Chemicals deal agreed in Spain

Unions have signed a three-year, inflation-plus deal in the Spanish chemicals industry.

The agreement covers 200,000 employees in 5,000 companies and runs from January 2007 to December 2009. A 3.0% increase in 2007 (0.6% above May's inflation figure of 2.4%) will be followed by increases equivalent to forecast inflation plus 0.6% in both 2008 and 2009. There is a catch-up mechanism if inflation increases by more than the forecast.

The agreement also introduces a €241 premium per year for non-continuous shift working.