Overview
- Employers led by Hessen Chemie are pressing for a pay freeze and discussing cuts to contractual benefits, including changes tied to Christmas bonus payments during sickness.
- More than 100 union supporters demonstrated outside three B. Braun plants in Melsungen, where the IGBCE says over 7,000 local employees could be affected by the proposals.
- With regional talks stalled, bargaining shifts to Hannover between the Bundesarbeitgeberverband Chemie and the IGBCE, with multiple federal rounds possible before the deadline.
- The union prioritizes inflation compensation, job security and safeguarding the Christmas bonus, and warns that strikes are not ruled out and may be more likely than two years ago.
- Employers cite lingering costs from the 2024 6.85% wage rise, weak demand, high energy prices, import pressure and new U.S. trade measures as reasons for restraint.