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

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.