Catherwood LibraryILR School

Following the breakdown of contract talks with the German construction firm federation this past weekend, German construction workers? union IG Bau has announced that it will hold a strike vote on June 15. The union has announced that if its 340,000 members grant authorization, the first strikes in the industry in over fifty years could begin as early as June 15 and would likely be focused in the Berlin and Frankfurt areas. At issue in the dispute are the union?s demands for a 4.5 percent raise and wage parity between employees in eastern and western Germany---demands which employers in Germany?s faltering construction industry have characterized as dangerous to strike over.