Employers Associations : Germany

The employers have joined to form regional associations which - like the DGB unions - are based on the principle of “one industry, one association”. The central organization of the employers’ associations is the Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbande (BDA; Confederation of German Employers’ Associations). Like the DGB, it does not itself conclude collective agreements but instead functions as a coordinating body and represents the basic interests of its members. The BDA covers all branches of business - from industry, crafts and trades, commerce, banking and insurance to agriculture and transport.

About 80 percent of entrepreneurs are members of an employers’ association - a much larger proportion than in the case of employees. The BDA represents them only in their role as employers, i.e. as negotiating partners of the trade unions. All other interests - taxation or economic policy, for instance - are taken care of by other business organizations such as the Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie (BDI; Federation of German Industries), the Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks (ZDH; National Federation of German Skilled Crafts and Trades) and the Bundesverband des Deutschen Gross- und Aussenhandels (Federation of German Wholesale and Foreign Trade).