On 21 September 1998, the metalworking employers' association, Gesamtmetall, and the IG Metall metalworkers' union agreed a number of provisions for the 260,000 employees in the east German metalworking sector. The most important provisions are that:
In September 1998, Gesamtmetall and IG Metall agreed on a number of provisions for the east German metalworking sector. West German wage agreements will be adopted with a delay of one month and western partial retirement provisions will be adopted in 1998. Existing "hardship clause" provisions will be extended, while the 38-hour working week will remain in place until the end of 2000.
On 21 September 1998, the metalworking employers' association, Gesamtmetall, and the IG Metall metalworkers' union agreed a number of provisions for the 260,000 employees in the east German metalworking sector. The most important provisions are that:
west German metalworking sector wage agreements will be adopted in eastern Germany with a delay of one month;
western metalworking regulations on partial retirement (DE9710133F) will be adopted later in 1998;
existing provisions on "hardship clauses" (DE9703205F) will be extended; and
weekly working time will be fixed at 38 hours until 31 December 2000.
During the negotiations, the issue of working time was a source of conflict, as IG Metall demanded the introduction of a 35-hour working week without wage reductions for eastern Germany.
Werner Stumpfe, president of Gesamtmetall, stated that there is a general consensus that wage bargaining in eastern and western Germany should be brought together on the condition that economic developments in eastern Germany set the pace. This compromise, he said, would provide a reliable perspective.
For Klaus Zwickel, chair of IG Metall, the agreement paves the way for the first all-German wage round in the metalworking sector.
A Eurofound recomenda citar esta publicação da seguinte maneira.
Eurofound (1998), Agreement in eastern metalworking, article.
