Erfurt (dpa/th) - The second round of collective bargaining for around 20,000 employees in the Thuringian metal and electrical industry ended without a result. The collective bargaining parties parted on Tuesday in Erfurt without the employer having submitted an offer. That was what IG Metall expected, which is demanding an 8 percent increase in income given the high inflation rate. According to the union, around 200 employees reiterated this demand in front of the negotiation room.
Among others, trade unionists from Opel Eisenach, Schuler Pressen and Siemens Energy in Erfurt or BorgWarner, Bosch and Carl Zeiss Jena took part in the campaign. The next round of negotiations is planned for October 28 in Jena, the two parties to the agreement said.
IG Metall district manager Jörg Köhlinger expresses his incomprehension that employers are sticking their heads in the sand despite inflation and a shortage of skilled workers. "But you can't negotiate if the other party doesn't have any ideas."
The chief negotiator for the metal and electrical industry association, Thomas Kaeser, explains that "these negotiations are perhaps the most difficult we have ever conducted". Employers cannot compensate for the effects of the crises, that is the task of politics. The prices for industrial electricity alone have risen by 270 percent compared to 2020, the economic situation of the companies is bleak and the challenges are numerous.
The employees are also confronted with immense price increases. "It means that both sides are under a lot of pressure." Kaeser expressed his confidence that a mutually acceptable solution will be found.
Negotiations are only made for employees who work in companies that are bound by collective bargaining agreements. A sectoral collective agreement applies to many employers who do not belong to the association, but as a benchmark for in-house collective agreements.
