National Initiatives by the Social Partners in the Field of Training in Bipartite Dialogue, Including Collective Bargaining - Federal Republic of Germany

Source: European Industrial Relations Observatory

Collective Agreements on Continuing Vocational Training

• Introduction
• The German system of continuing vocational training
• Provisions on continuing vocational training in collective agreements
• Selected collective agreements with provisions on continuing vocational training

Introduction

Among the German social partners there exists a broad consensus that continuing vocational training (berufliche Weiterbildung) plays a prominent role to the performance of the German economy. At the beginning of 1996, for example, the German Federal Government together with the trade unions and employers' associations signed a document called "Alliance for employment and the securing of production locations" (Bündnis für Arbeit und Standortsicherung) in which it is pointed out: "Due to the dynamic expansion of job oriented knowledge, life-long continuing vocational training is becoming increasingly important. Periods of time allocated to improving qualifications must therefore be more equally distributed throughout the whole working life."

From the employers' viewpoint continuing vocational training is seen as an indispensable precondition for managing the rapid changes of technology and work organisation and to organise an effective production process. From a social perspective continuing vocational training might help to safeguard employment, as the required qualifications are changing more and more quickly. Finally, in particular the trade unions are in favour of continuing vocational training because it could help employees to get more interesting and more demanding work.

Although all parties agree on the overall importance of continuing vocational training the activities of the collective bargaining parties are rather limited. Various collective agreements exist which contain provisions for continuing vocational training, particularly, in the context of technical and organisational change and securing of employment. These provisions are mainly procedural rules to strengthen the role of the works council in the promotion of continuing vocational training. Other collective agreements contain clauses for further training to promote female workers or workers who have no basic education. However, most of these agreements were concluded in the late 1980s and early 1990s, while, for the moment, continuing vocational training is not a big issue in current German collective bargaining.

The German system of continuing vocational training

Continuing vocational training is becoming more and more widespread in Germany. In 1994 nearly one quarter of all German employees had participated in a continuing vocational training course (table 1). According to a study by the Federal Institute for Vocational Training BIBB (Bundestinstitut für Berufsbildung) German companies spent about DEM 16.64 billion on continuing vocational training in 1993.

However, the majority of employees, who participates in a continuing vocational training course, has already a high qualification which lies often above the average. For example, in 1994 nearly half of all executives (leitende Angestellte) and leading civil servants attended in a continuing vocational training course, only 2% of employees with no basic education participated in a further training scheme.

In contrast to the German basic vocational training system (Erstausbildungssystem) which is based on the Vocational Training Act (Berufsbildungsgesetz) there exits no comprehensive overall legal framework on continuing vocational training. There are only a few legal provisions which touch certain aspects of continuing vocational training. The most important is the Employment Promotion Act (Arbeitsförderungsgesetz) which contains regulations for the promotion of further education. Under certain conditions the Federal Employment Service (Bundesanstalt für Arbeit) provides a maintenance allowance (Unterhaltsgeld) for individual employees who participate in training schemes. In 1996 the Federal Employment Service promoted on average about 550,000 employees and spent about DEM 15.6 billion on continuing vocational training.

Furthermore at regional level some of the German Federal States (Bundesländer) have concluded laws on "further education or adult education" (Weiterbildungs- oder Erwachsenenbildungsgesetze) which give employees the opportunity to take a certain number of working days (usually up to 5 days per year) as educational leave (Bildungsurlaub). In practice, however, only a small minority of the employees actually take advantage if this.

The existing legal provisions usually only promote general training schemes which are not explicitly linked with continuing vocational training at company level. In contrast to the strong institutionalised influence of the social partners on basic vocational training (DE0704107F) the social partners role in continuing vocational training is rather limited. Most continuing vocational training at company level is offered unilaterally by the management. The German Works Constitution Act (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz) gives the works council a few rights to become involved in company-related training schemes. Therefore continuing vocational training at company level is sometimes regulated by works agreements (Betriebsvereinbarungen) which are concluded between the management and the works council. In any case neither the trade unions nor the employers' associations have a direct legal right to participate in continuing vocational training.

Provisions on continuing vocational training in collective agreements

Although their legal position on continuing vocational training is rather weak the German social partners have the opportunity to conclude collective agreements on that issue. Indeed, in the meantime, various collective agreements exist which include provisions on continuing vocational training. These provisions are usually directly related with other issues like technical and organisational change, safeguarding jobs or promoting women.

Against the background of declining growth rates and increasing technological change the trade unions, since the late 1960's, have been demanding the conclusion of collective agreements which protect the employees from the possible negative consequences of rationalisation (Rationalisierungsschutzabkommen). On major aspect of these kind of agreements was to ensure that after the introduction of new technology or work organisation the employees received further training and kept their jobs at the same level of payment. In practice various sectoral collective agreements of this kind had been concluded. However, the problem was that these agreements were rather defensive because they became valid only when a technological or organisational change had already taken place.

Since the late 1970s the collective bargaining parties have been treating the issue of continuing vocational training more offensive and have been trying to develop training schemes which are better designed to anticipate technological and organisational changes. A lot of this new type of collective agreements had been concluded in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The most famous one was the new "wage and salaries framework agreement" (Lohn- und Gehaltsrahmentarifvertrag) in the metal industry in 1988. According to that agreement the employer must give, at least once a year, a report to the works council on the foreseeable need of qualifications as a result of planned technological and organisational change. After consultation with the works council the employer has to develop a plan on the necessity for continuing vocational training. Furthermore, the participation in training schemes does count as working time and has to be paid by the employers. Finally, if an employee gets a more sophisticated job after successful further training he or she must also be classified in a higher wage bracket.

The agreement in the metal industry marked a pattern for similar agreements in other sectors, for example the leather industry or wood processing. They all focus mainly on procedural regulations, which secure and concretises the involvement of the works council in the company's continuing vocational training activities. A collective agreement in the printing industry went one step further and gave those employees affected by rationalisation the right to participate in further training schemes.

A small number of collective agreements include provisions on continuing vocational training to promote female employees. For example collective agreements in retail trade, banking or metalworking provides the possibility for employees to participate in continuing vocational training courses during the period of parental leave. Training during parental leave is inteded to make it easier for employees to get back into the working process. In other sectors like printing or the cigarette industry the agreements foresee the establishment of particular continuing vocational training plans for female employees.

A more controversial issue is the question of who pays for the continuing vocational training activities at company level. While continuing vocational training has usually to be paid by the company, in some collective agreements the employers succeeded in involving the employees in the further training costs. This is true for example for the agreement at the Deutsche Shell AG which point out that participation in continuing vocational training courses will not count as working time. In two sectors (agriculture and forestry, and textile and clothing) the collective bargaining parties agreed on the establishment of a special "training fund" to finance continuing vocational training. While in agriculture and forestry the "training fund" is financed jointly by employers and employees, in textile and clothing the employees have to compensate the employers' payments through a reduction of holiday bonuses.

Selected collective agreements with provisions on continuing vocational training

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