Social partners in Germany’s metals sector announced on Friday 20 March their decision to suspend negotiations over the renewal of a branch agreement which was due to be agreed in principle in mid-April 2020. Instead, the IG Metall union and the employer federation Gesamtmetall have negotiated a so-called ‘collective crisis agreement’. Valid until 31 December 2020, the deal adopts a series of measures on compensation for short-time working and additional leave for parents in order to soften the burden of the coronavirus crisis on employees.
A short-term crisis agreement. Social partners in the German metals industry took the logical decision to shift gears as they renegotiated a branch agreement that concerns some 3.6 million employees and is set to expire on 31 March. Negotiating an agreement that was originally intended to focus on preserving jobs and training, amid the digital and electrical transition, had become problematic, with the Covid-19 crisis having already led to the closure of factories of the leading automobile manufacturers and their subcontractors, as well as the increase in short-time working.
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