The fronts in collective bargaining in the metal industry remain hardened. The seventh round of talks was recently canceled without results. The employers’ side accuses the union of “absurd behavior”. More strikes are likely to follow.
“The behavior of the unions is absurd, no one understands that anymore. We would have been prepared to give increases if we had achieved an improvement in the framework law (…) That is grotesque!”, said employer chief negotiator Christian Knill in shock. “With their uncompromising approach, the union representatives have maneuvered themselves into a dead end and got stuck there,” Knill continued in a broadcast.
Before the seventh round of negotiations, negotiators from the PRO-GE and GPA unions had threatened to expand fighting measures if no results were reached by Monday. After warning strikes, there were also one-day strikes in various companies the week before.
Supply and demand are miles apart
As is known, the employees are demanding a wage increase of 11.6 percent. In the sixth round of negotiations, the Metal Technology Industry Association (FMTI) offered a staggered increase of an average of 6 percent and proposed a tax-free one-off payment of 1,200 euros net.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
