Frankfurt am Main – With a nationwide day of action, IG Metall is making a high-profile intervention in the ongoing coalition negotiations. At rallies, demonstrations, and other public events throughout Germany, union members are calling on the future federal government to make massive investments in modern infrastructure and future technologies, to avoid layoffs during the transformation, to ensure sustainable prospects for future-proof local jobs instead of relocating them abroad, and to launch a skills development initiative and provide secure training. Another key demand is for 500 billion euros in public investment in the future by 2030. The necessary investments must be funded through a solidarity-based financing model.
To underscore these demands, on Friday, October 29, tens of thousands of metalworkers will take to the streets in more than 50 cities—including Berlin—under the slogan “FairWandel—social, ecological, democratic.” In the capital, the rally will take place from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the government district between the Reichstag building and the Paul-Löbe-Haus. More than 900 metalworkers are expected to attend. Jörg Hofmann, President of IG Metall; District Director Birgit Dietze; and Jan Otto, Chief Representative of IG Metall Berlin, will be in attendance to discuss IG Metall’s demands with colleagues from the workplaces and with political representatives, including, among others, Norbert Walter-Borjans, SPD Party Chairman; Hubertus Heil, Acting Federal Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Michael Kellner, Federal Executive Director of Alliance 90/The Greens, Johannes Vogel, Deputy Federal Chairman of the FDP (invited), Thomas Heilmann, CDU Member of the Bundestag, and Amira Mohamed Ali, Chair of the Bundestag parliamentary group of The Left.
Jörg Hofmann, President of IG Metall: “We need investments worth billions in sustainable products and production processes to reduce CO2 emissions and drive digitalization forward. It is crucial for us that people remain firmly at the center of this process: We need substantial investments in the future—in training, opportunities for a second vocational education, and robust pathways into the new world of work—such as through a transformation short-time work allowance. We say: The transition must be fair. And this requires security for workers and a fair distribution of the burden.”
The day of action is part of a two-week “European Campaign for a Just Structural Transition” under the slogan “Just Transition” organized by IndustriAll Europe, the umbrella organization of European industrial unions, in which member organizations across the continent are participating.
Public events will take place here, among other locations:
- Already on October 28: Augsburg, 9:00 p.m .: Central action by all Augsburg-based companies in front of MAN Energy Solutions. Projection of our demands onto a large MAN building. Rally featuring Jürgen Kerner, Executive Board Member of IG Metall.
- Also on October 28: Salzgitter, 12:30 p.m.: Rally (at Gate 1 of Salzgitter AG, Eisenhüttenstraße 99) featuring, among others, Stephan Weil, Minister President of Lower Saxony, and Hans-Jürgen Urban, Executive Board Member of IG Metall.
- Munich, 10:00 a.m.: Kickoff rallies in front of the Bavarian party headquarters of the SPD, Alliance 90/The Greens, FDP, and CSU. From there, four protest marches—on foot, by bicycle, and by car—will proceed to the joint rally at Odeonsplatz, which begins at 12:00 p.m.
- Schweinfurt, 9 a.m.: March to the Hahnenhügel Bridge. The rally begins there at 10 a.m., featuring, among others, Ralf Kutzner, Executive Board Member of IG Metall.
- Stuttgart, starting at 2:30 p.m.: Demonstration march from the main train station to the Stadtgarten; rally from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Stadtgarten (Keplerstraße 7, 70174 Stuttgart).
- Koblenz, 11:55 a.m.: March from the train station; rally at the Deutsches Eck.
- Eisenach, 11:55 a.m.: Rally (on the Spicke) featuring, among others, Wolfgang Lemb, executive board member of IG Metall, and Bodo Ramelow, Minister-President of Thuringia.
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Völklingen: 5:30 p.m. Start of the demonstration march from Hindenbrugplatz; 7:00 p.m. Rally in the parking lot of the World Heritage Site, featuring Tobias Hans, Minister-President of Saarland, among others.
- Hamburg: Bike rally, starting at 10:30 a.m. from the Gewerkschaftshaus, Besenbinderhof 60; 11:55 a.m. rally at the Hamburg Fish Market, featuring, among others, Christiane Benner, Second Chair of IG Metall, and Dr. Peter Tschentscher, First Mayor of Hamburg.
- Bremen, 12:00 p.m.: Three simultaneous rallies at Mercedes-Benz, Airbus Operations, and ArcelorMittal, linked via video stream, featuring, among others, Kristina Vogt, Bremen’s Senator for Economic Affairs.
- Flensburg, 11:30 a.m.: Rally in front of the FSG (Batteriestr. 52), featuring, among others, Robert Habeck, Federal Chairman of Alliance 90/The Greens.
- Duisburg, 10:00 a.m.: Rally in front of the Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe headquarters, featuring, among others, Jürgen Kerner, Executive Board Member of IG Metall, and Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU), North Rhine-Westphalia Minister of Labor, Health, and Social Affairs
- Lüdenscheid, 11:00 a.m.: Rally at Schützenplatz Loh, featuring, among others, Irene Schulz, Executive Board Member of IG Metall.
- Hanover, 11:30 a.m.: Rally at Goseriedeplatz, featuring, among others, Hans-Jürgen Urban, executive board member of IG Metall.
Detailed information on these and all other events is available from the press offices of the individual IG Metall districts:
- Coastal District (Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Hamburg, Bremen, and northwestern Lower Saxony): Heiko Messerschmidt, 040-28 00 90-43
- North Rhine-Westphalia District: Mike Schürg, 0170 – 3333731
- Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt District: Jan Hartge, 0511-16 406-35
- Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony District: Birgit Dietze, 0170 3333 441
- Central District (Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Thuringia): Uwe Stoffregen, 069-66 93-33 09
- Baden-Württemberg District: Petra Otte, 0711-16 581-32
- Bavaria District: Timo Günther, 089-53 29 49-43
Further information on the day of action
