"The employees have a right to receive binding statements on the long-term security of their jobs," says Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel. "Irrespective of this, the employers are well advised not to regard the trade unions and works councils as opponents, but as competent advisors in the merger project and to include them in their economic considerations. In my 14 years in office, I have always found the representatives of IG Metall and the works councils of our successful industrial companies to be critical, but also competent, solution-oriented and reliable partners," says Klingebiel, calling not only for transparency in the merger process for the workforce, but also for their genuine involvement in this process.

He also sees Brussels as having a duty in this respect: "I appeal to the European Commission to keep not only the European internal market but also the global market in mind when giving the necessary approval for the merger of Alstom and Bombardier. The first priority must be to secure highly specialized jobs in European rail technology in order to be able to score points and survive in the globally competitive rail technology market with quality and reliability. Together with the Group Works Council and IG-Metall, I fully support the demands of Alstom and Bombardier employees for job and location guarantees.

Klingebiel expects the federal and state governments to provide sustainable future funding programs to make ÖPNV more attractive. Klingebiel: "Government funding for investments in research and development, production and digitalization is absolutely essential for a climate-friendly restructuring of transport systems, especially in times of crisis caused by the coronavirus."

Klingebiel therefore supports the call by the European trade unions under the auspices of industrieAll Europe for all Alstom and Bombardier employees to take part in the European Day of Action on July 16, 2020.