IG Metall and employers' association praise the Stuttgart agreement as the cornerstone for an innovative working hours system. According to a labor market expert, the multifaceted agreement demonstrates the functioning of collective bargaining autonomy.
Shortly after the late-night collective agreement was reached at the Stuttgart Liederhalle, Südwestmetall Chief Stefan Wolf had a bad feeling: The "complexity of the collective agreement" and the level of the wage agreement would be a "burden that many companies will find difficult to bear," said the negotiator. IG Metall district manager Roman Zitzelsberger also expressed the expectation that he would have a lot of work to do to explain the collective agreement for the metal and electrical industry to the members. Both immediately began to highlight the advantages from their perspective and to downplay the disadvantages. An overview. Wage increase: Starting April 1, salaries will increase by 4.3 percent. For the months of January to March 2018, there will be a one-time payment of 100 euros. Additionally, from July 2019 onwards, all employees will permanently receive an additional annual bonus, which amounts to almost three percent in the wage table: a uniform fixed amount of 400 euros plus a collectively agreed additional payment - called T-ZUG - amounting to 27.54 percent of their individual monthly salary. From 2020 onwards, the 400 euros will be integrated as part of T-ZUG into the wage tables, benefiting particularly lower pay groups. However, the fixed amount can be postponed, reduced, or eliminated by companies in economically difficult times. Finally, there is a permanent differentiation option - which is immensely important to employers, Stefan Wolf was pleased to note. The collective agreement runs until March 31, 2020. Overall, according to Südwestmetall, it brings a wage increase totaling an average of seven percent over 27 months. "This is the highest collective agreement in the last twelve years in terms of annual consideration," said IG Metall President Jörg Hofmann, considering the still low inflation rate. In both years, the union had approached a four percent wage increase. Employers speak of a cost burden of "less than four percent in both years."
Fixed-term part-time
IG Metall has achieved its core goal - fixed-term part-time work. Starting in 2019, all full-time employees with at least two years of company seniority can reduce their working hours to between six and a maximum of 24 months to up to 28 hours per week. They can then switch back from part-time to full-time. Repetition is possible. However, there are company limits: As long as ten percent of employees are on reduced full-time or 18 percent in total on part-time, the employer does not have to approve further requests. Additionally, the employer can reject the request for fixed-term part-time work in case of loss of key qualifications.
Collective leave days
The partial wage compensation for fixed-term part-time work, which IG Metall had hoped for, is not available. Now, employees with children up to eight years old, or with relatives in need of care, as well as shift workers, can opt for eight collective leave days in 2019, two of which are funded by the employer. They must then forego the collectively agreed additional payment. The time value of the eight days is higher than 27.5 percent of the individual monthly salary, says Zitzelsberger. Therefore, something has been achieved for these employees who have long been at the center of the collective bargaining conflict. The originally requested wage subsidy of 200 euros per month has been rejected by employers as discriminatory towards all part-time workers and therefore unlawful. However, there are specific requirements for the three groups of employees regarding company seniority. This is to limit the use of the eight days. The provision of free days instead of the collectively agreed additional payment can be extended to the entire workforce through company agreements. However, the collective bargaining parties do not seem entirely confident in their decision: After 24 months, they plan to take stock and, if necessary, discuss adjustments.
Additional working hours volume
The employers' side especially celebrates the increased flexibility in terms of overtime. The proportion of employees working more than 35 hours and up to 40 hours per week can be significantly expanded, highlighted Gesamtmetall President Rainer Dulger - in certain cases up to 50 percent. This not only compensates for the working hours lost due to part-time work but also allows for overall capacity expansion as needed. While the quota of a maximum of 18 percent of the workforce that may have 40-hour contracts remains, the works council has the right to object if the quota is exceeded by four percentage points. In cases of proven skilled labor shortages, the quota can be raised to 30 percent through company agreements - this is currently only possible to limit temporary work. The quota can be further increased to up to 50 percent in technology companies - for which strict requirements still apply today. All companies now have the option to switch to a calculation model - the "collective company working hours volume" with an average of 35.9 hours per week. Current part-time employees are also included in the calculation. Where there are many part-time employees, the current working hours volume is correspondingly lower and can be significantly increased. Consequently, each part-time employee opens up the possibility for additional 40-hour contracts. "With this model, we have agreed exactly the flexibility downwards and upwards that we have aimed for," emphasized association president Rainer Dulger. IG Metall President Jörg Hofmann praised that the working hours lost due to part-time work can be compensated without leading to increased work intensity for employees.
Work time design is a huge topic
Working Hours
Other trade unions have also discovered self-determined working hours as a future megatrend. Verdi is preparing corresponding demands.
Pioneers
Since the 2017 railway collective agreement, the small transport union EVG can claim the current pioneering role for itself. Its members can decide this year whether they want 2.6 percent more money, one hour less weekly working hours, or six more days of vacation. According to EVG, a whopping 56 percent opted for vacation, while 42 percent chose the wage increase. The chemical industry collective partners have already taken their own path by setting up an industry fund to finance subsidies for shift workers who shorten their working hours.