Employees and MAN jointly donate for aid projects in Germany and crisis areas around the globe — further initiatives for voluntary work underway
After the Executive Board and the Group Works Council called for donations, MAN is now topping up the employees’ donations for refugee aid to a total of €200,000. Half of this sum will be given to international and regional projects: Apart from several sustainable aid projects at MAN sites in Germany, the Company is also supporting the UN Refugee Agency. As a donation partner of UNHCR — the UN’s Refugee Agency — the organization has been supporting aid projects for refugees in Germany and abroad since 1980. With these projects, MAN commits to fulfilling its social responsibility — not only in crisis areas around the globe but also in Germany. MAN also made donations to the city of Munich to provide refugees access to public transport. The other half of the donation will go into a “financial pot” at MAN to support integrating refugees with education and qualifications.
“The employees, Works Council, and the Executive Board collaborated closely in this donation campaign and acted swiftly and effectively, underlining the cooperative corporate culture of MAN. As announced, we will use the financial means according to demand in a purposeful and lasting manner. Refugees can only be successfully integrated in Germany if they have prospects on the job market. Our Company would like to make its contribution there,” says Josef Schelchshorn, Chief Human Resources Officer of MAN SE.
Employees’ support still going strong
Apart from pecuniary donations, the employees are also active in various initiatives: SOS Children’s Villages and MAN trainees have initiated a long-term partnership for unaccompanied refugee minors. This includes intercultural training on different customs and conventions during the Christmas season and a tour of the MAN plant in Munich. The catering team of MAN Truck & Bus in Munich donated some of its inventory from the guest canteen to the Office for Living and Migration in the Munich Social Department. During a “Social Day,” MAN employees sorted clothes and other donations in kind at the social church organization “diakonia.” At the MAN Diesel & Turbo site in Hamburg, employees collected donations in kind for a refugee reception center. The youth representatives also helped collect donations in kind at IG Metall Jugend Augsburg. In Oberhausen, the Works Council helped a local aid organization that takes care of refugee children to acquire a new VW vehicle at favorable conditions. The representatives of IG Metall at the Munich site donated soccer tables and a basketball hoop to a refugee accommodation center in Munich.
This continued engagement also makes Works Council Chairman of MAN SE Saki Stimoniaris proud: “The willingness to act swiftly and in an uncomplicated manner is what distinguishes our colleagues. I am very pleased that so many of us are supporting refugees. Personal contact and help on site are particularly important steps for integrating refugees. Our donations support organizations at German MAN sites where it is particularly important that we can and must take on responsibility.” As already was the case during the call for donations, the Works Council and the Executive Board work together closely when it comes to selecting the regional aid programs.
