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18 March, 2002Warning strikes will begin early next week in eastern Germany.
GERMANY: Dismissing the employers' offer in the current round of wage negotiations as unacceptable and provocative, the German metalworkers' union IG Metall has announced it will start warning strikes on Monday, March 25, in the eastern German regions of Saxony, Brandenburg and Berlin.
The employers' association for the metal industry, Gesamtmetall, has offered a 2 per cent pay increase for this year and another 2 per cent for 2003. IG Metall is demanding a 6.5 per cent wage increase.
Warning strikes will start in western Germany on March 29.
If there is no agreement between the union and employers by the third week of April, members will be balloted for a possible all-out strike in May.