DGB legal agency wins EUR 725 million for members in 2001

In 2001, the legal protection agency provided by Germany's DGB trade union confederation won a total of EUR 725 million in the courts for union members, according to figures published in April 2002. About EUR 375 million was won in labour court proceedings and about EUR 350 million in social security court proceedings.

In April 2002, the German Federation of Trade Unions (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, DGB) published a report on the activities of its legal protection agency (DGB Rechtsschutz GmbH), which provides legal advice to members and brings legal proceedings on their behalf. According to the report, the agency won a total of EUR 725 million in the courts for DGB members in 2001. About EUR 375 million was obtained in labour court proceedings and EUR 350 million in social security court proceedings.

In total, DGB Rechtsschutz GmbH was engaged in about 164,000 new legal proceedings in 2001. The largest proportion of labour court proceedings (52%) related to pay disputes, followed by disputes on protection against dismissal (45%). About 90% of the latter proceedings were resolved successfully for the employees, or at least led to a settlement between the employee and the employer, and in about 12,000 proceedings the dismissed employees were reinstated. At the social security courts, 33% of the proceedings related to statutory pensions, 25% to people with disabilities and 20% to unemployment insurance.

The DGB's legal protection agency was outsourced from DGB as a legally independent company, DGB Rechtsschutz GmbH, in April 1998. It operates throughout Germany and is the country's largest supplier of legal advice and the most important agent in labour and social security court proceedings. The agency acts in about a quarter of all labour court proceedings in Germany.

Union members' subscription dues provide a right to legal protection from the trade union. Without additional costs, members of a DGB-affiliated trade union can receive legal advice and representation in labour court and social security court disputes. While some unions, such as the IG Metall metalworkers' union or the Mining, Chemicals and Energy Union (IG Bergbau Chemie Energie, IG BCE), provide their own legal services, most of the other DGB affiliates use DGB Rechtsschutz GmbH.