Carina Frey, 19, youth representative at Kolbenschmidt in Leer-Papenburg. Carina is training to be an industrial mechanic and is a member of the local youth committee and the collective bargaining committee of the IG Metall “Küste” district for the metal and electrical industries:
“It’s especially important for young people to know what the future holds for our working hours. We’re just starting out in our working lives. We still have the chance to make a difference, and we need to make a difference. Our company is relatively small, with about 400 employees. We have an older workforce, and many work shifts. We younger employees see firsthand how our older colleagues struggle with shift work. After a week of night shifts, they’re completely wiped out—you can just tell by looking at them. That’s why we’re also discussing among the apprentices what kind of work schedules we need to make things better for everyone. As IG Metall Youth, we also want to ensure that apprentices get a paid day off the day before their final exams. All of us apprentices are behind this. My class is currently facing our final exams. We know what that means.”
Mario Gutmann, 50, industrial mechanic, with Bosch in Bamberg for 35 years, works council member since 1990, works council chair since 2016:
“The entire automotive industry—and with it Bosch, as the largest automotive supplier—is facing changes unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. It’s the transformation from internal combustion engines to electrification, all accompanied by digitalization and the challenges of Industry 4.0. This transformation is proceeding at a tremendous pace, and there’s a danger that people will get left behind. Continuous upskilling in the new work environment is becoming increasingly important. We need a fair, well-founded, and justifiable wage demand in this round of collective bargaining. That is important. Furthermore, it is important to us that we successfully address the issue of working hours. In times of advancing digitalization, job security and predictable working hours are becoming increasingly important.”
Robert Döring, 37, industrial mechanic, deputy works council chair, and employee representative at BMW in Leipzig:
“Shift work has become more stressful. This is often due to the constant demand for flexibility, especially when it comes to individual changes in working hours. But working on Saturdays or special shifts also take a toll on employees. Over 7,000 people currently work at the BMW plant in Leipzig. There’s a lot of work, which is a good thing. Colleagues complain that they no longer have time for themselves, their families, and friends on the weekends. That takes a toll on their mental health. The monotonous production work wears them down. We’re hearing from the office staff that the workload is increasing. We urgently need a solution for how to ease the burden on shift workers and assess employee performance. By that, I don’t just mean ergonomic measures. We also need to talk about working hours: for example, shortening the workday would reduce the need for compensatory shifts. That would allow for new shift cycles and ease the burden on our colleagues. That would be good for everyone.”
Leander Hobusch, 23, chemical laboratory technician, youth representative and shop steward at Sartorius in Göttingen, member of the Lower Saxony Metalworkers’ Collective Bargaining Committee:
“I’ve been a member of the collective bargaining committee since the end of last year. For us young employees, the top priority in the upcoming collective bargaining round is the demand for time off before exams. The young people are fully behind this. The goal is for trainees to get one day off before their oral, written, and practical exams. This also applies to midterm and final exams. In total, this means four to six days off before the exams. Having a one-day buffer in each case is important so that trainees can calmly review what they’ve learned and go into the exam with full concentration. We have the full support of the more experienced members of the bargaining committee and also from the district director on this issue. There is also a strong willingness to take to the streets regarding the wage demand.”
Frank Sell, 41, industrial mechanic and works council chair at Bosch in Stuttgart-Feuerbach, member of the Baden-Württemberg Metalworkers’ Collective Bargaining Committee:
“Business is booming, despite the diesel crisis. The numbers look great. It looks like we’re heading for a record result. We’ve got our hands full. For many employees, it’s even too much. Most would like to work slightly fewer hours. That’s what the IG Metall employee survey revealed at our company. At least the works council has already made a lot of arrangements. Employees can work remotely and have a say in their work schedules. That’s a blessing for balancing family and work. I have two children myself, ages one and three. My wife is a teacher and has no flexibility in her work schedule. I, on the other hand, can take care of the children during the day and work from home in the evenings. However, this flexibility in working hours applies only in the offices. Production workers are trapped in a shift schedule and have no freedom of choice, even though they face particularly high stress. We still need to make progress here—ideally through a collective bargaining agreement. That provides greater legal certainty and applies to all companies.”
Thomas Rösner, 57, a graduate engineer in automotive engineering and works council chair at Hanon Systems in Kerpen, member of the NRW collective bargaining committee:
“As a member of the collective bargaining committee, I’ve already participated in three rounds of negotiations. At first, you just sit there and keep quiet. Over time, you become bolder about speaking your mind and stepping in to correct things. I’m one of 192 members and represent the Cologne-Leverkusen office. We meet every few months. We meet for three to four hours, and as collective bargaining rounds approach, we meet more frequently—about every six weeks. I see myself as a mediator between the bargaining committee, the company, and my local office. So far, the overall mood has been positive. We’re confident we can advocate for our demand for a 6 percent pay increase; after all, the company is desperately looking for engineers. There is a willingness to participate in the warning strikes. In the discussion on working hours, the demand for a 28-hour reduced full-time workweek is also well received by our colleagues. However, we have already introduced similar arrangements at the plant through a works agreement. Through the collective bargaining committee, I get a much better overview. The exchange with colleagues on the ground is very good.”
Dieter Seidel, 61, toolmaker, works council chair, Daimler plant in Kassel, member of the Metalworkers’ Collective Bargaining Committee in Hesse:
“I’ve been with the company for 46 years and have seen how the world of work has changed. Especially in the last ten years, productivity targets have been driven up. Above all, the strain on shift workers has increased dramatically. Three-shift operations have been greatly expanded, and working on weekends has almost become the norm. One in five production workers at the Daimler plant in Kassel works 20 or 21 shifts, including weekends. While time off in lieu is provided promptly, evenings and weekends with family and friends fall by the wayside. As works council members, we’ve had to allow this. If you don’t deliver the required profitability within the corporate group, your location is quickly sidelined. That’s why we agreed to such shift models. The discussion about reduced full-time work is therefore very timely. Shift workers simply need time to recharge their batteries. If we can regulate this through a collective bargaining agreement, it would apply to everyone and reduce competition between locations and employees.”
