East German employers warn of the consequences of the Collective Bargaining Act

Low collective bargaining coverage in the east

The President of the Saxon Business Association (VSW), Jörg Brückner, called the plan a "state-organized collective bargaining compulsion". The state should then "logically also forego the tax money of the other companies". The law is an "economic selection program" with foreseeable consequences: fewer orders, jobs and tax revenues.

Hartmut Koch, President of the Thuringian Business Association (VWT), referred to the low level of collective bargaining coverage in the region: 16% in Saxony, 18% in Thuringia and 22% in Saxony-Anhalt. Many companies had broken away from collective bargaining "not out of irresponsibility, but out of economic necessity". The law ignores this reality and excludes many companies from the public market.

The associations are calling on the federal government to withdraw the draft and preserve collective bargaining autonomy.

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