IG Bau wants to put pressure on Hochtief, Germany's largest construction group, in the current collective bargaining round.

The union announced warning strikes at Hochtief on Monday. "We want to emphasize our demand for 750 euros more wages and salaries and 500 euros more training pay per month," said Nicole Simons, responsible for Hochtief on the board of IG Bau, on Friday. The Essen-based company had offered far too little in the talks to date. "Hochtief has had two record years, the employees have earned that, so they should get something out of it," Simons continued. "Collective bargaining talks at Hochtief are traditionally conducted very amicably and respectfully," emphasized a Group spokesperson. "We are confident that we will soon be able to constructively resolve differences of opinion on detailed issues."

The talks on a company wage agreement for around 2,500 employees at Hochtief will enter their third round on Monday. If there is no suitable offer from the construction giant, "things will really get down to business", threatened Simons. Her union had concluded a collective agreement for the industry in mid-June, but Hochtief has yet to reach an agreement for the Group in Germany.

(Report by Matthias Inverardi, edited by Myria Mildenberger. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).