German union IG Metall stages warning strikes in engineering industry

By Sabine Ehrhardt

BERLIN (Reuters) - Thousands of engineering workers on night shift across Germany walked out over a wage dispute early on Thursday, IG Metall, Germany's biggest trade union, said.

The union, which represents 3.7 million workers, has rejected an offer from employers for a 2.2 percent pay increase for 2015 from March 1. It wants a 5.5 percent rise for all of 2015, saying solid growth in Europe's biggest economy justified the demand.

In North Rhine-Westphalia alone more than 3,000 employees at 15 companies downed tools for at least an hour after midnight and protested in front of factory gates, a regional branch of IG Metall said.

Companies affected across Germany included carmakers BMW and Daimler , as well as automotive supplier Schaeffler .

Further warning stoppages are expected during the course of the day and in coming weeks.

Wage negotiations between employers and the union are due to continue on Feb. 6 in North Rhine-Westphalia and on Feb. 11 in Baden-Wuerttemberg. Usually the first region to strike a deal is a precedent for the whole country.

Separately, security staff have gone on strike at two of Germany's smaller airports, Duesseldorf and Cologne/Bonn, causing the cancellation of hundreds of flights, after trade union Verdi called for a walkouts following three fruitless rounds of pay talks.

Duesseldorf airport said 205 takeoffs and landings had been cancelled, out of total planned aircraft movements of 530.

At Cologne/Bonn airport, 40 flights were cancelled out of a planned 190 take-offs and departures. The airports advised passengers to prepare for delays and to avoid bringing hand luggage to speed up security checks.

(Additional reporting by Victoria Bryan; Writing by Michelle Martin; Editing by Stephen Brown and David Holmes)