Fourth round of talks failed, with IG Metall urging industrial action in north-west and east Germany.
The fourth round of talks in the steel industry wage dispute collapsed on Tuesday. On the same day, IG Metall cancelled a planned negotiation round with the East German steel industry.
The first 24-hour warning strike began early in the morning at Thyssen-Krupp’s Finentrop facility in the Olpe district. Another strike followed in the afternoon at Outokumpu Nirosta in Krefeld. Around 800 employees in the East German steel industry went on strike on Tuesday.
Markus Sievers, a spokesperson for IG Metall in Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony, stated the following:
We are preparing for all scenarios. However, if a reasonable offer is on the table, that won’t be necessary.
IG Metall demands a wage increase of 8.5 % for some 74,000 steelworkers in north-west and east Germany over a twelve-month period, as well as the introduction of a 32-hour working week with full wage compensation.
While “steps have been taken in many areas towards a model solution on the issue of working time,” there has been disagreement on the issue of salary rise.
With an increase of 3.5 per cent from July 2024 and a lump sum payment of €1,000 for January, spread over 19 months, steel bosses “have not shown a willingness to increase wages accordingly,” Dirk Schulze, chief negotiator for the east, explained.
Gerhard Erdmann of the steel association in Düsseldorf stated that the capital’s representatives saw no room for manoeuvre in the union’s demands.
[The steelworkers’] exaggerated expectations are completely irresponsible in the face of the looming economic crisis.
