News International

In 2012, an International Framework Agreement (IFA) has been signed for Siemens by the management and the unions on a global level. In our Interview, Uday Mahale, General Secretary of the Siemens Workers’ Union in India, explains what this means for his union.

Mariella Glas (21) ist gelernte Kauffrau für Bürokommunikation. Sie arbeitet als Teamassistentin am Siemens Standort Renningen. Sie ist Mitglied der JAV der Siemens Niederlassung Stuttgart - und seit Ende Juni Vorsitzende der Gesamtjugend- und Auszubildenden-Vertretung.

Two years ago, IG Metall, General Works Council and IndustriAll signed an International Framework Agreement (IFA) with Siemens. It defines worldwide guidelines for the relations between national management and employees representation. First cases prove that the IFA works - for example in the USA.

On August 19th./20th., union representatives from Siemens at Czech Republic, Hungary and Germany met at Humpolec in Czech Republic for a two-day-meeting. The meeting was supported by the Friedrich Ebert foundation (Friedrich Ebert-Stiftung / FES).

Large multinationals present a difficult challenge to facilities facing competitive pressures from brother and sister plants across the globe. What if unions organized to make multinational corporations more responsive to the needs of their workers and keep competition between their units fair?

One year ago, in April 2013, 18 union chairmen from Siemens facilities all over China met with representatives of the Siemens Works Council from Germany and of the German union IG Metall at Shanghai. The meeting was held in accordance with the International Framework Agreement, which has been signed at Siemens in 2012.

There are more than 50.000 employees at Siemens in the US in all sectors. At several locations there is a union representation. While the US legislation makes it hard for the unions to achieve new collective agreements, the union representations at Siemens, which in some cases have a long-time tradition, work very well.

At the invitation of Fritz Hagl, chairman of the Austrian central works council, SEC Chairman Harald Kern and Jürgen Kerner, CFO of the IG MEtall, visited Siemens in Vienna early this month. The two-day visit was an excellent opportunity for discussions and mutual exchange of experience.

For the first time ever, Siemens Italy has terminated a union agreement, whose rules and financial contents applied to at least half of the workers employed by Siemens in Italy. Employee representatives and unions report an increasingly important struggle:

At the end of November, employee representatives will meet the CEO of Siemens Italy. On this occasion, they draw the attention of the whole management to the current situation.