Collective Bargaining Rounds

Making work better

The long-term care insurance system is running out of money. The federal government wants to plug the gaps with an austerity bill. But that would mean new hardships for millions of people in need of care and their families. Yet there is a socially responsible alternative to mere benefit cuts.

Physical strain is a defining feature of the work of many industrial workers. This is shown by a new analysis. The figures also show that employees exposed to multiple sources of work-related strain are more likely to work even when they are sick. There is an urgent need for more preventive measures in the workplace.

As an apprentice, are you allowed to participate in warning strikes and strikes? The answer is a definite yes! Here, we’ll explain what rights you have when collective bargaining enters its critical phase.

What should I do if my boss is bullying me? What was the biggest strike in history? On the podcast “Maloche und Malibu,” we discuss the big questions of the working world. The new episode is titled “A Stinging Slap in the Collective Bargaining Round—Now Comes the Response.”

Working conditions at Hark Recycling in Hamm kept getting worse and worse. When the boss started monitoring them with a drone, they’d had enough: They went to IG Metall and elected a works council. But the works council members were transferred as a punitive measure through underhanded tactics. They’re fighting back with the help of IG Metall.

Strengthen, Don’t Cut: A fair pension reform is possible, even if many claim the opposite. The new plan from the DGB unions shows how a change in pension policy can work—and how a decent standard of living in old age can be secured for everyone.

A labor dispute is looming at Volkswagen starting in January. VW management has terminated nearly all of the company’s collective bargaining agreements and is demanding even more money from employees. IG Metall is now calling for the terminations to be rescinded by the end of October—as well as for negotiations to begin promptly.

To increase pressure during collective bargaining negotiations, IG Metall is calling for warning strikes. The start date and duration are determined by the respective IG Metall district. But what are warning strikes—and what impact can they have? Should I worry about negative consequences if I participate? We answer the most important questions.

Active metalworkers can apply to study at the European Academy of Labor in Frankfurt. The next academic year runs from October 2027 to August 2028. The application deadline is March 1, 2027.

Arbeitsplatzabbau, Werkschließung, Verlagerung: In der Krise sollen Beschäftigte häufig für Fehlentscheidungen der Konzernbosse blechen. Im Talk enttarnen wir Fehler der Arbeitgeber und zeigen, was das Erfolgsrezept für Industriebetriebe ist.

If you’re sick, you can take time off to recover and still get paid: For most people today, this is a given. But it wasn’t always that way. A look back at a strike that continues to shape social policy in Germany to this day—and is now, once again, alarmingly relevant.

The private equity firms Aequita and Accursia are buying up metal companies and bleeding them dry—now including AIOS (headliners for Mercedes) in Überherrn (Saarland) and the iron foundry in Ueckermünde (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania). The workers are fighting back. At AIOS, a strike vote is now on the horizon.