The Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB)
The Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) is the umbrella organisation for trade unions in Germany. It consists of eight member unions:
- IG Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt (Construction, Agriculture, Environment)
- IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie (Mining, Chemicals, Energy)
- Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft (Education and Science)
- IG Metall (Metalworkers)
- Gewerkschaft Nahrung-Genuss-Gaststätten (Food, Beverages, Catering)
- Gewerkschaft der Polizei (Police)
- TRANSNET (Transnet Railway Workers)
- ver.di - Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (United Services)
1) Structure
The DGB has a democratic, bottom-up structure. Union delegates at each level elect committees for 9 districts, 88 regions and the federal board.
Every four years, 400 delegates representing all the affiliated trade unions meet for the Federal DGB Congress. They take strategic decisions for the following years and elect five people to their Federal Executive. Currently, the Federal Executive Board consists of Michael Sommer (President), Ingrid Sehrbrock (Vice President), Annelie Buntenbach, Dietmar Hexel and Claus Matecki. These five full-timers and the presidents of the 8 member unions constitute the DGB's Federal Board
Between Federal Congresses, the Federal Council makes decisions on matters of nation-wide significance once a year. It consists of 70 delegates from the unions, all members of the Federal Board and chairpersons from the DGB-Districts.
2) Tasks
The DGB stands for a social solidarity. Work and income have to be distributed fairly and people must receive equal chances independent of their origin, skin colour or gender. The DGB offers trendsetting concepts for a social market economy tailored to suit changed social frameworks.
The DGB brings together the individual unions, unites them to an effective whole and represents their joint interests. It is the voice of the unions vis-à-vis political decision-markers, parties and associations on a federal, state and municipal level. It coordinates union activities but as an umbrella organisation it does not conclude collective agreements.
On an international level, the DGB is a member of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and of the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) and it represents the German union movement with international institutions such as the EU, the United Nations, the IAO, international finance institutions (IWF and Weltbank) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The affiliated unions of the DGB negotiate collective agreements with the employers, e.g. for income, working hours or holiday. In cases of labour disputes they organise strikes and pay strike support to their members.
They help with the foundation of work councils, support employees during company conflicts and represent them during disputes with their employer. Union members enjoy free legal protection.
At the end of 2008, the DGB recorded a total of nearly 6.4 million members (GdP 167,923, GEW 251,900, IG Bau 336,322, IG BCE 701,053, IG Metall 2,300,563, NGG 211,573, TRANSNET 227,690, ver.di 2,180,229). The share of female union members is 32 %.
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