Press Statement IG Metall: Don’t Let Political Decisions Fall on the Backs of Workers

Jürgen Kerner: “The state plays a decisive role in the defense and security technology industry. The state is not only the main customer; it also makes decisions regarding research and development, cross-border cooperation, and exports. This is and remains true: Arms can never be left to the market. In our European neighboring countries, the state is often a co-owner of defense companies.

IG Metall has always emphasized that decisions on arms exports are political decisions made by the government. Together with its European sister unions, IG Metall supports a restrictive arms export policy and, at the same time, calls for a common export practice within the European Union.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that the federal government is engaged in intensive discussions and wrestling with potential decisions on such extremely difficult issues. If this were not the case, we would have serious cause for concern.

Because the state plays a decisive role in the defense and security technology industry, the government bears responsibility toward the workers. IG Metall reiterates that political decisions cannot be carried out at the expense of the workers. Workers rightly expect reliability and planning certainty from their government.

IG Metall therefore expects the federal government to immediately propose alternative solutions for export licenses that had been granted but have now been suspended. At the same time, IG Metall expects the federal government to finally reach out to partner countries—especially those in the European Union—to develop solutions for existing and future joint projects. After all, the federal government itself declared European defense cooperation to be an integral part of German security policy in its 2016 White Paper and has co-signed all relevant decisions of the European Council since 2013.

The current debate over arms exports is a manifestation of a deeper political conflict. The federal government is divided on how to respond to global and regional developments in terms of foreign and security policy. The European Union is far from having a common foreign and security policy. It is long overdue for the federal government to begin addressing this political conflict.”