PRESS RELEASE Collective Bargaining Demands for the Wood and Plastics Industry: Secure Skilled Workers, Strengthen Purchasing Power!

Frankfurt am Main – A 5 percent wage increase, with a disproportionately larger raise for young workers: IG Metall is kicking off the collective bargaining round for the wood and plastics industry with this demand. The union’s executive board approved the decision on Tuesday.

Collective bargaining chairwoman Nadine Boguslawski: “Companies are at risk of losing their workforce. With these collective bargaining negotiations, we want to secure the future for everyone. Increased purchasing power for employees also means a secure workforce and skilled labor.” Higher wages and salaries, as well as an attractiveness bonus for apprentices, are affordable for companies.

The sector employs 166,000 people in the wood, furniture, and plastics industries—ranging from automotive suppliers and manufacturers of kitchen cabinets and RVs to piano makers.

Changing Jobs Is on the Minds of One in Two

According to a survey by IG Metall of 4,400 employees, companies in their sector are faring better than the economy as a whole: While 59 percent perceive the economic situation in the state as solid to very good, 75 percent view the order and earnings situation in companies within the sector as far more positive. At the same time, companies are suffering from labor and skilled-worker shortages, which threaten to worsen due to employee turnover: At 45 percent, nearly half of employees are dissatisfied with their jobs. Another 15 percent are actively looking to leave by applying to other companies.

38,000 employees benefit directly from IG Metall’s regional collective bargaining agreement. In addition, there are numerous companies indirectly affected by the collective bargaining agreement that align with the union’s collective bargaining agreements, whether or not they have their own in-house collective bargaining agreements.

The first collective bargaining negotiations are scheduled to begin in mid-November and will be conducted on a regional basis. The peace obligation ends on December 13 (with the exception of Hamburg on January 1 and Saxony on February 1, 2026), meaning that warning strikes are possible around the turn of the year.

Note for newsrooms:
Regional press contacts are available through the IG Metall district offices: igmetall.de/presse-bezirke