Read this article in:
21 May, 2007
ICEM affiliate IGBCE and German paper industry employers reached a new collective agreement on 16 May, covering 44,000 workers. The 17-month labour accord calls for wage increase of 3.2%, retroactive to 1 May 2007, with a further increase of 2% to take effect on 1 May 2008.
The contract runs until 30 September 2008.
Effective next month, a single payment for each worker was won, totalling €95. Apprentices will receive €35. Another achievement, reached in arbitration, was an add-on to the long-term savings plan for each worker. In addition to the €478.57 each year paid per worker by an employer, an extra €13 will be allotted for each €100 contributed by the worker to this supplemental retirement plan.
IGBCE Chief Negotiator Holger Nieden commended workers’ solidarity in achieving the contract. “We obtained a fair and equitable amount after substantial pressure was applied,” he said. “The proportional increases are appropriate, they correspond with the situation of the industry, and they fit the overall economic framework.”