2025 Collective Bargaining Round for the Wood and Plastics Industries Workers are demanding a 5 percent increase

The IG Metall Executive Board has approved the demands for the upcoming collective bargaining round in thewood and plastics processing industry. On the recommendation of the bargaining committees, IG Metall is demanding a 5 percent wage increase and a disproportionately higher raise for apprentices for the more than 166,000 employees nationwide at furniture, panel, prefabricated home, and trailer manufacturers, automotive suppliers, and other sectors. Various factors were taken into account in determining the demands, ranging from conditions at the workplaces to consumer sentiment and the inflation rate.

Previously, an IG Metall survey of workplaces had shown what matters most to employees in this round of collective bargaining: 65 percent of those surveyed want a wage or salary increase to offset their rising costs. This pattern is consistent across different industries and regions. Overall, Inga Neumann, the collective bargaining expert on the IG Metall Executive Board, assesses the situation in workplaces as varying greatly. “The caravan industry is currently generating different profit margins than kitchen manufacturers. Our employees are discussing a solidarity-based demand that fairly covers all sectors.” 

“Everything is getting more expensive”

At the start of collective bargaining negotiations for the wood and plastics processing industry this summer in Frankfurt, bargaining committee members from the companies will meet with the responsible union secretaries from the districts. Torsten Marschlich is a member of the bargaining committee and a works council member at Peri, a manufacturer and supplier of formwork and scaffolding systems. He believes that, in addition to the good work being done, price increases are an important reason why wages and salaries must be raised now.

His colleague Regina Strobel from Ruf Betten agrees. “We want more money. Inflation affects us all; everything is getting more expensive.” The bedding manufacturer is doing well financially. “We posted strong results in the first half of the year. After the summer slump, we’re now hoping for continued stable results in the latter part of the year.” All things considered, the works council member expects and hopes that her colleagues will have more money in their pockets on a long-term basis following the collective bargaining negotiations.

The no-strike clause ends in December

The situation is different at the prefabricated home manufacturer DFH. “The situation is pretty tense right now. We were sold, and we’re now on a radical cost-cutting course. At the same time, so many employees have been laid off that we’re already running into difficulties when production picks up again,” says works council member and collective bargaining committee member Dietmar Mohr. That said, the worst is likely behind us, according to Mohr. “Things are slowly looking up again.” The works council warns that there is a shortage of skilled workers and that attractive wages and salaries are necessary to address this. This is also confirmed by the survey of employees. A majority of over 60 percent has considered changing jobs or is already actively in the job application process.

The collective bargaining agreements will be terminated at the end of October, and negotiations will begin in mid-November. The peace obligation ends at midnight on December 13, at which point warning strikes can begin. Employees have already made it clear in the IG Metall survey: A clear majority is prepared to participate in collective bargaining actions to apply the necessary pressure on employers.