The (Parlous) State of German Unions

We trace the profound decline in German unionism over the course of the last three decades. Today, just one in five workers is a union member, and whether this degree of penetration is consistent with a corporatist model built on encompassing unions is now moot. The decline in union membership and density is attributable to external forces that have confronted unions in many countries (such as globalization and compositional changes in the workforce), to some specifically German considerations (such as the transition process in post-communist Eastern Germany), and to sustained intervals of classic insider behavior on the part of German unions. The "correctives" have included mergers between unions, decentralization, and wages that are more responsive to unemployment. At issue is the success of these innovations. For instance, the trend toward decentralization in collective bargaining hinges in part on the health of that other pillar of the dual system of industrial relations, the works council. But works council coverage has also declined, leading some observers to equate decentralization with deregulation. While this conclusion is likely too radical, German unions are at the crossroads. We argue that if they fail to define what they stand for, are unable to increase their presence at the workplace, and continue to lack convincing strategies to deal with contemporary economic and political trends working against them, their decline may become a rout.     

A Defence Against the Public? Aspects of Intake in a Social Services Department

Summary This paper looks at certain aspects of a social services department'sduty and intake systems in the light of the theory of institutionaldefence. This theory, which has to do with the way that organisationsdeal with anxiety provoking events, is described, and a numberof ‘defences’ are identified and discussed.     

Tolerating Stress in Social Work Practice: The Example of a Burns Unit

Summary Social work in a burns unit exposes the practitioner to continuousand extreme stress, which arises both from the nature of thecaseload and from the nature of the setting. Burned patients,and the staff who care for them, tend to adapt in characteristicways to the suffering they encounter. The social worker, bygoing through a similar process of adaptation, can perhaps becomeable to offer sensitive help to patients without becoming overwhelmed.Stress can be contained more readily if informed personal supportis available to the worker; however, because of certain featuresof the setting, such support is not always easily obtained.