The employer federation, Gesamtmetall, has strongly condemned the warning strikes announced by the IG Metall trade union. Oliver Zander, the Managing Director of the overarching employers’ association for the metal and electrical industries, T-Online, remarked that “the unions are unnecessarily causing damage for organizational political reasons.” Zander added that this action is “questionable enough” during a period of economic growth, though he quickly pivoted to counterarguments, stating that this approach is unacceptable when the industry is losing 10,000 jobs a month and investments are being steered toward foreign locations primarily due to labor costs.
Since the peace obligation in the metal and electrical industry expired at the end of October, the union and employers have failed to reach an agreement, leading the IG Metall to announce demonstrations. Zander countered these assertions by arguing that “structural problems within the sector cannot be resolved through strikes, nor will the economic outlook improve as a result, and this type of labor protest certainly does not attract investment.” Furthermore, he criticized the IG Metall for fostering expectations among its members that cannot be met. He suggested that the strikes serve mainly as an instrument for union member retention, cautioning, however, that “this is not a typical wage negotiation round. Those who act this way forfeit trust.” Zander emphasized the difficult situation facing the metal and electrical industry, noting that conditions across the sector remain “miserably bad.”
The Managing Director of Gesamtmetall stated that his organization must work with the IG Metall to find a solution commensurate with the current reality. While acknowledging that this task is challenging, Zander expressed confidence in finding a good compromise, saying, “I believe we can manage that this time as well.” Crucially, however, he mandated that the negotiations must be grounded in the real world, rather than in an idealized scenario.
