13 December, 2010
Some 45,000 German paperworkers will see a 2.5% wage increase come 1 January. That was the negotiated result in Gernsbach in the third round of bargaining that concluded early on 2 December between ICEM affiliate IGBCE and Deutschen Papierindustrie (VAP), the employers association.
The new collective agreement will run until 30 November 2011 and for the first time, ties together under one collective agreement workers employed at some 220 paper mills in both the western and eastern regions of Europe’s biggest economy.
IGBCE and VAP agreed to improve the pension plan effective 1 January 2012 by €100 from €234.98. IGBCE also won improved holiday pay and shift work increases effective 1 January 2011.
Perhaps most significantly, the two sides used a working group to reach a common understanding over the use of temporary workers, thus preventing the abuse of such workers.
IGBCE Chief Negotiator for the Paper Sector, Holger Nieden, called the results satisfactory, stating that some paper industry employers in Germany have weathered the financial crisis in good economic shape, while others have workers that are still employed at still reduced hours.