Germany's IG Metall union wins works council election at Volkswagen

Germany's IG Metall union on Friday won a clear victory in elections to the works council at carmaking giant Volkswagen.

Millions of employees across Germany take part in internal elections every four years in accordance with the country's works council system, which allows workers a say in the running of companies.

Some 61,300 employees were eligible to vote in the main ballot at the company's headquarters in the northern city of Wolfsburg.

Elections were also held at Volkswagen's other sites in the states of Lower Saxony, Saxony and Hesse.

In Wolfsburg, the clear winner was IG Metall, the country's largest single trade union.

The union's list received 74.8% of the vote, the council announced on Friday, although it was down from 85.5% in 2022.

Six lists and one independent candidate were on the ballot papers, including the Christian Metalworkers' Union (CGM), and several independent lists, some of which are highly critical of IG Metall.

For the first time, an employee organization considered to have ties to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) also stood for election at VW at the carmaker's site in Braunschweig.

The Zentrum association, which describes itself as an "alternative trade union," secured 6.49% of the vote, winning two of the 35 seats on offer at the site.