Undeclared work and wage dumping?
Total metal boss Stefan Wolf faced with allegations
10/12/2022, 7:05 p.m
He calls on his employees to do without, but shouldn’t follow the rules too closely himself: Stefan Wolf. According to one report, the entrepreneur had a housekeeper for years who he employed on the black market. At his company, one feels meanwhile “lied to, betrayed and taken for a ride”.
General Metal President Stefan Wolf is said to have employed his private housekeeper on the black for years, bypassing taxes and social security funds. As reported by “Stern” and RTL, the employee for Wolf, who is also vice president of the employers’ association, worked full-time, five days a week. This was confirmed to the two media by several people from Wolf’s immediate environment. When asked, Wolf only let his lawyer say that he would not answer questions about his private life. According to the report, if customs begins the investigation, the president of Gesamtmetall faces a fine of up to 500,000 euros, possibly even a suspended prison sentence.
According to “Stern” and RTL, employees at his company, the automotive supplier ElringKlinger, are also making serious allegations against Wolf. At its Langenzenn site near Nuremberg, the group is said to have classified low-paid part-time workers in lower wage groups than the employees were entitled to. According to the report, the works council agreed to the process because, according to its own statement, there was hope that it would secure jobs.
In 2020, the plant in Langenzenn also announced short-time work. As IG Metall describes to the media, the group did not comply with the prescribed three-week notice period for short-time work and did not inform IG Metall – according to the union, a clear breach of the collective agreement. ElringKlinger denies breach of contract.
“Don’t believe a word he says”
In the meantime, however, the company has announced that it will completely shut down production in Langenzenn, although according to a report it should be profitable. Around 140 employees will lose their jobs. Works councilor Markus Pemsel told Stern and RTL about Wolf and the ElringKlinger board: “They lied to us, cheated and fooled us for years.”
In the ongoing collective bargaining in the metal and electrical industry, Gesamtmetall boss Wolf is meanwhile demanding that employees give up in order to secure their jobs. Employees should forgo wage increases, Christmas bonuses, late bonuses and warm offices and apartments so that jobs can be secured. The ElringKlinger works council advises the IG Metall negotiators: “If Wolf promises that he wants to save jobs, then do yourself a favor: don’t believe a word he says.”