Stinnes–Legien Agreement
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The Stinnes–Legien Agreement () was an accord concluded by German trade unions and industrialists on 15 November 1918. Named after both parties' negotiators in chief, the
heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...
magnate
Hugo Stinnes Hugo Adolf Eugen Victor Stinnes commonly known as Hugo Stinnes (12 February 1870 – 10 April 1924) was a German industrialist and politician who served as a member of Reichstag from 1920 to 1924 (his death). During the late era of the German Em ...
and the union leader
Carl Legien Carl Rudolf Legien (1 December 1861 – 26 December 1920) was a German unionist, moderate Social Democratic politician and first President of the International Federation of Trade Unions. Biography Legien was born in Marienburg, K ...
, the agreement enshrined a set of
workers' rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, ...
long coveted by the German labour movement. Among the stipulations of the treaty were the introduction of the
eight-hour working day The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses of working time. The modern movement originated in ...
, the recognition of the trade unions as the official representation of the workforce, and the permission to form
workers' council A workers' council, also called labour council, is a type of council in a workplace or a locality made up of workers or of temporary and instantly revocable delegates elected by the workers in a locality's workplaces. In such a system of polit ...
s in firms with more than 50 employees. Since negotiations had been caused by the prospect of millions of soldiers returning from the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the agreement contained a clause guaranteeing them a right to their former employment. While the trade unions were able to realise many of their long-standing demands, they all but acknowledged the private ownership of the
means of production In political philosophy, the means of production refers to the generally necessary assets and resources that enable a society to engage in production. While the exact resources encompassed in the term may vary, it is widely agreed to include the ...
.


Background

Towards the end of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Germany's trade unions and industrial employers were faced with the prospect of millions of
demobilised Demobilization or demobilisation (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or becaus ...
soldiers returning to the domestic
labour market Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labou ...
. In the wake of the overthrow of the imperial administrations, the social-democratic provisional government under Chancellor
Friedrich Ebert Friedrich Ebert (; 4 February 187128 February 1925) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as the first President of Germany (1919–1945), president of Germany from 1919 until ...
looked to co-operate with the elites in order to prevent an escalation of
far-left Far-left politics, also known as extreme left politics or left-wing extremism, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single, coherent definition; some ...
revolutionary efforts. In a development common across post-war Europe, German industrialists were prepared to make limited concessions to organised labour. In October 1918, representatives of key industries and the respective unions had met to decide upon joint action to manage the imminent challenge. It was decided that bipartisan committees should develop proposals for the future relationship between the two sides. In early November, summit talks failed to yield a breakthrough because employers would not agree to shorter working hours and the abolition of anti-socialist clubs in their factories.


Agreement

On 15 November 1918, a settlement was reached. Named after both parties' negotiators in chief, the
heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...
magnate
Hugo Stinnes Hugo Adolf Eugen Victor Stinnes commonly known as Hugo Stinnes (12 February 1870 – 10 April 1924) was a German industrialist and politician who served as a member of Reichstag from 1920 to 1924 (his death). During the late era of the German Em ...
and the union leader
Carl Legien Carl Rudolf Legien (1 December 1861 – 26 December 1920) was a German unionist, moderate Social Democratic politician and first President of the International Federation of Trade Unions. Biography Legien was born in Marienburg, K ...
, the pact was named the Stinnes–Legien Agreement (). It stipulated that employers acknowledge trade unions as the official representatives of the workforce and recognise their right to
collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and labour rights, rights for ...
. The agreement also introduced the
eight-hour day The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses of working time. The modern movement originated i ...
, allowed for the creation of
workers' council A workers' council, also called labour council, is a type of council in a workplace or a locality made up of workers or of temporary and instantly revocable delegates elected by the workers in a locality's workplaces. In such a system of polit ...
s in firms with more 50 employees, and issued a guarantee that returning soldiers would have a right to their pre-war job. Future disputes were to be resolved through a newly created organisation named the "Central Working Group" (, or ZAG).


Impact

For the trade unions, the agreement meant the realisation of many of their long-standing goals. However, the implementation of the eight-hour day, one of the central achievements of the agreement, remained inconsistent and was challenged several times during the following decade. The industrialists, on the other hand, had ended organised labour's demands for the
socialisation In sociology, socialization (also socialisation – see spelling differences) is the process of internalizing the norms and ideologies of society. Socialization encompasses both learning and teaching and is thus "the means by which social and ...
of their factories: by signing the Stinnes–Legien Agreement, the unions had all but acknowledge private ownership of the
means of production In political philosophy, the means of production refers to the generally necessary assets and resources that enable a society to engage in production. While the exact resources encompassed in the term may vary, it is widely agreed to include the ...
. The newly created ZAG collapsed in 1924 over a dispute about working hours.


References


Bibliography

* November 1918 German Revolution of 1918–1919 Labor relations in Germany Industrial agreements {{Organized labor