Betrieblicher Wandel und Industrielle Beziehungen - eine vergleichende Studie bei Volkswagen in Deutschland, Spanien und Brasilien

The thesis analyses the interaction between restructuring of work and production and industrial relations by Volkswagen company. The comparative analysis examines the interaction between the industrial relations at three VW plants (VW-Anchieta, SEAT-Martorell and VW-Wolfsburg) and the specific national systems of industrial relations in Germany, Spain and Brazil. Using a case-study approach, the thesis compares the institutions and forms of negotiation and conflict regulation in the relations constituted by the representatives of employers and employees at company level. The empirical analysis pays particular attention to the restructuring strategies about working-time-regulation, teamwork and outsourcing. The main objective of this thesis is to analyse and compare the ways that the representatives of employers (trade unions and work councils) have shaped the restructuring of work and production by Volkswagen at different traditions of industrial relations.