Some 70,000 German workers representing some 300 engineering firms have gone on “warning” strikes, demanding higher pay rises than their employers are offering.
The biggest German trade union, IG Metall – which represents 3.7 million workers – said that 70,000 engineers working mainly for BMW, Daimler, and automotive supplier Schaeffler staged a strike after rejecting their employers’ offer of a 2.2 percent pay rise for 2015, beginning March 1.
Instead, the union is demanding a 5.5 percent rise, citing Germany’s solid economic growth. IG Metall warned that more workers will strike if its demands are not met.
On Thursday, the German labor office announced that unemployment in January fell to its lowest since reunification. The announcement came just one day after the government raised the country's 2015 economic growth forecast from 1.3 to 1.5 percent.
“The next days are going to be hot,” IG Metall said in a statement, adding that Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhine-Westphalia are the most affected regions. “The strong participation in the strikes shows what the workers think of the proposal” of their employers, IG Metall vice president Joerg Hofmann said.
The biggest German trade union, IG Metall – which represents 3.7 million workers – said that 70,000 engineers working mainly for BMW, Daimler, and automotive supplier Schaeffler staged a strike after rejecting their employers’ offer of a 2.2 percent pay rise for 2015, beginning March 1.
Instead, the union is demanding a 5.5 percent rise, citing Germany’s solid economic growth. IG Metall warned that more workers will strike if its demands are not met.
On Thursday, the German labor office announced that unemployment in January fell to its lowest since reunification. The announcement came just one day after the government raised the country's 2015 economic growth forecast from 1.3 to 1.5 percent.
“The next days are going to be hot,” IG Metall said in a statement, adding that Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhine-Westphalia are the most affected regions. “The strong participation in the strikes shows what the workers think of the proposal” of their employers, IG Metall vice president Joerg Hofmann said.
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