Labor, management and government delegation visits Germany to study industrial transition models

A joint labor-management-government delegation representing the Economic, Social and Labor Commission, labor unions, business groups and the government visited Germany to explore social dialogue models and labor-management cooperation strategies for navigating the industrial transition.

The ESLC said Friday that Chairman Kim Ji-hyung led the delegation on visits Thursday and Friday to Germany's Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the German Trade Union Confederation, the Confederation of German Employers' Associations and Volkswagen's headquarters, where they heard about the country's experience managing industrial transitions and conducting social dialogue.

The delegation included Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Chairman Kim Dong-myung, Korea Employers Federation President Son Kyung-shik, Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon and National Assembly members from the Climate, Environment, Energy and Labor Committee.

The visit was organized to find a tripartite cooperation model suited to what organizers called the "Industry and Labor 4.0" era — defined by AI, digital transformation and a shift toward green industrial structures. It marked the first time an ESLC chairman has joined labor, management and government representatives on a joint overseas study trip since a visit to Ireland during the 2008 global financial crisis, 18 years ago.

At a meeting with the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, German officials outlined their experience implementing the "Labor 4.0" policy, which aimed to strengthen manufacturing competitiveness and drive digital innovation. They said Germany had advanced its social dialogue by simultaneously pursuing worker rights protection, vocational training, lifelong learning and a stronger social safety net throughout the technological transformation process.

Officials particularly noted that civil society, alongside labor, management and government, had participated in the Labor 4.0 discussions to build social consensus — and that embedding the results in policy had played a key role in easing labor issues arising from the industrial transition.

"Industrial transition is both a major challenge and a new opportunity for companies and workers alike," ESLC Chairman Kim Ji-hyung said. "Germany's experience shows that technological innovation, enhanced industrial competitiveness and worker protection are not conflicting goals — they can all be achieved together through social dialogue."

Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Chairman Kim Dong-myung said realizing a just transition in which no one is left behind amid the climate crisis and industrial restructuring is a shared task for labor movements in both countries. "I hope we can strengthen fair solidarity and cooperation across borders," he said.

Korea Employers Federation President Son Kyung-shik said the visit reaffirmed how critical trust and dialogue among labor, management and government are during industrial transitions. "Korea, too, must find ways for labor and management to prosper together in order to respond to global competition and the spread of AI," he said.

Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said Germany's experience of using social dialogue to protect both industrial competitiveness and quality jobs holds important lessons for South Korea. "The government will actively support efforts to ensure that industrial transition becomes a new opportunity for both companies and workers, grounded in social dialogue," he said.

The delegation then visited Volkswagen's headquarters, which has been undergoing restructuring due to shifts in the Chinese market and the transition to electric vehicles, to examine the company's workplace-level social dialogue framework and worker participation through its works council system.

Discussions there covered how Volkswagen pursued competitiveness and employment stability simultaneously during the electric vehicle transition and digitalization, as well as job redesign, retraining systems and mechanisms for worker representatives to participate in management decisions.

The delegation also met with the German Trade Union Confederation and the Confederation of German Employers' Associations to hear about labor and business strategies for responding to industrial transition, climate neutrality and AI adoption, and to discuss the role and necessity of social dialogue throughout the transition process.