Germany’s IG Metall union launched strikes in the metal and electrical industries on Tuesday, with protests beginning during night shifts.

The strikes come amid collective bargaining over wages and other working conditions for some 3.9 million workers in Germany’s auto and other manufacturing sectors.

According to IG Metall, 250 workers went on strike at the Volkswagen (VW) plant in the northwestern German city of Osnabrück. In Hildesheim, around 400 workers from several companies went on strike overnight.

What does IG Metall say?

“The fact that production lines are now at a standstill and offices are empty is the responsibility of employers,” said Thorsten Gröger, negotiator and regional director of IG Metall, in a statement to around 200 workers of the Clarios company in Hanover.

“If no good solution for our colleagues can be found at the negotiating table with our partners, other measures will obviously be necessary,” he added.

Strikes in other areas of negotiation are expected to follow later today. The union is demanding a 7% pay increase over 12 months, while employers have proposed a 3.6% increase in two stages over 27 months.

Talks amid Volkswagen crisis

The negotiations, which are due to continue on Tuesday in their third round, are strongly influenced by the drastic austerity measures proposed by the automobile giant Volkswagen.

VW plans to close at least three factories in Germany and cut dozens of

thousands of jobs, the chairman of the company’s works council told VW employees.

Protests are planned across the country, with demonstrations in various locations, including at the Osnabrück factory, which is under threat of closure. The factory is not covered by VW’s company collective agreement, but rather is part of the industry’s regional collective agreement.

dh/nm (AFP, dpa)