Frankfurt – Great willingness to go on strike in the metal and electrical industry: In the first week after the end of the peace obligation, more than 200,000 employees nationwide took part in warning strikes with over 1,000 company actions. On Friday alone, IG Metall counted around 83,000 participants from around 400 companies by early afternoon. Further warning strikes take place in the late afternoon and evening hours. The employees are thus clearly signaling that the employers must now finally submit a fair offer.
Jörg Hofmann, First Chairman of IG Metall: “The large turnout shows that our colleagues are united behind our common demand. They are determined to fight for their deserved share. The special payment offered so far is not a basis for serious negotiations. Employees need permanent, decent wage increases. I call on the employers to make significant improvements in the upcoming further rounds of negotiations.”
With flags, torches, human chains and banners, metalworkers have been putting pressure on employers in all IG Metall districts nationwide since last weekend. In the Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony district, for example, production at the BMW plant in Leipzig came to a standstill. In the coastal district, a major campaign took place at the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg. Thousands of employees also temporarily stopped working in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg – for example at Bosch in Bamberg and at Porsche in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. In the Mitte district, the colleagues at Daimler Truck in Wörth, among others, pulled out of the factory gate. In the district of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, colleagues from the Alstom railway company in Salzgitter took part in the warning strike, along with many others. Thousands also protested in North Rhine-Westphalia, such as the Ford workforce in Cologne.
Further warning strikes under the motto “Solidarity wins!” are planned. The fourth regional round of negotiations will start in the second week of November with the districts of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg on November 8th.
“The enormous participation in the warning strikes clearly shows that IG Metall is able to step up the pace. It’s up to the employers to take responsibility now and make a serious offer,” says Jörg Hofmann.