German energy workers win inflation beating deal

IGBCE and Verdi, the two unions representing workers at the German energy company E.ON have agreed a settlement which will see pay rise by 2.8%, as well as giving all employees a one-off payment of €300. This means the settlement is worth around 3.1% in total — well above inflation which is currently 1.7% in Germany (January).

The key points in the deal for the 30,000 employees in the company were agreed in top level talks between the board and the two unions after both unions won strong backing in ballots for strike action. In IGBCE, the chemical and energy union, 96.9% off the members voted for a strike, while in the services union Verdi 91.4% were in favour.

Faced with these results and with the strike set for 4 February, E.ON invited the unions for talks on 1 February, where it replaced its previous offer of 1.7% with the current deal. The outline agreement was subsequently ratified by the negotiating committees of the two unions.

The pay settlement runs for 13 months, with the pay increase back-dated to 1 January.

As well as increasing pay, the company has agreed that, until at least December 2016, any new companies it sets up will also be covered by existing collective bargaining structures.