Ludwigsburg – Breakthrough in the collective bargaining conflict in the metal and electrical industry in the fifth round of negotiations: On Friday night after eleven hours of negotiation, the parties to the collective bargaining agreement in Baden-Württemberg agreed on a pilot agreement and agreed on a package of permanent pay increases and an inflation compensation premium in two stages.
Employees will receive significantly more money in both 2023 and 2024: At the beginning of 2023 there will be the first stage of the inflation compensation premium of 1500 euros. In June of the same year, the fees increase by 5.2 percent. At the beginning of 2024, employees will receive the second stage of the inflation compensation bonus of 1,500 euros. Fees will increase by 3.3 percent in May 2024. Then the fees increased in two stages by a total of 8.5 percent.
Jörg Hofmann, First Chairman of IG Metall: “The employees will soon have significantly more money in their pockets – and permanently. Added to this is the tax and duty-free inflation compensation premium. Both together – the inflation compensation premium and the percentage increase – bring noticeable relief to employees in view of the increased prices. And both of these were made possible by our colleagues with their warning strikes. A big thank you goes to them for this commitment.”
The employers had hesitated for a long time to even submit an offer, provoking a large wave of warning strikes. As of today, Friday, around 900,000 metalworkers across Germany have temporarily stopped working.
In view of the sharp rise in prices, IG Metall had successfully applied pressure for noticeable relief parallel to the collective bargaining round in political Berlin. Hundreds of thousands of metalworkers campaigned, among other things, for an effective brake on gas and electricity prices.
“In extremely challenging times, it has been possible to noticeably relieve employees, stabilize income over the long term and strengthen purchasing power. The collective bargaining result achieved today therefore also supports the economy in Germany,” says Jörg Hofmann.
The collective agreement runs until September 30, 2024. The board of directors of IG Metall recommends the adoption of the pilot result in all collective bargaining areas.