Germany's major workers' union, IG Metall, has insisted on a 6.5-percent wage increase for its workers in the manufacturing sector. The union's chairman, Berthold Huber, defended the substantial demand, pointing to favorable cyclical developments in the country last year and beyond.

"We don't want a second helping for last year specifically, but a fair deal in general that lets employees profit from an economic upswing," Huber said in a statement.

IG Metall is expecting particularly tough negotiations on temporary work conditions. It wants staff councils to gain a greater say in the modalities of employing temporary workers, including a greater say in their wages, which are often considerably lower than those of the core workforce.

Closing the gap

"The union is not entering talks with employers with a view to resolving this problem completely," Huber explained.

"The difference in conditions for core and temporary workers is too big to get on top of the problem at once," he added.

Germany's opposition Social Democratic and Left parties on Tuesday welcomed the union's substantial pay demand, saying it was only just for workers to benefit more from the companies' well-filled order books.

Wages for some nine million employees are up for negotiations in Germany this year, with IG Metall representing 3.6 million workers in the manufacturing sector. The first round of bargaining is to start on March 6 and is to result eventually in a 12-month collective agreement.

Analysts say paychecks are likely to rise more this year than in 2011, but not at the expense of wage restraint and competitive edge.

Precedent suggests that workers will eventually get about half of what unions are demanding. But even so, this would put the average negotiated pay rise for 2012 above last year's 1.5-percent gain across industries and an expected eurozone inflation rate of 1.7 percent.

Author: Hardy Graupner (Reuters, dpa, dapd)
Editor: Kristin Zeier