Vol.64/No. 16 April 24, 2000
40,000 join warning strikes in eastern Germany
BY CARL-ERIK ISACSSON
STOCKHOLM--The metalworkers union, IG Metall, reports some 40,000 workers participated in warning strikes in eastern Germany to put pressure on the employers for a new contract. They also note that 10 years after German reunification union members in the east still earn 20 percent less--and work longer hours--than metalworkers in the western parts of the country.
IG Metall's chief negotiator for the eastern part of Germany, Hasso Düvel, said that there can't be a contract in the west until workers in the east get a raise. The union has also officially stated that the contract signed in Nordrhein-Westphalia, with wage increases of 3 percent followed by a 2.1 percent raise the next year, cannot be a model for eastern Germany.
The contract in Nordrhein-Westphalia is held up as a model by employers around Europe. In Sweden, both employers and union officials refer to Europe-wide norms for wage increases.
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