PRESS STATEMENT “IG Metall remains committed to strengthening the regional collective bargaining agreement, especially in eastern Germany”

Jörg Hofmann: “The employers’ obstructionist behavior is a provocation. Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, they want to keep the ‘social divide’ in place. If the decision on working hours is shifted to the company level—as the employers are demanding—it would further erode the already weak collective bargaining coverage in the East. Given the rise of right-wing populists, Gesamtmetall should think carefully about whether it wants to turn eastern Germany into a testing ground for its deregulation fantasies. IG Metall remains committed to strengthening the regional collective bargaining agreement, especially in eastern Germany.”