Leverkusen, Germany - Bayer MaterialScience (BMS) is to end reduced working hours at its sites in Germany and return to a standard working week of 37.5 hours, effective 1 Nov, the company said 9 Oct.
Bayer had agreed a reduction in working time in early February with a corresponding reduction in pay of 6.7 percent to "combat the effects of the financial crisis," the statement said, adding that with the reintroduction of normal working hours, "the rates of pay for some 4100 employees will return to their normal level."
"The reason for lifting this special arrangement is the improvement in orders," said Tony Van Osselaer, labour director at BMS. "Nevertheless the future business development of our customer industries still remains uncertain," he added.
Around 5200 of the company's 15000 staff are employed at BMS AG in Germany. (RD)
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