The deal, which has been closely watched by the European Central Bank for its effect on inflation, comes at a difficult time for Europe’s largest economy. It will affect 3.9 million employees of companies such as Mercedes or BMW.
ADVERTISINGThe largest German union reached a meeting on Tuesday agreement with the employers on a wage conflict in the metallurgical and electrical industry of the country. The new agreement of the IG Metall union, the dominant metalworking union in Germany, stipulates that salaries will increase in two stages by a total of 5.1%, plus a permanent increase in the collectively agreed additional allocation.
The final salary increase will, therefore, be 5.5%, and the agreement will be valid for 25 months. 230,000 interns in the sector will receive 140 euros more per month. IG Metall stressed that employees will have “more and better options between time and money” in the future.
18 hours of intense negotiations
Negotiations between the union and management lasted 18 hours. The agreement will affect 3.9 million employees from companies such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Siemens and Thyssenkrupp.
Initially, IG Metall demanded a 7% salary increase in a period of 12 months, as well as more flexibility in work schedules. In response, the employer had offered a two-stage salary increase of 3.6% over a period of 27 months.
Hundreds of thousands of workers from all over Germany have participated in numerous strikes during the last weeks to demand an improvement in their conditions.
Additional sources • Enrique Barrueco (Voice-over)
