It will be the first strike of its kind in seven years. Ninety per cent of workers polled in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany's prosperous south western state, voted for action, a decision now endorsed by their leaders. Twenty one plants will stop work on Monday and 50,000 workers are expected to down tools.The companies to be targeted have not been named, but the giants of German industry are likely to be affected - car makers Daimler Chrysler, and Porsche to name but two.
Employers' leaders have accused the unions of being "irresponsible". The union leader Klaus Zwickel of I G Metall blamed the employers alone for worsening the conflict and he warned them not to respond with lock-outs. That option has not been fully excluded.
A period of industrial unrest won't help Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's re-election chances. He needs to reassure his core trade union support but he can't risk alienating potential swing voters. His party-less Economics Minister Werner Mueller, said recently "strikes were inappropriate in a time of developing recovery".
But the union has clout. A four month strike in the 1950's won a generous sick pay deal. In 1984 a bitter strike led to locks-outs but secured the union the 35 hour week. But a drawn-out strike is the last thing Chancellor Schroeder needs and the pressure will be on both sides to reach a deal.
Rob Broomby, BBC
