Germany

Union takes its pay campaign to SDP meeting

Verdi, along with other public sector unions, organised a demonstration outside the Social Democratic Party (SDP) congress on 21 June. The SDP controls the Berlin regional parliament and the unions were asking delegates to support their pay campaign. Berlin is outside the main public sector collective agreements and is now nearly 18 months since the last agreement expired. Read more at > verdi (DE)

3% pay increase in Hessen

Ver.di and the other trade unions representing regional government workers in Hessen have agreed a 3% pay increase for 2008. Hessen broke away from the national collective agreement covering regional government in 2004 and is still resisting union demands to rejoin the agreement. The 2008 pay increase is backdated to 1April and a lump sum worth 3% of salary will cover the period from 1 January to 31 March. Employees will also get a further lump sum of either €100 or €150 depending on their pay grade. The agreement runs to the end of December and separate pay negotiations will take place for 2009. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

E.ON faces strike action in response to pay offer

Services union ver.di organised strike action at the E.ON energy company in response to the employer’s pay offer. The union is looking for an 8.5% increase and rejects the company’s demand for a one-hour increase in the working week from the current 37 hours. The three-hour warning strike on 21 May involved around 2,500 workers in Bremen and Lower Saxony. Ver.di described the employer’s offer as an insult coming at a time when the company has seen a 10% increase in profits and paid out a 22% increase in dividends to shareholders. Meanwhile the 25,000 energy workers in Eastern Germany covered by the AVEU agreement will get a 3.9% pay increase dated from 1 May in a 12-month deal. Read more on E.ON at > ver.di (DE) And at > BBC (EN) Read more on AVEU at > ver.di (DE)

Pay agreement in private waste sector

After a series of warning strikes the services trade union ver.di has secured a new agreement with the BDE employers’ organisation covering 20,000 workers in the private waste industry. The agreement runs until 30 April 2010 and workers get a basic increase of €50 from 1 May 2008 plus 2.8% and then a further 3% increase on pay from 1 May 2009. A lump sum of €100 is to cover the period between 1 January and 30 April 2008 - the previous agreement ran to 31 December 2007. The BDE wanted a two-hour increase in the working week but in the end the union agreed to a one-hour increase implemented over two years with weekly hours rising from 37 to 37.5 from 1 July 2008 and then to 38 hours from 1 July 2009. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Study shows majority of regional governments require contractors to abide by collective agreements

According to a new study by the trade union backed Hans Böckler Foundation, most regional governments in Western Germany have introduced procurement rules requiring contractors to pay wages in line with the relevant collective agreements. Regional governments in the East of the country have been following suit more recently. The legality of these regulations has been backed in by the German constitutional court although they have now been called into question by the European Court of Justice in the recent Rüffert judgement. The authors of the study warn that if the German regulations are undermined by the European Court then there will be widespread social dumping as contractors compete on the basis of the lowest labour costs. Protection would then have to come in the form of a national legal minimum wage and changes in the legislation that allow industry collective agreements to be extended across the whole sector and not just to the companies that sign up to them. Read more at > Hans Böckler (DE) Read about the Rüffert case at > ETUC (EN) And in French at > CES

Strikes hit Berlin regional government but transport workers settle

Trade unions representing employees of the regional government in Berlin are backing a series of strikes by different groups of workers in support of a new pay agreement. Berlin is not part of the regional government employers’ association and so the agreement covering regional government workers does not apply. The unions point out that this means that most regional government workers around the country have received a 2.9% pay increase this year while there has also been a 2.4% increase agreed by the Hessen regional government which is also not part of the national employers’ association. Workers in citizens’ offices, the IT centre and parks maintenance are among those taking action. In the meantime the strike on the Berlin transport system is over with unions agreeing a two-year deal that includes a €500 lump sum to cover the period from January to July 2008. From 1 August workers will get monthly increases of either €100 or €60 depending on when they started with the company, the higher increase going to newer employees. There will then be a 1% increase for all workers from 1 August 2009. On average the agreement is worth 4.6%. Read more at > ver.di (DE) And at > ver.di (DE) And at > ver.di (DE)

Strikes in private waste industry

Around 4,000 workers in 21 private waste companies in the North-Rhine Westfalia region have taken strike action following the failure to make progress after the second round of collective bargaining in the sector. Ver.di says that the employers latest offer will mean that the 20,000 workers in the sector nationwide will get no pay increase to cover the period between January and April 2008 and that the 3% on offer for the 12 months to April 2009 only comes with a one-hour increase in the working week to 38 hours. The employers are also offering 2.5% for next year but with a further one-hour increase in working time. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Federal and municipal workers back pay deal but transport workers strike in Berlin

A ballot of ver.di members in federal and local government produced a 76.5% majority in favour of the final pay offer from the employers. Around 189,000 members took part in the vote with 145,000 supporting the deal that will mean a 7.11% pay rise for the lowest paid workers. However, employees of the Berlin transport companies, BVG and BT, are taking strike action over the employers’ failure to respond to ver.di’s latest proposals. Ver.di members had already taken 12 days of strike action in February and March when the employers initially planned to offer no pay increase at all to current employers. Following the agreement for federal and local government, a compromise was reached in the negotiations between ver.di and BVG/BT but Berlin finance minister Thilo Sarrazin blocked the deal and strike action was resumed at the weekend. Read more at > ver.di (DE) And at > ver.di Berlin (DE)

Pay deal means 7%+ for lowest paid in federal and local government

After very disappointing recommendations from the arbitration commission, verdi is 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. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Mobilisation helps win 4.35% pay increase for energy workers

Workers covered by the EnBW private energy agreement in Baden-Württemberg have seen their pay increase by 4.35% from 1 March this year in a new 13-month agreement. Ver.di reports that worker mobilisation was important in winning the improved offer with 3,500 employers demonstrating their support for the union at the time of the fourth bargaining round. The deal also provide for a minimum €90 increase and a €120 payment to take account of the fact that this is a 13-month agreement. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Public sector negotiations break down

The fifth round of negotiations between unions and employers in the federal and local government sectors broke down as the employers sought to link a deal on pay with an increase in working time. Ver.di was very pleased at the level of support for a second round of warning strikes from 4-6 March that included airports. The failure of the latest round of negotiations has led to the dispute now being referred to an arbitration committee that will report before the next round of bargaining gets underway on 29 March. Read more at > ver.di (DE) And see and listen to more at > Streik TV

Warning strikes around the country in the lead up to new negotiations

The next round of pay negotiations for central and local government workers will get underway on 25 February following a series of warning strikes organised by ver.di. From 14 February thousands of council workers, federal employees and health workers in different cities and regions began taking strike action to show their disgust at the failure of the employers to make any significant improvement to their earlier pay offer. Ver.di reports high levels of support for strike action and a rise in union membership in some areas. Ver.di has set up a “Strike TV” website where you can follow progress in the dispute and get details of the latest negotiations. Read more at > ver.di (DE) And at > “Strike TV” (DE)

Warning strikes win higher offer from Vattenfall

Over 7,500 employees of the Vattenfall energy company took part in a warning strike on 1 February in protest at a poor pay offer from the company and threats to undermine existing pay and conditions agreements. Following the strike ver.di and the other unions managed to secure a 3.9% pay increase backdated to 1 January 2008 and a commitment from the company not to attack any existing negotiated rights and entitlements. The unions also secured a preferred 12-month agreement rather than a longer term deal. Read more at > ver.di-Vattenfall (DE)

Ver.di rejects employers’ pay offer

Following a second round of pay negotiations covering federal and local government workers, ver.di has rejected the employers’ latest offer. The employers claim the deal is the equivalent of a 5% increase on pay but ver.di argues that in fact by the end of 2009 workers would be worse off than they are today. The employers want a two-year deal with increases of 2.5% from 1 February 2008, 1.0% from 1 October 2008 and 0.5% from 1 March 2009. A further 0.5% in each year would be performance-related and so not available to all workers. Ver.di also criticises the offer because the employers want workers to effectively finance the deal because they are demanding an increase in working hours to 39.5 a week from 1 July 2008 and then to 40 hours a week from 1 January 2009. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Utilities report shows pressures on pay and conditions in waste sector

The latest issue of ver.di’s Report magazine for the energy and waste sector includes two articles highlighting the massive challenges facing the union in the waste sector. A story on page 6 outlines the privatisation of the waste business of Cottbus council with the contractors Alba looking for cuts of up to 50% in pay. This follows a series of pay cuts conceded by the union in an attempt to defend jobs. The broader picture on collective bargaining at sectoral level is reviewed on page 7 with ver.di trying to negotiate a new framework agreement with the BDE employers’ association. The BDE argues that only cuts in pay and conditions will ensure that employers abide by the agreement. They are looking for a 20% cut in pay and an increase in working time from 37 to 40 hours in the West and from 40 to 43 hours in the East along with a cut in annual leave from 30 to 20 days. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

8% pay claim in local and central government

The collective bargaining committee of services union ver.di voted to submit an 8% pay claim in the forthcoming negotiations with employers in local and central government. The union argues that the pay of public sector workers has been eroded by inflation, particularly higher prices for energy, housing and food and this has hit lower paid workers above all. The union is also claiming a minimum €200 increase. Its campaigning material points out that local authorities are now in a much better financial position to afford a decent pay increase. Ver.di wants the pay agreement to run for 12 months. The last agreement ran 27 months from October 2005 to December 2007. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

“Significant” pay demand likely in public sector

Ver.di will convene its public services collective bargaining committee on 18 and 19 of December to agree its pay claim for federal and local government workers. General secretary Frank Bsirske has made it clear that the demand will be for a significant pay rise to compensate for current inflation and for the decline in real pay in recent years. The last agreement came into effect in October 2005. It introduced a new pay structure but only included lump sum payments and no increases to pay rates over the 27 months. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Waste employers terminate agreement

Ver.di has reacted angrily to the decision by the BDE employers’ association to terminate the framework agreement in the private waste sector. Ver.di and BDE are negotiating a new pay structure for the industry and an interim lump sum payment should be agreed in January 2008 before the new pay agreement comes into effect. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Employers stall over new pay structure

Public services union ver.di is calling on the federal and local government employers to get on with negotiating a new pay structure. The unions and employers are due to meet at the end of the month for fresh talks following a meeting in September where the employers raised a series of questions rather than taking steps towards a new agreement. Ver.di also wants assurances from the employers that certain pay allowances will continue to be paid as their payment was only guaranteed up to the end of October in the current collective agreement. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Berlin regional government takes minimum wage initiative

While the national debate over the introduction of a statutory minimum wage continues, the regional government in Berlin is taking steps to introduce a minimum wage in public contracts. The government is proposing that any company bidding for a contract with the regional authority which does not have a collective agreement will have to prove that it pays its workers at least €7.50 an hour. This is the current trade union target for a national minimum wage. Read more at > Berlin regional government (DE)

Major issues at stake in bargaining at E.ON

The energy section of the ver.di services union has re-affirmed its refusal to accept E.ON’s demands for a longer working week (up from 36 to 38 hours) and a second and lower pay scale. The union also wants the company’s subsidiary in east Germany to be fully covered by the collective agreement and assurance that any new companies in the E.ON group will also be covered. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Negotiations underway at Asklepios

The ver.di services union is in the middle of negotiations with the Asklepios clinic company, the largest private clinic operation in Germany, to establish a framework collective agreement. The agreement will cover issues such as working time, rules on unsocial hours and weekend and night work, standby and on-call arrangements and annual leave. The next stage of the negotiations will take place on 19 and 20 November. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Minimum wage for waste sector

The ver.di services union is to negotiate a sectoral minimum wage to cover the waste sector. Both the BDE private employers’ association and local government employers (VKA) have agreed to talks. The union wants to ensure that current pay levels are protected by an industry-wide agreement. It says that while virtually all 90,000 municipal workers in the sector are covered by a collective agreement only 20,000 of the 70,000 private sector employees have the same protection. Read more at > ver.di (DE) The WSI trade union research institute reports that 1.4 million workers in Germany are now covered by minimum wages through general application of the Posted Workers Directive. The sectors affected are mainly in the construction industry but also include cleaners. Similar regulations are expected to cover temporary workers and postal workers. The minimum rates range from €6.36 an hour for cleaners to €12.40 for specialist building workers. Read more at > WSI (DE)

Bargaining blocked by longer hours demand

There have already been four rounds of negotiations between ver.di and the e.on energy company but the employers won’t budge from their demand for a longer working week. They want to see a two-hour increase in working time from 36 to 38 hours a week. All union attempts at finding alternatives have been rejected by the company. The union is resisting the attempt to increase hours and meanwhile has a number of its own demands including extending e.on agreements to cover subsidiary companies, job security and taking on trainees. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

ver.di backs strikes among vets and meat inspection officers

Abattoir workers are being called out on strike in protest at the public sector employers’ organisation’s attempts to introduce new pay arrangements. The VKA employers’ organisation has refused to implement the 2003 and 2005 public sector pay agreements for abattoir workers which means they have lost out on pay increases worth 4.4% and lump sums totalling €1,150. The union has made numerous attempts to resolve the conflict but has now called for strike action as the employers have failed to make any concessions. Around 5,000 workers are affected by the dispute. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Union prepares for public sector pay negotiations

The ver.di services union has begun to put its arguments together for the forthcoming pay round in the public sector. The union underlines the beginnings of a recovery in the German economy and contrasts the 4% rise in workers’ income between 2000 and 2006 with the 38% rise in profits and property income during the same period. The current agreement covering local and federal government was signed in 2005 and runs from 1 October 2005 to 31 December 2007. However, it only included lump sum payments and there have been no increases on pay rates during the agreement. Ver.di is arguing that public sector workers now need to be properly rewarded in view of the contribution they make to the economy and the pressure they have been under in recent years as cuts have been imposed across the sector. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Rise in negotiated pay increases in first half of 2007

The WSI trade union research organisation says that collectively negotiated pay increases in the first half of 2007 are higher than last year averaging 3.7%. Taking account of longer-term deals, including those negotiated last year with increases in the first half of 2007, then pay increases so far in 2007 are running at 2.3% up from 1.5% in 2006. The AVEU energy sector deal covering the East is ahead of the average with a 3.1% increase for the year from 1 April 2007. Read more at > WSI (DE)

Ver.di secures working time deal at Helios clinics

Services union ver.di has negotiated a new working time arrangement with the rehabilitation clinics owned by the Helios group. The agreement will mean that on-call time will be counted as part of working hours. The 4,000 workers in the 19 clinics will have new flexible hours arrangements that will average out at 38.5 hours a week in the West and 40 a week in the East. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Compromise ends Telekom dispute

The ver.di services union has ended the strike in the Deutsche Telekom company following a compromise over the company’s plans for outsourcing of 50,000 jobs. Although the outsourcing to three new companies will go ahead the employees affected will not suffer the level of pay cuts initially sought by the company. However, there will be a 6.5% cut in pay and increase in weekly hours from 34 to 38. At the same time there is a commitment to reduce outsourcing and to increase training. The company has agreed that there will be no redundancies at least until 2012. Read more at > ver.di (DE) And at > ver.di (DE) And at > BBC (EN)

Report exposes aggressive employers in waste sector

The latest report from ver.di on the waste sector provides further evidence of the pressure workers are under from employers determined to boost profits by cutting pay and conditions. One ver.di member, Bernd Schuster, who spoke out on German TV was reprimanded by his employers (Lobben) for revealing confidential company information. He had revealed how pay at the company, previously part of the RWE multinational utility, had hardly changed since the 1990s. He also said that the company no longer respected the works council or the union as had been the case before. The report also reveals that Ver.di is hoping that workers faced by outsourcing from local authorities will face better protection in the future as legal advice indicates that municipalities can include social clauses when putting waste services out to tender. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Telekom strike enters fifth week

Over 14,000 members of the ver.di services union are involved in a major strike at Deutsche Telekom, the telecommunications company. The strike began on 11 May in protest at the company’s plans to transfer 50,000 employees to three new companies where they would have to work longer hours for lower pay. Read more at > ver.di (DE) Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Telecom strike becomes crucial union fight

The ver.di services union is facing a major struggle with the German telecommunications company, Telekom, in a dispute which could have major implications for the trade union movement in Germany. The company announced plans to outsource 50,000 employees to three new companies. The workers affected would face a 9% cut in pay and a four-hour increase in the working week from 34 to 38 hours. Overall ver.di believes that workers will face an effective 40% cut in salaries. The company has refused is to negotiate a collective agreement covering the outsourced workers. Ver.di members voted 96.5% in favour of strike action. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Call for pay rise for civil servants

Services union ver.di is calling for the pay agreement signed with regional governments in May 2006 to be extended to civil servants. Civil servants are not covered by collective bargaining but are normally covered by the collective agreements negotiated by ver.di and the other public sector unions. Although some lump payments have been paid by the regions, none of the regional governments have implemented the collective agreement that should give civil servants a 2.9% pay increase this year. Read more at > Ver.di

Minimum wage set in cleaning industry

The government has agreed legal minimum wage rates covering an estimated 850,000 workers in the cleaning industry. Using the provisions of the Posted Workers Act (so far only implemented in the construction sector), the government has set minimum rates of €7.86 an hour in the west and €6.36 in the east. Trade unions in Germany have been campaigning for the introduction of a national minimum wage but the response from the coalition government has been to propose sectoral minimum rates. Read more at > EIRO (EN)

Energy workers resist rise in working hours

Pay negotiations in the eastern German energy sector were resolved this week with a 3.1% increase for the 25,000 workers covered by the private energy supply company agreement (AVEU Ost). The agreement runs for 13 months and the increase is backdated to 1 April. The employers had initially offered 1.9% and demanded in increase in working hours. However, a two-hour work stoppage by 2,500 workers on Friday 20 April helped resolve the issue and indicated the unions’ determination to resist any increase in hours. Inflation in Germany (consumer prices) was 1.9% in the year to March. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Ver.di pushes for implementation of new pay structure

The major new public sector agreement with the Federal and Communal authorities came into effect in October 2005 with the promise of a new, simpler and discrimination-free pay structure. However, for a number of reasons, implementation of the new system has been delayed. It was planned that negotiations over the pay structure would be mostly complete by the autumn of 2006, allowing for a phase of testing and then full introduction by January 2007. Ver.di’s negotiating committee is now calling on the federal and local authorities to work with its task group to resolve the outstanding questions over the system and its implementation by the end of May. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Unions reject minister’s minimum wage proposal

The DGB union confederation has attacked proposals from government minister Franz Müntefering that would make it illegal to pay workers more than 20%-30% below the relevant collectively agreed or average level of pay in the region. Information from the pay database of the WSI, the DGB’s research body, reveals that setting such a low standard would mean minimum pay rates of as little as €2.14 for hairdressers in Saxony and €3.60 for security guards in Berlin. The DGB reaffirms its demand for a legal minimum wage of €7.50 an hour. Read more at > DGB (EN) And at > Hans Böckler (DE)

Campaign for higher pay in health and social services

The ver.di services union has launched a campaign for higher pay in the health and social services sectors, arguing that jobs in the sector are undervalued. The union is trying to counteract the trend towards more precarious working conditions for the 4.5 million workers in the sector. Ver.di wants to see better agreements guaranteeing health and social workers more opportunities to train and obtain qualifications. Read more at > ver.di (DE) And at ver.di’s special website > “social work is worth more” (DE)

Verdi leader calls for pay increases in public sector

Frank Bsirske, general secretary of the ver.di services union has called for pay increases for public sector workers early next year. Bsirske was noting the increase in tax revenues for the federal, regional and local government sectors and general better prospects for the economy in the light of good trade figures. Bsirske said that civil servants and other public sector workers had suffered three years of declining real wages. Read more at > Berliner Zeitung newspaper (DE)

Pay deals lag behind inflation

The Hans Böckler research institute has published it round-up of collective bargaining in Germany in 2006 and notes that pay deals averaged 1.5%, just below the 1.7% inflation rate and therefore well below the 3.5% “negotiating space” made up of inflation (1.7%) plus productivity growth (1.8%). The main energy sector deal during the year (AVEU Ost) was higher at 2.6% while there was no increase in pay rates in regional government, only lump sum payments of between €50 and €150. Read more at > Hans Böckler (DE)

Concern over fragmentation of civil servants’ conditions

Ver.di executive member Christian Zahn has written to interior minister Wolfgang Schäuble to express concern that federal government reforms will lead to a break up of the national pay and conditions of civil servants. Zahn argues that differentiating the pay and conditions of civil servants between the 16 regional governments and federal government will reduce the effectiveness of the civil service and hinder the mobility of civil servants between regions. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Union refuses to negotiate over working time

Services union ver.di’s federal negotiating committee has refused to take part in national negotiations over working time with the municipal employers’ association, the VKA. The current working time agreement covering local authorities runs until 31 December 2007 but there is already scope within the existing agreement for negotiations on working time to take place at regional level. The municipal employers were looking to increase working time to 40 hours and six minutes a week. Ver.di has not only refused to negotiate but is also insisting that there is no further delay in putting into effect certain elements of the public sector agreement, particularly standard-of-living increases, which have not yet been implemented. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Union demonstrates over waste collection contracts

The service union ver.di has organised a demonstration on 6 December outside the head offices of Duales System Deutschland (DSD) in protest at the threat of pay cuts and redundancies in the waste sector. DSD, owned by the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is a recycling company that awards contracts for the collection and recycling of waste. According to ver.di the latest round of tendering has meant that companies are winning contracts by undercutting the main collective agreement for the industry. The union believes January will see job cuts and reductions in pay of up to 50% and that the effects are already being felt in the operations of Remondis the biggest German waster operator. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Growing wage inequality

A new analysis from the Hans Böckler Foundation reveals how the gap between the lowest and highest paid has grown significantly in Germany since the mid-1990s and is now wider than in most other northern and west European countries. The report also notes that unemployment among unqualified workers has been increasing, undermining arguments that the spread of low wages will boost employment opportunities for the unskilled. The analysis points out that women and part-time workers are particularly likely to be in low-paying jobs. Read more at > Hans Böckler (DE)

Regional collective agreement comes into effect

After the 14-week strike earlier this year the new collective agreement covering regional government employees came into effect on 1 November. The central element of the agreement was on working time where ver.di and the other public service unions had successfully resisted attempts by the employers to introduce an increase for all workers. A formula based on the average of hours worked by full-time workers was used to work out the new weekly working hours which vary across the nine regions in western Germany: Baden-Württemberg 39 hours, 30 minutes; Bayern 40 hours, 06 minutes; Bremen 39 hours, 12 minutes; Hamburg 39 hours; Niedersachsen 39 hours, 48 minutes; Nord Rhein-Westfalen 39 hours, 50 minutes; Rheinland-Pfalz 39 hours; Saarland 39 hours, 30 minutes and Schleswig-Holstein 38 hours, 42 minutes. Workers in arduous occupations remain on the previous 38.5 hours a week. In eastern Germany there was a one-hour reduction in the basic working week from 40 to 39 hours. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Dispute ends as public sector agreement implemented at Berlin clinics

The dispute at the Charité clinics and medical institutes in Berlin has been resolved with a new four-year agreement due to run to 31 October 2010. The agreement which comes into effect from 1 January 2007 will be based primarily on the main public sector agreement. Pay is set to rise by 4.5% over the first three years of the agreement. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Union sets negotiation demands for Charité medical institution

The ver.di union has set down minimum demands for collective negotiations to resume at the Charité medical clinics and institutes in Berlin. It wants harmonised conditions for workers in the East and West and a pay increase for all the 15,000 workers employed by Charité. There has been no pay increase at the institution for three years and workers are facing the threat of job cuts and outsourcing. Negotiations are set to resume on 27 September but ver.di members are ready to take industrial action if their minimum demands are not met. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Conflicts in university clinics continue

Industrial peace hasn’t settled over all university clinics in Germany yet as strikes and disputes continue in some regions. In Leipzig, members of the ver.di services union took a day’s strike action on 5 September in protest against poorer pay and conditions being imposed on new employees. The union wants the same collective agreements to apply to all workers and is threatening to extend the action if the employer doesn’t negotiate. In Halle and Magdeburg over 90% of employees have voted for strike action but this has been postponed as negotiations continue with the employer. Ver.di wants the clinics workers to be covered by the same conditions as negotiated with regional employers rather than the current local collective agreement. Read more at > ver.di about Leipzig (DE) And at > ver.di about Halle and Magdeburg(DE)

New pay structure for private waste industry

Recent negotiations between the BDE private waste employers’ association and ver.di produced an agreement to overhaul the pay structure in the industry. As an interim measure the 67,000 workers in the industry will get lump sum payments in 2006 and 2007 while a new pay structure is negotiated. The 2006 lump sum will be in line with the percentage increases being awarded across Germany in collective negotiations. The aim of the new pay structure will be to try to ensure that more employers are covered by the collective agreement and to try to put an end to widespread undercutting of pay rates. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Performance pay deal for federal employees

After 25 days of negotiations ver.di has agreed a new deal on performance pay covering employees of the federal government. The proposed agreement will be put to the union’s collective bargaining committee for approval and, if agreed, will mean that all federal employees will have an element of performance pay in their salaries. The new collective agreement that came into effect last October included a provision to allow for the introduction of performance pay up to a value of 8% of pay. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

German wage increases still among lowest in Europe

The latest half-yearly report on wage increases around Europe from the WSI trade union research institute shows that Germany is still recording the lowest increases in the European Union. The WSI warns that this could lead to pressure in other countries to hold back pay increases as Germany continues to benefit from rising exports. The institute also points out that modest wage increases are doing nothing to tackle the low levels of domestic demand in the Germany economy. Negotiated wage increases in Germany at 0.8% a year are well below the 2.8% average for the European Union as a whole. Read more at > WSI (DE)

Unions monitor MPs on minimum wage

The autumn will see the German parliament debate a range of labour market measures including a possible proposal on a legal minimum wage. The minimum wage campaign being run by the ver.di services union and NGG hotel and catering union is monitoring MPs’ views on the issue. All MPs have been sent a questionnaire and 40% have replied so far. It is now possible to see if individual MPs are for or against a minimum wage or still undecided. The website will be regularly updated as more MPs reply to the survey. Read more at > minimum wage website (DE)

Municipal employers agree to negotiate on hospital workers’ pay

The ver.di services union has secured an agreement from the VKA municipal employers’ organisation that they will negotiate a new pay agreement covering all employees in municipal hospitals. The union is pleased that the new agreement will cover doctors as well as other staff as it had feared that the VKA might opt for separate agreements. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

€150 per month demand in municipal hospitals

The public services union ver.di is calling for a monthly payment of €150 for all employees in municipal hospitals. The union argues that higher public transport and fuel costs have combined with a change to federal taxation on travel costs to make it more expensive for people to get to work and the monthly lump sum will compensate for this. Ver.di is also calling on the municipal hospitals to abide by the public sector collective agreement. It claims that hospitals are undermining the agreement in a number of ways, for example by not paying part timers and trainees shift pay, by not paying holiday premiums, and by not applying the overtime rules properly and paying overtime premiums. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Special report exposes waste sector employers

A special report on the waste sector reveals the pressure workers are under as employers try to cut wages and conditions. In Berlin the Alba Group is threatening job cuts if workers don’t agree to a pay cut which would see drivers’ hourly pay fall from €11.50 to €9.00. Meanwhile the Remondis company no longer applies the collective agreement which means a cut in hourly pay from €11.50 to €8.50, a longer working week of 42.5 hours (up from 40) and five days less annual leave. Read more at > ver.di (DE)

Doctors continue strike action as dispute moves into fourth month

The Marburger Bund doctors’ union has taken up the offer of the regional government employers to restart talks over a new collective agreement for doctors on 16 June. However, doctors went head with strike action on 12 June with the union claiming that this marked a high point in strike action with 13,800 doctors involved in 43 towns and cities (25 university clinics and 18 regional hospitals) across Germany. Read more at > Marburger Bund (DE)

Local government fares badly in holiday pay comparison

The trade union linked research organisation, WSI (part of the Hans Boeckler Foundation) has surveyed collective agreements on holiday pay. It found a wide variation on the level of holiday pay - that is payments over and above the normal pay received while on annual leave. Local authorities come close to the bottom of the league table with €332 a month, ahead of agricultural workers on €184. Wood and plastic industries are on top with €1,831 followed by the print industry with €1,586. Read more at > Hans Boeckler Foundation (DE)

Strike action pays off - regions return to negotiations

The long strike by sections of public sector workers across Germany has achieved an initial success in getting the regional employers back to the negotiating table. Talks are set to resume on 18 May but the union plans to keep up the pressure until then. Members are being encouraged to support continuing strike action and any other campaigning initiatives to ensure that their message gets across - no to longer working hours. EPSU and its Belgian affiliates organised a solidarity vigil on 17 May outside the Brussels offices of the Lower Saxony region. Hartmut Mollring, the region’s finance minister, is head of the regional employers’ negotiating team. Read more at > ver.di And at > EPSU

Public sector strike to continue

Frank Bsirske, general secretary of the ver.di services union has made clear his union’s determination to continue the strike in the public sector to secure agreements with the regional employers and stop the push for longer working hours. The strike of employees at university hospitals is now in its eleventh week and Bsirske told the German radio station that funding the dispute was not a problem and that it could still be going on during the World Cup tournament although he hoped that the regional employers would come to the negotiating table before then. Read more at > German radio website

Minimum wage conference

Services union ver.di and the NGG food and catering workers’ union held a joint conference on 26 and 27 April as part of their developing campaign in support of a legal minimum wage. The conference was opened with a short film revealing what is like trying to survive on low pay. Verdi general secretary Frank Bsirske and his NGG counterpart Franz-Josef Möllner provided a comprehensive introduction to the key issues explaining very clearly why Germany needs a legal minimum wage. There were discussions about the impact of minimum wages elsewhere including the UK and France (presented by EPSU president Anne-Marie Perret) and a panel discussion at the end included representatives of the Greens, the Left Party and the Social Democratic Party, part of the governing coalition. Read more at > the minimum wage website

2.8% increase at the Thüga energy company

The ver.di services union has secured a 2.8% pay increase for workers at the Thüga energy company. The agreement runs for 15 months from 1 February 2006 and includes a 2.5% increase on rates for trainees. Inflation in Germany was running at 2.1% in the year to February. Read more at > ver.di

Doctors’ strike enters seventh week

The Marburger Bund doctors’ union is continuing its strike action over pay and hours into a seventh week with a demonstration planned for 3 May. The union is also now threatening to take action during the forthcoming World Cup in Germany. Read more at > Marburger Bund

Further progress in working hours dispute

The dispute over working hours in local authorities in the Baden-Württemburg region is over with members of the ver.di services union backing an agreement to increase hours from 38.5 to 39 a week - the employers had demanded an increase to 40 hours a week. This is the third region where ver.di has secured a deal with local authority employers and resisted the introduction of a 40-hour week. However, the regional authority employers are maintaining their demand for longer working hours and as part of its campaign ver.di members in the North-Rhine Westfalia region are continuing their strike action. Action is also continuing around the country in the University hospitals which are run by the regional authorities. Read more at > ver.di And at > ver.di

Doctors continue strike action

Doctors organised in the Marburger Bund trade union are also continuing their strike action and demonstrations against the regional government employers. They are campaigning for better working conditions and salary levels on a par with other countries. The most recent demonstration saw around 6,000 doctors rally in Cologne. Read more at > Marburger Bund

12,000 rally in Hannover

A 12,000-strong demonstration marked the latest stage in the dispute over working time in the public sector. The protesters included mainly workers from university and regional hospitals. Frank Bsirske, ver.di general secretary, told the rally that progress was likely with employers in the Saarland region. He added, however, that the union was prepared to continue strike action beyond Easter if necessary. Bsirske said that the union was ready to return to negotiations with the regional employers’ organisation at any time but said that at the moment there appeared to be little prospect of this happening. Read more at > ver.di And at > EPSU

Collective agreements to be maintained after outsourcing

German unions in the Swedish-owned energy group Vattenfall have secured an agreement with the company that any employees affected by outsourcing will continue to be covered by the existing collective agreement. The unions, including public service union ver.di, organised a number of demonstrations across Germany and were supported by SEKO which organises in the parent company in Sweden. Read more at > EPSU

Another step forward on working time

After 4½ weeks on strike, members of the ver.di services union in Lower Saxony have fought off attempts by local authority employers to introduce a 40-hour working week. Overall the 120,000 council employees in the region will have a 38.9-hour working week with different arrangements for some groups of workers. Those working in childcare, hospitals or for public enterprises such as refuse disposal will be on a 38.5-hour work plus extra training days. Other workers will be on the 39-hour week as agreed in the main public sector agreement which came into force last year. Meanwhile in the Baden-Württemburg region the dispute has gone to a conciliation commission. Read more at > ver.di A recent meeting of the EPSU waste group in Sweden sent a solidarity message to the thousands of workers in the sector who are part of the strike over working hours. Read more at > EPSU

2.9% pay increase at e.on

A new two-year pay agreement at the e.on energy company will mean an increase of 2.9% valid from 1 March this year and 2.7% from 1 March 2007. There will also be two lump sum payments of 500 euros this November and 800 euros in July 2007. As part of the agreement e.on is also committed to provide permanent jobs for 160 trainees in 2007 and 180 in 2008. The agreement runs until 30 April 2008. Inflation in Germany was running at 2.1% in the year to February 2006. Read more at > ver.di

Minimum wage campaign launched

Services union ver.di has teamed up with the NGG food and catering union to campaign for the introduction of a statutory minimum wage in Germany. Their initial target is 7.50 euros and hour with the aim of moving gradually to nine euros an hour. A poster publicity campaign got underway earlier this month and the unions have set up a special minimum wage website Read more at > ver.di And at > the minimum wage site

Progress on hours in Hamburg but strikes continue

Public services union ver.di has secured an agreement with local authorities in Hamburg on working hours. The new arrangements mean that most workers will stay below 40 hours a week but there are exceptions. Weekly hours depend on age, pay level and whether workers have children. So, for example all workers without children in the top four pay bands work 40 hour a week while those with children under the age of 12 work 39.5 hours. Those aged 50 and over in the bottom nine pay bands work 38 hours a week. General secretary Frank Bsirske welcomed the compromise deal but said that strikes in Lower Saxony and Baden-Württemburg would continue. In Baden-Württemburg local council workers have been on strike since 6 February and regional employees since 13 February. Both groups of workers have been on strike in Lower Saxony since the 13th. Read more at > ver.di And at > ver.di

Strike action over longer hours continues

Public sector workers are continuing their strike action against attempts by local and regional employers to impose longer working hours. Around 3,000 university clinic employees are on strike around the North-Rhine Westfalia region, including in Cologne, Münster, Essen and Düsseldorf. Read more at > ver.di In the Lower Saxony region an estimated 4,000 workers have joined the strike. Read more at > ver.di In Baden-Württemburg ver.di is running advertisements in the region’s cinemas focussing on how the longer hours will mean a cut in jobs. Read more at > ver.di The strike action in the public sector has boosted ver.di’s membership with 20,000 new members joining since the start of the year, with 12,000 in the key strike areas of Lower Saxony, North-Rhine Westfalia and Baden-Württemburg. Read more at > ver.di

Campaign builds against longer working hours

Services union ver.di is warning local authority employers that they will face strike action if they push ahead with plans to increase the working week. The union says it will defend jobs and working time in local authorities and maintain pressure on the regional government employers to sign up to the deal agreed with federal and local government at the beginning of last year. Local authorities in Baden-Württemburg, Lower Saxony and Hamburg have all announced their intention of increasing hours. The union’s response is that strike action will begin in Baden-Württemburg from 6th February. sRead more at >ver.di

5.9% pay claim at E.ON

Services union ver.di, along with the IG BCE union, has submitted a pay claim for 5.9% for the year from 1 March 2006. The union argues that with a large increase in productivity and with the company in a very good financial position it is a reasonable claim. The union also wants to see more trainees given permanent jobs while those offered fixed-term contracts should get a minimum of a year rather than six months. Read more at > ver.di

Doctors’ union launches overtime campaign

The Marburger Bund doctors’ union is running a campaign to highlight the massive amount of overtime worked by hospital doctors. The union argues that the 146,000 hospital doctors in Germany work a total of 50 million hours of overtime each year. This is compensated neither by overtime pay nor hours off in lieu. The union wants doctors to keep a record of their hours and the demand will be that no further hours of overtime will be worked unless paid for. Read more at > Marburger Bund

Union leader calls for government action on minimum wages

Michael Sommer, leader of the DGB union confederation, has identified action on low pay as a priority for 2006 and wants to see the government provide legal minimum wages across the economy. This might mean giving collective agreements wider applicability in sectors where they are already negotiated. However, Sommer also acknowledges that this will not work and direct intervention in the form of legal minimum rates would be necessary. For the DGB a key issue remains that any legal minimum should not interfere in the unions’ right to collective bargaining. Read more at > DGB

Anger builds up over longer working hours

Regional government employees in Baden-Württemberg took strike action on 5 December in defence of the 38.5 hour week. The region has been getting new starters - employees taken on since 2004 - to work 41 hours a week. Their holiday pay has also been cut and Christmas bonus reduced. An estimated 20,000 workers took part in the action. Read more at > SWR Meanwhile workers at hospitals and university clinics in Hamburg and the North-Rhine Wesfalia region are gearing up for protests and possible strikes over their employers’ failure to endorse the new public sector agreement. Employers in Hamburg want a 42-hour week, again with cuts to holiday and Christmas bonuses. Read more at > ver.di NRW And at > ver.di Hamburg

More attacks on civil service pay and conditions

The services union ver.di has called on the new coalition government not to implement planned cuts to Christmas bonuses for civil servants. The union says the cuts are not justified and that public employees covered by the new collective agreement have lump sums and special payments and civil servants, who don’t have collective bargaining rights, should have similar entitlements. The union argues that not only does this mean a cut in pay for civil servants but it will also be another blow to the economy, further undermining the very weak levels of domestic demand. Ver.di has also recently attacked the federal government for its plans to increase working time for civil servants to 41 hours a week. Read more at > ver.di

ver.di attacks 41-hour week for federal civil servants

Frank Bsirske, chair of the ver.di services union, has attacked government plans to increase weekly hours for 300,000 federal civil servants to 41 a week and to cut special payments. This follows only shortly after the new agreement for federal employees came into effect with a 39-hour week and retention of some special payments. From verdi’s viewpoint the negotiations were on the basis that the conditions would also apply to civil servants who don’t have the right to collective bargaining. Read more at > verdi

Health workers bargaining success

Services union ver.di, representing health workers at university hospitals, has managed to win concessions from employers over hours and special payments. In line with trends in the rest of the public sector the employers had demanded a 40-hour week and cuts to Christmas and holiday pay. The final agreement involves a change in hours according to age. Those under 40 will work 39 hours (up 30 minutes) while those aged 40-55 will remain on 38.5 hours. Workers over 55 will get a 30-minute cut to 38 hours. The agreement also involves a lump sum payment for 2005 in addition to those offered for 2006 and 2007 and retention of Christmas and holiday pay, although at lower rates. Read more at > ver.di

Health workers take action on pay and to defend working hours

Health workers in Baden-Württemberg, including nurses, ancillary and technical staff, are continuing their protests over pay and working hours with strike action at the Freiburg University Clinic on 6 October when only emergency operations will take place. Around 5,000 workers took action no 5 October in the south west of the region. Read more at > ver.di

Doctors get to negotiating table

The Marburger Bund doctors’ union has had an initial two-day meeting with the regional employers over its pay and conditions claim. Two further rounds of negotiations are planned for the end of October and mid-November. Read more at > MB

Talks start with regions as public sector agreement takes effect

Services union ver.di and the dbb civil service union have agreed to start talks with the regional government employers over a new collective agreement. The new 27-month agreement with the federal and local authorities comes into effect as of 1 October but the regional employers have so far refused to sign a new agreement. The main sticking point has been their demand for longer working hours. Read more at > verdi

Doctors’ union resumes negotiations

The Marburger Bund doctors’ union will resume negotiations with the regional government employers over a new collective agreement covering 22,000 doctors in university clinics. The most recent demonstration on 6 September in Stuttgart involved 5,000 doctors. Read more at > Marburger Bund

Regional government employees strike and demonstrate in Hannover

This month sees the implementation of the new collective agreement covering public service workers employed by federal and local government. However, the regional employers continue to refuse to agree a similar deal. Thousands of members of public services union ver.di in Hannover supported warning strikes and demonstrations to keep the pressure on the regional government. Read more at > ver.di

Doctors’ union meets with regional government employers

After months of protests and strike action the Marburger Bund doctors’ union is resuming talks with the regional government employers over pay and working hours. The key demands of the union include withdrawal of the employers’ decision to cut holiday and Christmas payments which have cost doctors up 15-20% of their pay and to set out a strategy for doctors’ income to rise by 30%. Read more at > Marburger Bund

Doctors continue action

Another nationwide day of strike and protest action is planned by the Marburger Bund doctors’ union on 6 September. An estimated 10,000 joined strike and protest action in August in opposition to the regional government employers’ plans for a 42-hour working week and to cut Christmas and holiday pay. Read more at > Marburger Bund

Positive impact of work-life balance

Widespread family-friendly working could be a real boost to jobs, productivity and growth according to a study commissioned by the German Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. The survey covered eight major employers in the private and public sector including the Vattenfall utilities group and the Federal Insurance Institution for Salaried Employees. It found higher commitment from employees and lower staff turnover as a result of family-friendly policies. Read more at > EIRO

Call for later retirement

Claims that the German state pensions system is under pressure have led to calls for an increase in retirement age 70 from an expert from the DIW economic think-tank. Other industry experts have rejected this but still call for an increase to 67 from the current 65. The idea of an increase to either 67 ro 70 has been rejected as nonsense by ver.di which is calling for action to deal with unemployment as a priority. Read more at the IPE pensions news site > IPE Read more at > verdi

Debate over level of minimum wage

A statutory minimum wage has become an issue for debate in the current German election campaign. However, ver.di notes some disagreement among leftwing candidates. Left Party campaigners have called for a minimum of around 1,200-1,250 euros a month while the PDS party has referred to 1,400 euros. Frank Bsirske, ver.di chair, argues that the figure should be 7.50 an hour (just under 1,270 a month for a 39-hour week) which would put German around the average for the EU15. Read more at > verdi]

GERMANY - doctors strike in protest at threat to hours and bonuses

Doctors organised in the Marburger Bund trade union, were on strike last month in protest at plans by their regional government employers to raise weekly working hours and cut Christmas and holiday bonuses. The union is now planning a week of action at the beginning of August. Read more at > Marburger Bund

Doctors’ strikes and demonstrations

The German doctors’ union, the Marburger Bund, has backed a week of action by doctors across the country with a national demonstration taking place on Friday 5 August. The union is campaigning over pay and long working hours. Read more at > Marburger Bund

Doctors continue protests over pay and hours

Doctors employed by the regional governments in Germany are continuing their protests over pay and working hours. Their union, the Marburger Bund, has organised a week of action beginning with a national demonstration on 5 August. Read more at > Marburger Bund