World Business Briefing | Europe: Germany: Union Sets Wage Target
454061
The German trade union IG Metall said that it would demand a pay increase of 6.5 percent in wage talks expected to begin soon, setting the stage for a clash with employers. âThe metal and engineering industries can easily cope with and finance an increase of 6.5 percent,â IG Metallâs head, JÃ¼rgen Peters, left, said in a statement issued after a union board meeting. âItâs the employersâ turn in 2007.â Mr. Peters said IG Metall was expecting productivity gains of 1.8 percent for the economy as a whole and inflation of 2.3 percent this year, matching the government estimate. Productivity in the engineering and metal industries, however, was expected to rise more strongly, by 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent. Dieter Hundt, head of the Confederation of German Employersâ Associations, said in a statement that a 6.5 percent wage increase would hurt the economy and undermine recovery of the sector, which led to the creation of 30,000 jobs last year.
411171
FRANKFURT : Labour conflict looks set to boil over in the German automobile sector in the coming weeks as car makers such as Volkswagen and Opel seek to impose rigorous belt-tightening measures as an answer to chronically weak demand.
189539
Volkswagen challenged its workers with a tough wage plan on Monday ahead of talks seen as a gauge of their readiness to favor job security over pay
86590
Volkswagen AG is threatening to eliminate 30,000 jobs ahead of next week&#39;s wage talks with unions as Europe&#39;s biggest carmaker seeks cost cuts similar to agreements reached by other German companies, including DaimlerChrysler AG.
479124
HANOVER, Germany  - German engineering union IG   Metall has extended until Wednesday its ultimatum to Volkswagen   VOWG.DE to provide binding and concrete investments that will   secure jobs for its German workforce.
586263
Volkswagen and its workers launched crucial wage negotiations Wednesday expected to test the tradition of close labor-management collaboration at the struggling automaker.
409560
Business confidence in Germany remains close to its highest levels in 15 years, according to a new survey which confirms that the recovery of the eurozone&#039;s biggest economy remains on track despite concerns about the strong euro and high oil prices.
303967
Negotiators from Volkswagen AG and Germany's biggest industrial union held a new round of wage talks Thursday, with the union threatening a flurry of short warning strikes if it doesn't get the job guarantees and wage increases it is demanding.
285810
Automaker Volkswagen said Monday there is "no room" for wage increases this year as it prepares for pay talks with Germany's largest industrial union.
40072
HANOVER  - Management and unions at German auto maker Volkswagen announced that they had reached an agreement that will bring an end to their long-running wage dispute and probably stave off strike action.
355353
Representatives from Volkswagen AG and Germany's biggest industrial union said Friday they had agreed to increase working hours at plants in western Germany by more than four hours a week to 33 hours without any increase in pay.
500470
General Motors' European unit is to cut 10,000 jobs in Germany as part of a plan to save  $665m (Â£347m) annually.
682926
More than 30,000 jobs could be at risk at automaker Volkswagen if labor unions refuse to forego wage rises and make other concessions in upcoming negotiations, a top manager was quoted as saying Thursday &#151; comments that drew a sharp response from Germany's largest industrial union.
672509
The head of the German central bank warned against steep pay rises in 2008, as the Social Democrat party stepped up calls for a national minimum wage in comments to be published Sunday.
650411
Inflation hit a 13-year high of 3.1 percent in November in Germany, well above the European Central Bank's target rate of 2.0 percent, official data showed Friday.
363245
Automaker Volkswagen AG and Germany&#39;s biggest industrial union said Tuesday they have made some progress in difficult pay negotiations, but were cautious on prospects of a quick deal in talks that were marked by worker protests.
746704
Workers at a Siemens AG phone systems plant have agreed to a 3-percent hourly pay cut and other concessions to keep 1,100 jobs in Germany that otherwise might have been shifted to lower-cost countries, the ...