IG Metall threatened employers in current tariff round for German metal and electrical industry with a rapid escalation. "More than two or three weeks of warning strikes make no sense," said first President of Union, Jörg Hofmann. If nothing changes in position of employers by end of January, IG Metall will reflect on 24-hour warning strikes or may also call for a ballot for area strikes.

Due to strong economy and good order situation, IG Metall chief expects a quick solution with an interest of employers ' association of total Metal. "A brief and fierce debate might be better for both sides," said Hofmann. "But we want to enforce our demands and keep employers manage ir production outages."

The agreed peace obligation will expire on 31 December. In new year, workers could n strike. According to Hoffmann, employers have not yet submitted a good offer after second round of negotiations. From 8 January onwards, Union will be in warning strikes in all regions, but already in week before it can come to individual measures in some establishments.

Hoffmann defended his union's demands on working time. It is a contemporary social welfare benefit if shift workers, parents of young children or carers are paid a subsidy if y earn less in case of shorter working hours. Important statutory social benefits, such as wage payments in case of sickness or paid leave, were initially agreed in form of trend-breaking collective agreements.

Date Of Update: 27 December 2017, 12:02