By Jan Schwartz
HAMBURG (Reuters) -Metalworking union IG Metall struck a wage deal with Volkswagen for the carmaker’s western German factories that hewed closely to an earlier agreement for the wider metal engineering industry in the country, a person familiar with the talks told Reuters.
Under the two-year deal, workers stand to receive a combined 8.5% wage hike in two steps as well as a lump-sum payment worth 3,000 euros ($3,093) after tax, the source said on Wednesday.
The union said in a statement on Wednesday that a wage deal had been reached with Volkswagen and that a news conference would be held at 0800 GMT in the northern city of Hanover.
IG Metall, which is Germany’s largest trade union, in July demanded an 8% wage increase for around 125,000 workers at six German VW plants as well as at subsidiaries including Financial Services.
In a separate deal that set the benchmark for 3.9 million metal and electrical sector workers across Germany, IG Metall, this month agreed a below-inflation pay hike in a deal that pointed to containable wage pressures in the broader euro zone.
Under the agreement with employers at the time, workers’ pay will increase by 5.2% from June 2023 and 3.3% from May 2024. In addition, a tax-free lump sum of 3,000 euros will be paid in two instalments, in March 2023 and 2024.
($1 = 0.9697 euros)
(Writing by Ludwig BurgerEditing by Shri Navaratnam and Kim Coghill)
