GERMAN METALWORKERS STRIKE FOR 28-HOUR WEEK

BERLIN: for mass strikes from Monday could impact a key industry and

for a pay rise but also demand elderly relatives.

Employers say such a drastic have threatened to go to court to stop the industrial action.

the terms of the negotiation by

are a familiar feature of the annual collective bargaining - onstrate at factory gates and in

But there has been no na

IG Metall expects up to

- Berlin in the former communist east and the hyper- modern

Trailblazers

- in industrial conglomerates electronics and textiles.

make for massive changes.

Unions are demanding a pay

it is a classic starting position - ther bouts of industrial action.

But some employee leaders are outraged at the response to their other headline demand - employer paying some of the salary shortfall and guaranteeing the right to return to full

- ministrative tangle.

And they argue that the part- time.

After an autumn round of be full- scale strikes.

The Gesamtmetall employ demands and any industrial threatening to take the question to court.

While the sun shines

Industry leaders in metal and

appropriate means to resolve salary disputes. They hurt ex for the sector in southern state Bavaria.

pumped up by strong exports most of the cards appear to be the talks.