Our social responsibility
Ready for the challenges of today and tomorrow: Our social partners and business representatives are working together to put MEYER WERFT in a strong position for the global competition. Our corporate culture is founded upon job security and future prospects. Since 2012, we’ve been negotiating agreements to achieve this goal together. This has led to the development of the “Papenburg Model”, which includes several agreements on specific conditions like job security, working hours, and occupational health and safety. This is a pioneering model throughout Germany.
Social Charter
Various standards for all employees at MEYER WERFT are defined in our Social Charter. This not only applies to our own full-time staff, but also the employees of partner companies working at our shipyard. The agreement establishes minimum social standards for aspects like working hours, housing, occupational health and minimum wages.
Code of Conduct for Suppliers
All contracts agreed between the MEYER Group and its affiliates contain a Code of Conduct, obliging suppliers to comply with the regulations stipulated in our Social Charter. The Code of Conduct also lays down rules to ensure environmental protection and the responsible use of natural resources.
Flyer: Your rights as an employee
In a flyer we provide information about the rights that apply in Germany for all workers regardless of their origin. The flyer was created in cooperation with the works council.
The flyer is available for download in the following nine languages:
Bulgarian | German | English | Greek | Croatian | Polish | Russian | Hungarian
Collective Agreement on Service Contracts
The full-time staff at MEYER WERFT are supported by numerous specialist companies. The general conditions for their employees are defined in our Collective Agreement, which applies to everyone who works at our shipyard in Papenburg under a service contract for over a month. It establishes minimum standards for remuneration and accommodation, as well as a counselling service for workers employed under a service contract and a grievance mechanism. This collective agreement was the first of its kind in Germany.
Job Security and Collective Agreement for the Future
This agreement provides the regulatory framework to ensure long-term job security in Papenburg. It includes an employment guarantee for full-time staff until 2030 and an agreement on the constant increase of productivity at the shipyard.
It also contains regulations for taking on apprentices and defines older workers’ entitlement to semi-retirement.
Pact for Labour and Innovation
The shipbuilding industry is a highly competitive market, which is why our shipyard has established a Pact for Labour and Innovation to stand out from the competition. This agreement includes building strategy rules and instruments for the optimisation of work processes.
At the core of the agreement is an innovative model that allows employees to adjust their working hours according to their current circumstances.