Press Release No. 34/2015 IG Metall sees the Collective Bargaining Unity Act as a way to strengthen solidarity-based collective bargaining policy

Frankfurt am Main – IG Metall has described the Collective Bargaining Unity Act passed by the Bundestag as a step toward strengthening solidarity-based collective bargaining policy. “The principle of ‘one company—one collective bargaining agreement’ is the foundation of solidarity-based representation of workers’ interests. It’s not about individual groups of workers, but about the entire workforce,” said Jörg Hofmann, Second Chairman of IG Metall, on Friday in Frankfurt. Through union membership, the workforce can now decide by majority vote which collective bargaining agreement applies at the company.

Hofmann pointed out that the law now passed does not constitute an infringement on the right to strike: Every union retains the right to enforce its demands, including through industrial action. Only if a collective bargaining conflict arises as a result of collective bargaining negotiations will the majority of members decide on the application of a collective bargaining agreement within the company. “Preventing any encroachment on the right to strike was and remains a prerequisite for IG Metall’s approval. That is why we have resolutely rejected the latest proposals from the CDU’s economic wing and other critics who are calling for, for example, mandatory arbitration or other legal encroachments on the right to strike,” said the union leader.

An expanded peace obligation was still included in the initial key points of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) regarding the Collective Bargaining Unity Act. “It’s a good thing that this is off the table, and it’s clearly thanks to IG Metall’s active intervention. Because without the right to strike, collective bargaining is nothing more than collective begging.”

Nevertheless, IG Metall is calling for clarification regarding the procedures for determining majorities. “It is unacceptable that the labor courts should have to interpret what the legislature intended here,” said Hofmann.