PRESS RELEASE First week of warning strikes in the metal and electrical industries: 200,000 workers are applying pressure

Frankfurt – High level of strike readiness in the metal and electrical industries: In the first week following the end of the peace obligation, more than 200,000 workers nationwide took part in warning strikes through over 1,000 workplace actions. Today alone—Friday—IG Metall counted around 83,000 participants from approximately 400 companies by early afternoon. Further warning strikes are taking place in the late afternoon and evening. With this, the workers are sending a clear message: Employers must finally present a fair offer.

Jörg Hofmann, President of IG Metall: “The high turnout shows that our colleagues stand united behind our joint demand. They are firmly determined to fight for their well-deserved share. The special payment offered so far is not a basis for serious negotiations. Workers need lasting, substantial pay raises. I call on employers to make significant improvements in the upcoming rounds of negotiations.”

Since last weekend, metalworkers across the country have been putting pressure on employers in all IG Metall districts with flags, torches, human chains, and banners. In the Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony district, for example, production at the BMW plant in Leipzig came to a standstill. In the Coastal district, a large protest took place at the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg. In Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg as well, thousands of workers temporarily walked off the job—for instance, at Bosch in Bamberg and at Porsche in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. In the Mitte district, colleagues gathered outside the factory gates at Daimler Truck in Wörth, among other locations. In the Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt district, colleagues from the Alstom rail company in Salzgitter, among many others, took part in the warning strike. Thousands also protested in North Rhine-Westphalia, including the Ford workforce in Cologne.

Further warning strike actions under the slogan “Solidarity Wins!” are planned. The fourth round of regional negotiations will begin in the second week of November, starting with the Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg districts on November 8.

“The enormous turnout at the warning strikes clearly shows that IG Metall is in a position to step up the pressure. It is now up to the employers to take responsibility and present a serious offer,” said Jörg Hofmann.