Press Release No. 73/2015 IG Metall: 2.3 percent pay increase for workers in the steel industry

Frankfurt am Main – IG Metall has welcomed the agreement reached in Düsseldorf for the approximately 75,000 workers in the iron and steel industry in northwestern Germany. “With this collective bargaining agreement, workers will have more money in their wallets in real terms. It is a well-balanced agreement,” said Jörg Hofmann, President of IG Metall, on Thursday in Frankfurt. The employers’ attempt to reduce the quota of employees eligible for partial retirement was successfully fended off. “With the existing partial retirement quota of five percent, the bridge between older and younger workers remains stable, allowing companies to adapt to demographic change,” said Hofmann.

Effective January 1, 2016, wages for employees in the iron and steel industry in northwestern Germany will increase by 2.3 percent. The collective bargaining agreement provides for a one-time payment of 200 euros for the months of November and December 2015; apprentices will receive 80 euros. It was also agreed that all apprentices will be reimbursed for public transportation costs between their workplace and vocational school that exceed 40 euros per month. The collective bargaining agreement on partial retirement will continue unchanged. The existing collective bargaining provisions regarding the use of service contracts were also extended.

The collective bargaining agreement has a term of 16 months, ending on February 28, 2017.