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Press Release No. 01/2015 IG Metall Continues Positive Membership Growth

IG-Metall-Fahnen
Foto: IG Metall

19 January 2015 19 January 2015

Frankfurt am Main – At the end of 2014, IG Metall recorded an increase in membership for the fourth consecutive year. “Our positive membership trend has continued to stabilize. IG Metall remains attractive and successful,” said Detlef Wetzel, President of IG Metall, on Monday in Frankfurt. With approximately 3,400 more members than the previous year and a total of over 110,000 new members, IG Metall can report a positive overall result. The total number of members stood at 2.27 million at the end of 2014. “This result confirms that, despite the increasing individualization of the workforce, we are meeting the diverse needs of workers through modern union organizing,” said Wetzel. Membership numbers have risen disproportionately, he noted, particularly among specific groups such as young people, commercial employees, engineers, technical experts, and women.

The IG Metall chairman described securing Germany’s industrial future as a “matter of vital importance”: “The digitization of the world of work must not only be technologically successful but must also be shaped in a socially responsible manner.” This requires appropriate measures to secure a skilled workforce as well as significantly higher funding from the government and companies. “We need at least 20 billion euros more in government investment per year,” said Wetzel. It is equally important, he added, to ensure the international competitiveness of energy-intensive companies in the context of the energy transition. “We need a moratorium on electricity price hikes to prevent electricity from becoming more expensive,” demanded the IG Metall chairman.

IG Metall will continue to do everything in its power in 2015 to ensure that industry remains successful as a crucial pillar of the German economy. To this end, IG Metall, together with Federal Minister of Economics Sigmar Gabriel and BDI President Ulrich Grillo, launched the “Future of Industry” alliance in November 2014.

The collective bargaining round in the metal and electrical industries—with a package of demands including “a 5.5 percent wage increase, improvements to partial retirement programs, and the introduction of part-time training”—is the first major challenge of 2015, said Jörg Hofmann, Second Chairman of IG Metall. “IG Metall will continue to pursue a wage policy that makes full use of the scope for wage distribution and, as in previous years, contributes to positive employment conditions.”

The increasing digitalization of the workplace is linked to a significant need for new and further training, because, for example, job profiles are being eliminated or created anew in the context of Industry 4.0. Hofmann called for “co-determination by works councils as a corrective measure” to protect employees from employers’ short-term cost-cutting strategies. For this reason, part-time work for educational purposes is one of the demands in the current round of collective bargaining. Hofmann announced plans to launch a company-wide campaign on working hours this spring. Combating the erosion of working hours is another finding from the 2013 employee survey conducted by IG Metall, following the desire for partial retirement and time for education. The possibilities of mobile work, rising female labor force participation, and increasingly diverse lifestyles have significantly transformed the realities of life over the past decades. “Achieving a better work-life balance is the challenge for future working time arrangements,” said Hofmann. To this end, meetings with Gesamtmetall have already been scheduled following the collective bargaining round.

Hofmann gave a positive assessment of labor market policy measures such as the introduction of the minimum wage, retirement at age 63, and the “Parental Allowance Plus” program. “Here, the new federal government has made some decisions in the interests of workers.” Despite these positive legislative measures, however, the labor market remains in disarray. “To prevent the abuse of service contracts, we need expanded co-determination rights for works councils,” said Hofmann. IG Metall will therefore publicly monitor the legislative process and build pressure within companies. “We don’t just want to be strong among permanent employees; we represent the interests of all workers along the entire value chain.” This applies to temporary workers and also includes industrial service providers such as contract logistics, facility management, and development service providers, Hofmann said.

“The positive membership growth since 2011 has strengthened IG Metall both politically and financially,” said Jürgen Kerner, chief treasurer of IG Metall. Membership dues revenue totaled approximately 516 million euros in 2014. “We need to further strengthen this solid financial and political foundation at the local level. That is why, when allocating financial resources, the focus is on working with members through the close-knit network of shop stewards and works council members in 155 administrative offices,” the union official explained. Looking ahead to the upcoming collective bargaining round, Kerner said, “IG Metall is in a strong financial position and ready to act at any time.”

Further information can be found at: www.igmetall.de/presse

Information on IG Metall’s collective bargaining round for the metal and electrical industries can be found at www.metall-tarifunde-2015.de

There is also the following hashtag for the 2015 collective bargaining round: #TrME15


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