On the afternoon of April 13, 2023, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), IG Metall, and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung jointly held the "Chinese-German Metal Industry Trade Union Seminar" through a combination of offline meetings and video conferences, focusing on the main characteristics and trends of labor transformation, opportunities and challenges faced by trade unions, and the experience of Chinese-German metal industry trade unions. Associate Professor Yue Ling from the School of Labor Relations and Human Resources of our university was invited to attend and delivered a keynote speech on the topic of "Characteristics, Trends, and Challenges of Labor Transformation in China". The International Department of the ACFTU, the Chinese Machinery, Metallurgical and Building Material Workers' Union, and China FAW Group also sent representatives to participate in the seminar.
In her keynote speech, Associate Professor Yue Ling introduced the characteristics and trends of the transformation from traditional labor to digital labor driven by digital technology, and pointed out the challenges faced in increasing investment in human capital and regulating labor relations. The report aroused heated discussions among participants, who engaged in in-depth interactive exchanges on issues such as labor transformation brought about by population aging and green transformation.
The seminar focused on "Chinese-German labor transformation", and Chinese and German representatives discussed topics such as "Chinese-German labor transformation", "action strategies in union policies during labor transformation", and "practical cases of enterprise operations in labor transformation". Scholars, union representatives, and business representatives from China and Germany conducted in-depth discussions on the above topics. The seminar was very helpful for us to gain a comprehensive understanding of labor transformation in Germany under the background of Industry 4.0.
Appendix: Introduction to IG Metall
Established in October 1949, IG Metall is one of the most important industrial unions under the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), the largest union in Germany, and the largest industrial union in Europe. In 2018, DGB had approximately 2.3 million members.