Safety nets or straitjackets? Regulating working time in the Danish,German and American metal industries

Abstract

Does regulation of working hours at national and sector level impose straitjackets, or offer safety nets to employees seeking working time flexibility? This article compares legislation and collective agreements in the metal industries of Denmark, Germany and the USA. The industry has historically been trend-setting for collective bargaining in all three countries, but with very different effects on working time. Organized decentralization seems to pave the way for fewer straitjackets, whereas the opposite seems to be the case with regard to disorganized decentralization.

Keywords

decentralization Denmark Germany industrial relations metal industry USA working time

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