Overview
- IG Metall's federal board formalized the package on Wednesday, September 23, adopting a 5 percent general wage demand for about 3.7 million metal‑and‑electrical workers, a 12‑month term, a tariff‑based profit‑sharing proposal for profit‑rich firms, and measures to secure jobs and sites.
- Regional bargaining rounds start in early October in several districts and the current sector agreements expire on October 31, a timetable that allows immediate warning strikes from November 1 because the union waived a post‑expiry peace period.
- Employer associations have publicly rejected the demands as unrealistic and are pressing cost cuts, including proposals to extend working time without pay, a step IG Metall says would be unacceptable and a threat to the 35‑hour workweek.
- IG Metall is pursuing company‑level pressure alongside the sector talks: its VW Haustarif commission unanimously demanded 5 percent for roughly 130,000 VW employees and has a review meeting with VW scheduled for September 30 to press on past Zukunftstarif commitments.
- The round pits a fractured industry landscape against a broad social demand for relief—auto and many machinery firms face deep crises and job cuts while shipbuilding, medtech, aerospace and defence show strong order books—raising the risk of intense negotiations that will affect wages, hours and local plant futures.