Engineering in IG Metall What does IG Metall offer engineers?

What do engineers get out of IG Metall?

• Engineers benefit from IG Metall’s collective bargaining agreements because they apply to them as well. In companies that pay according to collective bargaining agreements, engineers earn nearly 22 percent more than in companies not bound by such agreements. This is the finding of the Hans Böckler Foundation’s “LohnSpiegel” research project.
• Even if a collective bargaining agreement doesn’t apply at a particular company, IG Metall’s collective bargaining agreements have an impact far beyond their scope. They set standards against which other companies must measure themselves.
• IG Metall’s collective bargaining policy is not limited to income issues. IG Metall’s collective bargaining agreements include provisions on parental leave, partial retirement, training, lifetime work time accounts, and permanent employment following an apprenticeship.
• IG Metall’s innovation networks help preserve skilled jobs. Examples: arbeit-durch-innovation.de, kompetenz-innovation.de.
• IG Metall is committed to the future and the quality of research and development. Works council members from major development centers in Germany share their experiences and discuss the latest developments in IG Metall’s Research and Development Working Group.
• On supervisory boards, IG Metall representatives advocate for companies to operate sustainably and not merely serve the short-term interests of shareholders. When companies neglect their capacity for innovation, jobs are at risk. That is why IG Metall prioritizes innovation capacity to secure business locations and ensure job security. For IG Metall, however, a company’s well-being also lies in the well-being of its employees—job security, a positive work environment, and the capacity for innovation. This is precisely what IG Metall advocates for on supervisory boards.
• IG Metall is a vast network—including one for highly qualified professionals. At over 160 local offices, our members can, for example, learn about potential employers and connect with other members.

As an employee, what do I have to do with a labor union like IG Metall?

• IG Metall has its roots in the labor movement—and is proud of that heritage. However, there are now many white-collar workers, college graduates, and engineers in IG Metall: among the members, as full-time and volunteer activists, and also in positions of high responsibility. IG Metall is a successful multi-sector union that represents the interests of people in a wide variety of professions and occupations.
• IG Metall members decide on collective bargaining demands. The collective bargaining round begins with a discussion of demands within the workplaces. Employees have many opportunities to influence IG Metall’s collective bargaining policy . The requirement: You must be a member and participate in IG Metall’s democratic processes.

Why do I need IG Metall if I have a good works council at my company?

• IG Metall trains and advises works councils. It establishes works council networks for specific industries and regions. These networks have proven their worth in the past: For example, when a company tries to pit one location against another, works councils are often at a disadvantage without an inter-company exchange of experience and information and without IG Metall’s expertise.
• Within IG Metall’s organizational area, 73 percent of works council members are organized through IG Metall.

I’m an employee not covered by a collective bargaining agreement (AT)—or I want to be. How do IG Metall’s collective bargaining agreements benefit me?

• The fact that the income and working conditions of employees whose compensation is not governed by a collective bargaining agreement
  The claim that the income and working conditions of employees whose compensation is not governed by a collective bargaining agreement—because their duties are classified higher than those in the top pay grade—are based solely on their employment contract is only half the truth. In fact, AT employees also benefit from IG Metall’s collective bargaining agreements.
  This follows directly from the definition: an AT employee can only be someone whose salary and working conditions are more favorable than those stipulated in the collective bargaining agreement. This establishes a minimum threshold for an AT employment contract. This minimum threshold inevitably rises with every wage increase and every improvement in the working conditions set by the collective bargaining agreement.

I already benefit from IG Metall’s collective bargaining agreements. Why should I join?

• If a company “voluntarily” pays all employees according to the collective bargaining agreement, it’s likely also to prevent everyone from joining the union. However, if too many people choose not to join, IG Metall loses a strong argument: its ability to speak on behalf of a large portion of the workforce.
• Good collective bargaining agreements can only be reached if IG Metall can exert enoug : Only unions with a strong membership base are taken seriously by employers.
• There’s also a legal aspect to consider: IG Metall’s collective bargaining agreements apply to the parties between whom they were concluded—namely, the companies organized within the employers’ association (or those that negotiate agreements on their own) and the members of IG Metall.