The issue of payment is likely to be a key point of the new works council.
(Photo: picture alliance/dpa)
Dusseldorf For the first time, two union representatives head the works council at SAP. On Thursday, the committee elected Eberhard Schick as chairman. The 55-year-old belongs to the IG Metall group “Pro Co-determination”, which recently received the most votes in the works council election with 19 percent. Anne Schmitz from the Verdi list “Upgrade” was appointed as deputy.
Both groups were able to significantly strengthen their position in the works council elections of SAP SE, the parent company with almost 22,000 employees. “Pro Codetermination” received nine seats, “Upgrade” six. A third of all 45 mandates thus went to the DGB trade unions – a high for the software manufacturer. At SAP, the degree of organization is low, and independent groups dominate employee representatives.
Both employee representatives were able to rely on broad majorities in the election. According to Handelsblatt information, the trade union groups agreed with several representatives to fill positions such as committee chairs by consensus.
Among them were the big lists “Triple-E” and “Stark 22”. Schick told the Handelsblatt: “We try to work together constructively in the works council and to involve all lists that want to participate fairly.”
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
Conflicts have repeatedly arisen in recent years due to opposing positions and sometimes personal animosity. The quarrels culminated in the fact that last summer two employee representatives resigned after allegations of fraud, including the then chairman Ralf indicator. A large majority is now sending a signal for constructive cooperation, the panel said.
The 55-year-old was one of the co-founders of the SAP works council in 2006.
Schick currently sees two areas as the most important issues: On the one hand, payment, the workforce is dissatisfied with the last salary rounds – there is no collective agreement at the software manufacturer. On the other hand, there is a need for clarification when working from anywhere. The group is introducing a new model called “Pledge to Flex”, for which there is no adjusted company agreement.
veteran of the SAP works council
Schick is a veteran of the SAP works council: he and two other employees initiated the founding of the body in 2006, against massive resistance from the board, the founders and numerous employees.
In an open letter, Dietmar Hopp warned of a loss of corporate culture, polemicized against unions and even threatened to relocate the company’s headquarters. The major shareholder was already out of the operative business.
In the meantime, attitudes within the group have changed significantly. Cawa Younosi, Head of Human Resources at SAP Germany, encouraged employees to stand for election. And the co-founder and chairman of the supervisory board, Hasso Plattner, said he preferred IG Metall to a union he didn’t know: “You can at least go to a union boss if something doesn’t suit you.”
More: SAP spin-off Fioneer is courting the financial sector