Overview
- Regional tariff commissions in several IG Metall districts have formally applied to the union’s federal board to permit 24‑hour warning strikes after three negotiation rounds produced no agreement.
- IG Metall is pushing for a 5% pay increase while employers have offered a one‑off payment of 1% and a tariff rise of 1.3%, an offer the union says is below current inflation.
- The union previously mobilized hundreds of thousands of members in a nationwide wave of shorter warning strikes to press its case before seeking centrally approved, day‑long actions.
- IG Metall proposed allowing company‑level deviations from the collective agreement in return for binding investment and site‑security guarantees, a proposal employers rejected.
- Employers warn longer strikes would hurt firms in a weak economy; the metal and electrical sector in North Rhine‑Westphalia alone employs about 640,000 people and would feel major disruption if action is escalated.