Germany: chemicals union seeks the implementation f an ‘Account for the Future’ during the upcoming collective negotiations

On 19 September, and following earlier grass-roots consultations, the Federal Commission for the Chemicals and Energy sector union’s (IG BCE) collective negotiations published the trade union’s platform of demands that it will be advocating during the renegotiation of the sector’s collective agreement, which will impact some 580,000 employees. Key among its demands is the implementation of a ‘Zukunftskonto’ (‘Account for the Future’) amounting to €1,000 per employee, per annum. Focused on securing a more qualitative rather than quantitative collective agreement, this time, and in a break with tradition, the IG BCE and will not be publishing any set target for expected salary increases.