Union Conference in Würzburg Pushes for Worker Voice in Factory Conversions from Military to Civilian Production
Published on 07/27/2026 at 22:40 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Around 300 delegates gathered in Würzburg on July 25–26, 2026, for the fourth trade union peace conference, where IG Metall and the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung jointly called for changes to Germany’s Works Constitution Act (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz). The central demand: give industrial employees far stronger co-determination rights when their plants shift from manufacturing weapons to producing civilian goods.
The two-day event focused on what is known as Rüstungskonversion — the transformation of defence-industry facilities toward socially necessary, non-military products. Organisers argued that such a conversion is barely feasible without significantly expanding workplace democracy.
Legal Reform at the Heart of the Debate
Cem Ince, representing the Left Party (Die Linke), explicitly pushed for an amendment to the Works Constitution Act. He said the legal framework needed updating so that workers’ expertise could directly inform the planning of civilian production alternatives.
IG Metall representatives Norbert Zirnsak and Ulrike Eifler stressed that employee influence must stretch beyond purely economic matters. The Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, with Bernd Riexinger and Ingar Solty present, backed that position. Jeremy Corbyn of Britain’s Labour Party attended the discussions as an international guest.
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Broader Economic Arguments and a 25-Hour Week Proposal
Beyond legal questions, the conference examined macroeconomic trends. Ingar Solty from the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung placed the current situation in a wider historical context, describing what he called a fourth systemic crisis of capitalism since 2007. As a concrete alternative to further rearmament, Solty proposed introducing a 25-hour work week with full wage compensation. That shift, he argued, could redirect society’s focus away from the arms industry and toward sustainable employment.
Bernd Riexinger added a labour-market perspective. He argued that investing in defence projects creates significantly fewer jobs than equivalent public spending in other sectors — directly challenging the common claim that the defence industry is essential for job security.
Reducing Dependence on Military Contracts
Conference participants agreed that industrial transformation poses a democratic challenge. Amending the Works Constitution Act is seen as a necessary tool to reduce individual plants’ reliance on military orders. If employees could officially help decide which products are made and how production is oriented, the reasoning goes, that would lay the groundwork for a peace-oriented economic policy at the shop-floor level.
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The demands now target federal policymakers as well as decision-makers inside union structures, with the aim of injecting the issue of civilian co-determination into future reform debates.
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