According to a report in the Sunday edition of the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine, several tens of thousands of IG Metall union members working in Germany will lay down their tools and stop work on Wednesday. DaimlerChrysler, Porsche and Bosch plants in Baden-Württemberg are amongst those affected by a wage disagreement. From the end of March the strike action could be extended nationally, said Jörg Hofmann, a local union leader.
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The union is demanding a pay increase of 5%, but employers are considering 1.2%, although no official offer is yet on the table. Hofmann is highly critical of this. “This strategy is high irresponsible,” he said. He added that if the employers want to benefit from the time that is available until the end of March to conduct negotiations, they should offer more than just hot air.
