Ver.di collective bargaining committee recommends pay deal that means 7%+ for lowest paid
(03 april 2008) After last week’s disappointing recommendations from the arbitration commission, verdi is now recommending to its members that they accept a new offer from the federal and local government employers. Ver.di’s collective bargaining committee voted 64-25 in favour of the employers’ latest offer which is a significant improvement both on earlier offers and on the proposals from the arbitrators.
If backed by the ver.di membership the deal will mean an increase in 2008 of at least €50 a month plus 3.1%. These figures translate into a 7.11% increase for those on the lowest pay scale. The increase in 2009 will be 2.8% plus a €225 lump sum. There will be a 30-minute increase in weekly working time in some areas in the West of the country while weekly working hours will remain at 40 in the East.
In an illustration of how the pay negotiations progressed, ver.di gives the example of a worker on level 5 in pay grade 3 - the employers’ initial offer would have mean a 2.5% increase in 2008 and 0.4% in 2009. The arbitrators’ proposal was 3.0% in 2008 and 2.0% in 2009. The latest offer that has now been recommended by ver.di is a 5.76% increase in 2008 and a 2.8% increase in 2009. Although ver.di estimates that the 30-minute increase in working hours knocks 1.3% off the pay offer, this was still a better outcome than the one-hour increase that both the employers and the arbitrators had proposed.
More detailed information on the pay and hours proposals and how they affect different sectors can be found on the main ver.di website and news on the negotations can be found on the "strike TV" website.
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