Frankfurt/Main – In the collective bargaining dispute in the metal and electrical industry, IG Metall continued its warning strikes on Tuesday. By noon (2:00 p.m.), approximately 53,000 workers from about 290 companies had participated in temporary work stoppages. Further warning strikes are planned for the afternoon and evening. Since the end of the peace obligation, more than 750,000 workers from about 3,200 companies nationwide have participated in the warning strikes in the metal and electrical industries, IG Metall announced Tuesday in Frankfurt. IG Metall is demanding wage increases of 6.5 percent, as well as greater worker participation in decisions regarding the use of temporary workers and the permanent hiring of trainees.
The warning strikes were concentrated in Baden-Württemberg. There, 23,600 workers from 133 companies temporarily stopped work. In Friedrichshafen, around 10,000 workers from several companies (including the ZF plant and MTU) gathered for a rally. In Gaggenau, 2,600 workers briefly stopped work. Additional warning strikes took place in Karlsruhe, Geislingen, Rastatt, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Stuttgart, and Waiblingen.
In the IG Metall Frankfurt district, 11,200 workers from over 60 companies took part in warning strike actions. A major focus was in North Hesse. In Kassel, 3,500 workers from 45 companies participated in a rally. In addition, 4,000 workers at automaker VW gathered for an informational event as part of the in-house collective bargaining negotiations. In Frankfurt, 300 workers from four companies took part in a motorcade through the city, followed by a rally in front of the Hessenmetall employers’ association. In Kaiserslautern, 2,000 workers from four companies temporarily stopped work. In Kaiserslautern, 2,000 employees took part in warning strikes, along with 500 in Stadtallendorf and 1,100 in Speyer. In Wörth, 3,500 Mercedes-Benz workers went on a temporary walkout.
In the Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt region, 8,000 workers from 60 plants heeded IG Metall’s call. In Hanover, approximately 4,000 workers from 24 plants heeded IG Metall’s call, along with an additional 4,500 Volkswagen AG employees in Hanover. In Osnabrück, 2,000 workers from 17 companies took part in the warning strike rally alongside DGB President Michael Sommer. In Hildesheim, around 900 workers from ten companies gathered for a rally. In Hamelin, 600 workers from eight plants went on a temporary walkout. Additional warning strikes took place in Halle, Lüneburg, and Uelzen.
In the IG Metall Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony district, 5,300 workers from 15 companies took part in warning strikes. In Berlin, around 500 workers from elevator manufacturers Otis, ThyssenKrupp Elevators, and Schindler Elevators, as well as from MAN Diesel, walked off the job and gathered in front of the Association of the Metal and Electrical Industry for a rally.
In Saxony, 400 workers at the VW engine plant in Chemnitz took part in a warning strike. In Dresden, a total of 400 workers at the Gläserne VW-Manufaktur and Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH heeded IG Metall’s call. In Zwickau, 4,000 workers from four plants went on strike and gathered in front of the VW factory gates for a rally.
In Bavaria, approximately 4,235 workers from 18 plants took part in warning strikes. In Klingenberg, 1,000 workers from WIKA demonstrated in support of their demands. In Fürth, 2,000 workers from Siemens and twelve other companies went on strike. Additional warning strikes took place in Immenstadt and Schabach.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, 500 workers from three plants in Alpen heeded IG Metall’s call.
In the collective bargaining dispute over a new company-wide wage agreement at automaker Volkswagen, more than 35,000 VW employees took part in spontaneous actions today and temporarily stopped work. In Wolfsburg, around 20,000 VW employees participated. Additional actions took place at the Volkswagen sites in Emden, Hanover, Braunschweig, and Kassel. IG Metall is demanding a 6.5 percent wage increase for VW employees.
