IG Metall boss Jörg Hofmann announces strikes

IG Metall had already made it clear in advance that a permanent increase is particularly important to them. Hofmann stressed that it was good that employers were willing to talk about it. “But I would also like to hear a specific number.” In the night to Saturday, the night shift will stop work in some plants, according to the collective bargaining districts.

The IG Metall boss noted that the employers would still have the opportunity to improve their offer before the fourth round of negotiations in the second week of November. If that doesn’t happen, the union will decide how to proceed. “We can then call for 24-hour warning strikes or, in individual districts, for a ballot across the board,” warns Hofmann.

Read the full interview with IG Metall boss Jörg Hofmann here:

The employers submitted an offer in the third round. Isn’t now the time to call off planned warning strikes?
No, because the offer does not respond to our demand in key areas: It is still unclear how the wages of the employees are to be increased in the long term.

The employers have at least said that they can also imagine a percentage increase in the long term…
Employers’ imaginations are impressive, but I would also like to hear a specific number. They have had time since July to deal with our request. And if they don’t do it seriously, don’t be surprised if this bargaining round heats up.

Well, 3000 euros is not a little…
In the case of the lower wage brackets, this corresponds pretty much exactly to the eight percent we require. So that would be a good story for twelve months if it were there every year. But spread over 30 months and without any lasting effect, the number turns out to be a pseudo-giant. Unfortunately, this does not apply to the inflation that households are suffering from. We therefore need an increase in charges that will remain.

They call for warning strikes. Will there also be direct 24-hour strikes?
The fourth round of negotiations begins in the second week of November. If there is no reasonable offer, we will decide how to proceed. We can then call for 24-hour warning strikes or, in individual districts, for a ballot across the board.

The chemical unions have forestalled you. There is a two-stage tariff increase totaling 6.5 percent and two tax-free special payments of 1,500 euros each. Couldn’t this be the ideal blueprint for a metal degree?
The economic situation and the operational structure in the chemical industry are different from those in the metal and electrical industry. We need a solution that suits us. Compare the results of the energy-intensive chemicals industry in the third quarter with the results coming from big metals players these days and you’ll see the difference.

According to a general metal survey, every sixth company sees itself in a situation that threatens its existence due to increased energy costs. Doesn’t that worry you?
Of course, we are concerned that there are companies that cannot pass on the increased prices and are therefore in a difficult situation. We have to find a solution for them. But the cash register at the grocery store makes no difference whether the employer has a bad market position or not. We cannot gear the round of collective bargaining to problem-ridden companies if the industry as a whole is still doing very well.

>> Read the interview with Stefan Wolf, CEO of Gesamtmetall, here: “Order backlogs are melting like ice in the sun”

In the last collective agreement, it was agreed that companies with a net return on sales of less than 2.3 percent could defer or cancel payments. Employers want to enshrine this automatic differentiation. Do you join?
In the problem cases we are talking about, shifting tariff components would not solve the core of the problem. That’s why I’m calling for us to take a close look at what’s best for securing jobs in companies that are in financial need – and that can’t be seen from the return on sales alone. And for this we have the proven Pforzheim process. (In the Pforzheim Agreement in 2004, the metal collective bargaining parties agreed that deviations from the area tariff are possible under certain conditions – but only if the IG Metall agrees, editor’s note.)

Employers want a tariff increase to turn into a freeze if there is a gas shortage. Will you go for it?
We will be ready to talk – as we have been in similar situations in the past. With us, there will not be an automatism that something will simply be omitted.

It disturbs the long term of 30 months. But you know yourself that it won’t work after twelve months because you would then have to negotiate again before your union conference in October 2023…
Importantly, long terms have the disadvantage of binding both parties to a future that is highly uncertain. So the following applies: the shorter the term, the better. Whether it will be twelve months at the end or a schnapps on top – we will see that.

But 30 months you won’t participate?
I wish anyone who trusts the employers to complete the percentage that we as IG Metall would need for 30 months for their association good luck.

Read more about inflation and the economic situation:

Let’s get to politics. The Gas Price Commission will soon present its final report. What do you expect?
I expect there will be a significant reduction in the price of gas for large industrial gas purchasers starting in January. However, this must be linked to conditions, such as commitments to secure locations and jobs as well as perspectives for the transformation. The European legal concerns that are still being expressed seem to me to be surmountable. But there is a worrying development.

What are you thinking about?
There are representatives on the Gas Price Commission who want to use the opportunity to extremely accelerate the phase-out of fossil fuels and to question the bridging nature of gas, which, despite all efforts, will continue to be necessary for parts of the industry in the medium term. This is the only way to come up with the adventurous idea of ​​allowing companies to shut down production and resell unused gas quotas to other companies at a reasonable price. This secures profits, but costs jobs and added value, short-time work is excluded. The fact that not a cubic meter of gas is saved, but that more cheap gas is produced elsewhere, makes this idea completely absurd.

But scarce gas is distributed differently …
If it is more lucrative to sell gas quotas on the market instead of continuing to produce, then this will trigger speculative shutdowns, which we are unfortunately already confronted with. This also affects companies that are highly relevant to the value chain. We are provoking a new supply chain problem, the dimensions of which nobody has really grasped.

>> Read here: Gas price brake for the industry wobbles – federal government is already working on “light version”

Both the gas and the electricity price brake are only announcements so far. Do we need more speed?
If it is not possible to bring forward the gas and electricity price brakes – as Olaf Scholz indicated – then we need further relief for consumers and companies for January and February in addition to the December advance payment now planned.

Is Economics Minister Robert Habeck doing a good job at the moment?
I don’t want to swap places with him. The tasks are enormous. Projects that are clearly behind schedule suffer as a result. We are still awaiting the measures announced a few weeks ago to reduce the bureaucracy of energy cost subsidies for companies. But many wheels have to be moved at the same time and a lot is moving in the right direction.

Mr. Hofmann, thank you very much for the interview.

More: Highest tariff demands for years: is the wage-price spiral now threatening?