Nuremberg – Jörg Hofmann, President of IG Metall, sees irresponsibility and a lack of planning at the helm of many companies. “After ten years of growth, the slightest dip in their profit margins leads employers to think of only one thing: layoffs, relocations, and breakups. That is not a strategy for the future, and we will not accept it,” Hofmann said Monday at the IG Metall union convention in Nuremberg.
During the discussion of the annual report, Hofmann gave a positive assessment of collective bargaining policy. Last year’s agreement in the metal and electrical industries brought employees a substantial wage increase and greater autonomy over their working hours—for a better work-life balance. “Only through the collective strength of everyone can we fight for more freedom and limit the all-encompassing control over the workforce,” Hofmann concluded. In the East German textile industry, working hours have been successfully aligned with those in the West. For the East German metal and electrical industry, this alignment is still pending. “We will achieve a result. Equal collective bargaining terms in the West and East are long overdue, 30 years after reunification,” said Hofmann.
A prerequisite for success in collective bargaining is IG Metall’s strong presence in the workplaces. A strong collective bargaining policy makes IG Metall attractive. This year alone, it has already recruited 85,186 new members. With approximately 2.30 million members, IG Metall is the largest single trade union in the world. IG Metall has taken a clear stance in the debate on climate policy and, together with the environmental organizations BUND and NABU, has published a key issues paper on the climate and mobility transition. “We are fostering an understanding that climate protection and industry are not mutually exclusive,” said Hofmann. IG Metall made clear its commitment to shaping the transformation in the interests of workers at the end of June in Berlin. There, more than 50,000 metalworkers demonstrated for social, ecological, and democratic change.
IG Metall’s organizational and human resources policies, as well as its work with specific target groups, continued to be successful in 2019. “We continue to see above-average membership growth among the strategically important groups of white-collar workers, women, and workers without German citizenship. In September, we welcomed our 60,000th student member—a record!” said Christiane Benner, Second Chair of IG Metall.
Support is also high because, in the age of digitalization, IG Metall represents all workers—from permanent employees at large corporations to workers at development service providers to solo self-employed individuals. “We need this strength to shape the transformation successfully and with the ability to stand up for our interests,” said Benner. Fair working conditions must prevail everywhere, and that includes the major internet platforms. “We will not tolerate a parallel labor market on the internet!” said Benner.
Financially, IG Metall stands on a stable foundation. Membership dues revenue is expected to rise to 598 million this year. In 2015, the year of the last union convention, the figure was 533 million. The cash reserves of the regional offices totaled 275 million euros last year; in 2015, they stood at 265 million euros. “We’ve managed our finances soundly; we’re in good shape financially. No dispute will fail because of a lack of funds,” Chief Treasurer Jürgen Kerner made clear .
“Transformation is not a linear process; rather, it is characterized by inequality and asynchrony across companies and industries,” Jürgen Kerner continued. “Digitalization is proceeding differently in the automotive industry than in the aviation industry. In the steel industry, we want to produce steel that is even more environmentally friendly. The rail industry must be developed into a leading industry in the transportation transition. These are challenges for which we must strengthen and sharpen our union’s sectoral policies.”
Wolfgang Lemb, executive board member of IG Metall, expects the federal government to pursue an active industrial policy and make significantly higher investments in the future. “We need clear prospects for workers in our industries.” This applies, for example, to the wind energy industry. Since 2017, approximately 35,000 jobs have been lost in this sector. “If the target of expanding renewable energy to 65 percent by 2030 is to be met, the cap on wind energy expansion must be lifted immediately.”
With the “New Regulatory Framework for the Skilled Trades,” which was presented this summer, IG Metall has shaped the debate on SME policy. This discussion paper provides arguments for collective bargaining coverage and co-determination in the skilled trades, as well as for dialogue between the social partners. “The guilds must once again fulfill more of their legal responsibilities as collective bargaining partners,” demanded Ralf Kutzner, executive board member of IG Metall.
Due to the ongoing transformation, the need for skilled workers will increase significantly in the coming years. IG Metall has responded to this and is further expanding its own educational initiatives. “We are strengthening our training for shop stewards and linking work and innovation through practical training programs; we are collaborating with learning factories, academia, and universities. In this way, we support change processes within companies,” said Irene Schulz, executive board member of IG Metall. Schulz also calls for a strengthening of political education. “The more sharply ecology and social security are pitted against one another, and the more frequently financial-market-driven corporate strategies and policy proposals produce the same winners and losers, the more radically political education must be elevated in society.” Political education creates spaces for forming opinions, debating values, and envisioning sustainable societies.
In recent years, IG Metall—together with the DGB—has succeeded in improving disability pensions, stabilizing the pension level through 2025, and introducing retirement at age 63 after 45 years of contributions. However, according to Hans-Jürgen Urban, executive board member of IG Metall, the next conflicts are already on the horizon. “IG Metall opposes any further raising of the retirement age. Even the retirement age of 67 was a dramatic mistake. We need better, flexible transitions to retirement, but well before the age of 67,” said Urban. IG Metall insists that the basic pension must also be introduced as a key measure against poverty in old age—without a means test. This would recognize the lifetime achievements of millions of workers.
Remarks on Jörg Hofmann’s Oral Annual Report
Speech on the Oral Annual Report by Christiane Benner
Speech on the Oral Annual Report by Jürgen Kerner
Speech on the Oral Annual Report by Wolfgang Lemb
Speech on the Oral Annual Report by Ralf Kutzner
Speech on the Oral Annual Report by Irene Schulz
Remarks on the Oral Annual Report by Hans-Jürgen Urban
