German metalworkers return to talks after week of strikes

FRANKFURT AM MAIN: Germany’s powerful metalworking union IG Metall returned to the negotiating table with employers yesterday, with the threat of strikes hanging over talks after a week of walkouts.

The latest round of haggling will begin at 11 am (1000 GMT) in Stuttgart, capital of southwestern Baden-Wuerttemberg state, IG Metall said in a statement. Around half a million workers drawn from sectors as varied as carmaking, electrical and electronic goods or metal production downed tools last week in 24-hour “warning strikes”, a new weapon the union has added to its arsenal as it faces off against employers. If no new deal emerges this week, IG Metall could call an indefinite strike, not seen in the sector since 2003. Union chief Joerg Hoffman warned Friday that worker representatives would not meet bosses again unless they significantly improved their response to the union’s demands for higher pay and the right to temporarily switch to part-time hours. IG Metall is negotiating on behalf of around 3.9 million workers in a critical sector for Europe’s largest economy. Up to now, business chiefs have offered a two-percent pay rise in response to the union’s demand for six percent. But the biggest sticking point has been workers’ insistence on the right to cut their hours to 28 per week for up to two years, with employers topping up salaries for some of those taking the option, for example to care for children or relatives.

If the two sides reach an accord in prosperous Baden-Wuerttemberg, home to industrial giants such as Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler or the world’s biggest car parts supplier Bosch, the results could be extended to all of Germany. The talks are under close scrutiny from other labor groups including civil servants whose contracts are up for renegotiation in the coming months.