Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – Before the second round of collective bargaining in the metal and electrical industry, the negotiator on the employer side sees no further scope for an increase in the table wages. “The scope is actually zero – when I look at the last few years, we actually have a credit,” said the negotiator and deputy chairman of the Südwestmetall association, Harald Marquardt, on Thursday in Stuttgart. The second round of negotiations with IG Metall for the almost one million employees in the metal and electrical industry in the south-west is scheduled for October 12th.
He knows that some of the employees’ expectations are high, said Marquardt, who runs a medium-sized company himself. However, most of them know what is currently possible and what is not. With a view to possible warning strikes after the end of the peace obligation at the end of October, he said: “Personally, I don’t care whether IG Metall drives 1,000, 1,500 or 10,000 people to the courtyard. We rely on the common sense of the silent masses.”
In the past four years, there have been around ten percent wage increases, he continued. Against the background of low inflation in recent years and partly reduced productivity, that was “far too much”. Regarding possible one-off payments, Marquardt said that nothing should be anticipated. He does not yet know whether the employers will put a specific number on the table in the coming round of negotiations, said Südwestmetall Managing Director Peer-Michael Dick.
IG Metall had previously called for an eight percent increase in table fees for a period of twelve months. The employers had not submitted a concrete offer in the first round in mid-September. The peace obligation ends on October 28th, and from October 29th IG Metall can then call for warning strikes. It is unclear whether there will be a hearing date before then.