Social Services, Working Time, Germany

The ver.di trade union has reached a collective bargaining agreement with the EKBO evangelical church which employs approximately 8,000 employees. The wage increases that were agreed in regional government earlier this year will be taken over in full by the EKBO collective agreement, albeit with a slight time delay. There will be a tax-free one-off payment of €3000 to mitigate inflation followed by salary increases of €200 in January and a further 5.5% in March 2025 by which time full-time pay will be €340 higher per month. In addition, there are improvements to social and educational services

The ver.di trade union starts the new year with a demand for better working hours and working conditions, more money and more staff across the public services and is launching a campaign and survey on working hours among public sector employees. In local public transport the union is calling for a reduction in weekly working hours, additional relief days for shift and night work and an increase in holiday entitlement. Ver.di also says that a total of more than 300,000 positions are currently unfilled in federal, state and local governments and with many workers due to retire around 1.4 million

The ver.di trade union has begun to consult members over the deal reached on 9 December with regional government employers after a third round of bargaining. The agreement is comparable to that covering federal and municipal workers and includes a tax-free lump sum of €3,000, which will be paid as a one-off amount of €1,800 in December 2023, followed by monthly payments of €120 between January and October 2024. On 1 November 2024, monthly salaries will be increased by €200 and then increased again by 5.5% on 1 February 2025 (with the guarantee of a minimum increase of €340). Ver.di believes

The ver.di trade union, leading negotiations covering 1.2 million workers in regional government, has set out the main claim for a 10.5% salary increase, but with a minimum increase of €500 a month. The demands also include an extra €200 for junior staff and trainees are to be taken on for an unlimited period. The unions want a 12-month agreement. Ver.di says employees have high expectations for the outcome of the negotiations and stresses that better pay and conditions are needed to help address the 300,000 staffing shortage across public services. An important aim will be to close the gap

The ver.di trade union has welcomed the recommendation of the Care Commission to increase minimum wages for long-term care workers but the union also calls for more measures to ensure decent pay in the sector, particularly the negotiation of comprehensive collective agreements, as essential for trying to address the major staff shortages. The three hourly wage rates (skilled, one-year trained and semi/unskilled) will increase by between 6.8% and 9.5% in May 2024 and then by 3.9% to 5.1% in May 2025. So from May 2025 skilled workers will earn at least €20.50 per hour, one-year trained employees

The ver.di trade union is running two weeks of action as part of its campaign to secure equal rights for workers employed by church organisations. Between 25 September and 6 October, union members will be out promoting the campaign petition with the aim of securing 4000 signatures. Currently church-based employers like the Diakonie and Caritas, organisations that employ hundreds of thousands of health and care workers, have special treatment under the law in relation to co-determination, collective bargaining and the right to strike. Ver.di wants this changed so that all workers have the same

For the first time, employees working at care facilities run by the Protestant church in Hesse in central-west Germany are mobilising to support their union ver.di in collective bargaining. The workers have only been covered by a collective agreement since April 2022 and so building support for their key demand – an increase of €450 a month – is a new experience. They managed to get over 550 signatures on a petition handed to management. In the past, pay and working conditions were simply laid down in church employment contract guidelines. The collective agreement negotiated by ver.di and the

The trade union ver.di has launched a petition calling on the government to ensure equal rights for workers employed by church organisations. Currently special rules apply to the major protestant and catholic employers who employ around 1.8 million people and run many health and care services, including hospitals, nursing homes and services, facilities for the disabled and youth welfare, emergency services, daycare centres, etc. As, ver.di points out, these are financed almost exclusively from tax revenues and social security contributions. Employees of these bodies have fewer protections

The ver.di services union is calling for a 10.5% (minimum €500 a month) pay increase for the 21000 workers covered by the collective agreement at Helios, the biggest private hospital group in the country. The union argues that the hard work of health employees needs to be recognised at the same time as the need to protect workers’ purchasing power in the face of soaring inflation. Ver.di wants a 12-month agreement and rejects the idea of any compensation in the form of a one-off payment. Meanwhile, the union has criticised the impact of the commercialisation of care in light of the collapse of

The public services union ver.di has published early results of a major study of workers in social services that reveals the high risks of burnout and exhaustion faced by many workers in the sector. The survey covers more than 8,200 employees in childcare, disability assistance, youth welfare offices and other areas of social work. It found that since the pandemic many employees often skip the legally required rest breaks and 40% stated that they regularly work three or more hours overtime a week as well. Over 65% of respondents say that they are under time pressure at work, with more than 80%

Services union ver.di is in negotiations with the VKA municipal employers’ association to improve working conditions in municipal emergency services. The union is calling for a maximum working week of 44 hours (down from 48) as a first step and other measures to protect the health of employees. Ver.di warns that more workers will leave the sector if this issue is not addressed and cites the Red Cross as an example where hours reductions are being achieved. At the end of November, ver.di agreed with employers to gradually reduce weekly working hours (including on-call time) from the current

Services union ver.di has welcomed the federal government’s statement that it wants to tackle skills shortages but argues strongly that in doing so it needs to address the big challenges in the public sector itself. Ver.di points out that education in kindergartens, schools – especially vocational schools – and universities, is key but the shortage of skilled workers in these sectors has long been a problem. Additional jobs and better working conditions in the public sector are needed. This not just about pay but about providing more training opportunities, better equipment and increased

After three days of bargaining the ver.di services union has negotiated an agreement with the VKA municipal employers that goes some way to address the undervaluation and overwork of staff in social and educational services. The union thanked its members for mobilising to achieve the result in the face of considerable resistance from the employers. Over 40,000 ver.di members took action in the week leading up to the latest negotiations. The agreement will provide employees with two additional days off as well as the option to convert part of their salary into two further days off. Educators

The ver.di services union has planned a series of strikes and protests in the week beginning 9 May to put pressure on the VKA local government employers’ organisation in advance of the third round of collective bargaining covering over 300,000 workers in social and educational services. Around 30000 workers in the sector were involved in action on 2, 4 and 5 May but the week 9-13 May will see many more workers in involved across the country. The union is extremely disappointed that the employers failed to come up with a concrete offer to improve pay and conditions in the first two bargaining