Frankfurt am Main – In their first week of warning strikes, employees in the metal and electrical industries put pressure on collective bargaining with great determination: from Tuesday to Friday, over 216,000 employees nationwide emphasized their demand for more purchasing power and a boost in attractiveness for trainees. This means that, despite regional holidays, more people took part in around 1,000 company actions in the four days than in the first warning strike week of the collective bargaining movement in 2022.
After the third collective bargaining, IG Metall takes stock. Nadine Boguslawski, collective bargaining officer at IG Metall: “With their powerful commitment to warning strikes, employees in individual regions have brought initial movement into the discussions. However, employers are still blocking fundamental questions such as a 7 percent increase for more purchasing power and 170 euros more for trainees. This is harmful. That’s why the warning strikes must continue.”
“Time is running!”
In order to find a quick and productive solution at the negotiating table, the union leadership commissions the IG Metall coastal and Bavarian districts to work together to find a solution to the collective bargaining dispute with the employers. Christiane Benner, First Chairwoman of IG Metall: “The differences with our counterparts when it comes to money are big. However, steps towards convergence can be seen when it comes to the collective exemption period. We rate the intensity and seriousness of the discussions in North and South as positive. IG Metall is therefore planning to try to find a solution in Hamburg on November 11th.”
The remaining third regional negotiation dates and the period until November 11th offer another opportunity to explore the controversial issues of the collective bargaining round in more depth. The fourth round of negotiations is to be conducted in a concentrated manner by the IG Metall Bavaria and Coast districts. “It is up to employers to move towards the goal,” said Christiane Benner. “Time is ticking. It is our responsibility as social partners to ensure planning security for employees and companies with a quick conclusion.”
Actions in the IG Metall districts
Since the end of the peace obligation, metal workers have been putting pressure on employers nationwide with flags, torches and fire barrels. In the IG Metall district of Lower Saxony/Saxony-Anhalt, over 1,500 MAN Truck & Bus employees opened the warning strike week from Tuesday night. In Bavaria, 5,000 trainees took part in a central trainee warning strike in front of the Audi factory in Ingolstadt on Tuesday, colorfully, loudly and highly motivated for better prospects. In the IG Metall district of Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony, around 2,000 employees at BMW in Leipzig alone stopped work in the morning. On the same day, 2,000 warning strikers in Kiel (Coast District) emphasized their demands at the 3rd collective bargaining. In North Rhine-Westphalia, 9,000 employees went on warning strike at Ford in Cologne at night, in the morning and in the afternoon. In the Mitte district, 3,000 Daimler employees went on a short walkout in Kassel and Wörth on Wednesday, and the same number demonstrated on Thursday before the collective bargaining in Mainz. On Thursday, 9,000 employees at Mercedes-Benz in Untertürkheim (Baden-Württemberg) ended their work early.
IG Metall will continue the warning strikes next week.