EMPLOYABILITY AND SECURITY IN A FLEXIBLE GLOBAL LABOUR MARKET framework structure, but it is unclear if the government will implement the directive as it was intended. It is fighting a strong lobby from the Confederation of British Industry which pays lip service to the directive’s aims.’ ‘In Britain, unlike Germany, there is no obligation to share information. It is a battle to force employers to allow employees to share in company strategy and decision-making. Changing the attitudes of human resources management is harder in the UK, where we have no tradition of such an approach, than it is in Germany where works councils and co-determination have existed for many years. This is why it is important that we force issues on a European level.’ A German delegate asked how unions should respond to performance related pay. Unions are influential in some of the larger companies where works councils are strong, but in most cases works councils are weak and co-determination is minimal. Norbert Kluge of the Hans Böckler Foundation believes that there may be misconceptions in Britain about the strength and spread of works councils and co-determination.‘We are not as well organised for collective agreements as you may think. Not all companies have works councils, and despite the law they exist in only half of private-sector companies. The proportion is even lower(38 per cent) in east German companies. Co-determination is strong in public-sector organisations, but is declining in the private sector, particularly in the industries where trade unions are most necessary, i.e. in areas of low-paid work. In short, I believe that we are facing something of a crisis, particularly in knowledge-based industries where union membership is very small.’ A British delegate pointed out that in order to discuss collective bargaining we first must examine unions’ own membership and communication structures.‘Collective bargaining puts considerable pressure on communications. Most union representatives prefer regional rather than national collective bargaining. Even then we struggle to make members feel involved in the process. Sometimes I think that in Britain we fail to meet our responsibilities to keep members involved and informed. We have failed to empower members. Many see little point in joining a union in a company or organisation that has a collective agreement. We need to be sharper and smarter in communicating with members.’ Nikolaus Simon, director of the Hans Böckler Foundation, suggested that delegates were perhaps looking at the individual pieces of the puzzle and not seeing the whole picture. ‘I feel that we are fighting tooth and claw, that we have been fighting for the past twenty years to come up with proactive ideas. We see a complicated picture, not a simple one. How do we deal with this? How do unions become involved in the higher levels of negotiations? Can we supply some creative ideas and models?’ Some positive examples of help Christiane Benner of IG Metall responded with examples of how her union was responding to changing management and labour structures.‘We have begun some initiatives, creating networks where members can exchange ideas and focus on common themes, supported as necessary by IG Metall and other independent institutions. This 21 © Anglo-German Foundation for the Study of Industrial Society