Major union leader urges German businesses to invest at home

The head of Germany’s powerful IG Metall trade union on Tuesday urged business leaders to stay and invest in the country.

“We experienced extremely golden years. Since the pandemic things have become more difficult,” Christiane Benner told Berlin region broadcaster RBB-Inforadio. “But we can do technology. We should invest in the future,” she said.

Benner said the government was trying to create the right conditions. “And so we expect from businesses that they take it on and stay here,” she said.

The head of Germany’s largest trade union, which is focused on heavy industry and the automotive sector, said it was important to emphasize Germany’s strengths and opportunities as a base for industry, particularly its workers.

Benner said she was seeing despondency among business leaders where she wished for greater optimism. She pointed to aviation, the armaments sector and medical technology as sectors that were currently doing well.

She called for an end to the debate about longer working days and complaints that workers were lazy. “What we expect is that employers and politicians stop this debate about people being too sick, too lazy, because some workers are really nervous about their future,” Benner said.

“We as IG Metall will not allow these people to be abused. These are debates that do not take us any further,” she said.