At the end of November, workers at the 9 undertakings of the biggest wind turbine maker in Germany, Enercon, elected, for the first time ever, a works council. The election – launched in September with the support of the IG-Metall union, was characterized by a high turnout. About 75 percent of the approximately 2,200 employees concerned took part in the vote and elected 77 representatives. More than half of these representatives come from an IG-Metall list. This is a big step for the metalworkers’ union as Enercon, in spite of its size, mostly remained a “white area” in terms of union presence. This election was also termed a “great success for the entire sector” by the WCs of rival firms – Vestas Deutschland and Repower, respectively number 2 and 3 of the wind industry in Germany. (Ref. 130772)
Low union presence. Founded in 1984, Enercon, whose headquarters are in Aurich, Lower Saxony, is now one of the world leaders in the wind industry and the largest windmill maker in Germany. However, the company, which employs about 11,000 employees in Germany in a large number of subsidiaries, barely had any union presence so far. “Some Enercon subsidiaries already have a WC but they are exceptions,” Heiko Messerschmidt, spokesperson for IG-Metall Küste (the section in charge of northern Ger
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