Pluralism and Subsidiarity
The political and social landscape in Germany is defined to a great extent by political parties, numerous interest groups from industry and society, citizens’ action groups, scientific institutes and the media. The term "pluralism" is used to describe public discussions and the forming of opinions.
A table of the larger and more well known groups, which are mentioned regularly in the media, can be found at the end of this document.
Bürgerinitiativen (citizens’ action groups) are groups of residents that come together to follow the same political, social, cultural or economic goal.
Subsidiarity is a socio-ethical principle that encourages individuals to develop their individual abilities and which promotes self-determination and personal responsibility. In the political arena this means that many public tasks in Germany are carried out by Non-Governmental Organisations and churches. The English abbreviation "NGO" is also often used in Germany to describe these organsations. This sharing of responsibilities is what is known as the "Principle of Subsidiarity". With the exception of certain areas that must remain under the exclusive jurisdiction of the state, such as the police, the justice system and the military, the state should endeavour to allocate as many social tasks as possible to NGO's, i.e. the respective lowest authority is given precedence to act over the higher authority. In the field of government, the principle of subsidiarity has until now been applied to the sharing of responsibilities between the local communities and the state and between the government and the federal states. The state should only step in when NGO's are no longer able to accomplish these tasks to the satisfaction of the German state and public. The work carried out by these groups e.g. in social and cultural fields is in the main financed by public funding.
Many social functions ranging from youth and elderly work to family and health advice are undertaken by charitable organisations ("Wohlfahrtsverbände"). These include the workers charity "Arbeiterwohlfahrt" (AWO), "Der Paritätische Wohlfahrtsverband" and the German Red Cross ("Deutsches Rotes Kreuz", DRK). They are non-denominational. The "Diakonie" or the "Diakonisches Werk" is the association of the Protestant Church. The "Caritas" is the association of the Catholic Church. You are eligible to receive help from the "Diakonische Werk" or "Caritas" whatever your religion. There are also numerous clubs, groups and associations in the cities and regions that undertake social and cultural responsibilities and which are politically active.
A list of addresses can be found in chapter 
Organisations and Contacts.
The Basic Law entitles employers and employees the right to negotiate in written agreements (collective agreements) the rights and duties of the employers and employees. This is known as free collective bargaining. The collective bargaining agreements stipulate minimum standards, which can only be departed from if it benefits the employees. Collective bargaining agreements determine, for example, the level of remuneration in the respective wage and salary groups ("Entgelt-Tarifvertrag") by defining specific job characteristics. They also specify work conditions, work times and holiday rights.
As a wage bargainer, trade unions represent the social and economic interests of the employees (workers, civil servants, trainees). The German trade unions are independent of the state and parties. They are unified trade unions that are organised according to the principle of industrial organisation ("Industrieverbandsprinzip"), i.e. they represent the interests not of specific occupations but of employees working in a given industry. The term "employer" is often used figuratively to refer to the employer associations, e.g. the Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbände (Confederation of German Employers’ Associations – BDA) or the Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie (German Confederation of Industry – BDI).
See also chapter Individual and Collective Labour Law
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