By Monica Houston-Waesch
FRANKFURT--Metalworkers' union IG Metall has reached a
compromise deal with employers in the German state of
Baden-Wuerttemberg over demands for higher wages, flexible
retirement and educational leave, a deal that could serve as a
precedent for other regions.
Around 800,000 workers in the region will receive a 3.4% wage
increase as well as a one-off payment of 150 euros ($170) from
April 1, in an agreement that will run until March 31, 2016, IG
Metal Baden-Wuerttemberg said in a statement. The union had
demanded 5.5% increase in wages. IG Metall regional chief Roman
Zitzelsberger called the deal a "satisfactory compromise."
"With this we are also ensuring that private consumption, the
most important economic driver right now, will stay on course," he
said.
Earlier in the day, the German statistics office said that
domestic demand contributed 0.5 percentage points to the country's
economic growth in the final quarter of 2014, which was up 0.7%
from the previous quarter.
The union also secured continued flexibility on retirement for
up to 4% of the workforce, and financial subsidies for employees'
further education.
In late January, the employers' association Gesamtmetall offered
a 2.2% wage increase and part-time work for retirees for a maximum
2% of the workforce, sparking a fresh wave of warning strikes at
companies such as Daimler AG (DAI.XE), Audi and MTU Aero Engines AG
(MTX.XE).
Write to Monica Houston-Waesch at nikki.houston@wsj.com
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