German Lessons Are The New Way Forward Says TUC

A new report issued today 18th January by the TUC, shows how in Germany the partnership approach, with trade unions and employers working together, is the way forward for the UK.

The 96 page report several unions and major companies in the UK: Bentley Motors, Siemens, BMW and Roballo Engineering Co Ltd. In Germany; Volkswagen, Siemens, Thyssenkrupp, BASF and Airbus; and their trade unions were involved.

The report provides the reader with a short industrial history of both the UK and Germany since the second world war, and compares the record in both countries and the way in which industrial relations has been one of the key elements in the success of Germany, and, through political dogma and employer's management ethos; the decline of UK’s manufacturing.

The report is a wake up call to a government which is spending millions on attacking health and safety at work protection for workers and employment protection.

Current political strategies form all political parties in Westminster promise more of the same, and none are imaginative and forward thinking. All are short-termism, an issue which is highlighted in the TUC report.

In the executive summary of the report some very important points for trade unions, their reps, and safety reps alike, are made. It calls for a new trade union / employer partnership based ‘manufacturing eco-system’:

Below is a section of the executive summary:

---

What is needed is a radical development of an interventionist manufacturing policy, bringing together a number of individual changes to make a coherent whole.

These policy changes include:

* The need for an economic model that is widely seen as fair among employers and trade unions. We argue that the German Social Market Economy is culturally cherished in Germany, in much the same way that the National Health Service is culturally cherished in the UK. A version of the Social Market Economy in the United Kingdom, albeit one which reflects the UK’s history and traditions, could help to unite our nation around values of equality, fairness and mutuality

* A major role for strong, well organised trade unions and strong employers’ associations. In the German system, employee representatives (who are usually trade union members) have seats on Works Councils and Supervisory Boards. They often have the power to block change, but rarely do so. Differences of opinion, even conflict, are recognised and respected, safe in the knowledge that what unites management and union is stronger than what divides them.

Trade unions take responsibility for the success of the company. They embrace and manage change, even change of the kind that make them feel uncertain, but bargain hard to defend their members in a changing world.

This report contains examples of trade unions at their best: questioning and challenging, but always in a constructive way. It also shows how, specifically, strong unions in the Social Market model were able to support both their companies and their members when it mattered most – during a crisis the like of which the world has not seen since the 1930s. It is in the most difficult of times that our relationships are most severely tested, and the economic crisis - and the way in which unions responded in Germany - highlighted the value of the Social Market Economy in a very
particular way.

---

In a foreword to the report, Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the TUC says:

"This report challenges the government to recognise the importance of industrial activism. But we know it is not just ministers, but also companies and trade unions that need to consider the role they can play in achieving change. The prize is significant: a manufacturing renaissance in a rebalanced economy, boosting our industrial strength and enhancing social justice."

The full 96 page report can be downloaded from the E-Library Database by using keyword 'German'

Source: TUC

Designed, Hosted and Maintained by Union Safety Services