Press Release Workers in the textile and apparel industry launch warning strikes

Ingolstadt/Frankfurt am Main – Following an employer offer well below the inflation rate, IG Metall has announced warning strikes in the West German textile and apparel industry. Starting March 1, the union plans to call on workers at automotive textile suppliers, traditional textile manufacturers, hygiene and medical product manufacturers, and technical textile manufacturers to take action. A total of 100,000 workers are employed in the industry.

IG Metall is demanding a real wage guarantee for workers, calling for at least 200 euros and a 6.5% pay increase. Better partial retirement arrangements are intended to make companies more attractive, and a union bonus is intended to make collective bargaining agreements more sustainable.

During the second round of collective bargaining in Ingolstadt on Tuesday, however, employers demanded a real wage cut: Under their proposal, employees would receive only a 1.3 percent pay increase starting at the end of this year, followed by a 1.7 percent increase a year later. Economic institutes project an inflation rate of 2 percent for 2025 and 2026 alone.

Completely Ignoring the Burden on Employees

Chief negotiator Miriam Bürger stated: “The budgets of textile and apparel workers aren’t just stretched to the limit—they’re full of holes. Inflation has pushed workers’ current real wages below 2010 levels. Our colleagues are under extreme financial and health strain. Employers are completely ignoring this with their offer. Warning strikes are inevitable. We are making it clear now: Our patience is running very thin.”

In addition to higher wages, IG Metall is calling for better working conditions in the industry through an expanded partial retirement program. Bürger: “We need skilled workers and laborers, and to achieve that, we need prospects—not burdens. Many older workers are completely exhausted and are working themselves to the bone.” Employers have not offered to continue the partial retirement program for overworked employees.

Ahead of the second round of collective bargaining in Ingolstadt, over 300 employees demonstrated in support of IG Metall’s demands and presented employers with several thousand signatures.

The peace obligation in the industry ends on Friday; IG Metall announced the first warning strikes for Saturday night. IG Metall and the employers have agreed to hold the third round of collective bargaining on March 12, 2025, in Ostbevern (North Rhine-Westphalia).