Salaries will increase in two steps, Verdi said, with the first raise - 2.8% - taking place on April 1, 2020 and the second - 2.0% from June 1, 2021. The new deal will also include a one-time payment of 225 euros per employee on Dec. 1, 2019.

The agreement will run until end-January 2022.

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Mark Heinrich)