The ‘Social Wall’ between the East and West. Acute disappointment was palpable at the IG Metall headquarters on the day following the breakdown of what was the sixth attempt at talks to negotiate the length of the working week. IG Metall spokesperson Silke Ernst, in response to Planet Labor complained, “Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and we find ourselves facing a social wall dividing East from West,” before terming the failure “an irresponsible act” that risks strengthening the extreme rightwing AfD party ahead of September’s regional elections in Brandenburg and Saxony, because IG Metall workers in the former East German metallurgy sector are working longer hours than their colleagues in the West but yet are only being paid the same salary.
Germany: failed agreement on the introduction of the 35-hour week in the former East Germany’s metal sector
Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin wall, Germany is still divided. After an arduous seven-week strike in 1984, the 35-hour working week was secured in 1995 in former West Germany’s metallurgy sector. Former East Germany’s metallurgy workers however are still working 38 hours per week and the situation does not look like changing any time soon. Indeed, and despite a long struggle and intense negotiations, on 22 June the IG Metall union failed during its sixth round of talks to convince employers to progressively make working time the same across both geographical zones by 2030. The employers’ body, Gesamtmetall wants businesses to have the freedom to negotiate a working week of between 30 and 40 hours with their WCs. IG Metall stated it would be pursuing negotiating for a reduction in working time on a company-by-company basis.
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