German unions launch wave of strikes over cost-of-living pressures

IG Metall, Germany’s largest union, launched strikes on Monday in the metal and electrical engineering industries, where a wage dispute affects about 3.7 million employees. The union is seeking a 5 percent pay rise, protections for jobs and production sites, and profit-sharing in strong-performing sectors. It rejected employers’ offer of a one-off payment equivalent to 1 percent of pay in July 2027 and a 1.3 percent increase from July 2028, saying the proposal would cut wages in real terms. Strikes are expected to continue throughout the week amid cost-of-living protests in several European countries.