Frankfurt am Main – At its meeting on Tuesday, the IG Metall Executive Board reorganized the leadership of the Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony district. Stefan Schaumburg (58) has been appointed acting head of the Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony (BBS) district. He will temporarily assume the duties of Olivier Höbel (63). Olivier Höbel has led the BBS district since 2004 and is stepping down from this role effective January 14, 2020, at his own request due to retirement. Effective October 1, Birgit Dietze (46), previously First Representative at the Berlin office, will be appointed head of the BBS district.
“With Stefan Schaumburg, an experienced collective bargaining expert and connoisseur of the district will take over responsibility in the coming months. This is an important task in light of the upcoming collective bargaining round in the metal and electrical industries,” said Jörg Hofmann, First Chairman of IG Metall, on Tuesday in Frankfurt.
“In Birgit Dietze, we have gained an experienced woman from eastern Germany who will ensure long-term leadership and further strengthen the district. I am confident that with Birgit Dietze, the district is well-positioned to master future collective bargaining and structural challenges. It was also important to us to have a woman represented once again among the district leaders,” said Hofmann.
“Olivier Höbel took over leadership of the Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony district in 2004 during a difficult phase and made a significant contribution to stabilizing IG Metall and its membership growth. He also advanced structural and industrial policy in the district, brought numerous companies under collective bargaining agreements, and thereby improved working conditions for many colleagues in eastern Germany. Under his leadership, following the defeat in the 2003 labor dispute, the district regained the strength to fight for further harmonization of working conditions between East and West. This also applies to his commitment to the long-overdue introduction of the 35-hour workweek in eastern Germany, 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall,” said the IG Metall chairman, praising Höbel’s work.
Political scientist Stefan Schaumburg has been employed by IG Metall since 1989 and was previously responsible for collective bargaining policy on the BBS district executive board from 2004 to 2007. Since 2012, he has headed the Collective Bargaining Policy Division on the IG Metall Executive Board. He will continue to fulfill this role in parallel over the coming months.
Birgit Dietze, who holds degrees in economics and law, completed vocational training at the former ELPRO AG in Berlin prior to her academic studies and was already active in the youth representation there. After completing her studies, she initially worked as an attorney specializing in labor law and then joined the Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony regional executive board in 2012. There, she was responsible for labor and collective bargaining issues as well as collective bargaining policy for the metal and electrical industries. She subsequently served as the corporate representative for Volkswagen AG and Audi AG on the IG Metall Executive Board. She has headed the Berlin office since January 1, 2019.
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Further information, as well as her resume and photos, can be found on the IG Metall BBS website.
