30 October, 2024On 29 October, IG Metall, IndustriALL's biggest affiliate, launched nationwide warning strikes across Germany’s metal and electrical industries, demanding urgent action in the 2024 collective bargaining negotiations.
After three rounds of talks and the expiration of the peace period on 28 October, over 1,000 workers from more than 100 plants walked off the job to push for meaningful wage increases.
IG Metall is calling for a 7 per cent raise and an additional €170 (US$183) for apprentices, while employers are offering just 1.7 per cent starting in July 2025 and 1.9 per cent from July 2026. This is disappointing from the union’s point of view as it is well below the expected increase in inflation for these years which means that this offer represents a loss in real wages.
As workers intensify their efforts through warning strikes, negotiations between IG Metall and regional employers’ associations continue. The stakes are clear: without fair wages, the future of the industry and its workforce is at risk.
Nadine Boguslawski, member of IG Metall executive committee responsible for collective bargaining policy said:
“The employers' current offer is too meager to address employees’ ongoing price pressure quickly and sufficiently. An offer of a wage increase coming later and an increase that does not even compensate for expected future inflation is unacceptable to employees. With a view to securing skilled workers, the industry is at risk of falling behind. That is why apprentices deserve significantly more than they receive.
“Warning strikes in the companies are necessary now to ensure that something is clearly and quickly achieved at the negotiating table. Nobody wants the collective bargaining round to become a stalemate.
Employers must make their contribution right now. People need prospects and money to spend. Wage restraint would benefit no one and would exacerbate the situation of companies. A better domestic economy is also very much in the interest of companies. They must do their part in this too.”
IndustriALL general secretary, Atle Høie, said:
“Our full support and solidarity is with the strikers of IG Metall. The German employers must come to the negotiating table and negotiate in good faith decent wages for its workforce. One that will allow them to take care of themselves and their families.”
Photo: IG Metall website