The legal basis of collective bargaining in Austria is laid down by the Labour Constitution Act (ArbVG). According to the ArbVG, collective agreements can be concluded only between collective organisations of employers and employees. Therefore, the Austrian labour law systematically benefits multi
The legal basis of collective bargaining in Germany is laid down by the Collective Agreements Act, 1949. Collective agreements can be concluded between employer associations (or individual employers) and trade unions. In contrast, works councils – statutory employee representation bodies elected at
Since the beginning of the 1990s, the German system of collective bargaining has seen a continued process of decentralisation and flexibilisation. This process has a "regulated" and an "unregulated" dimension. The regulated dimension has found expression in the widespread introduction of "opening
According to the WSI Collective Agreement Archive's recently published annual report [1] on the 2000 collective bargaining round in Germany, trade unions affiliated to the German Federation of Trade Unions (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, DGB) concluded new collective pay agreements for some 18.4
On 6 December 2000, the Federal Ministry of Labour presented a first draft of legislation [1] to reform the Works Constitution [2] Act (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz, BetrVG) - the law which determines the legal framework for co-determination at the level of the establishment [3] in the private sector
In February 2001, the Institute for Economic and Social Research within the Hans Böckler Foundation (Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut in der Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, WSI) presented the first results of its recent /Works Council Survey/ (published in a special issue [1] of /WSI
At the beginning of January 2001, the Federal Employment Service (Bundesanstalt für Arbeit, BfA) announced that about 1.85 billion paid overtime hours were worked in Germany in 2000. Compared with the previous year, this represented an increase of 61 million paid overtime hours, leading to the
Since the most recent general election in September 1998, the German federal government has been composed of a "red-green" coalition comprising the Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD) and Alliance 90/The Greens (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen). The coalition parties were
On 20-21 November 2000, at an extraordinary congress in Magdeburg, the Commerce, Banking and Insurance Union (Gewerkschaft Handel, Banken und Versicherungen, HBV) resolved to bring its participation in the national tripartite Alliance for Jobs (DE9812286N [1]) to an end. A great majority of the
At the beginning of November 2000, the trade unions affiliated to the German Federation of Trade Unions (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, DGB) and the German White-Collar Union (Deutsche Angestelltengewerkschaft, DAG) agreed on new principles [1] for the process of cooperation amongst DGB-affiliated
In autumn 1999, five German service sector trade unions held extraordinary congresses at which an overwhelming majority of more than 90% of delegates voted in favour of the preparation for a new merged Unified Service Sector Union (Vereinigte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, Ver.di) (DE9911225F [1])
On 8-9 September 2000, at an extraordinary congress in Bielefeld, the German Media Trade Union (IG Medien) resolved to opt out of the national tripartite Alliance for Jobs (DE9812286N [1]). A great majority of the delegates at the IG Medien congress adopted a resolution [2], according to which the