The German steelworkers union said Wednesday it had known as strikes after failing to reach a pay deal with control as incomes are squeezed with the aid of hovering customer fees.

A “suitable boom in remuneration” changed into justified “in light of rising inflation” stated Knut Giesler, IG Metall union boss in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s industrial heartland.

Consumer prices in Europe’s biggest economy rose at a rate of 7.4 percent in April, a record since reunification in 1990 and well above the two-percent rate targeted by central banks.

The union has presented management with demands for an 8.2-percent wage increase in the negotiations, which have been running since April.

A one-off payment of 2,100 euros ($2,237) put forward by management was “not enough”, Giesler said.

As a result, regional IG Metall negotiators had decided to call “warning strikes” at steel works.

The coordinated walkouts lasting a few hours are a common feature of German industrial relations.

Germany’s largest union, IG Metall represents 68,000 steel workers in the region, more than three-quarters of those employed in the branch nationally.

The clash came as the cost of living rose precipitously, following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

Increases in prices for energy and food have driven inflation to multi-year highs.

The European Central Bank has been maintaining an especially close eye on the improvement of wages for worry pay will increase ought to stoke inflation in addition.

ECB policymakers are plotting a primary interest charge hike in July to counter inflation, they may be the first in over a decade.

But some contributors to the ECB’s governing council are urging the financial institution to move quickly to make up ground on different predominant important banks, that have already raised their charges.