German trade union IG Metall threatens strikes for wind industry workers over pay demands
German trade union IG Metall threatens strikes for wind industry workers over pay demands | Windpower Monthly
The union, which represents around 3.9 million workers, signalled its intention to start negotiations with employers after its board recommended union representatives to demand a 7% pay increase for metal and electronics workers over 12 months.
Workers represented by IG Metall include employees of major European wind turbine manufacturers including Vestas, Siemens Gamesa, Enercon and Nordex.
IG Metall’s board expects to make a final decision on the official demands of the negotiations on 7 July.
A spokesperson for the union told Windpower Monthly that Vestas and Siemens Gamesa employees were among those represented by the union who could potentially go on strike later this year if union negotiators’ demands are not met.
“IG Metall is preparing for all possible outcomes of the negotiations. This includes the preparation of actions, possible warning strikes, 24-hour strikes, and even a vote on full strikes. Employees from all departments can participate in the strike actions. Which departments exactly will be involved will be determined in due course. Workers from supplier companies can also join the strikes,” the spokesperson said.
Unlike Vestas and Siemens Gamesa, workers at Nordex and Enercon are not bound by a collective agreement and so will not go on strike, IG Metall said.
Nevertheless, those firms could also be impacted by what happens in the expected negotiations, the union pointed out.
“The collective agreements also have an impact on companies that do not apply the collective agreement. They set standards for working conditions and pay that many companies follow. What we negotiate for employees covered by collective agreements is therefore relevant for the vast majority of employees in the industry,” the spokesperson said.
Related Knowledge Center: Offshore wind energy
Over the next decade, U.S. offshore wind power is expected to grow from a single 30-megawatt wind farm off Rhode Island to more than 2,000 MW of capacity along the Atlantic Seaboard. There are contracts for wind power off the coasts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated the United States has over 4,000 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind potential, enough to power the country four times over.
The growth in part being spurred by state solicitations, including in New York, where then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) set a commitment of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035, and in Connecticut, where in June 2021, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed legislation authorizing the construction of 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030.
The offshore development is also being driven by an investment tax credit set to end in December 2019 and is equal to 12 percent of expenditures. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) have introduced a bill to extend the tax credit for up to eight years.
The Interior Department has held eight competitive lease sales that resulted in 15 offshore wind leases over 1.7 million acres that has the potential for 21 GW of capacity. In February 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management completed a bidding process that realized $4.37 billion for 488,000 acres across six lease areas in federal waters off New York and New Jersey.
Projects have also been proposed off the Southeast coast, off California and Hawaii, and for the Great Lakes.