The 54-year-old thanked the delegates for their willingness “to want to break new ground with me”.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin Yasmin Fahimi is the first woman to head the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB). The approximately 400 delegates at the federal congress elected the 54-year-old on Monday with a clear majority. It received 358 yes votes, 26 delegates voted no, ten abstained.
Fahimi was not the first choice when looking for a successor for DGB boss Reiner Hoffmann, who is retiring after eight years in office. IG Metall had the right to propose, but even months later it was unable to come up with any candidates who could reach a consensus.
In the meantime, Fahimi’s partner Michael Vassiliadis, the chairman of the Mining, Chemical and Energy Industrial Union (IG BCE), had offered to stand for election himself. However, he encountered reservations from the second largest individual trade union, Verdi.
With Fahimi, the federal board is proposing an experienced colleague who is very experienced and well-connected in the concerns of the working world, said IG Metall boss Jörg Hofmann before the election. She has proven that she can set and enforce issues.
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Hofmann says Fahimi is a good choice because of her management experience, position stability and ability to integrate. The DGB must show its ability to act in the face of the challenges of the present – also in order to stop the decline in membership, said Hofmann.
Actively promote equality for women
In her introductory speech, Fahimi herself spoke of a “great honor” to have been proposed as the first woman to chair the DGB. However, she will not be satisfied with the symbolic value of this decision, but will actively support equal opportunities for women in working life and a higher proportion of female members in the trade unions. At Verdi and the Education and Science Union (GEW), women are already in the majority.
She is proud of the trade union movement, which practically invented solidarity. “We are ready to fight wherever we see injustice,” said Fahimi – also with a view to the Ukraine war.
As head of the DGB, she wants to work to ensure that the transformation of the economy is successful, for good working conditions, an investment offensive and an efficient public service. She said: “I would like us to understand the transformation together as a joint task.” It would serve neither the employees nor climate protection if industry migrated from Germany.
Fahimi made a trade union career at IG BCE, where she most recently headed the policy department. She was general secretary of the SPD for two years before becoming permanent state secretary in the Federal Ministry of Labour. In 2017, Fahimi moved into the Bundestag as a directly elected member of parliament from her hometown of Hanover.
Before her election, Fahimi thanked the delegates in Berlin, who are setting the course for the trade union policy for the next four years, for their willingness “to want to break new ground with me”. As a model for the trade union movement, she quoted the first DGB chairman, Hans Böckler: “We want to be citizens, not subjects.”
More: Portrait of Yasmin Fahimi: “When incompetence and smartass come together, then I can become toxic”