increases for the lower wage group of manual workers, while others have concentrated on the regrading of large sections of the lowest grades. (Rubery & Fagan 1995, 209.)