Press Release No. 15/2015 IG Metall mobilizes around 600,000 workers by the end of the second week of warning strikes

Frankfurt am Main – Ahead of the collective bargaining negotiations scheduled for Friday in the IG Metall districts of Lower Saxony and Saxony, approximately 20,000 workers from over 80 companies had participated in the warning strikes by noon (2:00 p.m.) and demanded an improved offer, IG Metall announced in Frankfurt. This marked a continuation, with undiminished intensity, of the work stoppages, rallies, and early-closing actions that had taken place in the preceding days. Since the start of the warning strikes, nearly 600,000 metalworkers from nearly 2,600 companies have demonstrated in support of their demands for a 5.5 percent pay increase as well as provisions for age-related and educational part-time work.

In the IG Metall Mitte district, approximately 7,200 workers from 15 companies heeded IG Metall’s call. The focus was on the truck manufacturer Daimler in Wörth. There, workers from all shifts walked off the job, bringing production to a halt for a total of 29 hours. Additional warning strikes and early-closing actions took place in Hesse, Saarland, and Thuringia.

In Bavaria, over 3,500 workers from nine companies participated in brief work stoppages. The focus was on Würzburg, where 1,000 workers at the printing press manufacturer König & Bauer and the automotive supplier Brose Fahrzeugteile heeded IG Metall’s call. In Elchingen, 800 employees of Bosch Rexroth GmbH briefly stopped work. There were also warning strikes in Munich and Kronach.

In the IG Metall Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony district, approximately 2,400 workers from 18 companies took part in warning strikes. In Berlin-Siemensstadt, more than 2,300 employees from 17 companies demonstrated in the morning. The warning strikers came from, among others, Siemens sites, BMW AG, Osram AG, TACR GmbH, and BSH GmbH. In Roßwein, Saxony, 60 employees of Mahle Motorenkomponenten GmbH went on a brief strike.

In the IG Metall district of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, approximately 2,300 workers from 32 companies heeded IG Metall’s call. In front of the negotiation venue in Hanover, 1,650 metalworkers from 22 companies demonstrated in support of their demands. Additional warning strikes also took place in the Alfeld-Hameln-Hildesheim region as well as in Salzgitter-Peine.

In Baden-Württemberg, approximately 2,300 employees from twelve plants participated in warning strikes. In Alfdorf near Schwäbisch-Gmünd, 450 employees at TRW Automotive briefly stopped work. In Bruchsal, 350 employees of the home appliance manufacturer Neff heeded IG Metall’s call. Additional warning strikes also took place in Aalen and Waiblingen.