Würzburg, January 16, 2006

Company alliances for work are no longer only concluded in times of crisis. A study by the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) shows that almost 40% of companies surveyed in the mechanical and plant engineering sector had already concluded such an individual alliance between employers and works councils by the end of 2003. These included companies with a good order situation.

The trend is rising and more and more experts are now calling for greater flexibility at company level. This is reported by the Würzburg-based industry magazine "MM MaschinenMarkt" in its current issue (3/2006). VDMA Managing Director Dr. Hannes Hesse, for example, explained that his association has been critical of the industry-wide collective agreement for years. He calls for a system that is attractive and manageable for smaller companies. Hartmut Schauerte, SME policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, would also like to make company employment alliances easier and get them out of the legal gray area. The Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA) is attempting to implement this and is pursuing the goal of legally safeguarding company alliances for employment.

With reference to an agreement reached between employers and trade unions in Pforzheim in the spring of 2004, IG Metall is against a legally enforced opening of the collective wage agreements. There would be no need for statutory regulation. According to a survey conducted by the Institute of Economic and Social Sciences (WSI) at the Hans Böckler Foundation in 2005, members of works councils are often skeptical about the shift towards company-based regulations.

If you have any questions, please contact

Jürgen Schreier

Managing Editor

MM MaschinenMarkt

Vogel Industrie Medien GmbH & Co. KG

Max-Planck-Str. 7/9

97064 Würzburg

Phone +49 931 418-2276

Fax +49 931 418-2770

E-mail: juergen_schreier@maschinenmarkt.de