Germany's IG BCE labour union agrees pay deal with RWE

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German chemicals and mining workers union IG BCE and utility RWE have agreed an annual one percent pay rise covering the next two years for about 11,000 workers in Germany, a spokesman for IG BCE said on Friday. The deal, similar to one agreed on Tuesday between the company and Verdi, another union representing service sector workers, entails a one percent rise in annual wages on Jan. 1, 2017, and again on Jan. 1, 2018. But staff at RWE Generation SE and RWE Power AG would not receive a one-off payment of 1,000 euros (867 pounds) next year, unlike those covered by Verdi's deal, who have to be employed in divisions that do not offer early retirement to qualify for the cash, the spokesman said. Instead, workers in those two divisions would benefit from early retirement options, which would in turn allow RWE to reduce activities in the increasingly unprofitable coal- and gas-fired power sector. RWE has been hit by a downturn in electricity demand and prices, prompting it to seek savings in operating and employment costs, along with other measures. (Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff; writing by Vera Eckert; editing by David Evans)