German steelworkers achieve wage increases as a result of the strike

IG Metall and western German steel employers have reached a wage agreement that could serve as a pilot deal for the entire sector. A joint announcement was made that 72,000 metallurgists in northwest Germany will receive 2.3 percent more wages from April.

The wage agreement also includes an additional 1.7 percent hike in wages from May next year, the deal is slated to launch by the end of 2018 and is expected to serve as a pilot for the remaining 16,000 steelworkers in other German regions.

IG Metall's chief negotiator, Knut Giesler, described the result as “acceptable” as it reflects the current situation in the industry and will give workers a real wage increase.

Initially, metallurgists wanted to get 4.5 percent more over the next 12 months. But company representatives, including Germany's ThyssenKrupp and Salzgitter AG, offered only 1.3 percent.

The rise in wages has played an increasingly important role for German overall growth in the past few years, with the rise in private consumption as one of the important pillars of economic activity.