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The second lockdown got the chairman of IG Metall into trouble with his private Christmas planning.
Somehow he has to organize the celebration with his blended family in Berlin, says Jörg Hofmann in a video interview shortly before the holidays.
He calls for additional support for the employees.
In the current collective bargaining round in the metal and electrical industry, some employers are still “in the mob stage”.
WORLD:
Mr. Hofmann, Germany is in a tough lockdown again.
How much does this affect the industry?
Jörg Hofmann:
There are currently again instabilities in the supply chains.
Some automotive suppliers are so badly affected by Corona cases that they had to stop production.
This leads to chain reactions right up to Volkswagen, where short-time work was registered again in Wolfsburg.
It is also unclear whether the companies will be able to restart without any problems after the Christmas holidays.
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WORLD:
If the lockdown continues, it will be tough for employees with children.
Hofmann:
If daycare centers and schools are closed longer in January, we need real special leave for parents.
It shouldn't make a difference whether someone is in the home office or going to work.
Who works, works, who supervises, supervises.
I expect the government to find workable solutions.
What is now available is completely inadequate.
WORLD:
Despite the pandemic, you are currently demanding four percent more money and a four-day week with partial wages for employees in the metal and electrical industry.
Doesn't that overload the company?
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Hofmann:
We see the volume of four percent as affordable.
Our formula is: Where things are going well, wages are raised so that purchasing power is maintained.
And when it comes to safeguarding employment through reduced working hours, which initially means lower wage costs for employers, we stabilize wages.
Private consumption is an important growth factor for our economy on the way out of the crisis.
That is why I consider income security to be necessary.
Incidentally, the total amount of remuneration that is paid out in the entire metal and electrical industry is 220 billion euros per year.
So one percent is 2.2 billion.
This year, companies in the sector that are subject to disclosure were in a position to pay out a total dividend of over 10 billion to their shareholders.
In this respect, there is room for maneuver and it is a matter of setting the right priorities.
WORLD:
For companies this means rising costs, employers threaten to emigrate abroad.
The Federal Republic is at the point like at the beginning of the 2000s, when Germany was considered the sick man of Europe.
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Hofmann:
I find it extremely dangerous and irresponsible to use such distorted images just because the collective bargaining round is currently in progress.
Germany, especially the metal and electrical industry, is highly productive and world market leader in many areas.
Of course we have to fight for this leadership role.
The problem is that there are too many companies that haven't heard the bang.
In our last survey, in which a quarter of a million employees took part, more than half said that they cannot tell whether their employer has any strategy to cope with the transformation.
The unions need mild tutoring.
WORLD:
What do you think of giving companies more options to deviate from the area-wide collective bargaining agreement, for example through an automatic mechanism?
Hofmann:
I always have to smile about this topic.
I've been on supervisory boards for many years and no longer believe in key figures.
Automatic deviations do not work.
But when employers disclose their books and we can understand whether the problems are really existential, we are ready to talk.
This regulation already exists with the Pforzheim Agreement.
IG Metall has always agreed to deviations within this framework if this has secured employment.
WORLD:
Will there be strikes?
Hofmann:
At the moment, the tone on the employer side is very different depending on the region.
Some are still in the rabble stage, the majority are already more constructive.
We'll have to wait and see how that turns out.
WORLD:
At companies like Daimler, Conti and MAN there is already a dispute between employees and employers.
Has the potential for conflict increased?
Hofmann:
Yes, because we are now entering a phase in which it is becoming apparent that the pre-crisis level will not be reached again anytime soon.
The companies use this time to reposition themselves globally, partly at the expense of the employees.
Some think they should move to low-wage locations.
We strongly doubt that this is sustainable.
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WORLD:
The crisis hits automotive suppliers particularly hard.
How many jobs are there at risk?
Hofmann:
On balance, we consider well over 100,000 jobs to be at risk here.
In addition: With the change to electrified vehicles, the supply and value chains are changing.
The automakers will draw value again.
Volkswagen and other manufacturers are adding parts to their portfolio that were previously made by suppliers.
That makes the employment problem for the manufacturer smaller, but greater for the suppliers.
WORLD:
Does the EU's Green Deal make the situation worse?
Hofmann:
I wouldn't describe ambitious climate targets as “bad”.
The challenges for companies are growing, but it is doable.
This requires the implementation of the climate specifications through a regulation that always has social and ecological issues in mind.
WORLD:
Are the subsidies for the auto industry enough?
Hofmann:
At the last auto summit, a lot of sensible things came across for the promotion of e-mobility and endangered regional supplier clusters.
Now we have to get the funding programs on the road.
We will insist that the finance minister not only put the money in the shop window and then be happy that nobody calls it up.
Real politics must be made out of this, with the companies at the table.
WORLD:
Tesla founder Elon Musk, who is currently building his factory near Berlin, does not want to sit down with you at the table.
He is also not interested in collective agreements.
How will IG Metall deal with it?
Hofmann:
At Tesla we will try to organize the workforce and set up a works council.
When dealing with colorful characters like Musk, the issues are often ideologically charged.
But let's have it produced first, then IG Metall will be there.
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WORLD:
The employees may not even want your help.
Hofmann:
First of all, Elon Musk depends on being able to recruit enough employees.
I am pleased that there are jobs in Grünheide.
Today we read how Musk treats his employees in the USA.
He is currently sending them on short-time work, without any compensation.
In Germany, employees can benefit from the fact that IG Metall is highly organized in the relevant sectors.
I can only say: Welcome to the land of co-determination and collective agreements!
WORLD:
Is Tesla the other extreme compared to Volkswagen with its strong co-determination?
Hofmann:
At Volkswagen we also have a CEO who would occasionally like to be a little Elon Musk.
(laughs)
Seriously: Despite the billions in fines from the diesel scandal, the company has the strength today to secure future employment with the electrification strategy supported by the board of directors and co-determination.
VW is the long-term, more successful counter-model, I'm sure of that.
WELT:
What would change for you if a black-green federal government came to power in the coming year?
Hofmann:
Of course we have better access to a government with SPD participation.
Nevertheless, we are in close contact with all democratic parties, including the CDU / CSU and the Greens.
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WELT:
Wouldn't a green federal government significantly increase the pressure to transform the automotive industry and small suppliers?
Hofmann:
I think the Greens have become more sensitive to this leading industry.
They would have to prove here that they are better advancing the energy transition and the expansion of the charging infrastructure.
If you look at state governments with green participation, this cannot be taken for granted.
WORLD:
What if it doesn't get better?
Hofmann:
Then you walk into a tunnel.
We have to accelerate the expansion of the charging infrastructure with green electricity, otherwise the climate policy objectives will no longer apply.
Customers' interest in buying will fall when they see the first lines in front of the fast charging station.
WORLD:
Do you see the need to align more closely with employers in order to influence politics?
Hofmann:
We coordinate with the industry associations, be it steel, be it cars or something else.
But our problem is the separation between collective bargaining and industry association.
We cannot talk about all topics with the same interlocutor.
WORLD:
In a Fraunhofer study, the researchers propose two agencies to support the transformation.
Do you think this semi-public authority is needed?
Hofmann:
I don't know whether you still need an authority.
But we have to clarify in the regions how the companies and workforces get on the path of transformation.
We need a proactive industrial policy - and Germany has little experience with that.
So far we have known exit or disruptive disappearance, we don't want either.
That's why we have to act quickly, the time bomb is ticking.
WORLD:
How big is the chance that Germany will remain an industrialized country and that industries like steel will have a future here?
Hofmann:
We have to make a societal decision: Do we want environmentally harmful steel to be pushed into the EU at dumping prices from countries like China or Ukraine?
Or can we prove that ecological and social standards can be economically combined?
Climate protection is not a growth killer.
If we broadcast this signal to the world, it will create market opportunities for Germany.