The employers in the Metal and Engineering sector are inviting the unions to come back to the table. To this end, they are making an improved offer to reach a collective bargaining agreement in the short term. It involves a 7% wage increase by July 1, 2024, 90 euros structural by March 1, 2025 and 3% wage increase by January 1, 2026. Employers are proposing a 24-month CBA from April 1, 2024 to April 1, 2026.
CLA negotiator Ron Follon of the Federation of Employers' Organizations in Technology (FWT): 'In mid-April, negotiations for new collective bargaining agreements in the Metal and Engineering sector ran aground. Then our offer was a wage increase of 9.19% over 22 months. The new offer means that employers will pay 12.7% over 2 years. With this we are making an important contribution to repairing purchasing power. We are taking a big step with this. As employers, we want to take responsibility together with the unions to reach a collective bargaining agreement. We therefore call on the trade unions to return to the negotiating table this week.
Early retirement scheme
In addition to an improved wage offer, the employers also want to increase opportunities to take advantage of the Early Retirement Regulation (RVU). Follon: "We propose that all employees eligible for the scheme should be able to use it. As employers, we are willing to pay the premium for this. As far as we are concerned, there will be no more employees in the queue.' Moreover, if employers and unions reach an agreement at the central level on the extension of the RVU scheme, the FWT is willing to extend the scheme until 2031.
Negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement in the Metal and Engineering trades stranded in mid-April. Follon: "We are showing with this improved offer that we are serious. We have taken steps. We are counting on the unions responding positively so that we can resume negotiations. Strikes do not bring collective bargaining closer, returning to the collective bargaining table does.'
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