President of the Employers’ Association: Dr. Rainer Dulger

Chief Executive Officer: Steffen Kampeter

President: Ingo Kramer

At the instigation of the BDA and the DGB, the Federal Government is making it easier to receive short-time working benefits in order to mitigate the effects of the crisis following the collapse of Lehman Brothers and to save jobs. The social partners make a major contribution to overcoming the most severe financial and economic crisis in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany

Chancellor Gerhard Schröder announces the Agenda 2010 in a government declaration. The reforms in social systems and the flexibilisation of the labour market have played a major role in the increase in employment.

Numerous agreements within the framework of the Alliance for Jobs, Training and Competitiveness talks, top-level talks with the Federal Chancellor and other representatives of the Federal Government, employers’ associations and trade unions. Joint declaration by BDA and DGB on the occasion of the 2nd top-level talks on 6.7.1999

For the first time, the BDA is awarding the Employers’ Prize for Education, which is presented annually as part of the German Employers’ Day, to honour special achievements in educational institutions

The BDA begins its work in Berlin

President: Dr. sc. techn. Dieter Hundt (until 18 November 2013)

Chief Executive Officer: Dr. Reinhard Göhner

Introduction of long-term care insurance as the fourth pillar of social insurance against the resistance of employers, who demanded funded insurance

Entry of the newly founded employers’ associations from the new federal states into the BDA;
Joint declaration with the DGB on a restrained wage policy.

Chief Executive Officer: Dr. Fritz-Heinz Himmelreich (until 31.12.1996)

President: Dr. Klaus Murmann (until 12.12.1996)

In the metal and printing industries, the longest and toughest industrial disputes in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany lead to a flexibilisation of working time regulations and a standard working time of 38.5 hours per week in arbitration.

Announcement of the Federal Constitutional Court’s decision on the employers’ constitutional complaint on co-determination at company level

Warning strikes, focal strikes and defensive lockouts in the metal industry of North Württemberg/North Baden and in the printing and publishing industry against rationalisation and the use of computers in the production process.

President: Otto Esser (until 10.12.1986)

Assassination of Employer President Dr. Hanns-Martin Schleyer by terrorists

Termination of the German Trade Union Confederation’s participation in the Concerted Action in response to the filing of a constitutional complaint by the employers against the law on parity co-determination on 29 June 1977.

Entry into force of the law on parity co-determination of employees in companies with more than 2,000 employees, which is challenged by employers with a constitutional complaint

Chief Executive Officer: Dr. Ernst-Gerhard Erdmann (until 30.9.1989)

President: Dr. Hanns-Martin Schleyer (until 18.10.1977)

Entry into force of the Continued Payment of Wages Act

President: Dr. Otto A. Friedrich (until 5.12.1973)

Entry into force of the Employment Promotion Act

Concerted action between representatives of the state, the collective bargaining parties and academia to coordinate their actions on economic and social policy issues.

Completion of the House of German Employers in Cologne-Bayenthal as the new branch office

President: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Siegfried Balke (until 10.12.1969)

Chief Executive Officer: Dr. Wolfgang Eichler (until 30.9.1974)

Laws on the reorganization of the law on pension insurance for blue- and white-collar workers (dynamization of pensions)

Signing of the conciliation agreement by the President of the Federal Association and the Chairman of the German Trade Union Confederation at Margarethenhof

President: Dr. Hans Constantin Paulssen (until 30.11.1964)

Adopt the Labour Court Act and the Social Court Act.

Law on the Establishment of the Federal Insurance Institution for Salaried Employees

Entry into force of the Works Constitution Act

Establishment of the Federal Employment and Unemployment Insurance Agency in Nuremberg

Relocation of the office from Wiesbaden to Cologne

Entry into force of the Dismissal Protection Act

Law on the co-determination of employees in the supervisory boards and management boards of companies in the mining and iron and steel producing industries

The federation of employers’ associations in all branches of industry is renamed the “Confederation of German Employers’ Associations”, with its headquarters in Wiesbaden, and from 1951 in Cologne.

Affiliation of the employers’ associations formed in the French occupation zone to the “Federation of Employers’ Associations

Renaming of the socio-political working group to “Federation of Employers’ Associations

New publication of “The Employer

Chief Executive Officer: Dr. Gerhard Erdmann (until 31.12.1963)

Restoration of autonomy in collective bargaining with the entry into force of the Collective Bargaining Act

Constituent meeting of the socio-political working group of the employers’ associations of the unified economic area with its headquarters in Wiesbaden by representatives of 23 professional and 8 interprofessional employers’ associations, renamed “Federation of Employers’ Associations” in October 1949.

Foundation of a “Central Secretariat of Employers of the United Economic Area” in Wiesbaden for the American and British occupation zones, Chairman: Dr. Walter Raymond

Authorisation of mergers of trade union federations by Control Council directive

Dissolution of the German Labor Front by Control Council Law

Law for the preparation of the organic development of the German economy with compulsory membership of the trade associations, Gleichschaltung of all trade associations

enforced self-dissolution of employers’ organisations

Formation of the German Labour Front as a compulsory association of workers, employees and entrepreneurs

Forced dissolution of trade unions

President: General Director Dr.-Ing. e.h. Carl Köttgen

President: Geheim. Kommerzienrat Dr.-Ing. e.h. Ernst von Borsi

“Arbeitsgemeinschaft der industriellen und gewerblichen Arbeitgeber und Arbeitnehmer Deutschlands” (Central Association of Industrial and Commercial Employers and Employees in Germany), commitment of the leading associations of employers and employees to unrestricted freedom of association, dissolution after denunciation by the trade unions in January 1924

Law on the patriotic auxiliary service (auxiliary service law), in which the economic associations of employers and employees are expressly recognised by the state for the first time and in which the path to employee co-determination and the expansion of trade union influence is taken for the first time through the establishment of compulsory workers’ and employees’ committees in the companies.

Merger of the leading employers’ associations to form the “Confederation of German Employers’ Associations” with headquarters in Berlin

Foundation of the “Association of German Employers’ Associations” (VDA) with headquarters in Berlin;
Publication of “Deutscher Arbeitgeberzeitung

Foundation of the “Hauptstelle Deutscher Arbeitgeberverbände” with headquarters in Berlin;
Publication of “Der Arbeitgeber” (1. Jahrg. 1910)

Foundation of the Central Office of Employers’ Associations on the occasion of the textile workers’ strike in Crimmitschau in the winter of 1903/04

Foundation of the Association of Employers in the Saxon Textile Industry

Foundation of the “Gesamtverband Deutscher Metallindustrieller” (General Association of German Metal Industrialists), with further associations being founded in the following years,
Foundation of the General Commission of the Free Trade Unions of Germany as an umbrella organization of socialist-oriented trade unions (Chairman until 1919 Carl Legien).

Foundation of the “Association of Anhalt Employers’ Associations”, first inclusion of the word “employer” in association regulations

Foundation of the Central Association of German Industrialists

Foundation of the Deutscher Buchdruckerverein as the first and oldest employers’ association. In the previous year, most German trade unions were formed, and the General German Workers’ Congress in Berlin decided to found the Association of German Workers. Already on 23 May 1863 there was the constituent assembly of the General German Workers’ Association