Germany: temporary workers to receive “recruitment bonuses” in the chemical industry in November 2012

Gap closing between permanent and temporary pay.  Four weeks after the agreement signed by the IG-Metall (see our dispatch No.  120331), the IG BCE chemistry union signed, with the Federal Union of Temporary Employers (BAP) and the Group of Temporary Businesses (iGZ), a collective agreement which introduces, for the first time, “recruitment bonuses” for temporary workers in the chemical industry.  The amount of the bonus will vary with the length of the temporary worker’s assignment in the company: the longer the assignment, the higher the bonus.  It will go from 15 percent of the salary after 6 weeks in the company to 50 percent after 9 months.  This system will help noticeably close the gap between the remuneration of temporary and permanent workers.  The union gives an example: currently, a temporary worker in the first – lowest – wage category earns, following the collective agreement signed between the DGB’s unions and the BAP temporary employers’ organization, €8.13 an hour.  On the contrary, a permanent employee in the same category in the chemical industry (in Hessen) earns €13.39 an hour.  After November 1, the temporary worker will first get a 15 percent bonus after 6 weeks in the company, 20 percent after 3 months, 30 percent after 5 months, 45 percent after 7 months and, finally, 50 percent after 9 months – for a final hourly salary of €12.20.