Germany’s biggest labor union struck a key wage agreement with employers that may raise pay for about 3.9 million workers and avert strikes in the country’s beleaguered manufacturing sector.

One of Germany's major industrial trade unions, IG Metall, has called for further strikes in the metal and electrical industry in two German states on Monday, in an attempt to ramp up pressure in the ongoing sector-wide collective bargaining talks.

Germany's largest industrial union said on Tuesday that workers in the electrical engineering and metal industries would get a 5.5% wage increase over 25 months under a pilot deal struck with employers after a marathon 18 hours of tough negotiations.