PRESS RELEASE NO. 13/2021 Collective Bargaining in the Metal and Electrical Industries: More Than 800,000 Workers on a Warning Strike

Frankfurt am Main – In the collective bargaining dispute in the metal and electrical industries, an average of more than 24,000 workers per day have participated in warning strikes during the fourth week since the end of the peace obligation. As of noon today, approximately 123,000 workers have temporarily walked off the job this week. Since the end of the peace obligation at midnight on March 1, more than 800,000 workers have temporarily walked off the job to underscore their demands and protest the employers’ inadequate offer.

From IG Metall’s perspective, the warning strikes are necessary because negotiations have stalled from the very beginning. The sixth round of negotiations in the IG Metall district of North Rhine-Westphalia also ended without a result early Friday morning after about 12 hours, despite a new offer from the employers. While the negotiating parties have moved closer on some qualitative demands, the IG Metall negotiating committee considers the financial offer, in particular, to be completely inadequate.

The status of the negotiations will be assessed later today by the North Rhine-Westphalia collective bargaining committee and the IG Metall executive board. The executive board will then decide whether to make another attempt to reach a solution in North Rhine-Westphalia before Easter.

IG Metall aims to achieve three goals for the more than 3.8 million employees in the metal and electrical industries during this round of collective bargaining: securing jobs, shaping the future, and stabilizing incomes. Specifically, IG Metall is demanding a 4 percent increase, which, depending on the situation at individual companies, can be used to boost wages and apprenticeship stipends or to finance measures to secure employment. Future collective bargaining agreements are intended to identify tailored company-specific solutions that include commitments to investment, locations, employment, and training.

By noon last Friday, more than 600,000 workers had participated in warning strikes. This number continued to rise over the weekend. Today, Friday, large segments of the workforce from late and night shifts are also joining the strikes. Further warning strike actions are planned for next week.

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