With no progress in the second round of negotiations in the steel collective bargaining round in in the north-west German and east German iron and steel industries as the employers insist on their offer of a one-time payment of EUR 2100 euros & worker union IG Metall demanding a permanent increase in wages, IG Metall’s collective bargaining commission has decided that there will be warning strikes from 1 June 2022. IG Metall district manager in North Rhine-Westphalia and chief negotiator in the north-west Mr Knut Giesler said “We will not buy this wage round with a one-off payment. The steel industry has had full order books for months and profits are bubbling up. That is why the employees rightly expect that they will be appropriately involved in the good business development and not be fobbed off with a one-off payment.”Mr Giesler added “We got the steel industry through the pandemic well last year with a responsible conclusion to the crisis. Some of the employees have made their contribution with extra shifts, so that a lot of money can now be earned in the industry. Now is the time for employers to assume social responsibility towards their employees in the face of rising inflation with a good wage increase. But nothing came. This makes the employees angry, especially in view of the large profits. The pay scale needs to be increased. That will become clear at the gates during the warning strikes.”In the first round of negotiations almost two weeks ago, the employers offered a one-time payment of EUR 2,100. IG Metall had rejected this offer as completely inadequate in terms of structure and volume and asked the employer to submit an offer that included a permanent increase in monthly wages. However, even in the second round of negotiations, the employers were not willing to increase wages permanently.IG Metall is calling for an 8.2% increase in monthly payments over a period of twelve months. In addition, the collective agreements on partial retirement, the use of work contracts and job security are to be extended. The collective bargaining commissions had made these demands after discussion in the companies at the end of April the IG Metall board then made the decision on May 8th.The tariff area of the north-west German steel industry includes North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Bremen. According to IG Metall NRW, 68,000 people are employed in the industry.
With no progress in the second round of negotiations in the steel collective bargaining round in in the north-west German and east German iron and steel industries as the employers insist on their offer of a one-time payment of EUR 2100 euros & worker union IG Metall demanding a permanent increase in wages, IG Metall’s collective bargaining commission has decided that there will be warning strikes from 1 June 2022. IG Metall district manager in North Rhine-Westphalia and chief negotiator in the north-west Mr Knut Giesler said “We will not buy this wage round with a one-off payment. The steel industry has had full order books for months and profits are bubbling up. That is why the employees rightly expect that they will be appropriately involved in the good business development and not be fobbed off with a one-off payment.”Mr Giesler added “We got the steel industry through the pandemic well last year with a responsible conclusion to the crisis. Some of the employees have made their contribution with extra shifts, so that a lot of money can now be earned in the industry. Now is the time for employers to assume social responsibility towards their employees in the face of rising inflation with a good wage increase. But nothing came. This makes the employees angry, especially in view of the large profits. The pay scale needs to be increased. That will become clear at the gates during the warning strikes.”In the first round of negotiations almost two weeks ago, the employers offered a one-time payment of EUR 2,100. IG Metall had rejected this offer as completely inadequate in terms of structure and volume and asked the employer to submit an offer that included a permanent increase in monthly wages. However, even in the second round of negotiations, the employers were not willing to increase wages permanently.IG Metall is calling for an 8.2% increase in monthly payments over a period of twelve months. In addition, the collective agreements on partial retirement, the use of work contracts and job security are to be extended. The collective bargaining commissions had made these demands after discussion in the companies at the end of April the IG Metall board then made the decision on May 8th.The tariff area of the north-west German steel industry includes North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Bremen. According to IG Metall NRW, 68,000 people are employed in the industry.
