Quelle: WSI
: Issue 02/2026
WSI-MITTEILUNGEN 2/2026
Nikolai Huke
Calculated Breach of Law. Why Companies (Can) Systematically Violate Labour Rights
Abstract
The article examines why companies in Germany choose to violate labour rights – and why they can. The empirical basis consists of qualitative interviews with labour law advisory centres. Drawing on sociological perspectives on law and research on corporate delinquency, four key issues are identified that, from the perspective of these advisory centres, facilitate labour law violations: 1) the economic benefits for companies from violations, 2) normative orientations of companies that conflict with labour law, 3) the lack of mobilisation of workers to enforce their rights, and 4) the fact that companies committing violations mostly face no sanctions. Against this background, the enforcement of labour rights appears to be the result of conflict negotiations between capital and labour within asymmetric power relations. more … (in German)
WSI-MITTEILUNGEN 2/2026
Stefan Röhrer, Sarah Bernhard, Monika Senghaas, Magdalena Köppen
Sanctions as a Last Resort: Interpretations of a Disciplinary Technique
Abstract
This article examines how public employment services staff interpret benefit sanctions in the German basic income support scheme. To this end, a standardised survey and narrative interviews with employment services staff are analysed interpretatively and reconstructively. While we understand the information provided in the survey as communicable, accessible knowledge of the respondents, the interviews represent an opportunity to discuss the subject of the study in greater depth and, on this basis, to reconstruct the underlying assumptions, beliefs and orientations – e. g. in the sense of implicit knowledge. Contrasting these interpretative attributions reveals that reductions in benefits are seen as a disciplinary technique legitimised by references to appointment attendance, the need to control behaviour, and the need to protect the “righteous”. more … (in German)
WSI-MITTEILUNGEN 2/2026
Renate Reiter, Benjamin Ewert, Tanja Klenk, Caspar Lückenbach, Dorothee Riese
Modernising Public Services of General Interest: The Case of German Public Health Service
Abstract
The Public Health Service (Öffentlicher Gesundheitsdienst – ÖGD) has traditionally played a minor role in health care provision in Germany. It is often only loosely integrated within the cooperation structures between social administration and service providers. Nevertheless, due to its legal mandate and broad range of responsibilities, it would be well suited to organise and shape health care provision at the municipal level, thereby ensuring equal living conditions nationwide. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the ÖGD’s crucial role became evident – not only in pandemic response but also as a key institution in public service provision. This raises the question of whether the reforms initiated since then have laid the foundation for the institutional modernisation of the ÖGD as a starting point for reorienting public health service provision. To explore this, we conducted a secondary analysis and expert interviews, which were evaluated using a specially developed analytical framework. more … (in German)
WSI-MITTEILUNGEN 2/2026
Hans-Jürgen Bieling, Andrea Müller, Maria Pfeiffer
Municipal Infrastructure Companies in the Socio-Ecological Transformation
Abstract
The significance of municipal enterprises for the socio-ecological transformation should not be underestimated. They have the potential to make a substantial contribution to the decarbonisation of the economy and society through the ecological expansion and restructuring of public infrastructures. This is particularly true for municipal energy utilities and public transport. The article examines under what conditions ecological innovations are implemented in these companies and what role organisational actors, especially employees and their representatives, are playing in the process. While works councils and staff councils often do not see climate protection as their genuine responsibility, it nevertheless represents a “hidden cross-sectional issue” in their work. Employees adopt a variety of roles in the transformation processes, with resistance a rare occurrence. Significant transformation barriers include the unclear financing of socio-ecological investments and the severe shortage of labour and skilled workers in some areas. more … (in German)
WSI-MITTEILUNGEN 2/2026
Laszlo Goerke, Markus Pannenberg
Co-Determination in the Workplace and Violations of the Minimum Wage Act
Abstract
Since the introduction of the statutory minimum wage in Germany, a considerable number of employees continue to be paid wages below that level. Based on data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) for the years 2016, 2019 and 2022, we show that the probability of receiving hourly wages below the statutory minimum is significantly lower for employees in companies with works councils than for comparable employees in companies without works councils. This is particularly evident among groups of employees more frequently affected by wage payments below the minimum wage, such as women, part-time employees and blue-collar workers. Where the provisions of the Minimum Wage Act are violated, the average shortfall of the minimum wage for employees in co-determined companies is slightly more pronounced. more … (in German)
WSI-MITTEILUNGEN 2/2026
Malte Lübker, Thorsten Schulten
WSI Minimum Wage Report 2026: Consolidation of the New European Minimum Wage Policy
Abstract
With its ruling of November 2025, the European Court of Justice confirmed that the European Minimum Wage Directive – with the exception of some details – is compliant with EU law. The directive thus continues to serve as a common framework for a new minimum wage policy in Europe. Reference values, which many EU member states have now legally set to assess the adequacy of their minimum wages, play a central role. As the latest WSI Minimum Wage Report documents, this has once again contributed to significant increases in minimum wages. The median minimum wage across the EU rose by 5.6 % nominally and 2.9 % in real terms year-on-year as of 1 January 2026. The influence of the Minimum Wage Directive can also be seen in Germany, where the minimum wage was increased by 8.4 % at the turn of the year. However, the incorporation of the reference value into the German Minimum Wage Act is still pending. more … (in German)
WSI-MITTEILUNGEN 2/2026
Thorsten Schulten, WSI Collective Agreement Archive
Collective Bargaining in Germany 2025: Back to Normal After the Crisis Years?
Abstract
The latest annual collective bargaining report of the WSI Collective Agreement Archive contains a comprehensive analysis of the 2025 bargaining round and gives an overview of demands and results as well as a calculation of the annual wage increases. In 2025, collectively agreed wages grew by 2.6 % on average in nominal terms. With an inflation rate of 2.2 %, the purchasing power of employees covered by collective agreements slightly increased. After the crisis years, which saw very high wage and price increases, collective bargaining policy is returning to a normal development path corresponding to that of the pre-crisis years. more … (in German)
WSI-MITTEILUNGEN 2/2026
Anne Röwer, Rina Depperschmidt, Pia Probst
Between Appreciation and Precariousness: Client Relationships of the Solo Self-Employed
Abstract
In autumn 2024, the project “Haus der Selbstständigen” (“House of the Self-Employed”) conducted a cross-sector survey on the quality of working conditions of solo self-employed persons, further developing the questionnaire of the good work index, an instrument of the German trade union confederation DGB, into a status-specific instrument. Based on the survey data, this article explores a contradiction in the client relationship: On the one hand, most respondents perceive their relationships with clients as appreciative. On the other hand, they do not consider their renumeration to be commensurate with their performance or sufficient to secure their livelihood. Although their clients usually are the direct counterpart in fee negotiations, this does not have a negative impact on the social relationship. Rather, the direct relationship, a key to solo self-employed persons’ success, seems to inhibit demands at the individual level. Evidently, there’s a crucial need for trade union representation. more … (in German)
WSI-MITTEILUNGEN 2/2026
Laura Romeu Gordo, Alberto Lozano Alcántara, Ulrike Ehrlich, Oliver Platt, Nadiya Kelle
Housing Cost Burden over the Life Course. Social and Regional Inequalities
Abstract
The article analyses housing cost burden from a life-course perspective. It identifies life phases in which different social groups face particularly high housing cost burden. The results, based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), show that tenants, on average, are more burdened by housing costs than homeowners in almost every life phase; the differences are especially pronounced after retirement. In addition, certain social groups experience higher housing cost burden in every life phase: low-income tenants, tenants with a migration background and single female tenant households. Regional differences indicate that homeowners aged between 35 and 65 face higher housing cost burden in Eastern Germany than in Western Germany, whereas tenants experience higher burden in Western Germany. Housing cost burden among tenants is higher in urban than in rural areas. These findings underline the importance of analysing housing cost burden by life phase and social group in order to design sustainable housing policies. more … (in German)
WSI-MITTEILUNGEN 2/2026
Tim Husemann, Jochen Weber
Digital Contribution Account for Social Security. Proposal for Reform to Improve Efficiency and Citizen-Centred Administration, Exemplified by Unemployment Benefits
Abstract
The article advocates the establishment of a contribution account at the German Pension Insurance Organisation that is updated monthly and accessible to other social security institutions, such as the employment agency. This would allow automatic verification of unemployment benefit claims, reduce bureaucracy, and ease administrative workload. Employers would issue fewer certificates, while employees would receive faster benefit decisions. Problems regarding data protection and technical issues appear to be manageable. The proposal promises efficiency, transparency, and citizen-centred administration. more … (in German)