Dissertation_Paula Aleksandrowicz_12 ... - Jacobs University

only limited impact (and interest) to co-decide on recruitment issues, they are a powerful
partner on issues of health management and contract termination.
In the field of further training, know-how transfer and health management, clashes
between the two parties centre on cost containment issues. With regard to early retirement
and personnel reductions, there is less disagreement, and a collusion of interests can be
observed. Both the management and employee representatives are interested in preventing
dismissals due to operational reasons. The works councils play an active role in searching
for alternatives and focusing personnel reductions on older workers. Beside the aim of
preventing dismissals, the interest of the works council in early retirement is motivated by
the wish to release older workers from adverse working conditions with a financial
compensation.
It has however to be added that such collusive behaviour is possible only under the
condition of the continued interest of workers in early exit. In the interviews with firm
experts, I learnt that the wishes of older workers to get relief from work burdens while at
the same time receiving a wage compensation which allowed status maintenance played a
huge role for the forming of opinions of works councils on early exit.
4.2.10. Conclusions
In this chapter, I will repeat the results of hypothesis testing given in the previous subsections.
Afterwards, I will conduct a typological analysis of the 14 firms in the sample
based on evidence presented so far.
Hypothesis 1 (see section 2.1.) is supported with restrictions. It is supported with
regard to pension reforms, but not supported with regard to active labour market policies.
Possibly, positive incentives for the internalisation of older workers entailed by labour
market reforms incite action to a lower extent than do sanctions (see Table 1 in chapter 2.).
I however claim that structural conditions (above all, the situation on the labour market)
determine firm-level policy and the degree of adaptation to institutional changes in the first
place.
Of the two competing hypotheses 2A and 2B (see section 2.2.), hypothesis 2A is
supported with regard to recruitment, as older workers are seldom hired. Firms set a certain
age threshold above which applicants are regarded as less able. Hypothesis 2A is also
supported with regard to the termination of the work contract – older workers are treated as
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