Negotiated Order. Labour Relations in the Weimar Republic Between State Regulation and Corporate Self-regulation

Completed PhD Project

This dissertation examines the regulation of labour relations and working conditions at the company level  as negotiation processes of formal and informal norms (Plumpe 1998). They can be interpreted as non-state laws of the metal industry. The concrete meaning and relation of ‘non-state’ and state law, however, is itself part of the discussion of this thesis. The case study reveals the relationship between state and non-state actors as a complex of state regulation and self-regulation (Collin 2018). The focus is on the period from 1916 to 1923/24, during which time there were fierce debates about resetting labour relations.

Formal company rules in the form of work regulations formed a central normative reference point. These not only regulated the external form of work performance but also disciplinary behaviour, working hours, wage payments and notice periods, as well as structured the temporal and spatial organisation of work. In the Weimar Republic, they became a subject of collective bargaining through the Works Council Act (BRG) of 1920. Nevertheless, even before 1920, they were a central point of reference for workplace conflicts. At the same time, they were not the only normative source for the shaping of labour relations. Workplace rules and norms were reflected in many informal agreements and practical procedures that were the subject of setting, negotiation and conflict. It was found that, despite the development of state labour law and the accompanying codification, as well as the strong unions in the Weimar Republic, workplace negotiation processes were an important source of normative structures in labour relations. Conversely, specific workplace conflicts necessitated decisions by local state authorities, arbitration committees, labour courts, or political bodies, thereby further developing labour law.

The introduction of the Works Council Act in 1920 required the translation of abstract legal requirements into operational procedures. Although formally a relationship between two parties – employer and employee representatives – the introduction of new work regulations and operational rules proved to be a complex negotiation process between and within companies, works councils, government agencies and associations. The state acted as a complex network of authorities, ministries, the judiciary, arbitration committees and local administrative bodies. In this respect, the state not only created a static legal and political ‘framework’ for the relationship between capital and labour but also became a polycentric actor in the negotiation of workplace rules. Institutional fragmentation led to coordination efforts on the part of the state, which only achieved a certain degree of uniformity with the strengthening of the judiciary after the creation of a Reich labour court system.