2023-10-24 16:24:00
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also spoke out in favor of more co-determination in companies at the IG Metall union conference.
Photo: dpa/Arne Dedert
On Tuesday, the newly elected chairwoman of IG Metall, Christiane Benner, demanded in her keynote speech at the union conference that the ecological transformation of the industry should not be enforced beyond the employees. Rather, it must be made democratic, she emphasized, especially against the background of a growing extreme right. “Those who experience democracy effectively in the company also have a more positive attitude towards democracy overall,” emphasized Benner.
The problem is pressing because the unions are also under pressure from the right. In the federal election in 2021, around twelve percent of union members voted for the AfD, almost two percentage points more than the rest of the population. And in the Bavarian state elections in October, 18 percent voted for the ethnic party. There were many men in particular who voted ethnically: While 13 percent of organized women workers voted for the AfD, the number among workers was 26 percent. The party is also trying to gain a foothold among employees in the automotive industry through the Automobile Center association.
To counteract this, Benner is calling for better protection for works council formations and elections. In addition, against the background of impending upheavals in the industrial sector, there should be more co-determination for employees in strategic decisions by companies and companies. “We want to empower people in the truest sense of the word so that they get into a situation where they can improve their conditions through their actions,” she said in an interview with “nd”. Authoritarian slogans would lose their appeal.
This assessment is also supported by the results of authoritarianism research, says Johannes Kiess in an interview with “nd”. The social scientist is deputy director of the Leipzig Else Frenkel Brunswik Institute and researches authoritarian attitudes in society. “Those who have democratic experiences in the world of work are less likely to be right-wing extremists,” is how he summarizes the results of the current Leipzig authoritarianism studies. In regular representative surveys, researchers examine the causes and connections for right-wing extremist attitudes in the population.
“People who have a say in the company and are also active in the larger social sphere are less authoritarian,” explains Kiess. Like local politics, the company could also be seen as a school of democracy, he emphasizes: “Problems that directly affect me play a role here.” Defending yourself locally against unreasonable demands and helping to shape living conditions has a democratic effect. This requires solidarity and shared experiences. “They can help ensure that democratic participation becomes a form of ability to act,” emphasizes the social scientist.
But co-determination alone is not enough, says Anton Richter (pseudonym, name known to the editors) in an interview with “nd”. He has been active in the union for over a decade and is committed to more conflict orientation. He is interested in a tangible democratic experience. And co-determination always means proxy politics, he says. “Just because there is a works council doesn’t mean that the employees are democratically involved in the decisions,” he criticizes. He also complains that the legal extensions to co-determination demanded by the union leadership will come to nothing.
In his view, the union needs to be strengthened at the grassroots level. As a positive example, he points to the 24-hour strikes that IG Metall carried out in the penultimate round of collective bargaining. The employees got moving without having to organize a large-scale strike. “They left an impression on people,” emphasizes Richter. Also because many people went on strike for the first time. This shows that there is a need for conflict-oriented work.
To do this, organizing concepts would have to be expanded. This is an approach in which workers on site in the company are actively involved in conflicts and union decision-making. But there are currently problems with the traditional deputy structures. “When we do the basic work in the company, we talk to people and emphasize: It depends on you,” explains the organizer. »But as soon as the deputies take over the negotiations, we get into trouble. It actually contradicts what you just said.”
Employees would be disappointed by traditional forms of co-determination. Rights could use this to create sentiment against the union. There was also a lack of structures and financial resources to resolve the conflicts at the grassroots level. The large companies in the steel and automotive sectors are well positioned. “But beyond that it looks poor.” This also means that the base is no longer a firewall against the right. “The board doesn’t talk about that,” criticizes Richter.
An application from metal workers from Chemnitz also calls for making democratic participation a real experience. In their view, beyond co-determination, there is a need for the implementation of economic democracy and the socialization of the means of production. The first step is to support the establishment of housing and production cooperatives or the takeover of production by the workforce.
The debate about democracy under capitalism seems to be gaining momentum again, also in order to counter the extreme right. But time is running out, as the latest election results show.
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