Düsseldorf (dpa/lnw) – In the collective bargaining dispute in the North Rhine-Westphalian metal and electrical industry, IG Metall continued its warning strikes in the third week after the end of the peace obligation. According to union information, almost 3,800 employees from 71 companies took part in strike actions on Monday. There will also be warning strikes on Tuesday.
Last Thursday, the fourth round of negotiations ended without a result. A date for a fifth round has not yet been set in North Rhine-Westphalia, according to a union spokesman. Around 700,000 people are employed in the sector in NRW.
According to IG Metall, 1,500 employees from 17 companies took part in a rally in Bocholt on Monday. The district manager of IG Metall NRW and negotiator Knut Giesler spoke of a “week of decisions”. “Employers now have to step up their efforts. If that doesn’t happen, we will shift up at least two gears next week in the work stoppages,” he said, according to a statement.
The union announced nationwide warning strikes in at least 60 companies for Tuesday. Rallies are planned in Arnsberg, Bielefeld and Mülheim, among others.
In the nationwide regionally conducted negotiations, the employers had each offered one-off payments of 3,000 euros and an unspecified increase in the wage tables for a period of 30 months. IG Metall is demanding eight percent more money for the approximately 3.9 million employees nationwide for a period of twelve months. A fifth negotiation date for November 17 has already been agreed in the Baden-Württemberg tariff area.
