Trade unions should shape working life in a meaningful way through collective agreements ensuring good working relations. In order to be eligible for collective bargaining, they must have a minimum bargaining unit vis-à-vis the workplace, says the German Federal Constitutional Court.
In Germany, the labour courts decide whether associations are eligible for collective bargaining and can therefore be parties to a collective agreement. Not only companies where the workforce is seeking the collective bargaining, but also competing associations may question the classification of an association as a trade union and seek to have their bargaining capacity denied. In the present … Continue Reading