ILPC 2027

Recent years have seen a marked decline in unemployment in east German Federal States, due to economic vitalisation and drastic population decline. In fact, new labour market asymmetries have developed: whereas employers in the past could rely on an oversupply of well trained workers (“Facharbeiter” and “Fachangestellte”), skills and labour shortages have now become a major challenge in many industries and regions of Eastern Germany.  

This paper discusses the effects of changed labour market conditions on worker attitudes towards work and the employment relationship. Whereas high unemployment and insecurity worked very effectively as a mechanism to discipline the east German workforce in the wake of the massive industrial decline that followed re-unification, we are now witnessing increased worker confidence and assertiveness. This rising confidence has already contributed to trade union re-vitalisation and significant membership gains. As precariousness and that the “fear-factor” have lost some clout, worker demands have been extended: wages and employment security continue to feature prominently, but are increasingly supplemented by qualitative demands (i.e. participative work arrangements, learning, health, work-life balance).  However, many enterprises are not well positioned when it comes to react to changing worker’s demands. As both tiers of the German industrial relations system are weakly developed in the eastern part of the country (only 15% percent of employees are covered by both sectoral bargaining and have access to works councils) institutions and mechanisms for dealing with conflicting interests in a systematic (and “productive”) way are often missing. Where this is the case, increased turnover and worker misbehaviour pose a problem for employers.     

The paper’s empirical base is twofold. Firstly, a large scale survey (N: 2.188, completed in June 2016) in one part of the Federal State of Thuringia provides unique and detailed information about worker interests and attitudes towards work and employment. It allows for differentiation according to gender, employment status, age and other dimensions. As the survey also contains questions about politics and society (i.e. migration, the political system, viability of capitalism, trade unions) it allows for contextualising worker attitudes and interests in a broader frame. Secondly, our theses will build on an intensive case study in one manufacturing site. This case study combines qualitative methods (20 semi-structured interviews with management, worker representatives and employees, completed November 2016) and a quantitative workplace survey (N: 500, to be completed in January 2017).

Theoretically, this paper builds on and engages with the extensive research into precariousness, industrial relations and worker consciousness conducted at Jena’s Friedrich-Schiller University (e.g. Dörre, 2011; Dörre, Goes, Schmalz, & Thiel, 2016; Dörre, Holst, & Matuschek, 2013).  

Dörre, K. 2011. Prekarität und Macht. Disziplinierung im System der Auswahlprüfungen. WSI-Mitteilungen 64 (8): 394-401.

Dörre, K., Goes, T., Schmalz, S., & Thiel, M. 2016. Streikrepublik Deutschland. Die Erneuerung der Gewerkschaften in Ost und West. Frankfurt/M.: Campus.

Dörre, K., Holst, H., & Matuschek, I. 2013. Zwischen Firmenbewusstsein und Wachstumskritik. Subjektive Grenzen kapitalistischer Landnahmen. . In K. Dörre, A. Happ, & I. Matuschek (Eds.), Das Gesellschaftsbild der LohnarbeiterInnen. Soziologische Untersuchungen in ost-und westdeutschen Industriebetrieben: 198-261. Hamburg: VSA.