Overview
- IG Metall, which began warning strikes on Sunday after the statutory Friedenspflicht expired at midnight, launched Mitternachtsaktionen with temporary walkouts at sites including Thyssenkrupp Rasselstein, RF360/Qualcomm, KSM Castings and Speira.
- The union is pressing for a 5% wage increase over 12 months plus measures to protect lower-paid groups and trainees, site and job security, and a tariff-linked profit-sharing component.
- Employers responded that their second-round offer — a one-off payment next year and a 1.3% staged increase in July 2028 — reflects difficult economic conditions and falls far short of the union’s demand.
- The dispute covers roughly 3.7 million workers across auto, machinery, electronics and metal production, and IG Metall has warned it will expand warning-strike waves nationwide next week to increase negotiating pressure.
- Warning strikes are short, lawful walkouts that unions can call once the peace obligation ends to press demands without an indefinite strike, and a new round of formal talks is scheduled for early November, with Nov. 6 in Bremen cited as the next session.