German industrial union, employers reach pay agreement

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s biggest industrial union and employers have reached a deal that will give workers a one-time “corona bonus” and envisions an extra annual payment starting next year. Tuesday’s deal between employers and the IG Metall union was reached in North Rhine-Westphalia state, Germany’s most populous. But it’s typical for such agreements to be applied across the whole country and to several million workers in the auto and machinery industries, among others. The agreement features a 500-euro ($589) “corona bonus” for each employee to be paid out in June.