There were two relief packages, and IG Metall boss Jörg Hofmann is demanding a third for 2023. He is bringing new energy money and a gas price cap into play. He also calls for the debt brake to continue to be suspended.
IG Metall boss Jörg Hofmann has reiterated his demand for further government relief in view of the sharp rise in consumer prices. “The collective bargaining policy alone will not be able to compensate for 2022 and 2023,” said the head of Germany’s largest individual trade union to the newspapers of the Neue Berliner Redaktionsgesellschaft. “The skyrocketing energy prices will only have a full impact next year.”
“We have to talk about a third relief package for 2023,” said the IG Metall boss. As in this year, this includes an energy premium of 300 euros for adults and 100 euros for children. “One must not discredit the good measure again by excluding the pensioners.” He also called for a gas price cap to ensure normal household consumption and a reduction in the price of electricity. For financing, Hofmann suggested suspending the debt brake in 2023 as well.
Meanwhile, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner spoke out against another financial relief package for citizens before the summer break. However, he recommends new measures for the coming year. Above all, the small and middle incomes deserve relief, he told the news portal “t-online”. “In view of the high inflation, we must above all prevent cold progression,” said Lindner.
According to Hofmann, the trade union wants to concentrate on the issue of money in the forthcoming round of collective bargaining for the metal and electrical industry. It should at least be about securing real wages. Including a redistribution component, it could amount to a demand for a wage increase of seven percent or more, the union boss indicated in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.
The IG Metall board wants to decide on its recommendation on June 20th. The final demand is to be decided on June 30 in the regional wage committees and again on July 11 by the board. The contracts for around 3.7 million employees in the core sectors of German industry expire at the end of September.
