Trigema boss Wolfgang Grupp is once again drawing attention to himself with pithy statements. This time he criticizes works councils and reveals how employee representation is handled in his company.
Wolfgang Grupp repeatedly causes discussions with controversial statements. The head of the textile company Trigema is an old-school businessman who has been running his company in a patriarchal style for decades.
This can also be seen in his recent statements on the subject of works councils. Grupp commented on this in a lecture he gave at an event organized by Volksbank Pirna in Saxony – and made it clear how little he generally thinks of employee representatives. “The good people don’t want anything to do with this shit. And those who have nothing to say at home can now finally say something and let themselves be stood up,” he explained.
Wolfgang Grupp: Works council should “keep problems away from him”
“If only those who have nothing to say at home can be appointed and the good people don’t allow themselves to be appointed, then you’ll end up with a works council that isn’t quite okay,” Grupp continued. As an example, he cited the situation when he joined the company in 1969. With the works council at the time, “there were ongoing problems that weren’t real at all,” Grupp remembers.
He then approached employees himself who he thought were suitable. “I said: You have to help me and see that problems are solved in time,” he remembers. From Grupp’s point of view, the works council at Trigema has a clear task: “It has to keep problems away from me and ensure in good time that they don’t get big. And it also has to let the employees know when they are doing things that are not acceptable are in order.”
During the work time
What private things can I do in the home office?
Works councils are supposed to represent the interests of employees
Grupp is obviously less aware of the fact that the actual task of works councils is to represent the interests of employees. According to the Works Constitution Act, the works council should, among other things, ensure compliance with safety regulations, collective agreements and works agreements as well as “measures that serve the company and the workforce”.
At Trigema, the works council does not seem to play a major role in everyday company life. “We have a works meeting every two or three years. It goes very quickly, there are no chairs. You stand there. It’s held for 20 minutes for formality’s sake, and then it’s good,” says Wolfgang Grupp. According to the law (§43 of the Works Constitution Act), a works meeting should be called once every quarter.
Grupp hands over management
Wolfgang Grupp took over management of Trigema from his father in 1969 and expanded the company into a successful company with sentences in Burladingen (Baden-Württemberg). His children Bonita and Wolfgang junior will take over from 2024.
Grupp recently caused a stir with statements about home offices. “I don’t have a home office. If someone can work at home, it’s unimportant,” he said in an interview with the “Tagesspiegel”. Carsten Maschmeyer, among others, contradicted this: “If you don’t trust someone to work at home, you shouldn’t have hired them in the first place.”
Sources: (from minute 50) / / /
Source: Stern
