The Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI) is an independent academic institute within the Hans-Böckler-Foundation, a non-profit organisation fostering co-determination and promoting research and academic study on behalf of the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB).
Since it was founded in 1946, the institute's focus has always been on the improvement of life chances, on social justice and fair working and living conditions. Economists, sociologists, political scientists and law scholars work on social, economic and labour market policy issues. On the basis of their analyses, researchers elaborate policy proposals aimed at overcoming labour market restrictions and social problems to the benefit of employees.
In recent years, labour market policy has been challenged by huge structural changes, most of all by the increase in non-standard and often also precarious forms of employment. Moreover, quality of work has changed – growing job-related stress being one major example.
Wage policy
Wage policy, collective bargaining policy and industrial relations have been the main fields of expertise in WSI research and public policy advice for decades.
Research is concerned with welfare state and social policy changes, structural causes for the increase in social inequality, and the search for possibilities to foster a fairer distribution of life chances.
The research area monitors economic, social and political developments on the European level and evaluates the consequences, risks and opportunities for employees, households, firms and the future of the welfare state.
Wages have fallen behind inflation, while profit-taking has not only fuelled price rises but reduced the labour share – a significant problem for distributional justice, with socially explosive potential.
The book offers a comprehensive comparative overview of the development, structure, and policies of trade unions in all 27 Member States of the EU from 2000 to 2020. Torsten Müller and Thorsten Schulten analyze the developments in Germany.
Employees in the EU have suffered a dramatic loss of purchasing power: Real wages have fallen by 4 % in 2022 because of persistent inflation – driven initially by energy prices, but increasingly by higher profit margins.
What does European integration mean for the balance of power of capital and labor? Daniel Seikel shows how power resources of wage earners are weakened by Europeanization through law and through monetary integration.
ELA was founded to ensure an effective and fair enforcement of EU rules on labour mobility. Can it succeed in solving this challenging task with the given resources? A first analysis
Many current survey instruments are still based on the concept of the standard employment relationship. The article illustrates limitations of current measurements of flexible work arrangements and shows solutions for capturing new ways of working.
Spillover and crossover effects of working time demands on work–life balance satisfaction among dual‑earner couples: Findings indicate that high working time demands negatively impact the work–life balance satisfaction of workers and their partners because of work–life conflict experienced either by the workers only or by both partners.
Job retention schemes during Corona were designed in quite different ways in the EU member states. An analysis with a view to the role of collective bargaining policy and employee representation structures and a list of criteria for minimum standards that good systems should comply with
Real wages could fall by 2.9 per cent in the European Union in 2022. The depth and breadth of this wage decline are unprecedented. To avoid workers alone paying the bill for Putin’s war, fair wage settlements are needed.
Does home-based working increase employees' organisational commitment? And how are the experiences of blurred boundaries or improved work-life-balance due to home-based working related to affective commitment?
How are wages holding up in the EU? High inflation is likely to result in significant real wage losses. Our new report analyses the distributional challenges collective bargaining is facing in times of crisis, war and #inflation
Based on a large-scale study of German employees, this paper examines whether and how the institutions of the dual system of employee representation in Germany have succeeded in mitigating the impact of the pandemic on employees.
More and more of EAs´ member companies choose not to be covered by a multi-employer agreement. The study presents organizational functions and structures and examines the causes of the ongoing weakening of multi-employer bargaining in Germany.
The EU minimum wages directive is a milestone in the fight against in-work poverty. Now, it is more than ever up to the national political actors to raise minimum wages significantly and to strengthen collective-bargaining coverage.
Internationally, 60% of the median wage is regarded as the benchmark for an appropriate minimum wage level. This year`s WSI Minimum Wage Report highlights the feasibility of achieving minimum wages that meet this criterion, given the political will.
The new report provides an overview of collective bargaining agreements by industry and region, branch-level minimum wages, and collective bargaining regulations on workloads and working hours.
The German Ministry of Labor has presented a draft Minimum Wage Increase Act, which is also a strong signal of support for the EU Minimum Wage Directive.
What is the connection between social circumstances and democratic integration in times of change? Survey data show that secure, well-paid work, recognition and creative opportunities protect against anti-democratic orientations
EU minimum wages: In comparison with the original commission proposal, the EMPL report adopted on 25.11.2021 marks a clear improvement. The confirmation by the plenary of the European Parliament has strengthened the negotiation mandate.
Employees with a homeoffice option feel more connected to their company - but that only applies if boundaries between work and private life are clear. What role do supervisors play in this?
Multiple jobholding in Europe: job quality, challenges for socialprotection, digital platform work and the implications for unions, policy-makers and the regulation of work
Employing cross-country comparisons, sector studies and single country accounts of change, this new book relates institutional and labour market settings, actors’ strategies and power resources with policy and practice outcomes.
Coalition Dynamics in the German Union Movement: What drives union strategy? Selective benefits or public goods? Taking the German case over the period 1964 to 2018, the article investigates the logics shaping unions coalitions.
