According to IG Metall, almost 50,000 employees from 375 companies took part in warning strikes in the North Rhine-Westphalian metal and electrical industry this week. On Friday alone, around 24,300 employees in 168 companies stopped working, according to the union. The peace obligation expired on Saturday. Shortly thereafter there were the first warning strikes.
“The behavior of the employers at the negotiating table annoys the employees,” said the negotiator and NRW district manager of the IG Metall, Knut Giesler, according to the announcement. The call for a permanent percentage increase in pay must also have been heard in the executive floors. “If he continues to be ignored, the workers are ready to fight.”
In the wage conflict, the union wants to continue the warning strikes in the coming week. Work is to be stopped in 74 companies across the country on Monday.
In the previous regional negotiations, the employers had each offered one-off payments of 3,000 euros and also an unspecified increase in the wage tables for a period of 30 months. For a period of twelve months, the union is demanding eight percent more money for the around 3.9 million employees nationwide. Around 700,000 people are employed in the sector in NRW. The fourth round of negotiations in NRW is scheduled for November 10th. In Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, negotiations will take place for the fourth time on November 8th.
