IG Metall plans 24-hour warning strikes in Germany's metal industry on 12 November

Districts push for escalation

On Wednesday, 11 November 2026, regional wage commissions of several IG Metall districts asked the union's executive board to approve full-day warning strikes in individual plants of the metal and electrical industry. The commission in North Rhine-Westphalia took that decision on Wednesday, and the commission in Baden-Württemberg backed the request unanimously. The commissions for Berlin-Brandenburg and Saxony also decided to answer the employers' blockade with full-day stoppages. The request takes effect only once the executive board signs off.

Barbara Resch, district leader for Baden-Württemberg, said the employers seem to understand only more pressure.

“Apparently the employers understand no language other than even more pressure.”

What the full-day strikes are

The walkouts are called 24-hour strikes regardless of the actual shift times at the affected plant. IG Metall introduced them in 2017 as a middle step between short warning strikes and an open-ended strike. So far they have been used only once, in 2018, when the metal and electrical industry was running at high capacity. At that time Jörg Hofmann, then the union's chief, described them as the last yellow phase before the red phase of an industry-wide strike. Because no ballot is needed, the executive board can order them directly, whereas an open-ended strike requires a members' vote. Members in the plants still vote first on taking part, and the process needs approval from at least 50 percent of the eligible members. Participating members can draw strike pay from the union's strike fund, which is why the board must sign off, since the strikes weigh on union finances.

Pay demand and employer offer

IG Metall is seeking 5 percent more pay for roughly 3.7 million workers on a twelve-month term, and it also wants jobs and sites protected. The employers have offered a one-off payment that can be revoked, followed by a 1.3 percent step increase in 2028 within a deal running over 26 months. The employers justify an offer below general price inflation by pointing to high cost burdens and to the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs, which they say will continue if conditions stay poor. They also want company-level agreements to protect future investment, while the union demands verifiable commitments from firms. Knut Giesler, district leader for North Rhine-Westphalia, said the employers had rejected the union's proposals.

“We made proposals on how industrial jobs can be secured, locations strengthened and the future shaped. The employers rejected them.”

The third bargaining round ended nationwide without a result. The union says more than 400,000 employees have already joined warning strikes nationwide within a single week. Baden-Württemberg alone employs about 900,000 people in the sector, which includes car making, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and metal production.

IG Metall demand (12-month term)5%

Employer offer (2028 step increase)1.3%

IG Metall demand (12-month term)

5 %

Employer offer (2028 step increase)

1.3 %

Data from the article text

Board decision and member votes

The executive board meets in Frankfurt am Main on Thursday, 12 November 2026, to decide on the requests, and approval is regarded as certain. In Baden-Württemberg, member votes in the plants are due to start on Friday, 13 November 2026, with the full-day strikes to follow. Bavaria's district has said there will be no new negotiating date before the 24-hour strikes begin. Jan Otto, district leader for Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony, said the plants would be shut down around the clock.

“Without a fundamental change of course by the employers, there will be no agreement in this wage dispute.”

Thorsten Gröger, chief negotiator for Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, said the employers had missed their chance to steer the dispute into orderly channels.