Frankfurt am Main – On the 75th anniversary of the Collective Bargaining Act on April 9, IG Metall is calling on employers and policymakers to show greater respect for and support of this right of labor unions. Nadine Boguslawski, a member of the IG Metall Executive Board responsible for collective bargaining policy, said: “For 75 years, workers have had the right to better working conditions through collective bargaining agreements. Collective bargaining agreements guarantee a measure of democracy in the economy. This benefits not only workers and companies, but society as a whole. Collective bargaining agreements provide security in times of change—especially in times of upheaval like now.”
“Reward, not penalize, companies with collective bargaining agreements”
IG Metall Executive Board member Boguslawski is calling on companies and policymakers to respect and finally implement the EU’s requirement for a collective bargaining coverage rate of at least 80 percent. “When companies, trade associations, and employer organizations evade collective bargaining agreements, they promote injustice—and thereby endanger social prosperity and peace. Those who fail to properly shape economic change through collective bargaining open the door to extremism.” Boguslawski expects the federal government to swiftly enact a law ensuring compliance with collective bargaining agreements: “Hardly any taxpayer understands why public funds aren’t reaching employees covered by collective bargaining agreements. On the contrary: Companies with collective bargaining agreements must finally be rewarded.”
More Money and Shorter Work Hours with a Collective Bargaining Agreement
According to IG Metall, 56 percent of workers in the metal and electrical industries are covered by a collective bargaining agreement. As a result, they benefit from higher wages and shorter working hours. In companies not bound by collective bargaining agreements, full-time employees work 12.4 hours more per month than those in companies that are. With a collective bargaining agreement, employees earn on average over 9 euros—or 29 percent—more. Collective bargaining agreements also ensure less discrimination and greater gender equality: Without collective bargaining coverage, the gender pay gap stands at 18 percent; with a collective bargaining agreement, the pay disparity between women and men is significantly lower (9.5 percent). These findings come from an IG Metall analysis of the Federal Statistical Office’s earnings survey.
Background: On April 9, 1949, the Parliamentary Council in Bonn passed the Collective Bargaining Act, even before the Basic Law was adopted. It establishes the principle that unions and employers negotiate collective bargaining agreements independently.
