Frankfurt am Main – The IG Metall Executive Board recommends that the regional bargaining committees in the metal and electrical industries demand wage increases in the range of 7 to 8 percent for 12 months. Jörg Hofmann, President of IG Metall: “Companies are doing well. But employees are not doing well when they look at their grocery and energy bills.” This applies to the years 2022 and 2023, which the collective bargaining agreement now being negotiated must take into account. “Unlike companies, workers cannot pass on rising prices. Even given the strong order and earnings situation, a substantial increase is warranted to help maintain purchasing power through collective bargaining policy,” said Hofmann. The industry employs over 3.8 million workers.
Survey: Companies Are Optimistic
The IG Metall Executive Board justifies its recommended demands based on the economic conditions. Following a slump in March, companies’ expectations regarding production, employment, and exports have risen and remain stable compared to the previous period. The order backlog in the metal and electrical industries is at a historic high.
According to an IG Metall survey of works councils at over 2,400 companies, around 84 percent rate their order situation as “good” or “somewhat good,” while only 2.6 percent rate it as “poor.” Sixty-nine percent expect the order situation to remain stable over the next six months, and 18 percent even expect it to improve. In addition, companies are operating at high capacity: Two-thirds currently have normal (20%) or high (43%) capacity utilization. Seventy percent of companies are also optimistic about their earnings situation in 2022.
Sustainable, pay-scale-based wage increases and relief are needed
Jörg Hofmann: “We are once again demonstrating reason and responsibility. After four years, employees deserve a decent increase in their pay scales. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of policymakers to take decisive action to address the enormous problem of rising prices. We cannot offset the current inflation rates through collective bargaining alone.”
The last pay increase affecting the pay scales in the metal and electrical industry took place in April 2018. The 2021 collective bargaining agreement included a new annual special payment (transformation allowance) in addition to a COVID-19 bonus. In the crisis-driven collective bargaining agreement reached in June 2021, a term extending through September 2022 was agreed upon, so that—in the view of the bargaining parties—a wage adjustment for 2022 can still be made in light of the uncertainty prevailing at that time. Consequently, wage developments for 2022—and, with a 12-month term, for nearly the entire year of 2023—are up for negotiation in the metal and electrical industry.
IG Metall will finalize its demands at the Executive Board meeting on July 11, following meetings of the regional bargaining committees on June 30. Negotiations in the bargaining regions will begin in mid-September. The collective bargaining agreement on wages expires on September 30. The peace obligation ends on October 28, 2022.
Presentation for the press conference
