Frankfurt am Main – IG Metall has continued its warning strikes in the metal and electrical industries unabated. By noon (2:00 p.m.), nearly 50,000 workers from around 240 companies had demonstrated through work stoppages and rallies in support of their demand for a 5.5 percent pay increase, as well as provisions for age-based and education-related part-time work. IG Metall announced on Tuesday in Frankfurt that, since the end of the peace obligation, approximately 220,000 workers nationwide have participated in the warning strikes. Further warning strike actions are planned for the afternoon.
The warning strikes were concentrated in North Rhine-Westphalia. There, around 18,000 workers from 133 plants briefly stopped work. In Lemgo, 3,000 workers from 32 plants gathered for a rally. In Lippstadt, 1,750 metalworkers from eight companies demonstrated in support of their demands. In Gevelsberg, 1,600 workers from 20 companies gathered for a rally. Additional warning strikes took place in Bocholt, Bochum, Dinslaken, Lette, Krefeld, Minden, Münster, and Paderborn.
In Bavaria, nearly 12,000 workers from 20 plants took part in warning strikes. In Munich, over 4,500 workers at automaker BMW walked off the job. At MAN Diesel & Turbo in Augsburg, 1,200 metalworkers went on strike. Another focal point was Schweinfurt, where around 4,300 workers from nine plants gathered for a rally.
In the IG Metall Central District, around 7,000 workers from 29 plants heeded the call by IG Metall in Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland until noon. The focus was on the automaker Adam Opel. In Rüsselsheim, 4,500 Opel workers walked off the job, and in Kaiserslautern, 1,500 did the same.
In Baden-Württemberg, around 4,000 workers from 30 plants took part in warning strikes. In Heidelberg, around 1,400 workers from several plants gathered outside the gates of ProMinent. In Tuttlingen, 500 workers at the medical technology manufacturer Aesculap temporarily stopped work. In Tauberbischofsheim, 300 metalworkers ended their shifts early. In Mannheim, 200 metalworkers from various plants gathered for a rally. Additional walkouts and events took place in Albstadt, Heidelberg, Bietigheim-Bissingen, Ulm, and Pforzheim, among other locations.
In Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, over 3,700 employees from 32 companies heeded IG Metall’s call. The warning strikes were concentrated in the Hanover region, with nearly 1,200 participants from 14 companies. In the region covered by the IG Metall South Lower Saxony-Harz administrative office, over 1,100 workers from nine companies participated in warning strikes. Additional warning strikes took place in Osnabrück, Halberstadt, and in the IG Metall Alfeld-Hameln-Hildesheim administrative office.
In the IG Metall Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony district, 1,500 metalworkers from seven companies briefly walked off the job. In Saxony, 700 employees at the automaker Porsche went on strike. Additional warning strikes took place at Bosch in Sebnitz, at GKN Walterscheid Getriebe in Sohland an der Spree, at Bahntechnik Brand-Erbisdorf GmbH, and at Mahle Industrial Thermal Systems in Reichenbach. In Ludwigsfelde, Brandenburg, 500 employees at Mercedes-Benz and at Gestamp Umformtechnik GmbH heeded IG Metall’s call.
In the IG Metall “Küste” district, around 1,000 workers from six companies walked off the job. In Wismar, 400 workers from the Nordic shipyard and two other companies gathered for a rally. Additional warning strikes took place in Wilhelmshaven, Wildeshausen, and Apen.
