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UNI delegation calls for German Government to end the double standards at Deutsche Telekom



Geneva, Switzerland - A delegation from UNI Global Union met with the representatives of the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany in Geneva. 



Mr. Jörg Capellen, Counsellor for Labour and Social Affairs, and Mr. Heinjörg Herrmann, Representing the Ministry of Finance agreed to meet the UNI delegation.  UNI called upon the representatives to end the double standards of Duetsche Telekom where in one country such a Germany they have good relations with workers and their union ver.di but follow a different path in other countries often actively working against unions forming or negotiating collective agreements.  

L-R: Mr. Daniel Lynch (UNI Telecom), Mr. Marcus Courtney (UNI Telecom), Mr. Jörg Capellen (Counsellor for Labour and Social Affairs), Mr. Heinjörg Herrmann, (Representing the German Ministry of Finance).

The discussion gave UNI an important opportunity to share its views and those of our affiliates regarding the issues affecting workers in Deutsche Telekom, to which the German Government is a major shareholder with a substantial 30% shareholding. The representatives were surprised to hear about the challenges faced by unions and workers over the past 6 years in trying to organise workers and collectively bargain to win a Global Agreement with Deutsche Telekom. 



Some time was spent explaining the relentless tactics used by Deutsche Telekom to stop a union from forming and collectively bargaining in the United States at T-Mobile USA, Deutsche Telekom's largest subsidiary outside of Germany. Mr. Marcus Courtney, Head of UNI Telecom Global Union, explained that there have been documented incidents, for example, where the company has openly stopped the US union CWA from simply handing a leaflet to T-Mobile employees to let them know about the union. A YouTube video gives an example of one of many organising attempts can be found here (This clip has been forwarded to the representatives present). Independent reports by Professor John Logan titled Lowering the Bar for US (Deutsche and English) and Human Rights Watch regarding the behaviour of the company in the US have also been forwarded to the German Government representatives to further explain the situation in the US. 



UNI also presented a letter from Swiss affiliate SYNDICOM. 



The representatives welcomed UNI's visit and appreciated the time that we took to discuss workers issues regarding organising and forming a trade union. They assured UNI that the information we provided along with a letter outlining our concerns would be forwarded to the office of the Minister for Finance.  UNI looks forward to receiving a response from the Government in the near future about their plans to end the double standards Deutsche Telekom employs in its operations globally.