German industrial workers to get pay raises in 2-year deal

By GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s biggest industrial union has agreed with employers on a pay deal that will see millions of workers get raises totaling 8.5% over two years as well as one-time payments meant to cushion the effect of sky-high inflation. The IG Metall union and employers reached a compromise Friday in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, a key industrial region. In Germany, wage deals are typically hammered out in negotiations between employers’ organizations and unions that cover a whole sector, and an agreement reached in one region is generally applied nationwide. The union initially demanded an 8% rise and a one-year deal.