Early wage increase for MAN Group employees

The MAN Group is making it possible for employees to participate in the economic recovery by bringing forward the wage increase scheduled for Germany in 2011. The collectively agreed salaries of some 22,000 employees in Germany are to be increased by 2.7 percent as early as 1 February 2011. Based on the wage settlement reached with the trade union IG Metall, employers may bring forward or delay the increase agreed for 1 April 2011 by two months, depending on the economic situation.

“MAN is well on the way to achieving a positive and stable economic recovery,” comments Jörg Schwitalla, Chief Human Resources Officer at MAN SE. “MAN employees have shown wholehearted commitment. Many of them have been loyal to us for years and do an excellent job. We think it is only fair to use the flexible options offered by the wage settlement and let them participate in the revival too.”

“We unconditionally welcome this, it´s very good news,” confirms Jürgen Dorn, Chairman of the Group Works Council. “It wasn´t an easy time for the employees, but together we have left the slump behind. We are pleased that this is now reaching the employees´ purses.”

Until this autumn, MAN has continued to make use of short-time work as a means of avoiding redundancies in spite of sharp drops in demand, especially in the market for commercial vehicles. Furthermore, MAN voluntarily raised the compensation for employees on short-time work to 90 percent of the normal wages. During the first three quarters, MAN was able to increase its order intake by 52 percent and revenue by 20 percent, while revenue for the full year is also expected to be up 20 percent in 2010.