collective bargaining The German experience Does social dialogue make sense in journalism We do believe there is a spiritual connection an inner ID: 794195
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Slide1
Social dialogue & collective bargaining
The German
experience
Slide2Does social dialogue make
sense in
journalism?
„
We
do
believe
there
is
a spiritual
connection
, an
inner
band
of
unity
between
the
publisher
and
the
editors
working
with
him
.
Therefore
an
editor
cannot
be
considered
to
be
an
employee
. The
idea
of
collective
bargaining
does
not
meet
the
situation
in
journalism
“ (
Federation
of
publishers
, in
the
1950s)
„
We
want
to
make
clear
that
newspapers
rely
heavily
on
freelances
.
They
are
the
most
valuable
contributors
,
we
need
these
journalists
. But
any
kind
of
improvement
of
the
collective
agreement
will end
any
acceptance
of
it
at all.“ (
Federation
of
newspaper
publishers
, in
the
90s)
„
Freelances
are
entrepreneurs
“ (German
news
agency
)
Slide3The situation in GermanyCollective
bargaining
for
journalists
started
in
the
50s
A
law
on
collective
bargaining
for
„
freelances
similar
to
employees
“ was
passed
in
the
70s (12a Tarifvertragsgesetz)
Collective
bargaining
resulted
in
collective
contracts
in
public
broadcasting
The
collective
contract
in
the
newspaper
sector
was
signed
, but
never
applied
Slide4„Freelances similar to
employees
“ (Arbeitnehmerähnliche Personen)
A
person
who
earns
50% at
one
employer
Or
if
this
person
is
an
artist
or
journalist
, 30%
Will
be
considered
„
similar
to
employees
“
even
if
this
person
has
a
freelance
contract
Collective
bargaining
is
legal
for
these
persons
(§ 12a Tarifvertragsgesetz)
Slide5Starting social dialogue / collective
bargaining
While
the
law
is
applicable
to
all
media
sectors
,
it
is
only
the
public
broadcasting
where
collective
bargaining
and
collective
contracts
exist
Public
broadcasting
has
to
accept
union
acitivity
and
action
Yet
,
b
argaining
is
difficult
in
public
broadcasting
,
because
freelances
fear
for
their
jobs
Private
companies
avoid
at all
costs
any
form
of
collective
contract
for
freelances
Freelances
often
will not
be
willing
to
strike
in private
media
Slide6Contents in collective contracts (12a)
Fees
for
text
,
photography
,
video
,
audio
etc.
Shift
payment
(
salary
)
Authors
rights
Sick
pay
Maternity
pay
Holiday
pay
Termination
payment
Slide7Problems in collective contracts (12a)
Persons
will
accept
a
freelance
contract
now
because
it
has
basic
social
features
(
rather
than
insist
on an
employment
),
this
means
employers
will turn
employee
positions
into
freelance
work
As
freelances
are
not
considered
to
be
employees
,
any
labour
law
improvement
will
have
no
effect
on
this
group
It
is
impossible
to
negotiate
a
collective
contract
which
would
cover
the
wide
are
of
labour
law
Freelances
still
fear
sanctions
from
their
employers
,
consequently
they
are
not
willing
to
strike
The
work
council
has
no
or
limited
competence
in
freelance
matters
No
major
structural
improvement
in
freelance
contracts
in
the
last
years
Slide8The right of fair fee
for
authors‘
rights
New
law
(2002)
Any
freelance
has
the
right
to
an
adequate
payment
for
authors
´
rights
Freelancers´
unions
may
negotiate
a
collective
contract
which
defines
what
is
adequate
In
the
newspaper
sector
, a
contract
was
finally
signed
in 2012/2013, but in
most
newspaper
,
it
never
became
reality
In
the
magazine
sector
,
negotiations
still
go
on
with
no
end in
sight
Slide9Is there any bright
future for
„12a“
or
„
adequate
payment
“?
Changes
in
authors´rights
might
force
publishers
to
negotiate
faster
than
now
The
right
of
the
journalists´asociation
to
sue
publishers
who
do not
respect
the
agreement
might
have
some
effect
12a
is
a
powerless
tool
for
unions
Think
of
the
French
way
–
any
person
working
in
the
media
is
considered
to
be
an
employee