German metalworkers – a major force in the car industry – are likely to demand pay hikes of 4-5% in the next wage round in 2006, the branch of IG Metall union from the state of Lower Saxony said on Monday.
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“At heart there’s a demand for more money. A demand of between four and five percent is emerging,” the union told Reuters, referring to comments by IG Metall Lower Saxony chief Hartmut Meine.
IG Metall is Germany’s largest industrial union, with some 2.4 million members, the news agency noted.
Reuters said Germany’s current engineering pay deal expires on 28 February. IG Metall’s board is due to recommend a pay demand on 12 December for the union’s regional branches to vote on in January. Pay talks are not expected to start before February.
The news agency noted that the negotiations come as European central bankers are eyeing wage settlements carefully for signs that inflation triggered by high oil prices may be having second round effects on pay.
Reuters said IG Metall traditionally demands more than it gets. In the last wage round in 2004 it asked for an increase of 4% over 12 months and ended with a roughly two-year deal comprised of increases of 2.2% and 2.7% respectively.
