Basf Hit By Sick Pay Protests

Fierce union protests over German companies' plans to cut sick pay spread to the chemical sector on Wednesday as 10,000 workers walked off the job at chemical giant BASF AG.

BASF AG said on Tuesday it would cut sick pay to 80 per cent of the normal wage from November 1 from 100 per cent currently, controversially implementing a new law just one day after several car firms reversed a decision to take the same action.

Volker Obenauer, head of the works council at the chemicals company, told a rally at BASF's headquarters in the industrial town of Ludwigshafen that the workforce were not prepared to accept BASF's plans.

 

"This is the start of a hot autumn (of protest)," he said.

He threatened an overtime ban, and warned the workers would stage further protests over the next few days.

BASF's decision to cut sick pay came hot on the heels of a decision by several companies in the engineering sector to drop similar plans in response to widespread worker protest.

Although BASF said in its statement that a final decision on the cuts would depend on the outcome of a meeting with unions on October 25, the workers saw the pre-announcement as a an aggressive move which pre-empted their talks.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, representatives of BASF's works council and the local branch of chemical union IG Chemie said they were "angry and disappointed" at BASF's decision and described it as a "slap in the face" for loyal workers.

The unions have argued forcefully that any change in benefits must be agreed in negotiation. They see a one-sided management decision to adopt the new law as an attack on free collective bargaining as it does away with hard-won benefits.

BASF said on Tuesday that unlike other industries, the chemical industry could implement the legislation without breaching existing pay contracts.

Employees could compensate for the loss of income by foregoing one regular day of holiday for every five sick days, BASF said. The pay reduction would not apply in cases of work-related accidents or illnesses.