In the course of the first major post-war recession, the federal government institutionalized a concerted action in 1967 that sought to integrate wage and monetary policy into a countercyclical crisis policy (global control) to combat the recession.
The unions initially agreed to politicians’ demands for wage restraint. However, since the crisis was overcome more quickly than expected, real wages stagnated while corporate profits exploded. In addition, the unions were forced to act because “wildcat strikes” broke out in September 1969. The employees at the company level implemented wage increases outside of the collective bargaining rounds. There was a clear wage drift: the actual wage development was ahead of the collective wage development. This trend continued into the early 1970s. In order to regain control over wage developments, the unions were forced to launch a wage policy offensive. At the beginning of 1974, the public sector played a pioneering role in collective bargaining.
2024-02-21 09:36:29
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