Frankfurt am Main – The printing press manufacturing industry is under immense pressure. On the occasion of the drupa trade fair for printing and paper, works councils are now calling on employers and policymakers to demonstrate greater commitment and cooperation—particularly in research and development—to secure jobs in the industry in Germany. “We, as IG Metall and the works councils of German printing press manufacturers, see the existence of German production sites—and the 20,000 industrial jobs associated with them—as being at risk in the medium term,” states a joint position paper adopted at the Printing Press Network Conference held on the sidelines of drupa. In it, the employee representatives call on political decision-makers and company management to “actively seek solutions together to ensure the long-term sustainability of industrial value creation, locations, and jobs.”
Machinery Manufacturers Should Form a Joint Research Venture
Compared to large international corporations and competitors, the predominantly small- and medium-sized German companies in the industry have only limited resources for in-house development. The works councils are therefore proposing a joint development strategy. This could involve establishing a research joint venture within the German cluster as an alternative to continuing to purchase key technologies from international competitors.
Industry dialogue aims to foster greater cooperation
The works councils are convinced that there is no way around increased cooperation. Only in this way can the knowledge and skills that have been built up over decades at German locations be preserved here and an exodus from the industry be prevented. To this end, the works councils are calling for structured industry-wide discussions between company management, works councils, the VDMA, and IG Metall. These discussions should be established as soon as possible with the involvement of the Federal Ministry of Economics.
Calls for More Investment
The works councils are convinced that more investment is needed—both in technology and in the training and continuing education of skilled workers. “It was not wage dumping and price wars, but rather high-quality products developed and produced by highly motivated employees with outstanding ideas and a high level of qualification that brought the German printing press industry to its current global standing,” the paper states.
The topics addressed in the position paper will be discussed today at drupa as part of a panel discussion. Participants in the panel discussion include Jürgen Kerner, Second Chairman of IG Metall; Ralph Arns, Works Council Chairman of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG; Thomas Schiemann, Managing Director of the Printing and Paper Technology Association within the VDMA; and Dr. Andreas Pleßke, CEO of Koenig & Bauer AG.
About the Position Paper
