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Press Release No. 43/2015 IG Metall Calls for a Readjustment of the German Co-determination Model

IG-Metall-Fahnen
Foto: IG Metall

7 July 2015 7 July 2015

Berlin – According to IG Metall, institutional co-determination in German companies is increasingly reaching its limits. Key reasons for this include the fragmentation of the workforce due to outsourcing, contract work, and temporary staffing. This trend is being accelerated by digitalization, new work-time models, and the rise of precarious forms of employment. “A modern overhaul of the German co-determination and social model is urgently needed,” said Detlef Wetzel, President of IG Metall, on Tuesday in Berlin at a joint conference on co-determination organized by IG Metall and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

The main demand on lawmakers is that individual fundamental rights must be strengthened through a right to bring class-action lawsuits. This also includes improvements in the responsible expression of opinions in the workplace, particularly the protection of those who expose misconduct (“whistleblowers”).

IG Metall calls on employers to refrain from circumventing German co-determination laws by utilizing foreign legal structures. Furthermore, in supervisory boards, genuine parity between the number of votes held by shareholders and employee representatives should be established when voting on important decisions. Wetzel also demanded that a robust quota for women be upheld.

“We can only counter the individualization of the world of work and life if we counter it with co-determination that recognizes employees as subjects and individuals,” said Wetzel. Strengthening individual choices for IG Metall members is a central goal for the future. A digitized world of work can only realize its productive potential if democratic rights to shape the workplace are effectively exercised. This requires rights to early information and co-determination, including in the company’s economic decisions. A new interplay between individual participation and collective co-determination is necessary.

Please see the latest book on the topic of co-determination:
Detlef Wetzel (ed.): Participation and Co-determination. For a Vibrant Democracy in Business and Society. VSA: Verlag Hamburg, 2015.


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