Press Release No. 11/2015 IG Metall Continues Warning Strikes

Frankfurt am Main – In the collective bargaining dispute in the metal and electrical industries, IG Metall continued its warning strikes on Monday. By noon (2:00 p.m.), more than 10,000 workers from around 60 companies had demonstrated through work stoppages and rallies to demand a 5.5 percent wage increase as well as provisions for age-based and education-related part-time work. Further warning strikes and early-closing actions are planned for this afternoon and evening. So far, including the actions from the weekend and Friday evening, approximately 470,000 workers from over 2,100 companies nationwide have participated in the warning strikes, IG Metall announced on Monday in Frankfurt.

The focus of the warning strike actions was in Baden-Württemberg. There, by noon, around 5,700 employees from 30 companies had heeded IG Metall’s call. In Karlsruhe-Knielingen, 1,150 employees from two Siemens sites and other companies demonstrated in support of their demands. At the Daimler press plant in Kuppenheim, 100 employees walked off the job. Additional warning strikes took place in Gaggenau, Heidelberg, Offenburg, and Singen, among other locations.

In the IG Metall Central District, over 2,000 workers from 10 companies heeded IG Metall’s call. In Darmstadt, 80 workers at Checkpoint Systems briefly walked off the job in the morning. In Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland-Palatinate, 200 workers from several companies took part in the warning strike. In Speyer, nearly 900 workers from several companies demonstrated in support of their demands. Additional warning strikes took place in Trier, Bad Marienberg, and Neuwied.

In Bavaria, around 1,400 workers from 14 companies took part in warning strikes. The main focus was in Aschaffenburg, where 1,200 workers from several companies demonstrated in support of their demands ahead of the third round of collective bargaining negotiations. Additional warning strikes took place in Weißenburg in Middle Franconia, as well as in Coburg and Waldkraiburg.

In the IG Metall Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony district, around 800 metalworkers from five plants took part in warning strikes. In Berlin, 150 employees at Pierburg GmbH briefly stopped work. In Chemnitz, Saxony, 90 employees of Bosch Rexroth AG took part in work stoppages. Employees in Wurzen, Dresden, and Plauen also heeded IG Metall’s call to action.