15 September, 2010
While European trade unions on 29 September will manifest against government austerity programmes, German trade unions will use that day – and, and in fact, all of September and throughout the autumn – to oppose not only public-sector cuts but equally to vehemently condemn the ugly social dumping caused by the boom in temporary work.
This stems from the DGB Congress last May, where the Congress made it a priority to campaign for equal pay, equal rights, and fixed probation periods before the exploited workers of the temporary sector are made permanent employees. Since that Congress, German unions have ramped up the political heat so much that the Christian-Democratic (CDU) Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Ursula von der Leyen, has introduced a partial remedy in legislation that does address the downward spiral of wages brought on by more and more workers forced into temporary employment.
But the legislation does not go far enough.
Many of the major trade union affiliates of DGB, including IGBCE, IG Metall, and Ver.di, will emphasise this point in upcoming manifestations. The unions are also taking the issue into workplaces, both inside collective bargaining processes and at plant-gates in the form of protests. This month, IG Metall has introduced the “equal pay for equal work” principle in sector-wide negotiations in three German states.
DGB's Micheal Sommer
DGB President Michael Sommer said in the 6 September edition of newspaper Handelsblatt that German union members will abide by national laws prohibiting strikes over political issues, but “workplace meetings and actions at plant gates” to highlight temporary work as an abhorrent austerity measure in countering the financial crisis will occur. Sommer said this issue will also be heard loud and clear inside German work partnership structures as well.
Von der Leyen’s proposed legislation is called the “Schlecker” bill in reference to the large drug store chain that tried to sack all full-time workers and then re-hire them as contract employees at half their previous salaries. It would require “equal pay for equal work” to prevent wage dumping such as at Schlecker, with a fine of €25,000 to offending businesses.
But the legislation would fail to reverse the up-surge in temporary work because employers could still use short-term workers so long as they made equal payment for equal work. “Schlecker” also does not establish a time limit on when a temp worker must be made permanent, and it also does not include a set minimum wage for temporary workers, something that is a priority on the agenda of DGB and German unions.
On average, temporary sector workers in Germany earn 30% less that full-time, permanent staff, DGB-affiliated unions have found.