Germany’s IG Metall trade union launched strikes in the metal and electrical industry amid sector-wide collective bargaining talks. Around 71,000 people took part the strike on Tuesday and around 370 companies were affected, according to the union’s executive board in Frankfurt. The collective bargaining talks cover wages and other conditions for around 3.9 million workers in Germany employed in the automotive and other manufacturing industries. These negotiations, which continued on Tuesday in their third round, are heavily influenced by drastic austerity measures proposed by car giant Volksw…