IG Metall has described the collective bargaining agreement for the 800,000 workers in the metal and electrical industries in Baden-Württemberg as forward-looking: “With today’s collective bargaining outcome, we are stabilizing the economy in Germany. At the same time, it is an important step toward shaping the world of work,” said Detlef Wetzel, First Chairman of IG Metall, on Tuesday morning in Böblingen. With a 3.4 percent wage increase over a twelve-month period and a one-time payment of 150 euros for three months, IG Metall is securing a significant real wage increase for the workforce, he explained.
Roman Zitzelsberger, IG Metall district director and chief negotiator in Baden-Württemberg, described the collective bargaining agreement reached after the marathon negotiations that lasted until early Tuesday morning as a “satisfactory compromise: We went into these talks firmly convinced that we would find a robust outcome for all three of IG Metall’s demands—and we succeeded in doing so with today’s agreement.”
Improved Partial Retirement
Regarding partial retirement, the existing collective bargaining agreement was successfully improved. Employees in the lower pay grades will be better off. “They will now receive approximately 90 percent of their net pay and can thus afford the well-deserved transition out of working life,” said the First Chairman. In addition, IG Metall successfully thwarted the employers’ attempt to reduce the number of eligible employees: “The four-percent quota remains in place.”
Subsidized part-time training
Unused funds from the partial retirement collective bargaining agreement could be used for continuing education measures in the future. “This marks a first important step toward subsidized part-time training. Further steps must follow. The employers’ veto no longer exists,” said Wetzel. With the expanded opportunities for personal continuing education, an important building block for the future of the industry and its employees has been established. In addition, the parties to the collective bargaining agreement have jointly agreed on models for the continuing education of unskilled and semi-skilled workers.
Wetzel emphasized that the financing and employees’ entitlement to continuing education must apply nationwide. Due to differing collective bargaining provisions regarding continuing education, the outcome of the negotiations in North Rhine-Westphalia should serve as the basis for other collective bargaining regions. In those regions, access to continuing education would be resolved through a collective bargaining conciliation board in the event of a dispute. In Baden-Württemberg, an individual dispute resolution mechanism has been agreed upon.
Thanks to All Activists
Wetzel expressly thanked the participants in the warning strikes. “The more than 850,000 metalworkers made today’s outcome possible through the nationwide pressure of their warning strikes and actions. We are capable of taking action across the board. That is and remains the central prerequisite for our successful and reliable collective bargaining policy,” said the First Chairman.
