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From George Moeritz
Dresden. These are completely new advertising arguments in the search for skilled workers in Saxony: "in-house collective agreement, career levels for every job, pay grade" - such terms can now be found in job advertisements at one of Saxony's largest factories. The microchip factory of the Globalfoundries group with more than 3,000 employees in Dresden is advertising its collective agreement. Head of HR Steffi Schneider says: "For us, collective bargaining is a competitive advantage." This is particularly useful for advertising vacancies in technology.
The competitive advantage does indeed exist: neighboring Infineon does not have a collective agreement for the Dresden site, nor does the newest chip factory in Saxony, which was opened by the electronics group Bosch three years ago. At the same time Infineon is currently expanding and pushing ahead with 1,000 additional jobs. in first place among the factories in Dresden and East Saxony.
Globalfoundries is now only in second place in terms of the number of employees, but HR manager Schneider says that the chip industry in Dresden will grow strongly overall in the coming years. This will make it all the more important for Globalfoundries to score points with collective wage agreements and "good work". The job offer also includes a gym, family-friendly part-time models - and the fact that everyone in the company is on first-name terms, following the American model. Including the managing director with a doctorate.
DGB board praises Globalfoundries for social partnership
It was only a few years ago that Globalfoundries tried to prevent collective agreements with all its might. The company management in the USA rejected collective bargaining with trade unions on principle. The Dresden plant managers did not stay long; two managing directors moved from Globalfoundries Dresden to Infineon Dresden. During a warning strike in Dresden, the managers offered strikebreaker bonuses to employees who came to work despite the strike.
The chemical union IG BCE persisted and distributed leaflets outside the factory gates. In the meantime, Globalfoundries has almost become a model company. Stefan Körzell, board member of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), visited the management and works council in Dresden last week and was very satisfied afterwards: he had the feeling that "social partnership is now being lived in the chip plant", Körzell told sächsische.de
The collective agreement has given some employees up to 800 euros more gross per month, said the DGB Vice President. Körzell emphasized that a collective agreement also creates industrial peace. Employees could check whether they were correctly grouped and there was transparency. The HR manager would not have to talk to each individual about their salary.
The next negotiations on the collective wage agreement, i.e. an increase in salaries in the tables, are due to take place at Globalfoundries in the fall. These are divided into pay groups, depending on the knowledge and skills of the employees. There are also six levels at Globalfoundries: Every two years there is a salary increase due to longer service with the company, and the highest level is reached after ten years.
According to the collective agreement, 36.1 hours of work per week in future
Two examples: According to the table, a technical or commercial employee with three years of training and four years of service at Globalfoundries in pay group T2 is entitled to around 3345 euros per month. A master craftsman or state-certified technician will receive a monthly salary of around 4,795 euros after ten years in pay group T4. The salary is paid 13 times a year, and bonuses for Sundays, for example, are also regulated. According to the works council, salaries were increased by three percent this year. However, the contract only applies to around half of the workforce and does not include salaries for engineers.
Deputy Works Council Chairman Michael Nadollek told sächsische.de that the agreement had taken the idea of equal pay for equal work a big step forward. Previously, there had been major differences. Rules on bonuses have been secured with the collective agreement, working hours will gradually fall to 36.1 hours per week next year, compared to 36.25 hours this year. The "transparent pay system" allows skilled workers to develop their pay and thus offers appreciation for their increased experience, said Nadollek, who is also an IG BCE shop steward at the company.
IG Metall Saxony wants chip tariff with employers' association
In the much smaller Dresden chip factory of the Group X-Fab with around 550 employees, a collective agreement had already been signed in April 2021. came into force. At Globalfoundries Dresden, a framework agreement has been in force since the beginning of 2023, and the collective wage agreement since April 2023. According to trade unionist Körzell, he expects that "sooner or later the realization will also prevail in the neighboring factories, at Infineon, Bosch and factories that are still to come". With a Campaign called #Tarifwende the DGB is campaigning for more collective agreements and is calling on employees to network and set up more works councils.
While the chemical union IG BCE is responsible for Globalfoundries and X-Fab, IG Metall looks after Bosch and Infineon - by tradition, because Infineon used to be the semiconductor division of the electronics group Siemens. IG Metall has now raised new hopes of introducing collectively agreed salaries in these Dresden companies too. It does not want to negotiate individually with the managers of Infineon and Bosch, but with their employers' association, the Association of the Saxon Metal and Electrical Industry (VSME). This association has departments for companies that are bound by collective agreements and those that are not.
Protest at Bosch Dresden with colored cardboard
Dirk Schulze, the IG Metall district manager for Saxony, Berlin and Brandenburg, has agreed "exploratory talks" with VSME Dresden. Schulze said a few days ago that he was pleased with the employers' association's willingness to start preparations for a collective agreement with IG Metall. "The common will is there, which is a good sign for the employees in the semiconductor plants."
IG Metall's aim is "to achieve good working conditions in this booming sector too and to ensure that people have their share of this economic success". There has already been a public protest at Bosch Dresden against unequal treatment within the Group, employees took to the streets in front of the company with colored cardboard.
Schulze also mentioned the forthcoming construction of the ESMC European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company microchip factory with main investor TSMC from Taiwan. However the IG BCE has already announced that it will claim responsibility for this factory - and also for Intel in Magdeburg. Körzell said that it had always been possible to reach agreement within the "trade union family". Both industrial unions belong to the DGB.
DGB: Billion-euro subsidy only for companies with collective wage agreements
Körzell pointed out that the planned new buildings of ESMC and Intel are being funded by the federal government to the tune of billions, on the basis of the European Chip Act. During his visit, Globalfoundries confirmed that it also had expansion plans and wanted to benefit from subsidies. The DGB wants the state to attach conditions to its subsidies for factories, including collective bargaining and co-determination. "We want companies that receive public funding to take responsibility as social partners and pay collectively agreed wages," said the DGB board member. This could be regulated at federal level. In the USA, TSMC also receives subsidies from the state for new buildings, and there are also higher subsidies for companies that allow trade unions and offer apprenticeships, for example.
Körzell once again called on the federal government to push ahead with the Collective Bargaining Act as quickly as possible. The coalition agreement provides for a procurement law, similar to the Saxon coalition agreement. This is intended to ensure that companies are only awarded public contracts if, for example, they work under collective bargaining conditions. There is no agreement in the coalition government in Saxony, the public procurement law will not be passed before the state elections on September 1. "We very much regret that," said Körzell. With the exception of Saxony and Bavaria, every state has such a law. The realization that such rules are not a locational disadvantage must still prevail. The DGB hopes that the federal law on collective bargaining will be implemented with verve after the summer break.
The "collective bargaining flight" is costing Saxony a lot of money, said Körzell. According to DGB calculations, employees in Saxony would have 4.6 billion euros more purchasing power with collective agreements, the social security funds would receive 3.3 billion euros more per year and the state would receive 1.9 billion euros more in taxes. At a federal level, the total would be more than 130 billion euros.
