Collective bargaining agreement: Metallers receive significantly more money

After renewed negotiations late into the night, the wage conflict in the metal and electrical industry is off the table. In addition to a significant increase in wages totaling 8.5 percent, employees are also to receive a one-time tax-free payment.

The wage dispute in the metal and electrical industry has been settled. During the night, the IG Metall trade union and the Südwestmetall employers’ association announced that an agreement had been reached in the fifth round of negotiations in the pilot district of Baden-Württemberg.

The compromise therefore includes a wage increase for employees in the industry by 5.2 percent by June 2023 and another 3.3 percent from May 2024 over a period of 24 months. In addition, there are tax-free one-off payments totaling 3,000 euros.

“Painful compromise” for Südwestmetall

IG Metall district manager Roman Zitzelsberger was satisfied with the result after hours of negotiations: “We fought and negotiated hard, but in the end there is an acceptable compromise on the table. The colleagues are finally getting the permanent percentage increase in pay that is due to them.” IG Metall boss Jörg Hofmann also praised the agreement as a contribution to limiting the recessionary tendencies in the German economy:

Harald Marquardt, chief negotiator for the employers’ side, spoke of a “painful compromise” that is only acceptable because the long term gives companies planning security. In addition, relief options for companies in need are included.

Possible template for nationwide pilot degree

The agreement could serve as a template for a pilot degree for the approximately 3.9 million employees in the metal and electrical industry nationwide. Originally, IG Metall had demanded a wage increase of eight percent over a period of twelve months – the union’s highest demand since 2008. In the course of collective bargaining, the employers had offered 3,000 euros as a one-off payment and an unspecified increase in the salary scales for a period of 30 months provided in promising.

During the collective bargaining dispute, IG Metall repeatedly called for warning strikes, in which, according to the union, a total of almost 900,000 employees took part. On Thursday alone, 100,000 employees stopped work temporarily, half of them in Baden-Württemberg.

According to IG Metall, if the fifth round of negotiations had also remained unsuccessful, there would have been a risk of 24-hour warning strikes and ballots followed by widespread strikes in individual regions.