Union calls on Lürssen naval unit to keep work pacts in place if sold

Ahead of a possible takeover of Germany's Lürssen military shipyards, a trade union called on negotiators to keep collective labour agreements in place.

"Without location and job security and good collective agreements, no new model will work," Daniel Friedrich, head of a regional branch of IG Metall union, told dpa.

At different Naval Vessels Lürssen (NVL) sites, different collective bargaining models apply. Some locations are covered by the regional collective agreement for the industry, while others, such as Wolgast, which is in Mecklenburg Western Pomerania, a different state, are covered by a less favourable in-house collective agreement, Friedrich said.

The union plans to campaign for the regional collective agreement to apply uniformly in future.

German defence contractor Rheinmetall is being touted as a possible buyer of NVL.

"Collective bargaining agreements are not a matter of course at Rheinmetall," said Friedrich, saying the union noted this during collective bargaining disputes in Bremen, where Rheinmetall operates near Lürssen.

Rheinmetall benefits from government contracts, so collective bargaining agreements are appropriate, he said.

Talks without employee representatives

Reports last month said Rheinmetall seeks to take over NVL, the military arm of shipbuilding group Lürssen, but the companies did not confirm this when asked.

However, an internal letter reveals that consolidation talks are under way at NVL.

NVL owns four shipyards in northern Germany alongside sites in Bulgaria, Croatia, Egypt and Brunei, its website says.

Industry union IG Metall has not been involved in the talks so far, according to Friedrich. "We have many questions, particularly about the future of the sites and the industrial policy concept," he said.

Calling for a ‘national champion’

Friedrich is advocating consolidation in the German naval business. A merger between NVL and Thyssenkrupp's naval division TKMS could form a "national champion" could strengthen the domestic economy, he said.

He called on the Defence Ministry to act saying it was inexplicable why the government is not taking a more active role.