Germany: IG-Metall wants to “strike at” the renewable energy sector

Businesses locked on the issue of collective agreements.  The warning strikes organized these past few days by the 180 employees of Solibro, subsidiary of Q-Cells, one of the world leaders in the manufacture of photovoltaic panels, accomplished nothing.  The management is locked and doesn’t want to give in to the requests presented by the staff representatives and the IG-Metall.  The latter want the signatory of a collective agreement worthy of the name, i.e. like in the metal sector, bringing average hourly pay from about €8 gross to over €14.  “We’ve been bargaining for months.  But the management isn’t interested and wants to maintain the current status quo.  We’re going to have to consider heavier and longer action” Manfred Pettche, regional IG-Metall representative, told Planet Labor.  “Q-Cells, the parent company, employs 2,700 people and doesn’t answer to the IG-Metall but to the IG BCE, the chemistry union.  But this doesn’t change anything.  They’re not more interested and they still don’t have a collective agreement” he said.  Listed on the stock exchange in 1997, the value of Q-Cells’ shares rocketed and, for several years, the company gave its employees profit-sharing.  “As long as market prices were high, everyone was happy, the company was recruiting by the dozen and no one felt like a collective agreement was necessary” explained a Q-Cells engineer.  However, with increased competition from Asia and English-speaking countries, fewer silicon and therefore higher prices for raw materials, Q-Cells experienced problems in development and funding.  Things are back to normal now but the blessed times were a long time ago.  “Q-Cells’ isn’t an isolated example.  I don’t know a single company in the renewable energy sector that has fallen to co-management.  There’s work to do” Mr. Pettche deplored.