Several German automotive plants were hit by strikes yesterday as the IG Metall union called members out in support of demands for early retirement packages.
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A Daimler castings plant at Mettingen near Stuttgart was idled during the night shift when 700 union members refused to work their shift, according to dpa. 400 workers at Bosch in Stuttgart stopped work for the day, while Audi’s Neckarsulm plant was idled for an hour because of a workers rally.
The union says more than 100,000 union members at 150 plants in the Stuttgart area will take part in a succession of short-duration strikes this week to persuade employers to guarantee labour buyouts to all older workers.
A state scheme expiring at the end of next year is being used by many workers to retire when they turn 57 with large pensions. The German government has moved away from encouraging early retirement, which was designed to create jobs for young people, and has instead raised the retirement age from 65 to 67.
IG Metall is demanding that employers keep the scheme going beyond 2009 by topping up worker pensions.
Other plants likely to be affected this week include Daimler plants in Allgaier and Gaggenau.
