PRESS RELEASE NO. 37/2021 Protecting everyone’s health, upholding personal rights – 3G is the right approach in the workplace

Frankfurt am Main/Hanover – The industrial unions IG Metall and IG BCE are jointly advocating for a pragmatic and non-discriminatory approach to disclosing employees’ vaccination status in the workplace. At the same time, they clearly rejected a general obligation to disclose such information, as demanded by employers.

Greater acceptance of improved COVID-19 protection in companies can be achieved not through coercive measures, but through incentives, argue the chairmen Jörg Hofmann (IG Metall) and Michael Vassiliadis (IG BCE). Both unions believe it makes sense for employees to voluntarily disclose their vaccination or recovery status to their employers.

At the same time, employers must continue to provide sufficient free tests so that even unvaccinated employees can go about their work without facing discrimination, while still limiting the risk of infection. The unions firmly reject a “2G” policy in workplaces—that is, access restricted to only those who are vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19.

Jörg Hofmann: “One thing is clear: a high vaccination rate increases safety among the workforce. At the same time, individual civil liberties must be protected. In my view, the only way out of this dilemma is the 3G rule. Employees must continue to be able to prove—including through testing—that they pose no risk to others. Workplace hygiene protocols are subject to co-determination.”

“We must provide employees in the workplace with the best possible protection against the spread of the virus without infringing on their personal rights,” said IG BCE Chairman Michael Vassiliadis. “Our joint initiative ensures both.”

At the same time, both union leaders emphasized that vaccination is the best—and ultimately the only—defense against the pandemic. They are calling on all employees to get vaccinated, provided they have no contraindications.