German industrial workers to start 24-hour walkouts as wage talks fail

German industrial workers will start a fresh wave of walkouts at metals and engineering companies across the country late on Tuesday, labor union IG Metall said. Last-ditch talks over wages and working hours failed to reach a deal over the weekend. In the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, workers will down tools for 24 hours at a time through Friday evening. Emboldened by the fastest economic growth in six years and record low unemployment, the union is demanding an 8 percent pay rise over 27 months for 3.9 million metals and engineering workers across Germany. Employers have offered a 6.8 percent increase but have rejected the demand for shorter hours unless they can also increase workers’ hours when necessary, Reuters reported.