Unions and employers in Germany's powerful metalworking and engineering industries have reached agreement on a 4.8-percent pay hike for the 3.8 million workers in the sector, the mighty IG Metall union said on Friday.

In a so-called pilot agreement for the regional state of North Rhine-Westphalia, that would serve as a benchmark for the rest of the country, workers would receive a one-off payment of 150 euros ($170) for the period from April to June 2016. They would then see their pay rise by 2.8 percent on July 1 and again by 2.0 percent in April 2017, IG Metall said in a statement.