German union boss takes the helm: ‘not everything will stay the same’
Christiane Benner, the first female head of IG Metall, warns against the country’s ‘creeping deindustrialisation’
Christiane Benner was running to become chair of Europe’s largest union IG Metall this spring when she decided to embark on a bold experiment.
As the employee representative on the supervisory board of Continental, she was locked in tough negotiations over the German automotive supplier’s planned closure of a provincial brake parts factory that was putting 600 jobs at risk.
Instead of blocking the plans, Benner contacted an IG Metall colleague on the board of local heat pumpmaker Stiebel Eltron, which has since agreed to consider at least 300 Continental staff for roles at its own expanding plant, with Continental picking up the bill to retrain them.
“This was a new way, and it needed a lot of courage both from her side and our side,” said Continental’s head of human resources Ariane Reinhart, who believes the creative fix could serve as a blueprint as Germany is forced to “phase out some industries that are no longer competitive”.
Benner, who on Monday became the first female leader of IG Metall with 96.4 per cent of members’ votes, will need courage and creativity as she steps into one of German industry’s most powerful positions at a time when it faces a crisis of historic proportions.
Energy-intensive businesses including the steel companies whose workers IG Metall represents are still grappling with the loss of cheap Russian gas. Meanwhile, the country’s carmakers are negotiating the phaseout of the combustion engine — the pinnacle of German engineering — while demand in the world’s largest car market, China, slows and Chinese electric vehicle companies begin to push into Europe.
In her maiden speech as IG Metall chair this week Benner warned against the “creeping deindustrialisation” of Germany, saying that while “there are enough jobs in green industries . . . not everything will stay the same as it is today; jobs and companies are changing”.
One consultant who has met her described Benner as a “future-oriented progressive professional”, adding that she was “somehow likeable”. He did not believe that Benner would diverge from the well-trodden path of German unions that “obviously represent the workers but also understand they have responsibility for the long-term success of the company”.
Benner, a 55-year-old sociology graduate who now speaks for more than 2mn workers, moved beyond industrial relations in Tuesday’s speech. In a full-hearted defence of Germany’s system of industrial Mitbestimmung — or co-determination, which is what gives union representatives seats on corporate supervisory boards — she attacked the rise of Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland party.
“More democracy in the workplace leads to more democracy in our society. Those who experience democracy effectively in the company also have a more positive attitude towards democracy overall,” she said, as she argued that IG Metall’s job was to make Germans feel secure through their work.
Continental’s Reinhart agreed that Benner’s mission was important, saying “we need industry in Germany; it’s a base for social peace and democracy”. But she added that the balancing act would be difficult as the country’s industry fights to remain competitive, saying Benner “is in for a very challenging future — times are rough”.
Alongside her role at Continental, Benner has since 2014 held a seat on BMW’s supervisory board. She confirmed she would also join Volkswagen’s in line with IG Metall tradition, although no decision has been made on whether she will retain her existing supervisory board positions.
German companies have a two-tier leadership structure — the executive board is responsible for day-to-day management and strategy while the supervisory board oversees the hiring and firing of executives.
Daniel Friedrich, head of the north German regional office of IG Metall who has known Benner since they were both union youth representatives, described her as a “combative fighter . . . with a collaborative leadership style”.
Benner, who was born in the west German town of Aachen and raised by a single mother, will join Volkswagen at a time when it is still negotiating with its powerful works council over proposed job cuts that Europe’s largest car company has said will be necessary for the sake of competitiveness.
But Volkswagen is also a company that is making huge investments in new technologies, such as battery manufacturing — with Benner citing the enthusiasm of Daniela Cavallo, who has headed VW’s works council since last year.
“Anyone who simply destroys jobs instead of thinking about alternatives in a timely manner is driving people into a lack of prospects,” Benner said in the Frankfurt speech, in a nod to the high stakes at play in preserving German industry.
Reinhart, who said Continental had retrained 10,000 people for other careers in the past three years partly thanks to Benner, believes the “transformation of German industry is possible”. But she warned that the new union boss “needs partners like us”.