Collective Bargaining for Temporary Workers: Inflation Bonus 1,000 temporary workers demonstrate in Munich

2,300 euros in inflation adjustment bonuses for temporary workers in the metal and electrical industries. IG Metall reached this agreement with the temporary employment associations on Friday morning.
 

A Matter of Fairness

Just before negotiations began on Thursday afternoon, 1,000 temporary workers demonstrated for their inflation adjustment bonus. They marched from “BMW Welt” to the Leonardo Royal Hotel Munich, where a final round of negotiations between IG Metall and the employers subsequently began.

In addition to employees from the BMW plant in Munich, temporary workers from BMW plants in Dingolfing, Landshut, and Regensburg, from Audi in Ingolstadt, and from the Munich-based companies MAN, Siemens Mobility, MTU, ATOS, and Knorr-Bremse also took part in the protest. Temporary workers from Augsburg and from MAN in Nuremberg were also present. In addition, a delegation from Ulm in Baden-Württemberg attended.
 

Employers Give In

The talks and negotiations had dragged on for over half a year. After IG Metall had already secured an inflation adjustment bonus (IAP) for permanent employees at the end of 2022, the union now demanded the IAP for temporary workers in the metal and electrical industries as well.

“As temporary workers, you do the same work as permanent employees. Temporary workers are not second-class employees,” explained Sibylle Wankel, chief representative of IG Metall Munich, at the demonstration. “That’s why companies must pay you the inflation bonus as well.”

Martin Kimmich, chairman of the BMW General Works Council, made it clear in his speech: “During the pandemic, temporary workers bore the brunt of the crisis. They were laid off and then called back on an on-call basis. And now 3,000 euros is supposed to be the problem? We won’t stand for that!”

In recent weeks, thousands of temporary workers across Germany had already demonstrated for their inflation adjustment bonus, supported in solidarity by permanent employees.

Last week, employers offered nothing more than a sham deal: 1,000 euros, but only after at least nine months of employment.

On Monday, the IG Metall executive board declared the collective bargaining negotiations for temporary workers in the metal and electrical industries a failure.

But then the employers sought talks once again, and IG Metall agreed to one final round of negotiations.

Inflation adjustment for temporary workers as well

A 3,000-euro inflation adjustment bonus, net. IG Metall secured this in the collective bargaining negotiations for the metal and electrical industries, to be paid in two installments of 1,500 euros each in February 2023 and February 2024. However, the metal industry collective bargaining agreements apply only to permanent employees—not to temporary agency workers, who are covered by separate collective bargaining agreements with the temporary staffing associations BAP and iGZ.

Temporary agency workers often fall into the lower pay grades and, given rising prices, need the inflation bonus just as urgently.
 

Up to 9.25 percent more per month—but capped

IG Metall, together with the other DGB unions, has already secured a significant increase in monthly wages. In April, collectively bargained wages rose by up to 9.25 percent.

But for many temporary workers in the metal and electrical industries, this increase doesn’t actually reach them. Due to the industry-specific wage supplements that IG Metall has secured specifically for temporary workers in its industrial sectors, their pay is already nearly on par with that of comparable permanent employees. But that’s as far as it goes: their pay is capped at this level by their employers—and they see almost no benefit from their collective bargaining increase. This is another reason why it is so important that our colleagues working as temporary agency workers in the metal and electrical industries also receive an additional inflation adjustment bonus.