An international company in the packaging industry with various production sites in Germany planned to reduce salaries at a production site in Germany in order to secure its competitiveness and safeguard the location.
The company had been through a 2-year restructuring phase during which the fronts between management and the works council (IGBCE) had hardened. The company had left the chemical employers' association. The management and parts of the company's management had only joined after the restructuring.
One of the main challenges for the interim mandate was to restore trust between the social partners. On the other hand, it was essential to significantly reduce personnel costs. As a result, the company rejoined the chemical employers' association. This also meant that the negotiating partner on the employee side was the IGBCE trade union and a company-specific collective agreement was negotiated and drawn up. On the way to this solution, the interim manager initiated, among other things, the establishment of an internal, equal bargaining committee. She also negotiated the regrouping of functions and company agreements on the measure. Regular, comprehensive information for employees ensured that the results achieved were accepted within the company. A voluntary salary sacrifice by management also contributed to this.
At the end of the interim mandate, the company-specific collective agreement was introduced and implemented in a socially responsible manner. No commitment was made to safeguard the location. The Group invested €20 million to set up new production processes. Jobs at the site and in the region have been secured.
