This strike movement began on Saturday in the metallurgical and electrical industries at the call of Germany’s powerful IG Metall trade union, which is demanding a wage increase.
A strike movement began in Germany’s huge metallurgical and electronics industry on Saturday, at the call of Germany’s powerful IG Metall trade union, which is demanding a wage increase. “Warning strikes” brought more than 2,000 people together on Saturday, according to the organization’s various regional sections.
These coordinated, temporary strikes often accompany collective bargaining in Germany. For several weeks, the employer and employee representatives in the industry have been negotiating collective bargaining, which has failed. In Bavaria (south), according to the union, 1,300 workers in the industry, which includes 26,000 automotive, electronics and machine tool companies, took part in the movement.
IG Metall is demanding an 8 percent wage increase
In the plant of the giant Thyssenkrupp in Rasselstein (West), 300 people “started to stop work at midnight,” said IG Metall. More than 500 employees went on strike in the Lower Saxony (North) region. Further walkouts were organized across Germany at the call of the union. IG Metall is calling for an 8 percent increase, which is opposed by companies in this strategic sector, which employs 3.8 million people.
The employee representatives justify their demand with the “strong price increase” at a time when inflation in Europe’s largest economy exceeds the 10 percent mark. Companies in the industry are offering a one-off bonus of EUR 3,000 that would be valid for 30 months. “The 3,000 euros can help people, but with the current price trend, they disappear quickly,” said Knut Giesler, chief negotiator at IG Metall NRW.
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The employers’ association Gesamtmetall believes that, in the worst case, the union has “become blind to the reality of the industry” as a result of the energy crisis, according to its chairman Stefan Wolf. The duration of the movement has not yet been announced. Further negotiations are planned for November 10th.