IG Metall called for full-day walks through Friday, making a "warning shot" before taking more serious measures that could cause many problems for companies dependent on the supply chain of auto parts and other components.
Against the backdrop of the strongest economic growth in six years and a record low unemployment, IG Metall requires an 8% wage increase over 27 months for 3.9 million engineers and metallurgy workers in the country with the largest economy in Europe.
The Union put forward a requirement to reduce the weekly working hours from 35 to 28 to care for children, elderly or sick relatives, and also demanded the right to return to full-time employment after two years.
This is the first major requirement of IG Metall for changing the number of working hours, since in 1994 the workers held a seven-week strike to achieve a reduction in the work week from 40 to 35 hours.
Employers proposed an increase in wages of 6.8%, but rejected the requirement to reduce working hours, if they cannot subsequently increase their number, when necessary.
They also rejected the idea that they should cover part of the wage deficit for workers who reduce their hours, saying that this means that some will be paid a higher hourly wage than others.
It is expected that by Friday, about 260 companies will join the strike, including automakers Mercedes-Benz Daimler and Porsche.
The DIW Economic Institute estimated that strikes could cost companies a total of 62 million euros per day, provided that about 50,000 workers, or an average of 200 per company, would stop working for one day each.
source: dw.de
Against the backdrop of the strongest economic growth in six years and a record low unemployment, IG Metall requires an 8% wage increase over 27 months for 3.9 million engineers and metallurgy workers in the country with the largest economy in Europe.
The Union put forward a requirement to reduce the weekly working hours from 35 to 28 to care for children, elderly or sick relatives, and also demanded the right to return to full-time employment after two years.
This is the first major requirement of IG Metall for changing the number of working hours, since in 1994 the workers held a seven-week strike to achieve a reduction in the work week from 40 to 35 hours.
Employers proposed an increase in wages of 6.8%, but rejected the requirement to reduce working hours, if they cannot subsequently increase their number, when necessary.
They also rejected the idea that they should cover part of the wage deficit for workers who reduce their hours, saying that this means that some will be paid a higher hourly wage than others.
It is expected that by Friday, about 260 companies will join the strike, including automakers Mercedes-Benz Daimler and Porsche.
The DIW Economic Institute estimated that strikes could cost companies a total of 62 million euros per day, provided that about 50,000 workers, or an average of 200 per company, would stop working for one day each.
source: dw.de
