Werkstudierende und Gewerkschaften

At many university locations, working students (Werkstudierende) have become a highly relevant form of student employment for companies and trade unions alike. To date, however, they have not been the focus of labour and industrial sociology, university research or even debates on union organising. This article outlines the findings of a research project on the work situation, work values and trade union orientation of working students in several large companies in the metal and electrical industry in southern Germany. The study shows that the employment situation of working students is both privileged and precarious. Relatively high earnings and qualified job profiles are not always matched by appropriate pay scale groupings and the perception within the company and in the trade unions is of a marginal workforce. Even when the working students are a member of a union, they have a pronounced distance to the union and internal co-determination. In the light of the increasing academisation of the world of work, the article argues for a stronger focus on this group of employees and improved representation of working students in the trade unions.