3000 employees demonstrate: IG Metall demands 7% more wages!

3000 employees demonstrate: IG Metall demands 7% more wages!

In a dramatic sign of the protest, around 3,000 employees in Mainz raised their voice for higher wages in Mainz. Before the third round of negotiations for the Mitte tariff area, the demonstrators, who came from Hesse, Rhineland and Saarland, moved from Mainz-Kastel to a powerful rally via Theodor-Heuss Bridge. IG Metall loudly demands 7 percent more money for employees and 170 euros additional support for trainees - a demand that gains in the middle of the current crisis situation.

The mood among the demonstrators is combative. "It hums. Our order situation is pretty good," explains an employee of the meal plant manufacturer Gebr. Pfeiffer from Kaiserslautern. He is determined to fight for 7 percent and 170 euros for the trainees. The previous offer of employers - 1.7 percent more money from July 2025 and 1.9 percent from July 2026 - will be rejected as inadequate and too late. "The employer's counter offer is nothing," said the clear announcement of the protesters.

Special attention to trainees

The trainees are the focus of the demands. A young trainee of the car supplier ZF in Saarbrücken describes the financial emergency: "We need the 170 euros because we are simply too poor." Kay Wohlfahrt, chairman of the works council at Boge in Simmern, also emphasizes that the training allowance in the metal and electrical industry is no longer competitive. "In the meantime, the trainees in other industries earn more than with us," he emphasizes and warns of an impending shortage of skilled workers.

IG Metall remains active during the warning strikes and continues to negotiate with the employers' associations. The third round of negotiation has been running since Tuesday, and the union is planning an attempt to solve on November 11th in the fourth round of negotiations. The demands are clear: 7 percent higher fees for employees and a disproportionate “attractiveness turbo” for trainees. The negotiations are crucial for the future of the industry and the well -being of the employees.