New establishments in the semiconductor industry: IGM wants collective agreements

The IG Metall trade union wants to enforce collective agreements in new establishments in the semiconductor industry. It is important to transfer the positive experiences with collective bargaining, for example at Infineon, said IG Metall boss Christiane Benner at a trade union conference in Dresden on Wednesday. "Of course, the whole issue is now gaining momentum due to the new semiconductor plants that we have here in Dresden, among other places." These are absolutely crucial for industrial value creation in Germany and Europe. In view of the shortage of skilled workers, it is also important to create attractive working conditions with collective agreements.

Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) sees the collective bargaining partnership between trade unions and companies as a major advantage. He said that trade unions play a major role in ensuring that conflicts do not escalate to the last minute, but that peace and a common path can be found through compromise. "I think that in the microelectronics ecosystem, you can see that in the end, the correctness of collective agreements has prevailed." Stefan Ehly, first authorized representative of IG Metall Dresden and Riesa, emphasized that it was not only about the semiconductor industry itself, but also about the suppliers.

With the "Silicon Saxony" network, the Free State is Europe's largest microelectronics location, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Every third chip produced in the EU comes from Saxony. Around 3650 companies, including Infineon and Globalfoundries, employ 76,000 people. According to "Silicon Saxony", 20,000 new jobs are to be created in the Dresden region by 2030, including at the Taiwanese semiconductor company TSMC, which plans to produce in the state capital from 2027.