Press Release No. 22/2011 Huber: “We will fight back against the deterioration of the labor market!”

Nuremberg – On Labor Day, IG Metall President Berthold Huber sharply criticized the “deterioration of the labor market” and called for the introduction of a nationwide minimum wage. “Temporary work, mini-jobs, and other forms of precarious employment violate the social welfare state principle enshrined in our Basic Law. We must and will fight back against this deterioration of the labor market,” Huber said in his May 1 speech on Sunday in Nuremberg. Precarious work violates every principle of equality and justice and shows no respect for people’s work. Young people, who are particularly affected, cannot plan for their future. Furthermore, low wages inevitably lead to poverty in old age. Huber reiterated the demand for equal pay in temporary work. “I call on the federal government: Finally introduce a nationwide minimum wage—without exception, for all sectors where our collective bargaining agreements do not apply,” said the IG Metall chairman. Only in this way can the worst forms of exploitation be prevented.

Huber emphasized that it was the workers’ sacrifices during the crisis and their labor that made the current economic recovery possible in the first place. Instead of gratitude, many are being “rewarded” by employers with wage dumping, a frantic work pace, and coercive pressure. If nearly 80 percent of new jobs are created in the low-wage sector, and if wages are driven down and collective bargaining agreements and protection against dismissal are undermined through temporary agency work, contract-for-service arrangements, and fixed-term employment, that is neither fair nor just. “That is brazen, insolent, and outrageous.”

Huber drew a parallel between the recent crisis and the Fukushima nuclear disaster. “The entire economic and financial crisis policy is similar to the desperate attempt to bring the fuel rods under control using seawater. They’re tinkering with the symptoms without solving the actual problem,” the union leader criticized. A global financial meltdown could happen again at any time because no lessons have been learned. To this day, financial markets and speculation remain unchecked. To this day, not a single speculator has been held accountable. Huber called for a fundamental change of course in economics and politics. Financial speculation is man-made. It was made possible in the first place by governments through deregulation. And what is man-made can also be changed by people. We must put an end to policies that prioritize the interests of capital owners, financial speculators, and nuclear monopolies over the interests of the population. “I appeal to the federal government and the European Commission: Finally regulate the financial markets. Stop speculation. Ensure that those responsible for the crisis pay for its consequences,” Huber demanded.