Susanne Heeg, Frankfurt am Main: Ma§stŠblichkeit von Arbeitsbeziehungen – rŠumliche BezŸge der Tarifpolitik in Deutschland

Rescaling industrial relations – the spatial dimensions of collective bargaining in Germany

 

As early as the 1980s some scientists were claiming that corporatism as an expression and institution of the bilateral negotiations between trade unions and employersÕ associations had come to an end. Today this perception is even stronger than in the 1980s. It is quite frequently argued that economic liberalisation and a paradigm shift from Keynesianism to Monetarism have led to a constant rescaling of industrial relations, accompanied by a weakening of the power of the trade unions. This article analyses the dynamics of collective negotiations and the new contours of corporatism with reference to Germany. We are currently witnessing the decentralization and differentiation of formerly central negotiations towards bargaining at the level of individual firms. At the same time, the dynamics of an up-scaling of industrial relations towards the EU-level also play an important role. The central argument of the article is that a rescaling of industrial relations is taking place which does not necessarily mean an end to corporatism, although the new contours are shifting and instable. In order to develop the argument, changes in industrial and political organization are addressed.

 

> zurŸck zur homepage

> zurŸck zum Gesamtinhaltsverzeichnis