Dairy industry - Tariff Agreement: Higher wages for dairy workers
Approximately 1,800 employees in the Dairy Industry in Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland will receive a five percent pay increase. The additional salary will be given to the workforce of dairies from August 1st, as the Nahrung-Genuss-Gaststätten (NGG) union further announced. The agreement mainly concerns the facilities of Hochwald Foods and Immergut. Hochwald Foods confirmed the union's statements, Immergut was initially unreachable.
The negotiating parties reached an agreement, according to the union, during their first negotiation session on Thursday in the Rheinland-Palatinate town of Thalfang (Bernkastel-Wittlich). Apprentices will reportedly receive an additional 100 Euros per month starting from August in all training years. Moreover, the employees' occupational pension will permanently increase by 210 Euros per year. The collective bargaining agreement will last for twelve months.
The union's Tariff Agreement also affects dairies in Stuttgart, part of the state of Baden-Württemberg. The increase in tariffs as a result of this agreement is expected to positively impact the dairy industry in Saxony-Anhalt and Hesse. Many dairy farmers in these regions have expressed hope that they will also benefit from these new tariffs, as set out in the NGG's collective bargaining agreement. The Tariff Agreement also includes provisions for the reduction of certain import tariffs from the Rhineland-Palatinate to Germany, which is expected to improve the competitiveness of local dairy products.
