Europe: Members Back Steel Deal to Save Jobs

Members of IG Metall, Germany’s largest union, have backed a compromise deal in the steel industry which makes significant concessions in return for no compulsory redundancies.

The agreement at the steelmaker Thyssenkrupp in Duisburg, western Germany, involves cuts in several areas. The working week is being reduced from 34 to 32.5 hours, with a consequent reduction in pay; holiday pay – worth €1,123 (£972) a year – will be abolished by 2029; the standby allowance is to be halved; and retirement bonuses paid to those leaving after long service will be reduced.

Thyssenkrupp, facing low-cost competition from Asia and a market downturn, hopes to restore profitability by reducing its capacity from 11.5 million to a maximum of 9.0 million tonnes of steel a year. As a result, it plans to reduce its workforce by 11,000 from the current level of 26,000 by September 2030. However, the company has promised that there will be no compulsory redundancies.

Final union agreement is also conditional on the company making major investments in the business to secure its future.

On this basis, more than three-quarters (77%) of union members backed the deal on a turnout of 62% on 5 September. Tekin Nasikkol, chair of the central works council, said: “We have arrived at our pain threshold and delivered our utmost for a hoped-for positive future for steel. The ball is now in the board’s court.”