The Canadian Press, with files from staff In recognition of its employees’ efforts during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Volkswagen and Germany’s largest industrial union have agreed on a 23-month wage deal that provides a €1,000-euro bonus (approximately $1,501.37 in Canadian dollars), as well as a 2.3 per cent wage increase that will take effect in January 2022. The deal covers 120,000 workers at six factories in Germany and people working for Volkswagen’s financial services arm, Volkswagen said in a statement this week. The company’s negotiator, Arne Meiswinkel, said the deal with the IG Metall union, which runs to the end of November 2022, “is appropriate for the especially challenging environment since the beginning of the pandemic.”