Frankfurt am Main – IG Metall has established an “Future of Work” advisory board comprising 27 experts from companies in the metal and electrical industries, academia, and politics. The board includes, among others, executive board members and general works council chairs, as well as renowned academics and state secretaries. “We have asked experts and decision-makers to join us in discussing how to shape the digital transformation of industrial work and thereby find answers to the key questions regarding the future of employment and workers in Germany. “It is very gratifying that our initiative has been met with such a positive response,” said Jörg Hofmann, Second Chairman of IG Metall and initiator of the advisory board, at the committee’s inaugural meeting on Thursday in Frankfurt.
The goal is to identify changes in the world of work at an early stage and to explore opportunities for employees to shape their own futures, Hofmann said. Through the advisory board, IG Metall aims to promote social dialogue on the future organization of work, working hours, and skills development, as well as on the requirements of research, industrial, educational, and labor market policies. Practical examples will be used to demonstrate how the transition to Industry 4.0 can become a win-win strategy for employees and companies. “It remains to be seen which direction technological development will take in the future, how technology will be integrated into the organization of companies, and what impact this will have on employment and work. This path can be shaped. IG Metall intends to seize this opportunity. Our goal is to put people at the center of shaping the digital transformation of the world of work and Industry 4.0. To achieve this goal, we have been able to bring on board outstanding experts in this forward-looking field. The ‘Future of Work’ Advisory Board will guide us, both in theory and in practice, on the path toward good work in Industry 4.0,” said Hofmann.
Members of the “Future of Work” Advisory Board include, among others:
Horst Neumann, Member of the Board of Management for Human Resources, IT, and Organization at Volkswagen AG;
Siegfried Russwurm, Chief Technology Officer of Siemens AG;
Markus Schäfer, Executive Board Member for Production and Supply Chain Management at Daimler AG;
Michael Brecht, Chairman of the General Works Council at Daimler AG;
Alfred Löckle, Chairman of the General Works Council at Robert Bosch GmbH;
Thorben Albrecht, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs;
Brigitte Zypries, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy;
Jutta Allmendinger, President of the Berlin Social Science Center;
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wilhelm Bauer, Director of Fraunhofer IAO and IAT at the University of Stuttgart;
Prof. Dr. Henning Kagermann, President of acatech – German Academy of Science and Engineering.
The “Future of Work” Advisory Board to the IG Metall Executive Board will meet twice a year going forward. You can find all members of the Advisory Board, their biographies, and their statements on the future of work here:
