IG Metall weighs escalation after metal wage talks in three regions fail again

Third round ends without agreement

Talks for the metal and electrical industry produced no result on Monday, 9 November 2026. In North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), the third round in Düsseldorf ended without any rapprochement, and the Bavarian round ended the same day without a result. IG Metall said employers had kept up their blocking stance and had not presented an improved offer. A similar deadlock was reported in Saxony, where the union says its concept was rejected again. NRW union negotiator Knut Giesler said employers had let a chance to move toward the workforce slip.

“We will not get involved in debates about concessions without anything in return.”

What divides the sides

The central question is whether companies under economic pressure may depart from collective wage standards. IG Metall has proposed a time-limited rule that would allow employees to accept concessions if firms make binding commitments on investment, sites, products and jobs. The union demands 5% more pay for 12 months. The employers' NRW offer from the second round combines a one-off payment with a 1.3% increase over a 26-month term. Employers also want a simple workplace-level instrument so that operating parties can agree tailored arrangements for investment and site security. The union argues that such a tool would let firms undercut collective standards without making binding pledges in return. Under a timetable agreed in early November in Baden-Württemberg, employers were due to respond to the union's proposal on Monday.

Positions in NRW and Saxony

NRW employers' negotiator Arndt Kirchhoff warned against further escalation and urged the union to move toward a solution.

“Excessive strike activity is neither necessary nor productive, given the extremely poor economic situation.”

In Saxony, IG Metall says it wants 5% more pay for 12 months for roughly 155,000 employees, while employers proposed no pay rise in 2027 and only 1.3% in July 2028. Saxony's employers' association VSME called on the union to end strike action and to drop what it described as an excessive pay demand. Its chief negotiator Stefan Koch said the sector needs a framework that reflects the very different economic situations of companies.

“We need a swift wage agreement.”

IG Metall district chief Jan Otto said employers still insisted on what he called a minus offer, and that job security requires investment and innovation in the plants.

Warning strikes and next steps

Warning strikes have already been held across Germany. IG Metall reported that more than 400,000 employees took part from Sunday to Friday of the week before, while a separate count cited more than 413,000 workers in over 2,800 actions. The union's executive board and bargaining committees will weigh intensifying the strikes before the board decides on Wednesday, 11 November. Possible steps include 24-hour warning strikes, which would still count as warning strikes. Regional ballots on a strike would only follow later, after those escalation steps, if the dispute remains unresolved.