Working Time, Central government, Germany

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

Public service union ver.di has welcomed the fact that the federal government has finally confirmed that the April 2023 collective agreement for employees in federal and local government should now be applied retroactively to federal civil servants, judges, soldiers and pension recipients. The union has been frustrated about such a long delay at a time of high costs for food, energy and housing. It wants to ensure that at the end of the current negotiations covering employees in regional government, its provisions are applied immediately to the 1.4 million civil servants and 1 million pension

Ver.di and other public sector unions have negotiated have a new agreement on pay covering 2.5 million workers in federal and local government. The agreement runs from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024 and this year will mean that employees get a €3000 tax-free lump sum paid in instalments – €1240 in June and then €220 a month between July 2023 and February 2024. There will then be an increase to pay rates of €200 plus 5.5% in March 2024. The consultation with members will begin on 4 May and the collective bargaining committee will make the final decision on 15 May. As in previous

Despite a major strike across the public transport network involving 500,000 workers, in the lead up to the third round of bargaining, federal and local government employer organisations failed to come up with an improved pay offer for the 2.5 million employees covered by the agreement. Ver.di and the other unions involved in the negotiations had been seeking a 10.5% pay rise with a minimum increase of €500 which they argue is essential to protect the purchasing power of those on lower and medium rates of pay. The breakdown in negotiations will mean the process moves to mediation.

The ver.di trade union is organising further warning strikes following what it regards as a wholly inadequate pay offer from employers in federal and local government. The union is seeking a 10.5% pay increase with a minimum of €500 a month for the 2.5 million workers covered by the agreement. The employers, however, have offered only 3% by the end of 2023 and 2% in mid-2024 in what would be a 27-month agreement. There would also be lump sum payments of €1000 and €1500. The next steps in the campaign of warning strikes involve trainees and local transport workers. The third round of bargaining

A one-day strike by ver.di members at airports around the country took place on 17 February partly in support of the negotiations in federal and municipal government and partly in support of separate negotiations in ground handling services and aviation security. On 13 February, ver.di members around the country submitted early years education plans to local archives and museums as a gesture to highlight that they are currently impossible to implement. The union estimates that childcare services currently lack of 170,000 trained staff. Ver.di has also negotiated an agreement on staffing at the

The ver.di trade union reports that the first round of bargaining covering 2.5 million employees in federal government and municipalities ended without any proposals from the employers that would address the cost-of-living crisis or staffing shortages. The union reports survey results showing that over 335,000 workers strongly support the union's demands and that the employers need to take this message seriously. Ver.di is demanding a 10.5% pay increase with a minimum of €500 a month in a 12-month agreement. The collective bargaining result will also cover civil servants, judges and soldiers

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

The ver.di services union has already begun preparations for the next bargaining round for the collective agreement that covers 2.3 million workers in federal and local government. The current agreement runs until the end of 2022 but ver.di wants to ensure that as many members as possible are involved in the consultation over the pay claim which should be decided in October. The union is urging members to complete an online questionnaire that is available in Germany, English, Turkish, Polish and Arabic. It is also encouraging members to volunteer to become “collective bargaining ambassadors”

Services union ver.di has negotiated a collective agreement with the AWO non-profit care provider in Augsburg in Bavaria that includes a 35-hour week without loss of pay for nurses and other workers in the social and educational services provided by the organisation. The union sees this as setting an important example for the rest of the care sector. AWO said it wanted to work with the union to provide concrete solutions to address stressful work and to make care jobs more attractive by improving working conditions. The collective agreement provides for a two-hour reduction in weekly working

The ver.di services union has called for the new parliament, meeting for the first time on 26 October, and eventually the new government to set an example by supporting a collective agreement for the parliament’s drivers. The union says that the workers are paid less, work longer hours and have poorer pension entitlement than colleagues who are covered by the public sector agreement that covers federal employees. While ver.di is positive about the signs of support from social democratic MPs, it has made clear that the drivers are willing to fight for a collective agreement and further strike

The ver.di services union has set out a range of demands to improve pay and working conditions in the promedica/Falck private ambulance service. Following a consultation with members and comparison with provisions in the public sector the union will be looking for improvements in basic (cut to 39 hours a week) and average (cut 44 hours a week) working time as well as higher overtime, night and shift allowances. The claim will also include a demand for 30 days’ annual leave from the first year of employment and up to six days’ additional leave for unsocial hours work. Ver.di had wanted to start

The ver.di services union has negotiated a collective agreement on digitalisation that will cover 126000 workers in the federal government and come into effect on 1 January 2022. It will be applied whenever there are significant changes in workplace requirements or conditions as a result of digitalisation. The union argues that the agreement will allow workers to benefit from the digitalisation process while protecting them from possible risks. It includes mechanisms for securing jobs and providing necessary training while guaranteeing wages. Employees whose job effectively disappears as a

Ver.di and other public service unions have negotiated what is seen as respectable deal in a challenging bargaining environment that delivers a 1.4% pay rise for all workers on 1 April 2021 with a further 1.8% increase in April 2022. The agreement runs until 21 December 2022. The pay increase in 2021 is backed with a 50 Euro a month minimum which means that the lowest paid workers will see pay increase by 2.59%. Meanwhile, nursing staff will get 70 Euros a month additional payment from March 2021, rising to 120 Euros in 2022. Other payments for health and care workers include an increase in