20 February, 200885,000 German steel workers get 5.2 per cent wage raise and signing bonus.
GERMANY: IG Metall secured a 5.2 per cent wage raise for some 85,000 German steel workers in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Bremen and Lower Saxony--- the highest pay raise in the steel industry since 1992 and the largest increase of any sector of the German economy.
Employers and the union reached agreement on February 19, after about 40,000 workers participated in warning strikes to move the deal forward.
The pay increase will take affect on March 1, 2008 and covers a period of 13 months. A one-off bonus payment of 200 euro will be paid for February 2008. The agreement also includes an equal pay system for blue and white collar workers and a pay raise of 70 euro a month for apprentices' stipends.