Saarlouis – Collective bargaining negotiations for the West German textile and apparel industry ended without a result after 14 hours in the third round of talks. “With their obstructionist stance, the employers have escalated the conflict and brought the negotiations to a close,” said IG Metall’s chief negotiator, Manfred Menningen, on Thursday in Saarlouis. “Workers in the industry deserve a fair share of the economic success and will not settle for such low raises and excessively long contract terms.”
IG Metall is demanding a 4.5 percent wage increase for a 12-month term and improved partial retirement provisions with a supplementary payment of 550 euros. In addition, IG Metall believes the partial retirement rate should be raised from 2 to 2.5 percent.
In the latest round of negotiations, employers had offered one month without a pay increase, followed by three months of one-time payments of 50 euros each, a 2.1 percent increase effective June 1, 2017, and, in a second phase effective April 1, 2018, a 2.1 percent increase over a 25-month period. They did not offer any real improvement to the partial retirement scheme. “The employers were not willing to refine their offer and find a solution. The central negotiating committee has decided to increase pressure on the companies with further warning strikes,” said Menningen.
Since the end of the no-strike clause on February 1, more than 14,000 employees from over 130 companies have staged work stoppages to underscore their demand for a significant wage increase and improved partial retirement arrangements.
