2008 bargaining round examined
In January 2009, the Institute for Economic and Social Research presented its annual report on Germany’s 2008 collective bargaining round. The study evaluates collective agreements concluded in 2008, covering about 11.1 million employees. Some 3.7 million employees received pay increases in 2008 which had already been agreed in previous years. The average increase in collectively agreed wages and salaries was 2.9% in 2008, while actual gross wages and salaries rose by 2.3% in the same year, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
In January 2009, the Collective Agreement Archive (WSI-Tarifarchiv) of the Institute for Economic and Social Research (Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut, WSI) within the Hans Böckler Foundation (Hans Böckler Stiftung) published its annual report on collective bargaining (in German, 618Kb PDF) in Germany in 2008. The study evaluates collective agreements concluded in 2008, affecting some 11.1 million employees, or about 57% of all those covered by a collective agreement. Some 3.7 million employees received pay increases in 2008 that had already been agreed in previous years. The trade unions had initially made claims for pay increases of between 4.5% and 8% for 2008.
Collectively agreed pay increases
The average collectively agreed increase in wages and salaries was 2.9% in 2008, which was above the 2.2% increase of 2007. In western Germany, the average collectively agreed increase amounted to 2.7%, whereas it totalled 4% in eastern Germany. The pay increases varied between the economic sectors, ranging from 1.9% in the distributive trades and 4.4% in public services and social security (Table 1).
According to the Federal Statistical Office (Statistisches Bundesamt, Destatis), actual gross wages and salaries rose by 2.3% in 2008, compared with 1.3% in 2007.
| Sector | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | 2.4 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 3.0 |
| Food industry | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 2.5 |
| Transport and communication | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 3.5 |
| Raw material and production industries | 2.1 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 3.3 |
| Horticulture, agriculture, forestry | 1.7 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 3.7 |
| Investment goods industry | 2.3 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 3.4 | 2.6 |
| Consumption goods industry | 2.1 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 2.8 |
| Distributive trades | 1.8 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 1.9 |
| Energy, water, mining | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 3.0 |
| Private services, non-profit sector | 1.9 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 3.0 |
| Banking, insurance | 2.4 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 2.7 |
| Public services, social security | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 4.4 |
| All sectors | 2.0 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 2.9 |
Note: Increases shown are against the previous year.
Source: WSI, Collective Agreement Archive, 2009
Duration of collective agreements
The average duration of collective agreements on pay signed in 2008 was 22.4 months, up slightly from 22.2 months in 2007 (Table 2). In eastern Germany, the duration of collective agreements has, in the past, tended to be longer than that in western German bargaining areas, and this pattern continued in 2008.
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Germany | 21.5 | 14.1 | 18.1 | 20.4 | 21.8 | 25.2 | 21.6 | 22.2 | 22.2 |
| Eastern Germany | 23.3 | 16.4 | 19.7 | 21.0 | 22.0 | 28.4 | 24.7 | 21.9 | 23.4 |
Source: WSI, Collective Bargaining Archive, 2000–2009
Many collective agreements contained so-called ‘zero months’ clauses – that is, months within the duration of the collective agreements in which the agreed pay increase was delayed (Table 3).
| Date | Sector/industry | Pay provisions and duration |
|---|---|---|
| 31 January 2008 | Agriculture | 3.8% increase on 1 March 2008; 3.3% on 1 February 2009; valid until 31 March 2010 |
| 20 February 2008 | Steel industry – North-Rhine Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Bremen (DE0803029I) | €200 one-off payment for February 2008; 5.2% increase on 1 March 2008; valid until 31 March 2009 |
| 21 February 2008 | Hotel and restaurants – North-Rhine Westphalia | 3% increase on 1 March 2008; 2.5% increase on 1 March 2009; valid until 31 May 2010 |
| 31 March 2008 | Public sector – federal and municipal level (DE0804029I) | Monthly increase of €50 for all wages and of 3.1% on 1 January 2008 (for local authorities in eastern Germany, both increases to take effect on 1 April 2008); 2.8% increase on 1 January 2009; valid until 31 December 2009 |
| 16 April 2008 | Chemicals industry –western Germany (DE0805029I) | 4.4% increase with effect from March, April or May 2008, depending on the bargaining region; 3.3% increase with effect from March, April or May 2008, depending on the bargaining region; one-off payment of 5% of monthly income for first 13 months of agreement; duration 24 months |
| 20 June 2008 | Retail trade – Baden-Württemberg (DE0808019I) | One-off payment of €400 for April 2007 – March 2008; 4.5% increase on 1 April 2008; valid until 31 March 2008 |
| 9 July 2008 | Deutsche Lufthansa (DE0808029I) | 5.1% increase on 1 July 2008; 2.3% increase on 1 July 2009; additional one-off payments of up to 2.4% of yearly income; valid until 28 February 2010 |
| 12 November 2008 | Metalworking industry (DE0812049I) | One-off payment of €300 for November 2008 – January 2009; 2.1% increase on 1 February 2009; 2.1% increase on 1 May 2010 (based on income of November 2008); one-off payment of €122 in September 2009; valid until 30 April 2010 |
Source: WSI Collective Bargaining Archive, 2009
Gender pay gap
Although a considerable gap in average earnings continues to exist between men and women in Germany, the 2008 collective agreements failed to include any special provisions seeking to tackle wage discrimination and promote equal opportunities.
Disputes and difficult bargaining rounds
In mid April 2008, after about a year of negotiations, members of the German Engine Drivers’ Union (Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer, GDL) finally approved the results of the collective bargaining round with the German rail company Deutsche Bahn (DE0804049I). The prominent dispute had led to major official strike action by train drivers in 2007.
The most important form of official strike action in Germany, in terms of its frequency and workers’ involvement, is the so-called warning strike (Warnstreik) – a short token strike to demonstrate the trade union’s determination and its ability to mobilise. This form of industrial action was a common feature in the 2008 collective bargaining round. Large-scale warning strikes involving some 430,000 workers took place during the bargaining round in the public sector. A settlement was eventually reached in the final negotiations, on 31 March 2008, after the United Services Union (Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, ver.di) had threatened to call for an official strike ballot.
In May 2008, the German Metalworkers’ Union (Industriegewerkschaft Metall, IG Metall) mobilised some 360,000 workers in more than 1,100 establishments to call for the renewal of collective agreements on partial retirement. In November 2008, over 615,000 workers in about 2,700 establishments staged a walk-out during several waves of warning strikes in the course of the pay round in the metalworking industry. Other major warning strikes took place in the steel industry (40,000 strikers), banking (19,800) and textiles industry (18,100).
The most widespread strike actions took place in the retail industry, where negotiations between ver.di and the employer organisations failed in the spring of 2007 and an agreement was only reached in July 2008. The new agreement followed virtually thousands of strike actions by retail employees in what turned out to be one of the longest industrial disputes in post-war Germany regarding a sectoral collective agreement. Meanwhile, during the collective bargaining round at the major German airline company, Deutsche Lufthansa, a strike organised by ver.di lasting five days was eventually called off after an agreement was reached.
In the state of Hesse in west-central Germany, a dispute arose in the metal industry. In the summer of 2008, news spread that the metal company Vacuumschmelze (VAC) had changed its membership status with the regional employer organisation for the metal and electrical industry in Hesse, Hessenmetall, so that it would no longer be bound by future collective agreements signed by Hessenmetall (DE0810049I). In August 2008, IG Metall called for recognition of its existing collective agreements or a return by VAC to its old membership status at Hessenmetall. When negotiations failed, the trade union called for strike action. The strike, involving 1,000 workers, began on 11 September and ended after the company decided on 17 September to renew its full membership of Hessenmetall, thereby also accepting the standards laid down in collective agreements between IG Metall and Hessenmetall.
Heiner Dribbusch, Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI)