Germany - Collective agreement in the wood and plastics industry - February 28, 2026

Employers and the IG Metall union have concluded a collective agreement in the wood and plastics processing industry. The agreement applies to several bargaining regions. Nationwide, 14,500 employees had put pressure on the negotiating table with actions and warning strikes. The agreement provides for a pay increase across the board in two stages. In most bargaining regions, employees will initially receive a 2% increase starting in June 2026. A further increase of 2.2% will follow in July 2027. Employees will also receive a one-off payment between € 100 and € 300 depending on the bargaining region. The collective agreement runs until the end of January 2028.

Read on: in German…

For more information, please contact Paul de Beer or Oana Ciuca, De Burcht (Scientific Bureau for the Dutch Trade Union Movement) p.t.debeer@uva.nl or the Head of communications at the ETUI, Mehmet Koksal mkoksal@etui.org. For previous full issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit https://www.etui.org/Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter or consult the archive with all articles in our database at www.cbnarchive.eu. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org.