What’s in it for me at IG Metall? I’m continuing my schooling or planning to go to college.
IG Metall also advocates for better conditions for continuing education and higher education, and these benefits remain in place. Legal protection, for example, can also be important for high school students and college students. At our administrative offices, we’re happy to provide information about BAföG and the implications under social security law. We also offer to review your employment contract once you start your new job. By the way, the membership fee for high school and college students is only 2.05 euros.
I’ll be starting military or civilian service soon.
The benefits remain in effect. Legal protection, for example, may also become necessary for those performing military or civilian service—such as in disputes arising from service (pension matters, refusal to serve, deferment). Incidentally, the period of military or civilian service is exempt from dues with the appropriate certification.
Why join IG Metall? I get the benefits anyway.
Only members of IG Metall have a legal right to benefits under the collective bargaining agreement. Those who aren’t unionized are at the mercy of their boss and let others do the heavy lifting for them. If everyone thought that way, nothing would ever change in the workplace. So: Get involved—everyone benefits!
The membership fee is too high for me.
We’ve secured these gross wage levels through negotiations with employers. And that was only possible thanks to the dues and the commitment of our members. Our ability to achieve results in the future also depends on our financial strength. That’s worth one percent of your pay. And besides: The wage increases we fight for are always higher than one percent. And the dues come with a host of benefits: strike support, legal protection, recreational accident insurance, and much more.
If I join IG Metall, I’ll make myself unpopular with my supervisors.
Unless you tell your supervisor yourself, they won’t find out about your IG Metall membership. We take data protection very seriously. And what can you expect from supervisors who don’t even respect the fundamental right to freedom of association (Basic Law, Article 9) and discriminate against union members? Supervisors who exert this kind of pressure will keep demanding concessions.
If you don’t exercise your rights, you lose them. And you certainly won’t gain any new ones. If all employees thought that way, there would be no unions, no collective bargaining agreements, no protective laws—and thus far worse working conditions.
You always hear that unions ruin companies.
On the contrary, we advocate for restructuring programs and negotiate with employers to keep as many employees as possible on the payroll. In addition, we provide economic experts who advise works councils.
