The wave of warning strikes in the German metal and electrical industry is picking up speed. After a significant boost on Thursday, the IG Metall union has now registered around 110,000 participants, as reported.
The protests in the factories, which usually lasted several hours, began on Saturday and initially continued with restraint due to the various public holidays. On Thursday alone, around 43,000 were added by the afternoon.
The union is demanding eight percent more money for a period of twelve months for the approximately 3.9 million employees nationwide. In the negotiations that have been conducted regionally so far, the employers have each offered one-off payments of 3,000 euros and also an unspecified increase in the wage tables for a period of 30 months. The one-off payment should reach the employees directly, free of taxes and duties.
Further warning strikes are planned until the fourth round of negotiations, which begins on Tuesday in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Should no rapprochement succeed, IG Metall wants to resort to 24-hour warning strikes or prepare indefinite strikes in individual areas with ballots.