German Union Claims 74% of Works Council Seats, Secures 2.3% Pay Rise for Auto Workers
19.06.2026 - 16:08:05 | boerse-global.de
Fresh from a strong showing in spring 2026 works council elections, IG Metall has cemented its position as the dominant voice for shop-floor representation across Bavaria and beyond. Based on roughly 70 percent of results tallied so far, the metalworkers’ union now holds 74 percent of all works council mandates in the region—an increase of four percentage points compared to 2022. Among works council chairs, the share is even higher, reaching 87 percent. District leader Horst Ott described the outcome as robust given the difficult economic backdrop. Far-right slates, he noted, were virtually irrelevant in the ballot.
Not far from the negotiating table, the union also notched a concrete win for wage earners. IG Metall’s central district has reached an agreement with Hesse’s motor-vehicle trade association covering around 30,000 employees. The deal delivers a 2.3 percent increase starting in July 2026, with a further 3.3 percent due in August of the same year. Workers can also choose to convert part of their pay into up to five extra days off—a flexibility clause the union says responds to the growing demand for better work-life balance.
But the broader industrial landscape remains precarious. Volker Schmidt, managing director of the employers’ association NiedersachsenMetall, issued a warning on Friday about creeping deindustrialization. Manufacturing employment across Germany fell to 6.6 million in 2025—the lowest figure in a decade. Schmidt called for competitive energy prices and a reduction in bureaucracy. The pressure is already translating into job cuts: Ford plans to eliminate roughly 3,500 positions at its Cologne site, spanning production, development, and administration, citing persistently weak demand for electric vehicles.
IG Metall is not simply defending existing jobs—it’s also trying to create new ones. In Kaiserslautern, a specialized think tank was commissioned in early June to search for investors after a planned battery-cell factory was halted. The union, together with the local works council, is accompanying the process, aiming to keep the site’s infrastructure and skilled workforce in play for future manufacturing in mobility, energy, or digitalisation.
At the local level, IG Metall Erlangen is strengthening its own leadership. Lea Zinser was elected as the new second authorized representative with over 91 percent of the delegate vote. She will run the office jointly with first authorized representative Nick Heindl. The appointment comes during a growth phase for the union in the region: several new works council bodies have been established in recent months, particularly at Siemens plants. Zinser said after her election that she wants to build a strong, visible union focused on codetermination, social security, and good work.
