Germany's chemical trade union IG BCE has called for a 5.5% linear increase in wages and salaries in 2014 for all 555,000 employees of the country's 1,900 companies. The new 12-month contract also should include a component to secure jobs for absolvents of the industry-wide training scheme, the union said.

The discussion rounds for the new contract, initially conducted on a state level, will be launched on Dec. 2, 2013 in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and will be continued at the national level in January 2014 as talks begin with the federal employers association Bundesarbeitgeberverband Chemie (BAVC).

Peter Hausmann, IG BCE's board member responsible for negotiations, said the macroeconomic background for the chemical industry is favorable and will continue stable in 2014. Tangible achievements gained through the efforts of industry employees should be shared, Hausmann said, explaining the union's bargaining slogan, Our Success, our Reward. "We want a fair distribution."

The fact that the number of positions offered by companies to train young people has increased by 10% since 2003 is also a union success story, said Hausmann, but noted that companies have provided permanent jobs for only   about a third of the absolvents. "They need a secure perspective," he said. "Limited contracts should be a thing of the past."