Frankfurt am Main – IG Metall has once again achieved membership growth, further improved its dues collection situation, and significantly increased its ability to assert its interests, stated Berthold Huber, First Chairman of IG Metall, and Detlef Wetzel, Second Chairman of IG Metall, at IG Metall’s annual press conference on Tuesday in Frankfurt. At the end of 2012, the number of members stood at 2,263,707, representing an increase of 17,947 compared to the previous year. The number of employees rose to 1,546,957. “Our results for 2012 show that we have achieved our goal of building more strength at the grassroots level and becoming stronger locally and within workplaces. Our membership strength gives us the power to make our voice heard,” Huber emphasized.
For the current year, the union anticipates a slight economic recovery. Private consumption must become a stronger driver of growth. “Two factors are essential for the expansion of private consumer spending in 2013: a stable labor market and high employment levels on the one hand, and appropriate wage increases for workers on the other. IG Metall is aware of this,” said Huber.
With regard to the federal election campaign, Huber said that IG Metall, as a unified union, would not issue any voting recommendations. “IG Metall expects all parties to act responsibly toward workers. This includes a nationwide minimum wage as well as the option of short-time work for temporary agency workers. The low-wage sector must be curbed using all available means,” Huber demanded. Another political priority is flexible retirement for workers. The union will make the question of the future of work a benchmark for all parties. “We will survey workers directly nationwide. We aim to complete this survey by early April. We will present workers’ demands to policymakers at regional events ahead of the federal election,” Huber announced.
Detlef Wetzel emphasized that IG Metall has been able to further consolidate its positive membership growth. Year-over-year, IG Metall has gained approximately 123,000 new members. That is 7.4 percent more than in the previous year. “In one year, we’ve gained more members than the FDP and the Greens have combined,” Wetzel said. This is a major success, as evidenced by the 4.5 percent increase in young members under the age of 27 to around 223,000, as well as a 3.8 percent rise in the number of white-collar workers to around 298,000 members. “What continues to make us particularly pleased regarding our membership growth is that we are expanding our position as the largest political youth organization in Germany.”
With the collective bargaining agreement on temporary work, greater co-determination for works councils, and the hiring provisions for young trainees, important steps toward greater fairness and security have been achieved, said Wetzel. As part of the “Work: Safe and Fair” campaign, IG Metall will tackle the issue of service contracts in the coming months. “The proportion of people who walk through the factory gates in the morning but are no longer employed by the company whose sign hangs above the gates is growing day by day, and working conditions are getting worse for many.” IG Metall will not accept these unfair corporate strategies and will make them an issue both in the workplace and at the political level.
The positive trend in membership and dues will be further supported by investments in future-oriented projects. “We have restructured IG Metall with the goal of making approximately 20 million euros available annually through an investment fund for outreach activities.” Last year, nearly 60 projects were already launched, and over 90 new staff members were hired to provide support on the ground. “A momentum has developed here that opens up great opportunities for a bright future for IG Metall,” said Wetzel. IG Metall’s financial performance also remains positive. Membership dues revenue totaled approximately 481 million euros in 2012. This represents a further increase of 22 million euros over the previous year’s strong result.
