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BERLIN, July 21 (Reuters) - The outgoing head of Germany's powerful IG Metall union will move to halt a damaging leadership row by leaving early, making way for the man he blames for the union's biggest defeat in decades, union sources said on Monday.
The resignation of IG Metall head Klaus Zwickel could open the way for the leftwing hardliner Juergen Peters, the man Zwickel says was responsible for the failure last month of a strike campaign in eastern Germany, to take over in tandem with the more moderate Berthold Huber as deputy.
"It can be assumed that Zwickel will shortly announce his resignation," a source in the union leadership said ahead of a news conference with Zwickel in Frankfurt at 1 p.m. (1100 GMT).
The leadership dispute has split the union since a strike over working hours in eastern Germany collapsed, the first time in 50 years IG Metall had been forced to end a strike without having gained any concessions from employers.
Zwickel has led IG Metall for a decade, a period that has seen a sharp decline in membership for the union that long set the benchmark for wage deals across Europe but has seen its influence wane of late.
Peters, who had been due to take over in October, was heavily criticised for his role in the strike but fought off calls from Zwickel and other leaders to resign.
Huber, who had stood against Peters in a race to become the union's official candidate for the leadership, had previously declared he would not stand as deputy leader.
The power struggle between the modernisers around Huber and the traditionalists backing Peters had thrown the union into its deepest crisis in decades. It has also threatened to destabilise German industrial relations.
The union leadership is due to meet next Wednesday to try to find a compromise after failing to do so at talks last week.
While Peters would be expected to be a more confrontational leader than Zwickel, labour experts say whoever leads IG Metall will have little choice but to accept employers' demands for more flexibility in sectoral wage bargaining to stay relevant.