The plans are therefore implemented if no agreement is reached in the two rounds of negotiations with the employers that have been planned so far.
According to the newspaper, there will then be so-called 24-hour strikes across Germany, in which a number of companies will be idle for a day and a night. Therefore, a real, unrestricted strike must be accompanied by a ballot in one or two of the union districts, for example Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria or North Rhine-Westphalia. “We are now racing towards a conflict,” said one of the “SZ” negotiators.
According to the newspaper reports, the fact that the employers’ association Gesamtmetall has not made a proposal specifically specifying a wage increase in the previous three negotiation meetings is troubling the union. So far, employers have only offered a special payment of 3,000 euros for a 30-month term of the collective agreement. IG Metall charges eight percent more for a period of twelve months.
Employers deny the accusation of delaying IG Metall. “Our consultations take some time,” Stefan Wolf, head of the entire metals industry, told “SZ” recently. The situation is particularly difficult due to the energy crisis and inflation. The fourth round of negotiations will begin on Tuesday, the fifth is expected to take place from 14-20 November. The metal and electrical industry is Germany’s largest economic sector.
(SDA)