Frankfurt, Nov 2. (dpa/GNA) – Major German trade union IG Metall is stepping up its strikes in the metal and electrical industries.
The country’s largest union announced on Monday that it was calling on thousands of workers to walk out at short notice in more than 2,000 workplaces across the country by the end of the week.
Key locations to kick off the campaign in Western Germany include Koblenz, with a march to the city centre, the Opel site in Kaiserslautern, and companies in the Frankfurt area such as Vitesco, Procter & Gamble and Rolls-Royce.
In Kassel, employees of Daimler Truck AG and Paul Beier GmbH are staging temporary walkouts.
At stake are the working conditions and pay of around 3.7 million employees covered by the regional collective agreement for the metal and electrical sectors.
Key industrial sectors such as automotive and mechanical engineering, electronics and metal production are affected by the temporary walkouts.
The trade union has demanded a 5 per cent pay rise over a 12-month period, as well as job and site security.
Employers have criticised the action as “inappropriate sabre-rattling.” They put forward an offer that provided for a one-off payment next year and a pay rise of 1.3 per cent in July 2028.
They justified the lower offer—which falls below the rate of inflation—by citing the difficult economic situation and the high-cost pressures facing industry in Germany.
GNA