Possible pilot completion
Fourth round of collective bargaining in the metal and electrical industry started
Employers and IG Metall are optimistic that a pilot agreement will be achieved for the 3.9 million employees in the metal and electrical industry. But when it comes to money, they are still far apart.
Accompanied by the protests of thousands of employees, employers and IG Metall have started what could be the decisive round of negotiations in the collective bargaining dispute in the metal and electrical industry in Hamburg. Shortly before the start, both sides expressed cautious optimism that a conclusion could be reached in the fourth round of talks. However, they are far apart, especially when it comes to money.
Accordingly, the negotiators want to take their time. Should a conclusion be reached, it will probably only be expected late at night or in the early hours of the morning. In the event of an agreement, the negotiators as well as IG Metall boss Christiane Benner and Gesamtmetall President Stefan Wolf want to inform about it at a joint press conference.
IG Metall is demanding 7 percent more money
Among other things, IG Metall is demanding 7 percent more money for a term of twelve months. So far, after nine months of zero, employers are offering a tariff increase of 1.7 percent from July 2025 and a further 1.9 percent from July 2026 – with a contract term of 27 months.
The employers’ side is determined to reach a result, said the negotiator of the Nordmetall employers’ association, Lena Ströbele. “We are also cautiously optimistic that we can break the knot here today together with our colleagues from Bavaria.” The negotiator of the employers’ association vbm, Bavarian M+E Employers, Angelique Renkhoff-Mücke, emphasized with regard to the economic situation: “We are fundamentally facing a kind of crisis conclusion, because we are in the middle of a structural crisis.”
Friedrich: “Where we need a breakthrough is with money”
IG Metall has commissioned the coastal and Bavarian collective bargaining districts to work together with the respective employers’ associations to strive for a pilot agreement for the 3.9 million employees in the metal and electrical industries nationwide. It is clear that the economic situation has already been better, admitted IG Metall Bayern negotiator Horst Ott. “However, we also know that this (…) also applies to people.” They need money, prospects and a future. The district manager of IG Metall Coast, Daniel Friedrich, emphasized: “Where we need a breakthrough is with money.” This affects the total volume, the term and the structure.
A few hours before the start of negotiations, IG Metall boss Benner had threatened longer warning strikes. “Either we get a result that gets us through the door safely. Where you say, yes, that’s fine. Or we have to step it up a notch and have to go on 24-hour warning strikes,” said the union’s first chairwoman at one Rally in Hamburg. Friedrich had also threatened: “Then no plane will go out, then no car will go out.”
Thousands of employees are calling for more money
The union estimates that around 4,000 people took part in the rally at the Hamburg fish market. Upon request, the police estimated the number of participants at around 2,500. The union also announced that 16,500 employees took part in the warning strike. In Lower Saxony, according to the IG Metall district of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, more than 6,000 employees are said to have taken part in a warning strike.
dpa
Source: Stern
