Press Release No. 20/2015 IG Metall mobilizes approximately 750,000 workers by the end of the third week of warning strikes

Frankfurt am Main – Ahead of the fourth round of negotiations in the collective bargaining dispute in the metal and electrical industry, IG Metall has stepped up pressure on employers. As of noon (2:00 p.m.), approximately 45,000 workers from 220 companies had participated in walkouts, rallies, and early-closing actions, IG Metall announced on Friday in Frankfurt. Further actions are planned for the afternoon and evening. Since the start of the warning strikes, approximately 750,000 metalworkers from more than 3,300 companies nationwide have demonstrated in support of their demands for a 5.5 percent wage increase as well as provisions for part-time work related to retirement and education.

Today’s warning strikes were concentrated in Baden-Württemberg. There, nearly 16,700 striking workers from 80 companies underscored their demands with various actions. Around 350 employees from Daimler Untertürkheim marched in a torchlight procession from the Hedelfingen plant section to Mettingen. In Stuttgart, 3,000 Daimler employees gathered for rallies. In Heilbronn, 700 employees demonstrated in support of their demands. In Waiblingen, more than 550 metalworkers at Stihl walked off the job on short notice. In Ehingen, 3,500 employees from various Liebherr locations went home early.

In Bavaria, nearly 15,500 workers from 42 companies walked off the job on short notice. In the Nuremberg area, over 10,000 workers from 31 companies took part in warning strikes and early-closing actions, including employees from Siemens, Diehl, Robert Bosch, Bosch-Rexroth, and MAN Bus & Trucks. In Lower Franconia, over 3,000 workers at several Linde sites in the Aschaffenburg area went on a brief walkout.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, over 6,300 warning strikers at 56 companies walked off the job at short notice. In Detmold, Lemgo, and Blomberg, 2,000 employees from around 30 companies went home early.

In the IG Metall Central District, nearly 6,000 warning strikers from 43 companies went on strike. In Herborn, 850 employees from various companies demonstrated in support of their demands. In Wetzlar, 100 employees gathered. There were also warning strikes in Kassel, Eschwege, and Herborn. In Kaiserslautern, over 2,100 workers from Opel, GKN, General Dynamics, and other companies took part in warning strikes. In Speyer, 1,500 workers from 14 companies gathered for a rally.