Berlin – IG Metall and works councils are calling for an active industrial policy and new procurement practices for contracts awarded by the federal government, the states, and Deutsche Bahn in the rail sector. Price must not be the sole decisive criterion, according to a joint appeal adopted today. Environmental and social criteria must take precedence so that rail transport becomes sustainable. Employee representatives are convinced that policymakers must undermine companies’ short-sighted, profit-driven relocation strategies and create the conditions for more local and sustainable value creation in Germany and Europe. IG Metall is convinced that the announced Collective Bargaining Compliance Act can make an important contribution to sustainable procurement practices if it is implemented correctly. IG Metall therefore firmly rejects efforts to largely exempt Deutsche Bahn AG from the Collective Bargaining Compliance Act.
Jürgen Kerner, Second Chair of IG Metall, emphasizes the sector’s importance for the economy, employment, and climate protection: “The rail industry is the backbone of the mobility transition in Germany and thus a key industry with a bright future. It is a crucial cornerstone for achieving national climate goals. Here, 55,000 qualified and motivated employees work in jobs that are mostly well-paid and protected by collective bargaining agreements. In addition to the companies themselves, it is the responsibility of federal and state policymakers to provide this industry with a future-proof framework. This includes the procurement policies of the public sector and Deutsche Bahn.”
Give Greater Weight to Social and Environmental Criteria in Bidding Processes
Employee representatives are particularly advocating for a new approach to awarding contracts: moving away from the “lowest bid” principle toward the “best bid” principle. Cost discipline is important, but it must not be an end in itself, the position paper states. “Public contracts must not be aimed solely at the lowest purchase price, as is still common practice. This helps neither taxpayers nor the climate.” Social and environmental criteria, including life-cycle costs, must be given significantly greater consideration in tendering practices. This is already possible today and covered by EU law, as is placing greater emphasis on regional value creation in contract awarding: “It is both sensible and possible to manufacture at least 50 percent of a train and its infrastructure in Germany (local content). The federal and state governments must make clear use of this.”
Stop Relocation Strategies with Reliable and Adequate Funding
In addition to flawed procurement practices, employee representatives criticize the “massive offshoring strategy of many companies in the rail industry to countries with supposedly lower manufacturing costs.” Given the vulnerability of supply chains and pervasive quality issues, this is a dangerous path that can quickly put entire companies in financial distress. In the view of the works councils, policymakers must take countermeasures and establish clear, sustainable bidding criteria: “A high-performing rail industry needs long-term, reliable, and adequate funding to, on the one hand, provide investment incentives and planning security and, on the other hand, increase the share of local value creation in Germany and Europe.”
Launching an Initiative to Attract Skilled Workers
To ensure the rail industry’s future viability, employee representatives are calling for a “broad initiative to attract skilled workers to our forward-looking industry,” as stated in the paper: “The federal government and the Federal Employment Agency must create favorable conditions for skilled workers and, respectively, raise awareness of existing training programs and ensure they are applied in a practical manner.”
The position paper “Preserving and Expanding the Rail Industry – Successfully Shaping the Transportation Transition” was signed by works council members from all major companies in the industry, including Alstom, Siemens Mobility, and Stadler Deutschland. It was adopted today during an IG Metall industry conference in Berlin.
Download the full position paper here.
