German trade union IG Metall is demanding a 5% pay rise for around 60,000 workers at most of the country’s steel companies. The negotiations concern pay conditions in 2027.
The union says the cost-of-living increases continue to weigh heavily on workers, even as the economy shows its first signs of recovery.
“After the sharp rise in consumer prices, people need a substantial increase in their monthly pay,” said Jan Otto, head of IG Metall’s Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony branch.
According to Otto, the steel industry must “become more attractive to young people again” and stop falling behind the metalworking and electrical engineering industries in apprentice pay, Kallanish reports.
The steel industry’s demands follow wage negotiations for the much larger metalworking and electrical engineering sector. It includes companies that use metals and steel, as well as electrical engineering firms. Major industries include automotive manufacturing, household appliance production and mechanical engineering; the sector also includes some steel-processing companies. A total of 3.7 million people work in the sector.
For these workers, the union is also seeking a pay rise of at least 5%. Employers reportedly oppose a pay increase in 2027 and are instead proposing a one-off payment that year, followed by a 1.3% increase in 2028.
On Tuesday, IG Metall called for the first nationwide warning strikes in the dispute.
The steel industry employers’ association AGV Stahl has categorically rejected the union’s demands, calling them “ill-timed.” Employers say that more than 14,000 of the 41,000 jobs in North Rhine-Westphalia alone could be lost as a result of cutbacks.
AGV Stahl also cited IG Metall Chairwoman Christiane Benner, who reportedly said in an interview with a newspaper in October: “The German steel industry is experiencing the deepest structural crisis in its recent history.”
In light of the situation, a demand for a pay rise of more than 5% “sounds as if it came from another union or relates to another industry,” AGV Stahl said.
Author: Christian Koel, Germany