German engineering union IG Metall and engineering employers? federation Gesamtmetall announced yesterday that industry-wide contract negotiations, which have been stalled for almost a month now, will resume tomorrow in the state of Baden-Wurttemburg. One day rolling strikes by 100,000 Metall members last week at over eighty companies in this region---which often leads the way in settlements on engineering industry contracts---spread to Berlin and the state of Brandenburg yesterday. With German Chancellor Gerhard Schorder pushing hard for a quick settlement that meets workers? expectations without jeopardizing Germany?s nascent economic recovery, Gesamtmetall has agreed to continue talks regardless of continuing work stoppages.
See "Negotiations in German pay dispute to resume", HUGH WILLIAMSON, Financial Times, May 13, 2002