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Last weekend saw the first election of a works council in Germany at the Munich branch of the US fashion company Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F). Out of total headcount of 250 employed at the branch in the Sendlinger Strasse, 64.8% turned out to elect the 9 members of the works council.

“That is a pretty good turn-out, and clearly shows that the staff want a works council”, comments Orhan Akman, the Verdi trade union secretary in Munich who is responsible for the fashion and textile retail sector. Akman launched the idea of the election together with the employees and has supported the process from the outset. The constituent assembly of the new body has been set for next Thursday.
The new works council has a lot of work on its plate. As soon as the members of the works council have completed their training, they can move on to deal with the core issues. According to Orhan Akman, the works council’s agenda is both comprehensive and ambitious. As regards their goals, Akman went to say: “We will support the new works council in demanding open-ended labour contracts and higher hourly rates, and we want A&F to comply with the collective agreement for the retail sector as soon as possible.”

So far A&F have not signed up to the collective agreement for the retail sector. Once they do so, employees will enjoy the wages set out in the agreement, as well as holiday and Xmas bonuses, 6 weeks paid leave, and a 37.5 hour working week instead of the 40 hours currently required. Akman also pointed out that these topics had already been raised with the company’s top German management before the elections. A&F employees in Munich will soon reap the first benefits of this new accord, since holiday blackout periods are soon to be consigned to the past, as will bag checks for the employees, at least in their present form.

A&F runs 23 stores in Germany. Verdi has already started the process of electing a works council at the Düsseldorf branch of A&F as well. Akman encourages the employees of the other German branches of the follow suit in electing works councils.