Press Release No. 52/2015 IG Metall Insists on the Completion of Germany’s Economic and Social Unity

Berlin – IG Metall has called for continued efforts to complete Germany’s economic and social unity. “From the very first day after the Wall fell, IG Metall and the works councils have been committed to this genuine unity—economic and social unity—between East and West, and we have achieved a great deal to date,” said Detlef Wetzel, President of IG Metall, at the opening of the conference “25 Years of German Unity – Assessment and Perspectives from a Union Perspective” on Thursday in Berlin. IG Metall has improved collective bargaining coverage and employee participation through works councils in eastern Germany. The union is also seeing an increase in membership, particularly among young people. “IG Metall is on the rise in the East,” said Wetzel.

However, the process of convergence has proven to be much more difficult than most had anticipated. Unemployment in eastern Germany is still twice as high as in western Germany, and the poverty rate is significantly higher.

On a positive note, investment is picking up again in many “boom regions” of eastern Germany. In Leipzig, for example, BMW has established one of the most advanced automobile plants in Europe. “Porsche and BMW in Leipzig, however, are not only pioneers in Germany in terms of technical progress in production, but unfortunately also in terms of outsourcing through subcontracting and the use of temporary workers,” said Wetzel. IG Metall is firmly opposed to the growing practice of misusing subcontracting to circumvent collective bargaining agreements and thereby engage in wage dumping.

Furthermore, Wolfgang Lemb, executive board member of IG Metall, pointed out that a lack of collective bargaining coverage and the high proportion of precarious employment are among the causes of the income disparities that still exist between East and West. The gap has remained virtually unchanged at around 20 percent since the mid-1990s. “If wage growth continues at this pace, according to calculations by the Institute for Work and Qualification (IAQ), income parity would not be achieved until 2081,” said Lemb. IG Metall will therefore continue to strengthen its influence in eastern Germany to increase companies’ adherence to collective bargaining agreements. The number of works councils being established is also on the rise, according to the latest findings of a study by the Otto Brenner Foundation on union organizing power in the new federal states. IG Metall outlines further perspectives for the economic and social development of eastern Germany in its “Berlin Declaration,” which was adopted during the conference.

Note to editors:
Please refer to the attached “Berlin Declaration.”