Germany

Organization responsible for the statistics

The statistics are collected by the local employment offices, compiled by the main office of the Federal Employment Institution (Bundesanstalt für Arbeit) and published by the Federal Statistical Office (Statistisches Bundesamt).

Objectives and users

Not available.

Coverage

Strikes and lockouts

The statistics cover:

Data are reported and published separately for lockouts.

Working to rule, go-slows, overtime bans and passive resistance measures are not included in the statistics.

Minimum threshold Data are recorded for all strikes and lockouts. However, because of the difficulty of recording adequately figures on minor strikes, published data concern strikes involving at least 10 workers and lasting at least one day in the establishment (betrieb) involved, or in which at least 100 working days are not worked in the establishment.

Economic activities

The civil service is not covered by the statistics.

Workers

Workers directly involved only. In addition to regular paid employees, including part-time workers, the statistics cover casual and seasonal workers and trainees. Temporary workers and unpaid family workers are not included. The statistics do not cover workers laid off (i.e. workers who cannot be employed because of a cut-back in operations and who have therefore been made redundant, but who have not been locked-out because of industrial action), or workers absent on sick or annual leave or absent for any other reason.

No particular occupational groups are excluded from the statistics.

Geographic areas

Whole country.

Types of data collected

Concepts and definitions

Strike

  1. A work stoppage, planned and jointly carried out by a majority of workers, to attain a specific goal.
  2. The collective work stoppage of several workers.

Lockout

A planned shutting down of work, by one or several employers, to attain a specific goal.

Industrial dispute

Collective measures taken either by workers or employers to bring pressure to bear on the other side in order to attain a specific goal.

Definition (b) of a strike is a working definition for statistical purposes. The other definitions come from labour law.

Methods of measurement

Strikes and lockouts

No information is collected concerning the number of strikes or lockouts.

Economic units involved

The economic unit is the establishment (Betrieb), defined as the local unit affected by a strike or lockout. If, during a strike or lockout, individual parts of a local unit (e.g. an industrial enterprise) are drawn into the action one after another, the various parts are grouped together for statistical purposes and notice of the action within the enterprise as a whole is only recorded once.

Workers involved

For strikes and lockouts that began either during or prior to the reference period and which continue during the whole period, the number of workers involved is counted as the number of those involved at the beginning of the action.

For those ending during the reference period, which began either before or during the reference period, the number of workers involved is calculated by dividing the total number of workdays not worked as a result of the action by the duration in workdays.

Part-time workers are counted as individuals on the same basis as full-time workers.

Duration

Duration is measured in terms of workdays from the date on which the action began up to the date on which it terminated in the economic unit (establishment) concerned.

Time not worked

Total time not worked is measured in workdays by ascertaining the total amount of time not worked on each day of the stoppage, and summing these totals. The shorter working hours of part-time workers are taken into account, as only the actual working time not worked is measured. Overtime is not taken into consideration.

Classifications

Branch of economic activity

Data are classified by branch of economic activity according to the List of branches of economic activity for statistics of the Federal Employment Institution (1973 issue).

In the case of general strikes, data are grouped according to the individual establishments involved.

Duration

(by establishment)

Other

Region:

Reference period and periodicity

Statistics are primarily compiled for periods of a month. Through the addition of monthly reports, statistics are then compiled and published for periods of a quarter and a year.

Information collected refers to strikes and lockouts on-going during the particular reference period, i.e. those which began before the reference period and which continue and those which began during the reference period. Information is also collected on those which began during or before the reference period and which came to an end during that period.

Analytical measures

Historical background of the series

Not available.

Documentation

Series available

Not available.

Bibliographic references

Federal Employment Institution (Bundesanstalt fur Arbeit): Amtliche Nachrichten der Bundesanstalt für Arbeit (ANBA) (Official Bulletin) (monthly), and the special issue: Jahreszahlen (annual figures).

Federal Statistical Office (Statistisches Bundesamt): Statistisches Jahrbuch der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Statistical Yearbook of the Federal Republic of Germany).

Data supplied to the ILO for publication

The number of workers involved, the number of days not worked and rates of days not worked, by economic activity.

Confidentiality

Not available.

International standards

Not available.

Methods of data collection

There is a legal obligation in the Arbeitsforderungsgesetz (Employment Promotion Act) 17(1), for the employer to report the occurrence of a strike to the competent local employment office. The main aim for giving written notice of industrial disputes is to inform the departments of the Federal Employment Institute as quickly as possible on the outbreak and duration of the industrial dispute. This is to ensure that the Federal Employment Institute will not engage in placement in the field directly affected by the dispute unless the jobseeker and employer concerned have requested it to do so in spite of the strike or lockout.

On the basis of the information provided, statistics are drawn up on strikes and lockouts (section 6(3) of the Employment Promotion Act), and published in accordance with the legal provisions relating to the confidentiality of data.

Standards forms are used for reporting at the beginning and at the end of a strike or lockout.

The following information is recorded at the beginning:

The following information is recorded at the end: