Press Release No. 44/2010 IG Metall Stands by Its Demand to Suspend Retirement at Age 67

Frankfurt am Main – IG Metall has reaffirmed its demand to suspend the retirement age of 67 and has instead called for a plan for a flexible transition to retirement. “Retirement at 67 is and remains a dead end and is unattainable for a significant portion of workers,” said Berthold Huber, President of IG Metall, on Thursday in Frankfurt. Instead of a longer working life for everyone, the aging society needs a model for a flexible and fair transition to retirement. In this context, workplace stress and the duration of contributions to the statutory pension insurance system must play an important role. “IG Metall is prepared to work constructively on a plan for fair transitions to retirement,” Huber emphasized.

Hans-Jürgen Urban, executive board member and social policy expert at IG Metall, sees no basis in the figures from the federal government’s first review report for raising the standard retirement age. “Anyone who takes the report’s figures seriously cannot insist on retirement at 67,” Urban criticized. In the industrial sector alone, he noted, one-third of workers are forced to retire early for health reasons due to workplace stresses such as shift work, night shifts, and weekend work. “Retirement at 67 ignores working conditions and thus the reality in companies and government agencies,” Urban said.