PRESS RELEASE NO. 11/2021 Collective Bargaining in the Metal and Electrical Industries: More Than 600,000 Workers on Warning Strike

Frankfurt am Main – In the collective bargaining dispute in the metal and electrical industries, thousands of workers have now temporarily walked off the job every day for three consecutive weeks. In the third week of warning strikes, as of 2 p.m. today (Friday), approximately 160,000 workers nationwide participated in the warning strikes through well over 600 workplace actions. Since the end of the peace obligation, a total of more than 600,000 metalworkers have heeded IG Metall’s call to temporarily walk off the job.

“Those who are working can also stop working and use warning strikes to put pressure on employers. The hundreds of thousands of metalworkers are demonstrating this more than clearly these days,” said Jörg Hofmann. The IG Metall chairman emphasized that IG Metall remains capable of taking action even during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting restrictions on demonstrations.

Meanwhile, the fifth round of negotiations has taken place in two IG Metall districts—North Rhine-Westphalia and the Coast. However, substantial offers from employers are still lacking. “We’re running out of time. Bridging the differences at the negotiating table by Easter will be a real challenge,” Jörg Hofmann assessed. “We’ll try, but we’ll also prepare to continue after Easter.”

In this round of collective bargaining, IG Metall aims to achieve three goals for the more than 3.8 million workers in the metal and electrical industries: securing jobs, shaping the future, and stabilizing incomes. Specifically, IG Metall is calling for a 4 percent increase, which—depending on the situation at each company—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.

Further warning strikes are planned for the coming week. Already today, Friday, large segments of the workforce from late and night shifts joined the action.

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