The strike at Stanley Feinwerktechnik in Lahnau (Central Hesse) has ended after just under two weeks—with success: The 60 employees have secured inclusion in the collective bargaining agreements for the metal and electrical industries. This means they will receive significantly higher pay and shorter working hours. Work will resume on Tuesday morning. On Monday, 100 percent of the IG Metall members at the plant—which is part of the Black & Decker Group—voted in favor of this in a second strike ballot.
“Three years ago, the employees elected their works council for the first time. Since the end of 2024, the workforce at Stanley Feinwerktechnik has been fighting for a collective bargaining agreement,” explains shop steward Sascha Gerlach of IG Metall Central Hesse. “This negotiation outcome is the result of an eight-day strike by a small workforce in a struggle for recognition, responsibility, and justice that is unprecedented in Central Hesse.”
Inclusion in the Metal Industry Collective Bargaining Agreement Effective Immediately
Some provisions of the metal and electrical industry collective bargaining agreement take effect immediately. For apprentices, pay will increase to the metal industry rate as early as their May paycheck—and their workweek will be reduced to 35 hours effective immediately.
Fully trained employees will receive a one-time payment of 1,000 euros net in June—as well as an additional 1.50 euros per hour starting in July, with a minimum increase of 261 euros per month. In September, they will receive an additional 3.1 percent raise—and the collective bargaining rates for the metal and electrical industry will then apply.
Their workweek will be gradually reduced from 40 to 37.5 hours starting in January 2027, and then to 35 hours per week starting in January 2028—with full wage compensation.
Starting in 2027, the collective bargaining-based annual special payments will also be added—the Collective Bargaining Supplement (T-ZUG) and the Transformation Allowance (T-Geld).
Exclusively for IG Metall members, there will also be a membership bonus of 500 euros in January 2027.
However, the employer is so far sticking to its plans to cut about one-third of the jobs at Stanley. Negotiations on this matter are still ongoing. However, severance payments amounting to 1.2 gross monthly salaries per year of employment have already been agreed upon, as well as a 6- to 12-month placement program during which employees will receive training and be placed in new jobs.
Strike at Stanley Feinwerktechnik in Lahnau, Central Hesse
Solidarity Against Discrimination
The strike at Stanley began on May 4. 100 percent of IG Metall members at the plant voted in favor of the strike in an initial strike ballot, following nearly two years of negotiations and three warning strikes.
The workers were also fighting for equal treatment: Other companies in the Black & Decker Group, such as the three neighboring Tucker GmbH plants in Gießen and Linden, have long been covered by the metalworkers’ collective bargaining agreement. Stanley workers have been earning 15 percent less than their counterparts. As part of their actions during the strike, Stanley workers also visited all three Tucker plants. The Tucker workers, in turn, are supporting their colleagues at Stanley in their actions.
More than 50 expressions of solidarity from all over Germany and beyond have already been received. Among them are the workforces of: Volkswagen, Daimler Truck, Ford, Audi, Schunk, Bosch, Mahle, Leica Camera, Leica Microsystems, Asco Deutschland, YKK, Telekom, Musashi, Tadano, Jungheinrich, Avnet, Tucker, Dexion, and Boge.
Over 70 individual donations from various workforces, works councils, political parties, associations, and individuals have been deposited into the solidarity account for the strikers.
“The regained solidarity and the unwavering determination of the IG Metall members made all the difference,” says Uwe Zabel, chief negotiator for the IG Metall Central District. “Without these two factors, there would not have been a breakthrough in the negotiations. A triumph ofsolidarity.”
Background information, reports, and videos from the strike at Stanley Feinwerktechnik are available from IG Metall Mittelhessen.
