135. Whom do the trade unions represent in Germany?

Answer options

1. large companies
2. small companies
3. self-employed persons
4. employees (male and female)

Explanation

Article 9(3) of the Basic Law guarantees freedom of association, i.e., the right of employees to form trade unions to safeguard and improve working and economic conditions. Trade unions act on behalf of employees in collective bargaining and social policy, exercising constitutionally protected collective bargaining autonomy by concluding collective agreements under the Collective Agreements Act; employers’ interests, by contrast, are represented by employers’ associations. This system of social partnership evolved from 19th-century labor conflicts, was legally entrenched in the Weimar Republic, and, after 1949, was deliberately protected as a repudiation of the Nazi destruction of free associations.