VW works councilor on recruitment agreement: “We have achieved what politicians never even tried to do”

taz: Ms. Sicilia, the recruitment agreement between Germany and Turkey was signed 65 years ago on Friday. One of the reasons for the influx of foreign workers was that they could be paid less than their German colleagues. In this way, the wage level in the country should be kept low. What do you say to this as a trade unionist?

Burcu Sicilia: People were played off against each other - the guest workers did the lowest jobs, received the lowest wages and were initially unable to take part in the company. Back then, the trade unions were also under the illusion that people were coming here on a temporary basis. We had to recognize that this wasn't doing people justice. The unions also only learned over time that this was the wrong approach.

taz: Now the CDU also seems to have discovered the issue of former guest workers. Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke at an anniversary celebration for the recruitment agreement, and North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst traveled to Turkey to praise the achievements of the first generation. What do you say to that?

Sicilia: To be honest, I lack the CDU's substantive rigor on the topic. When we talk about what a cityscape should look like for Mr. Merz, I ask myself a lot of questions: The cityscape is also shaped by people who are descendants of this first generation of workers in Germany. I feel addressed there myself. I just wonder where the CDU really stands.

taz: Foreigners were also not able to become members of IG Metall in the early 1960s. They were only allowed to elect the works council from 1972.

Sicilia: But there are also positive examples from that time: At Volkswagen, IG Metall advocated for Lorenzo Annese to be elected as a foreign works council in 1965, even though the Works Constitution Act did not provide for this at the time. To this day, we are still discussing very aggressively how people with a migration background are represented in our organization. This process is not over, even if people with a migration background have long since become an integral part of our lives. If I take Wolfsburg and Volkswagen as examples: Here we have Daniela Cavallo as the head of the works council, the daughter of an Italian guest worker.

35 years old, works councilor at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg. Trained logistics manager and chairwoman of the education committee at IG Metall

taz: At ThyssenKrupp, Tekin Nasikkol sits on the supervisory board as an IG Metaller, and at Mercedes-Benz, Ergün Lümali is chairman of the general works council. In both cases, their parents' generation came to Germany as cheap labor. Looking back over the last 65 years, would you say this is a success story?

Sicilia: I have a hard time with the word because it should actually be self-evident. But for the first generation it is a success. They were just tolerated people here who lived under the most difficult conditions. They were cheap labor – that was it. Now they see that the successor generations are part of the decision-making bodies in the companies. Today, the first generation looks back with great pride on the foundation they laid here under the most adverse conditions.

There are still 125,000 former guest workers from Turkey living in Germany today who entered the country under the recruitment agreement that came into force in 1961 and was valid until 1973. In total, there are currently around 2.6 million people with a Turkish immigration background in Germany, the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden announced on Thursday on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the recruitment agreement.

Of the Turkish immigrants, 1.5 million were born in Turkey. According to the figures collected last year, they lived in Germany for an average of 32 years. Family reunification plays a major role in immigration, which, according to statisticians, increased in the 1970s and 80s. About a third of the immigrants living in Germany today came here during this phase.

According to statistics, for almost two thirds of immigrants born in Turkey and living in Germany in 2025, family reasons were the main motivation for migration, such as family reunification or starting a family. Another 15 percent cited employment as the main motive for immigration. In addition, ten percent cited flight and asylum as a reason; they left Turkey for political reasons. For four percent, education was the main reason for moving to Germany. (afp)

taz: In 1973 there were wildcat strikes at Ford in Cologne because Turkish workers were supposed to be fired for pretextual reasons due to the economic downturn. IG Metall was also unable to channel the industrial action. Do stories like these still matter to you today?

Sicilia: I believe that incidents like this have shown that these people were not represented in the works council either. They had little opportunity to advance anything formally and had to start out on their own. That was one of the lessons we had to learn about co-determination: In a body like a works council, you have to represent the cross-section of society so that all concerns are represented there.

taz: With a share of around 25 percent of people with a migration background, IG Metall today pretty much represents the cross-section of German society. Your union is therefore probably the political organization in Germany with the best representation. How did you manage that?

Sicilia: What we have managed as a union is to offer people a safe place. For us, it is not origin that brings people together, but rather solidarity and a sense of belonging. As an organization, we also managed to make people feel like they belonged in the companies. Through co-determination there is an issue that we can fight for together. And there is another big factor.

Sicilia: We managed to provide education. People who came from Turkey in the 1960s, for example, and perhaps didn't even go to school there, were able to receive further training from the trade unions at a very low threshold. We have representatives who only went to school up to the fourth grade, but who attend our seminars to further their education on a different level. We have achieved what politicians have not even tried to do elsewhere. That's why representation is so strong for us. We are not without mistakes, as I said, but we manage to ensure that the issue of origin simply doesn't play a role as a rule.