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German metal workers warn of major strike

Agence France-PresseMay 12, 2013 09:15

Germany's powerful union IG Metall warned Sunday that metal workers will vote on major strike action if no agreement is reached this week in a wage dispute. Nearly 400,000 workers have already joined a wave of shorter "warning strikes" in recent days, hitting big German companies including BMW, Siemens and Bosch. "The IG Metall wants a quick deal, but on fair terms," the union's deputy leader Detlef Wetzel told Monday's edition of Bild daily, demanding employers raise their offer.

400,000 German metalworkers join strikes

Agence France-PresseMay 8, 2013 19:01

Nearly 400,000 workers in Germany's metalworking and electrical sectors have joined strikes in the past week to push for higher wages, their union IG Metall said Wednesday. On Wednesday alone 90,000 workers downed tools. Among the companies hit were BMW, Siemens and Bosch, with the southern state of Bavaria being the most affected. "So far, more than 390,000 employees in 1,600 companies have participated in the warning strikes," said a statement by IG Metall, Europe's largest union with more than 2.2 million members.

50,000 German metalworkers join strike

Agence France-PresseMay 2, 2013 12:31

Tens of thousands of employees from Germany's metalworking sector and electrical industry downed tools Thursday on the first day of a warning strike over pay, a union said. Powerful union IG Metall said that nearly 50,000 workers across 100 plants had heeded its call for a temporary stoppage and announced more action across the country in the coming days. The southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg was most affected, with 26,500 workers having taken part in Thursday's strike, including some at auto makers Daimler and Porsche.

German metalworkers expected to strike

Agence France-PresseApril 24, 2013 10:16

Powerful German union IG Metall warned Wednesday it planned warning strikes from next week in the metalworking sector over negotiations for a pay increase. "Massive warning strikes are the only proper response," Knut Giesler, an IG Metall official for the western region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populated and industrialised state, said. "We want a quick and good solution. Because you only get that with real pressure, we're going to apply real pressure," he said in a written statement.

Top German union calls for 5.5% pay rise

Agence France-PresseFebruary 26, 2013 12:30

IG Metall, Germany's most powerful union, called Tuesday for a 5.5-percent pay rise for metalworkers in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, setting the tone for annual pay talks across the country. IG Metall's regional branch said that a large majority of its wage committee had voted in favour of calling for 5.5 percent more pay for the 740,000 metalworkers in the southwestern state. The demand would be finalised on March 13 ahead of the first round of pay talks on March 21, the union said in a statement.