CGM withdraws application against ZF works council chair after court raised doubts
CGM withdraws application against ZF works council chair Achim Dietrich after the Ulm labour court suggested the injunction lacked grounds and questioned the union’s standing in the dispute.
The Christian Metal Union (CGM) has withdrawn its emergency application against Achim Dietrich, chair of the works council at auto supplier ZF in Friedrichshafen, bringing the court action to an immediate close. The Ulm labour court confirmed the move and said that, with the withdrawal, “the proceedings are concluded,” a court spokesperson told reporters. The application had sought to bar Dietrich from exercising his duties pending a possible removal procedure, following allegations of serious breaches of duty by the CGM.
Details of the court hearing
The Ulm labour court indicated during the hearing that it had doubts about whether the strict requirements for an injunction were met. Judges questioned both the factual basis for alleged grave misconduct and whether the CGM was legally entitled to file the emergency measure. Those concerns were significant enough that the court encouraged the parties to consider withdrawing the request, a step the CGM ultimately took.
Allegations made by CGM
In its filings, the CGM accused Dietrich of violating his duty of neutrality and of inappropriately intertwining the works council with IG Metall, the dominant industrial union in the sector. The union also alleged that council consultation hours had been repurposed for union activities and that, at an escalated works meeting in July, Dietrich prevented employer representatives from speaking. The CGM characterized these acts as serious breaches that justified immediate intervention.
Denials from Dietrich and the works council
Dietrich and representatives of ZF’s central works council have denied the accusations. The central works council said that Dietrich was not the presiding officer at the disputed July assembly, attributing chairing duties to his deputy. ZF’s internal representatives also disputed the portrayal of events and maintained that the meeting’s interruption was connected to a heated debate over changes to non-tariff payments at the Friedrichshafen site.
Court’s legal concerns and union standing
Legal sources at the hearing said the court found the first two allegations — loss of neutrality and improper coordination with IG Metall — legally difficult to assess on the evidence presented. Equally important, judges expressed uncertainty about whether the CGM had the procedural right to seek the interim injunction it requested. Those doubts about both the substance and the applicant’s standing were pivotal in the court’s suggestion that the motion be withdrawn.
Context: pay dispute and the July meeting
According to the central works council, the contentious July meeting had been dominated by a dispute over the termination of above-tariff payments at the Friedrichshafen plant. That conflict reportedly escalated and led to an interruption of the assembly while participants and officials sought to regain control. The works council’s account places the interruption in the context of workplace grievances over compensation, rather than as a result of procedural misrule by the works council chair.
The CGM’s move to withdraw ends the immediate judicial intervention but leaves the underlying workplace tensions unresolved. The broader dispute over pay and representation at ZF’s Friedrichshafen site may continue to play out in internal procedures, collective bargaining or, potentially, further legal challenges if one of the parties seeks a formal removal process.
The withdrawal also removes the matter from the urgent docket, but it does not prevent the CGM from pursuing other legal or internal avenues if it chooses to press its claims. For now, the court’s suggestion and the union’s decision to step back have calmed the immediate prospect of a court-ordered suspension of the works council chair.
