Press Release No. 62/2015 Hans-Jürgen Urban: “Now that retirement at age 63 has been introduced, the pension level must be raised”

Frankfurt am Main – IG Metall sees a need for further reform in pension policy. “Following the introduction of retirement at age 63, the pension level must now be raised,” said Hans-Jürgen Urban, executive board member of IG Metall, on Monday at the union convention in Frankfurt.

The “Good Work – Good Retirement” campaign has enabled thousands of workers to retire at 63—and thus to leave the workforce before reaching the age limit of 67. “That was a first step; more must follow,” said Urban.

“Retirement at 63 is a first-rate joint success, a success for IG Metall. In contrast, retirement at 67 remains one of the biggest policy blunders in German social policy, and IG Metall will not come to terms with it in the future either,” Urban announced.

The list of necessary reforms is far from complete. Women’s pensions are often too low, and there are still noticeable differences between East and West. Furthermore, the doors to the social security system remain closed to many workers who are in precarious situations as solo self-employed individuals working under service contracts. This cannot continue. Urban called for an increase in pension levels, solidarity-based financing, and access to social insurance for the self-employed. “These should be the milestones of our next pension campaign,” Urban said.

Urban also called on policymakers to implement binding measures to protect workers’ mental health. “It was IG Metall that, through its campaign for an anti-stress regulation, made it clear: Depression is not the exclusive domain of professional soccer players and actors; burnout has become a mass phenomenon in the workplace,” said Urban. One goal has already been achieved: Legislators yielded to pressure from IG Metall and enshrined in the Occupational Safety and Health Act that the prevention and protection of mental health are core obligations of employers. However, in Urban’s assessment, this is not enough: “We will not rest until we have fought for and secured practical tools to protect mental health in the workplace. Health is not a luxury; health is a human right, and human rights apply in the workplace as well.”
 

Note to editors:
Further information can be found at: /vorstand/en/presse and https://igm-gewerkschaftstag-2015.de/
Further information and press photos of Hans-Jürgen Urban
Additional photos and résumés of the executive board members can be found here: https://www.igmetall.de/geschaeftsfuehrende-vorstandsmitglieder-945.htm