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Shop Stewards in IG Metall
From the workplace to the district
Union representatives serve as points of contact for employees at the workplace. They are not legally mandated. Nevertheless, they play a vital role. They are usually closer to employees’ day-to-day work and thus to their concerns and issues. Union representative elections are held in January.
Why Have Employee Representatives?
Shop stewards have a different role than the works council. The works council is the legally mandated representative body for all employees at the workplace. For example, it serves as the negotiating partner for management in company agreements. Shop stewards support the works council in this role. This is because they are the representatives and spokespersons for IG Metall members in the departments. Through their daily contact with their colleagues, they know best where the problems lie.
Shop stewards and the works council support and complement each other. Shop stewards help ensure that employees perceive IG Metall as open, dynamic, committed, and assertive. And assertiveness is essential when it comes to competition between locations, job security, or issues related to income and working hours.
What are the responsibilities of shop stewards in the workplace?
They advise IG Metall members and explain IG Metall’s goals and responsibilities
They inform IG Metall members about laws, collective bargaining agreements, regulations, and agreements
Together with the members, they represent their interests in the workplace and within the company
They distribute union informational materials and use this opportunity to foster discussion within the company
They serve as the link between the works council and the workforce
You participate in union events and gain professional development through IG Metall seminars
What is the representative body?
The representative body refers to the collective of all points of contact for employees at the workplace. This includes union representatives, IG Metall works council members, youth and apprentice representatives, as well as representatives for employees with severe disabilities.
What are the responsibilities of the employee representative body?
He represents the interests of IG Metall members within the company
He informs employees about the union’s goals and discusses them with them
He encourages members to form their own opinions and forwards the results to the administrative office
He prepares for shop steward elections and ensures that there are shop stewards in all areas of the company
He represents the interests of IG Metall members at the works council meeting
He supports the local executive board (the elected leadership of the administrative office), for example, during collective bargaining negotiations
He ensures that shop stewards receive the necessary training
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