Higher wages, shorter workweek, vacation and Christmas bonuses Employees and IG Metall secure a collective bargaining agreement at Wanzl

IG Metall Bavaria has concluded its first collective bargaining agreement for the approximately 2,000 employees of shopping cart manufacturer Wanzl in Leipheim and Kirchheim. Under the agreement, wages will increase by 2.3 percent.

In addition, the company-specific collective bargaining agreement guarantees the 35-hour workweek as well as the payment of Christmas and vacation bonuses. Unpaid overtime and mandatory Saturday work are prohibited.

“The Wanzl employees fought alongside IG Metall for two years to secure this collective bargaining agreement, not least through several warning strikes, ”explains Günter Frey, Chief Representative of IG Metall Neu-Ulm/Günzburg. “The employees’ commitment and solidarity are now paying off for them. This can also serve as a model for other workforces in the region.”

Protest at Wanzl in 2014: Employees form a human shopping cart. Photo: IG Metall Neu-Ulm/Günzburg

Secure Wage Increases Only with a Collective Bargaining Agreement

The dispute over a collective bargaining agreement at Wanzl has been dragging on for years. Wanzl had stopped passing on the wage increases from the 2016 and 2018 metal industry collective bargaining agreements to its employees—as had always been the practice before. Wanzl’s employees demanded binding and legally secure provisions on wage increases and working hours—in a collective bargaining agreement.

“During the COVID-19 crisis, collective bargaining agreements are even more important for employees because they provide them with security,” emphasizes Johann Horn, district director of IG Metall Bavaria. “It also sends an important signal to other employers that we have brought Wanzl, a company, into the collective bargaining system.”

In a second phase, IG Metall and the company intend to address additional issues within the framework of the new in-house collective bargaining agreement—such as partial retirement, protection against age-based termination, and the hiring of trainees.