IG Metall boss Hofmann warns that rising energy prices will only make themselves fully felt in the coming year. He wants better wages – but also sees the state as responsible.
IG Metall boss Jörg Hofmann has reiterated his demand for further government relief in view of the sharp rise in consumer prices.
“The collective bargaining policy alone will not be able to compensate for 2022 and 2023,” said the head of Germany’s largest individual trade union to the newspapers of the Neue Berliner Redaktionsgesellschaft. “The skyrocketing energy prices will not fully take hold until next year.”
“We have to talk about a third relief package for 2023,” said the IG Metall boss. As in this year, this includes an energy premium of 300 euros for adults and 100 euros for children. “You can’t just discredit the good measure again by excluding the pensioners.”
Hofmann wants to secure real wages
He also called for a gas price cap to ensure normal household consumption and a reduction in the price of electricity. For financing, Hofmann suggested suspending the debt brake in 2023 as well.
According to Hofmann, the trade union wants to focus on the issue of money in the forthcoming wage round for the metal and electrical industry. It should at least be about securing real wages. Including a redistribution component, it could amount to a demand for a wage increase of seven percent or more, the union boss had indicated in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.
The IG Metall board wants to decide on its recommendation on June 20th. The final demand is to be decided on June 30 in the regional wage committees and again on July 11 by the board. The contracts for around 3.7 million employees in the core sectors of German industry expire at the end of September.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
