Nuremberg – “We want politics to set the tone in Germany and Europe, not the market,” said Jörg Hofmann, President of IG Metall, in his keynote address on the future at the IG Metall Union Congress on Wednesday in Nuremberg. “This transformation into a digital and carbon-free economy can only be achieved through solidarity and democracy,” Hofmann emphasized. “The union sees itself as a counterforce to the blind forces of market laws.”
The key points of the keynote address culminate in the manifesto “Together for Tomorrow: IG Metall in a New Era.” This manifesto was adopted as a resolution on Wednesday at the union convention.
The ecological transformation is inevitable and, at the same time, unprecedented in its scale. “The transition for a major industry such as the automotive sector—which must equip half of its passenger cars with electric or hybrid engines within ten years—has no precedent,” said Hofmann.
If climate targets are to be achieved without disruptive structural changes, political support is required. “The welfare state must assume new responsibilities, for example in education and training. During the transformation, workers need solid bridges to the working world of tomorrow,” Hofmann demanded. To this end, IG Metall has presented its concept for a “transformation short-time work allowance”—a proposal that has been taken up by the Federal Ministry of Labor.
IG Metall claims to be a driving force in the transformation process. Whether it can fulfill this role depends on how firmly it is anchored in the workplaces. Hofmann: “It is in the workplace that IG Metall’s power is determined—not only in workplace issues, but also in its ability to assert itself in collective bargaining rounds or to mobilize support for sociopolitical issues.”
Co-determination at the corporate level becomes all the more important as the influence of capital markets on companies increases. “The very danger of takeovers and the dismantling of companies highlights the value of qualified co-determination,” said Hofmann. “Without the co-determination system in the coal and steel industries, ThyssenKrupp would be a victim of financial investors today and stripped to the bone tomorrow.”
Democracy in our society requires a balance between labor and capital. “That is why we are calling for the Co-Determination Act to finally be expanded to ensure genuine co-determination that is not limited to the supervisory board chair’s second vote,” said Hofmann. He announced a broad campaign by IG Metall to strengthen corporate co-determination in times of transformation.
On the “Future” Presentation
To the manifesto
Further information and press photos of Jörg Hofmann
To the IG Metall Union Congress portal
To the livestream
