PRESS STATEMENT No attack on works councils and their rights

André Arenz, member of the IG Metall Executive Board responsible for co-determination:
“Anyone who portrays works councils and their rights as a ‘nice-to-have’ or even as a nuisance will provoke our fierce resistance. We fight every day for solidarity in the workplace through co-determination and, thereby, for the preservation of our democracy. Anyone who plays with fire when it comes to workers’ rights risks setting the whole tree ablaze.

Works councils are not a burden, but an asset—even for economic success. Companies with co-determination perform better and are demonstrably more sustainable.

Of course, in some areas, works councils prevent management from making unilateral decisions at the expense of employees. But that is their job: to protect health and ensure fairness in working conditions.

Economic change and new technologies require solutions in the form of a more modern Works Constitution Act and simpler works council elections. When it comes to artificial intelligence and related technologies, however, co-determination must not be eroded but rather expanded in the interests of employees."

Further information and press photos of André Arenz