Tarifstreit: IG Metall zählt mehr als 400.000 Teilnehmer an Warnstreiks

In this week's IG Metall strike warning wave, more than 400,000 employees participated in the metal and electrical manufacturing industry dispute. The union threatened to escalate the labor conflict if employers did not present an improved offer during negotiations in the Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia tariff districts on Monday.

Daniel Friedrich, the IG Metall negotiation leader in the Coastal District, stated, "If employers want escalation, we are ready." In the northern tariff region spanning from Bremen to the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Baltic Sea coast, employers and the union parted ways in the third negotiation round on Friday without a result. Employers have so far offered a one-time payment in July 2027, ranging from 500 to 850 euros depending on profit margins, with the possibility of cancellation for crisis companies.

They also plan to increase the tariff wages by 1.3 percent from July 2028. The union is demanding a 5 percent increase in wages for the industry's 3.7 million employees starting in November for a twelve-month period, along with employment security regulations. Good-paying companies are also expected to pay profit sharing. In Baden-Württemberg, the IG Metall had proposed solutions to employers on Thursday to secure investments and locations, expressing readiness for time-limited regulations where workers' contributions could be tied to employers' binding employment promises.