18 February 2004
STUTTGART – The wage commission of the regional Baden- Wuerttemberg unit of the German metalworkers union IG Metall approved a new wage contract on Wednesday in a move likely to pave the way for a nationwide accord.
The agreement was reached last week between the union and employers in Baden-Wuerttemberg, the southwestern German state which is home to such companies as DaimlerChrysler and Porsche, and applies to 800,000 workers in the state.
Traditionally, the region serves as a pilot for wage agreements between IG Metall and employers throughout the rest of Germany, applying to some 3.5 million workers in the key metals engineering and electronics sectors.
Under the compromise agreement, workers will receive pay hikes of 2.2 percent and 2.7 percent over a 26-month period. The accord, retroactive to 1 January runs through 28 February 2006. IG Metall had entered the wage conflict seeking a one-year, 4 percent hike.
In Wednesday’s vote by 152 employee representatives from companies in Baden-Wuerttemberg, there were only two dissenting ballots, an IG Metall spokesman said.
DPA
Subject: German news