Three questions for ... Knut Giesler

The announcement that the Finnish lift group Kone would take over its German competitor TK Elevator (TK) also caught Knut Giesler flat-footed. Yet as the employee representative, he should actually have been in the know.

The district head of the trade union Industriegewerkschaft (IG) Metall in North Rhine Westphalia made a statement on this in an interview with the LIFTjournal.

How do you assess the fact that IG Metall and you as deputy supervisory board president of TKE practically learnt of the takeover from the newspaper?
Giesler: We were extremely critical of the manner of the announcement. Neither the company co-determination committees nor the employee representatives in the Supervisory Board were informed in advance. Such communication via the media and public is a clear breach of trust-based cooperation and from our point of view was an assault on co-determination. Consequently, we immediately demanded an extraordinary Supervisory Board meeting to obtain complete transparency regarding the further process. At the same time, over 3,000 colleagues from TKE protested in front of the group headquarters of TKE in Dusseldorf, Kone in Hannover and in Frankfurt before the doors of the investors. The employees and those representing their interests have to be brought in at an early stage for a decision of this significance.

How will things proceed with the collective agreement for the future of TKE and in general for the representation of employee interests at Kone by IG Metall?
Giesler: It was possible to secure important protective rights through the process agreement (see page 52; editorial note) reached between the employee side and the company management. The collective agreement "Future elevator" and existing co-determination rights will continue to exist until the conclusion of the sales process and cannot be put in doubt during this phase. In addition, compulsory redundancies were ruled out until at least the conclusion of the sale. At the same time, talks are already in progress on a further agreement "Future 2.0" with which jobs, locations, observance of collective agreements and co-determination are to be secured in the long term also for the period after the sale. For IG Metall, one thing is clear: changes can only be made with the employees – not against them.

The assumption is that the takeover will above all affect Europe – that is to say, spin-offs, closure or merger of locations. What consequences does IG Metall expect?
Giesler: It is not unlikely that due to competition law requirements structural measures will be demanded and have to be implemented. This is precisely why we imposed binding rules. Potential sales or restructuring have to be considered in an orderly and transparent manner and with an economic perspective in the interests of the employees. There will be no unregulated sell-out. Our goal is to secure jobs, locations and co-determination. The process agreement prescribes that works councils have to be involved at an early stage and have an influence on important steps. At the same time, we will take very great care that no break-up of company divisions occurs without a viable perspective and that there is no restructuring at the expense of the employees.

Personal details: Knut Giesler completed a training as an electronics specialist for power systems in the 1980s at the roller bearing manufacturer FAG Kugelfischer, which was taken over by the automotive supplier Schaeffler in 2001. He worked in the works council and supervisory board there from 1991 to 2004. He has been the district head of IG Metall North Rhine Westphalia since 2012. The 62-year-old has four supervisory board mandates, including as deputy supervisory board president of TKE and thyssenkrupp Steel Europe.

nordrhein-westfalen.igmetall.de