Berlin In the collective bargaining for the approximately 3.9 million employees in the metal and electrical industry, a pilot agreement was reached in Baden-Württemberg. There is an agreement on wage increases, said the IG Metall and the employers’ association Südwestmetall in the pilot district of Baden-Württemberg after the fifth round of negotiations on Friday. Accordingly, an increase in collective wages in two stages by 5.2 percent from June 2023 and by 3.3 percent from May 2024 has been agreed. There is also a lump sum of 3000 euros, divided into two tranches, paid out in March 2023 and 2024. The federal government has to relieve the currently high inflation, employers have made a payment of up to 3000 euros to their employees, free of tax and social security contributions.
IG Metall went into the negotiations, which began at the regional level in September, with a demand for eight percent more money over a period of twelve months. She had made it clear in the previous rounds that a conclusion without a table increase, i.e. without a permanent percentage increase in wages and salaries, could not be made with her.
IG Metall referred to the high level of inflation, which had risen to its highest level since 1951 at 10.4 percent in October. According to trade unions, since the peace obligation expired on October 29, more than 774,000 workers have taken part in warning strikes to reinforce the demands.
Employers, on the other hand, pointed out that Germany was headed for a recession in the coming year and that there was therefore little scope for distribution. In addition, the good results of corporations such as Siemens, which reported record operating profits on Thursday, should not hide the fact that the situation in the metal and electrical industry is very heterogeneous overall.
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Many small and medium-sized companies in particular feared for their existence in view of the sharp rise in energy prices. In addition, given the economic uncertainty or delivery difficulties, many orders would be canceled. As if to confirm, the Federal Statistical Office reported on Thursday that the backlog of orders in German industry had fallen again for the first time since the beginning of the corona pandemic.
The employers had initially only promised an inflation premium of 3,000 euros and offered to talk about a permanent percentage increase if the union agreed to a long term of 30 months. They also called for automatic differentiation in the collective agreement, i.e. the possibility for companies to delay or not pay individual collective bargaining components if certain key business figures are undercut, without the union having to agree.
In addition, the President of the Employers’ Association of Gesamtmetall, Stefan Wolf, had insisted that a possible collective bargaining result would have to be reassessed if there was still a gas shortage in Germany and companies therefore had to massively restrict or even stop their production.
The pressure to reach an agreement in the metal and electronics industry had grown as a result of the wage agreement in the chemical-pharmaceutical industry. There, the IG BCE trade union and the BAVC employers’ association had agreed in mid-October that wages and salaries would rise in two stages by a total of 6.5 percent.
In addition, the companies pay the 3,000 euros inflation premium that the federal government wants to exempt from taxes and duties. The payment is made in two tranches of 1500 euros each. The collective bargaining agreement for chemicals has a term of 20 months until the end of June 2024.
After the metal pilot agreement in Baden-Württemberg, negotiations are now being continued in the other collective bargaining districts as to whether the result will be adopted. However, this is generally the case, sometimes with slight regional variations.
The next major collective bargaining round is scheduled for the beginning of next year. Negotiations for around 2.5 million federal and local employees will begin on January 24th.
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