2023 Textile Services Collective Bargaining Round No improved offer: Employers are provoking warning strikes

At the second round of negotiations, the employers presented a minimally improved offer. The IG Metall negotiating committee indignantly rejected the offer. Employers must now expect warning strikes nationwide.

“This offer shows no serious willingness to reach an agreement. The employers have thus squandered the opportunity to reach a resolution before the end of the peace obligation,” said IG Metall chief negotiator Miriam Bürger. As early as noon, employees who had traveled to the city chanted “Here we go” at a rally, thereby demonstrating their readiness to strike. The peace obligation ends late Wednesday night.

IG Metall and the employers’ association remain far apart

The employers did not present a noticeably better offer during the second round of collective bargaining. Instead of putting more money on the table, they merely shuffled numbers back and forth in their initial offer. Partial retirement is still not part of the offer. The employers have once again failed to commit to aligning wages and salaries in eastern Germany with those in the west. The contract term is to remain at 27 months.

This is a far cry from IG Metall’s demands. The union is calling for an 8 percent pay increase—but at least 300 euros—to ensure that wages and salaries are permanently protected against inflation. The partial retirement program is to be continued and improved, and the collective bargaining agreement on short-time work is to be made permanent. Wages in the east are finally to be brought in line with those in the west.

Employees’ support for IG Metall’s demands was evident at the negotiation site—and the employers took note. Employees from CWS Workwear Germany arrived in a tour bus, dressed in IG Metall gear and carrying whistles and red flags, to join the rally in front of the negotiation venue. Even before the end of the peace obligation period, they made it clear during their free time on-site that they are demanding more than the employers’ current offer provides. “Many of our colleagues have two jobs just to make ends meet. We need more money. Right now, we’re barely scraping by on the minimum wage. The employers need to do more,” said Silvia Wörrle, an employee at CWS Workwear.

2,500 Signatures in Support of Our Demands

Shortly before the negotiations, the employees stepped it up a notch. Several CWS Workwear employees handed the employers lists with 2,500 signatures. “By signing, the employees are showing that they stand behind our demands,” said Miriam Bürger. Rising prices, in particular, have driven more and more employees to participate in the protests. This was also the case for Michael Klink, another employee at CWS Workwear. “You could already tell on the bus ride to the rally that our colleagues were upset. Everyone is affected by the price hikes. You can’t even fill a shopping cart at the supermarket with 50 euros anymore. Prices keep going up, and wages need to keep pace.”

Why Employees Need Partial Retirement

As with the first round of negotiations, the second offer also fails to address the continuation and improvement of the partial retirement program. This is a key tool for enabling employees to make a secure transition into retirement. “The pressure is enormous: overtime, shift work, all the hard labor—and on top of that, low pay. Something has to change—not just in terms of salary, but also in improving the partial retirement program,” reports Nicu Melzer of CWS Workwear Germany. “After decades of physically demanding work, our colleagues have more than earned the right to the partial retirement program.”

There was also no commitment to align incomes in the east with those in the west. More than three decades after reunification, workers in the east still earn less than their counterparts in the west for the same work. “This is a devaluation and a sign of disrespect toward workers in the East—something we will no longer accept. Equalizing wages cannot be postponed and must take place promptly,” said chief negotiator Bürger. 

The peace obligation ends on the night of June 1. Starting then, warning strikes will take place at many workplaces nationwide. The next round of negotiations is scheduled for June 12 in Leipzig.