Social partners in the textile sector in Germany have agreed a new wage deal that will offer a 4.4% increase overall to 100,000 employees in the Länder of the former West Germany.
The accord also raises holiday allowances and payments to workers who take early retirement to work part time. The agreement will apply until 31 January 2019. Negotiations for a collective agreement covering the 30,000 employees in the eastern Länder are now getting underway.
At the same time, IG Metall has concluded a new collective agreement for 75,000 steel workers in the north west of Germany. It will mean a wage increase of 2.3% until April next year, and an additional 1.7% until December 2018. Apprentices’ pay also goes up, and the arrangements for voluntary partial retirement for workers over 55 were maintained. The deal obliges subcontractors to respect rules on working conditions including fair pay, working time and safety.