Union's Internal Crisis: 9 of 28 Female Trainees Quit as IGBCE Confronts Systemic Sexism Claims

Germany's IGBCE union faces systemic sexism allegations, with 20% of staff reporting harassment; a compliance investigation begins as 439 jobs hang in balance at Leuna.

The second-largest industrial union in Germany is grappling with a devastating internal scandal, as new evidence reveals a pattern of sexist abuse, systematic discrimination, and a workplace culture that drove burnout among staff. The most striking indicator: between 2020 and 2025, nine out of 28 women in the union's trainee programme left before completing their training.

On June 22, 2026, former union secretaries made their experiences public, describing severe disadvantages and sexual harassment by superiors. In one instance, they say an accused manager was later promoted despite the complaints being known. The allegations were detailed in an anonymous letter written by youth functionaries, covering the period from 2017 to 2025 and accusing the IGBCE (Industriegewerkschaft Bergbau, Chemie, Energie) of structural sexism in its youth work. The letter described a culture of self-exploitation: regular 50-hour weeks that led to burnout among several employees.

Those claims are backed by data. In late 2024, an internal survey of 556 IGBCE staff found that roughly 20 percent of respondents had experienced discrimination or sexual harassment at work. For years, those findings reportedly prompted no action.

IGBCE chief Michael Vassiliadis acknowledged he was generally aware of problems with sexism within the union, but said he was surprised by the scale of the accusations. In mid-June, the union hired a specialised compliance law firm to conduct an independent investigation. The probe is tasked with clarifying responsibilities and reassessing internal prevention processes.

The crisis comes at a difficult moment. Simultaneously, the IGBCE is fighting to save the Leuna Polyamid site, where the company filed for another insolvency proceeding in self-administration in June. The site employs 439 workers whose jobs are now at risk.

Whether the compliance investigation can restore the IGBCE's credibility as a champion of modern workplace standards remains an open question.