Frankfurt am Main – As of 2 p.m. today, approximately 44,000 workers from 184 companies have gone on warning strikes in the collective bargaining dispute in the metal and electrical industry, despite storms and inclement weather. Since the end of the peace obligation, a total of around 525,000 metalworkers nationwide have participated in work stoppages, rallies, and early-closing actions. Further actions are planned for this afternoon and evening, IG Metall announced Thursday in Frankfurt.
The focus today was on the Coastal District. In Bremen, 9,200 workers from 13 companies heeded IG Metall’s call for warning strikes. Among them were employees of Daimler, Lear, Airbus, Bosch Automotive, and Thyssenkrupp System Engineering. 3,500 metalworkers marched to a rally in front of the negotiation venue to underscore IG Metall’s wage demands.
Focus Today on the Coastal District
About 9,000 metalworkers from 35 plants in Baden-Württemberg temporarily stopped work to participate in warning strikes and rallies. 4,000 workers took part in a warning strike and rally in front of the Daimler plant in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim. In Biberach, more than 3,000 employees from Liebherr, Handtmann, and other companies demonstrated in support of their wage demands.
About 8,700 workers from 25 companies in the Central District ( Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, and Thuringia) briefly walked off the job. More than 7,000 workers from 16 companies in Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland took part in actions accompanying the negotiations in Saarbrücken. In Hanau, IG Metall Executive Board member Wolfgang Lemb spoke at a rally attended by 800 metalworkers from seven companies, including employees of Vacuumschmelze, ABB, and Honeywell Regelsysteme.
In Bavaria , more than 7,000 workers from 36 plants went on strike. Larger protests took place at Bosch in Ansbach, with 1,150 participants, and at Jungheinrich in Moosburg, with 900 warning strikers.
Actions Despite Bad Weather
In the Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony district, nearly 4,800 workers from 18 companies heeded IG Metall’s call. The largest warning strike, accompanied by a rally, took place in Leipzig with 2,500 participants from BMW and Schnellecke. In Berlin, IG Metall Executive Board member Irene Schulz addressed over 700 workers from Otis, MAN Diesel & Turbo SE, Borsig, and KB Powertech.
In the Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt district, 2,700 metalworkers from 30 companies took part in warning strikes. A demonstration and rally in Hanover drew 1,800 workers from several companies, including Radio Frequency Systems, Nexans, ThyssenKrupp Elevators, Komatsu, and Federal Mogul. At this rally, Christiane Benner, Second Chair of IG Metall, addressed the warning strikers. Actions also took place in Thale and Berga (Saxony-Anhalt).
Nearly 2,300 workers from 27 companies demonstrated in North Rhine-Westphalia in support of IG Metall’s collective bargaining demands. In Paderborn, 900 workers participated in early-shutdown actions, and in Ahlen, 600 did the same. In some locations, rallies had to be canceled due to the storm.
