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Press Release No. 31/2010 IG Metall: A two-class society is not a model for our country

IG-Metall-Fahnen
Foto: IG Metall

7 October 2010 7 October 2010

Leipzig – IG Metall has called on policymakers and companies to do more to ensure decent work. “Precarious employment and the low-wage sector are growing at an alarming rate. Temporary agency workers are being exploited as a second industrial reserve army,” criticized Detlef Wetzel, Second Chairman of IG Metall, at an event marking the “Day of Action Against Precarious Employment” on Thursday in Leipzig.

“Two classes of workers—that may seem like a profitable business model for some employers and staffing agencies, but this social model is dividing our country,” said Wetzel. He called on the federal government to put a stop to the abuse of temporary agency work. “The draft bill presented by the Federal Minister of Labor opens the floodgates to the unchecked elimination of permanent jobs and the expansion of the low-wage sector,” the union leader criticized.

According to a recent survey by IG Metall, only 15 percent of additional labor needs are met through permanent hires, 43 percent through temporary agency work, and 42 percent through fixed-term contracts. “Many employers rely on precarious employment and contribute to the division of society,” said Wetzel. The collective bargaining agreement concluded for the steel industry demonstrates that there is another way. “Workers are sharing in the economic recovery through higher wages, and the collective bargaining provision on equal pay for temporary workers in the steel industry sends an important signal to society.” IG Metall will not let politicians and companies shirk their responsibility for fair temporary work.

On October 7, 2010—the “World Day for Decent Work”—unions around the world are protesting against insecure and unprotected working conditions. IG Metall is supporting these activities with its “Day of Action Against Precarious Employment” and is making the limitation and fair regulation of temporary agency work the focus of its fall activities. The initiator of the global day of action is the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), which, with over 300 member organizations from 150 countries, represents the interests of 168 million workers.


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