Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - In the wage dispute in the North Rhine-Westphalian metal and electrical industry, IG Metall has threatened to intensify the strike action. A concrete offer is expected in the fourth round of negotiations on Thursday, said district manager and negotiator Knut Giesler on Wednesday, according to the announcement. "If there is no movement at the negotiating table, there will soon be an escalation of the collective bargaining round that hasn't been seen for a long time." The union did not provide any further details.
In previous collective bargaining disputes, there have been around 24-hour warning strikes, most recently in the metal and electrical industries in 2018. The last resort is indefinite strikes, which members have to vote on.
According to the union, around 5,300 employees from 45 companies took part in warning strikes on Wednesday, during which work was stopped for several hours. 1200 employees from 13 companies in Bielefeld-Brackwede came together for the largest rally. 1,000 employees from seven companies met in Warstein. On Thursday there should be warning strikes in nine places.
In Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, the fourth round of negotiations had already taken place on Tuesday - without a result. In Baden-Württemberg, a fifth round was agreed for November 17th. In Bavaria there was initially no new date.
In the nationwide regionally conducted negotiations, the employers had each offered one-off payments of 3,000 euros and an unspecified increase in the wage tables for a period of 30 months. IG Metall is demanding eight percent more money for the approximately 3.9 million employees nationwide for a period of twelve months. Around 700,000 people are employed in the sector in NRW.
