Jürgen Peters

Born in what is now Opole in Poland, Peters trained as a machinist, and then found work at Hanomag, in Hanover.

He studied at the Labour Academy in Frankfurt, then became a teacher at one of IG Metall's training centres.

In 1993, he negotiated a deal at Volkswagen, where workers cut back to a four-day week in exchange for an end to redundancies.

[1][2] In 1998, Peters was elected as vice president of IG Metall, with responsibility for collective bargaining, despite the opposition of union leader Klaus Zwickel.

He became the most prominent figure on the union's left wing, strongly opposing Agenda 2010, and supporting a major but unsuccessful strike in 2003.