Warning strikes IG Metall | Hardened fronts in the metal industry

Trade unionists criticize that the companies' offer does not even compensate for the increased cost of living. Photo: dpa-Bildfunk In the collective bargaining dispute in the metal and electrical industries, the metal industry union (IG Metall) is planning warning strikes in more than 2,000 companies nationwide by the end of the week. According to the union, around 38,000 employees took part in 220 company actions on Monday, including in Koblenz and Berlin, at Mercedes-Benz, Rheinmetall and Siemens Mobility. On Tuesday, IG Metall expanded the warning strikes with a focus on Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia and the Mitte district with Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Thuringia. More locations will follow on Wednesday.

The union has demanded five percent more wages over a period of twelve months as well as securing jobs and locations for 3.7 million employees. In the second round of negotiations, the employers submitted an offer that initially provides for a one-off payment and a step increase of 1.3 percent in July 2028 for a term of 26 months. The offer was justified by the difficult economic situation and the high cost burdens for industry in Germany.

IG Metall and employees of the metal and electrical industry in North Rhine-Westphalia are preparing for tough negotiations and long-lasting strikes in the latest collective bargaining dispute. There has been a strike in around 270 companies there since the beginning of this week. From Tuesday onwards, the warning strikes were expanded again.

IG Metall massively criticizes the employers' offer. According to the IG Metall negotiator in North Rhine-Westphalia, Knut Giesler, it is "far below inflation, although the economy is sending the first signals of recovery." "We will not accept that." The offer neither compensates for the increased cost of living nor does it offer prospects for investments, securing employment and the future of industrial locations. In fact, economic output in North Rhine-Westphalia is growing again for the first time in nine years. The RWI-Leibniz Institute for Economic Research predicts a slight increase in growth of 0.6 percent this year and around 0.9 percent next year.

For this reason, and especially because defense companies such as Rheinmetall, which make good money through armaments in Germany, are making more and more sales and profits, IG Metall considers the offer to be inadequate, and some trade unionists even call it an impudence. IG Metall is therefore demanding “a significantly better offer” from employers for the approximately 640,000 employees in the North Rhine-Westphalian metal and electrical industry.

Companies in the sector say they are suffering from high energy and unit labor costs as well as the generally sluggish economy. Although the Metal Association does not publish official profit figures, sales and production volumes have been falling for three years and unit labor costs have risen by almost eleven percent.

They warn IG Metall to further fuel the collective bargaining round with warning strikes - this is "the completely wrong signal." "In the most serious structural crisis in this industry, companies do not need escalation, but rather a viable and sensible solution as quickly as possible," a spokesman for Metall NRW told the dpa.

"We will continue to fight because IG Metall's demands are more than justified."

We hear from companies and works councils that »nd« was able to speak to that the employees expect long negotiations and many warning strikes. “We will continue to fight because IG Metall’s demands are more than justified,” said employees of a metal processing company in Mülheim an der Ruhr on Tuesday morning.

Engin Karakurt, works councilor from Bochum, expects a “long industrial dispute” and “tough negotiations to come close to our demand of five percent.” The peace obligation of the nationwide negotiations ended at the end of October 31st. The next round of negotiations is scheduled for November 9th.

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