PRESS STATEMENT IG Metall mourns the loss of its member Norbert Blüm

“IG Metall mourns the loss of its member Norbert Blüm. Norbert Blüm was many things: a trained toolmaker and a philosopher with a doctorate, a dedicated union activist, and a long-time top-level politician. Like few others, this great Christian Socialist embodied the idea of a unified labor union in Germany.

Norbert Blüm was a combative figure—and at times he even clashed with his own union, IG Metall. Yet his guiding principles were always clear: justice and solidarity, workers’ rights, and a strong welfare state. He remained true to these principles even when others had long since succumbed to the temptations of the neoliberal zeitgeist. He never left any doubt that a strong, pay-as-you-go statutory pension insurance system must remain the central pillar of retirement security.

Norbert Blüm’s commitment to the most vulnerable did not stop at national borders; rather, he always conceived of solidarity in international terms as well. Well into his old age, he fought against exploitative child labor and for fair, just globalization.

We pay tribute to his life’s work.”

Read the interview with Norbert Blüm