Frankfurt am Main – Against the backdrop of a shortage of 200,000 skilled workers and 20,000 unfilled apprenticeship positions, IG Metall is calling for better working and training conditions in the skilled trades. “Because many employers refuse to pay collectively bargained wages, the skilled trades have lost much of their appeal. Only just under 30 percent of workers in the industry are now employed by companies bound by collective bargaining agreements. Two-thirds of young journeymen and journeywomen leave the trades for industry and other sectors after completing their apprenticeships. This leads to a self-inflicted shortage of skilled workers and dissatisfied customers due to excessively long wait times—now up to 13 weeks,” said Ralf Kutzner, executive board member of IG Metall, on Friday in Frankfurt ahead of Skilled Trades Day on September 15.
Kutzner called on associations and guilds to finally back up their commitment to collective bargaining with concrete action. “Only through collective bargaining agreements and employee participation can skilled trades businesses close the looming skilled labor gap,” said Kutzner. The strategy of gaining an advantage through low wages does not work. “Opting out of collective bargaining agreements leads to ruinous cutthroat competition at the expense of workers and quality,” the union leader criticized. “Only with good working conditions, regional collective bargaining agreements, employee participation, and attractive continuing education and training can the skilled trades better hold their own in the competition for qualified employees.”
Innovative collective bargaining agreements in the skilled trades are possible. This is demonstrated by the collective bargaining agreement recently concluded by IG Metall Lower Saxony for 40,000 workers in the metalworking trades. “For the first time, employers have committed to paying an extra 50 euros per month into the pension fund for employees aged 50 and older, thereby enabling a higher pension or a more flexible retirement,” said Kutzner.
The union representative criticized employers in the automotive trade in Hesse as a negative example. “Last year, they wanted to become champions of widespread collective bargaining opt-outs. Overnight, the State Guild Association, representing nearly 4,000 businesses, withdrew from collective bargaining agreements. Only after significant pressure from employees has collective bargaining coverage been restored—albeit for 12,000 workers at Hessian automotive businesses.”
Kutzner called on lawmakers to take measures to strengthen collective bargaining coverage in the skilled trades. “The erosion of collective bargaining coverage in the skilled trades has now reached alarming levels. In the current discussion about amending the Crafts and Trades Code to reintroduce the mandatory master craftsman’s certificate in several skilled trades, strengthening collective bargaining coverage must also be on the table. We don’t need a patchwork solution, but rather a cohesive, binding regulatory framework,” said Kutzner.
