New collective agreements for private insurance sector

In December 2005 the bargaining parties in the German private insurance sector agreed on a new collective agreement. The agreement provides a general pay increase of 2% with effect from 1 April 2006 and a further increase of 1% from 1 April 2007. For the period of October 2005 to March 2006 employees receive a lump sum payment of EUR 250. Remunerations of apprentices are also increased in two steps with effect from 1 April 2006 and 1 April 2007.

On 22 December 2005 the United Services Union (Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, ver.di) and the German Employers' Association for Insurance Companies (Arbeitgeberverband der Versicherungsunternehmen in Deutschland, agv) signed a new collective agreement. The agreement provides a general pay increase of 2% with effect from 1 April 2006 and a further increase of 1% from 1 April 2007. For the period of October 2005 to March 2006 employees receive a lump sum payment of EUR 250. The pay agreement is valid until 31 August 2007.

Apprentices receive no lump-sum payment but their monthly remunerations (EUR 733, EUR 805, and EUR 876 according to year of apprenticeship) will be increased with effect from 1 April 2007 by EUR 7, 8 or 9 respectively and with effect from 1 April by another EUR 4. Both parties signed an appeal to all insurance companies to provide more training places in the future.

The bonus of 10% for work on Saturdays will no longer be paid if employees work a five-day week. Various collective agreements on working time flexibility (with some modifications) have been extended until 31 December 2007. The same applies to the collective agreement on partial retirement (Altersteilzeit) - whereby employees combine work with early retirement. However, employees who reach the age of 57 will no longer be entitled to partial retirement without the consent of the employer as they were under the old agreement.

The agv represents 244 insurance companies (as of 1 January 2006). A further 27 insurance companies and subsidiaries have a so-called guest status with the agv and are not bound by the collective agreements. The collective agreement covers some 193,000 employees including about 15,000 apprentices. About 50,000 employees in the insurance sector who work as insurance agents are not covered.

Ver.di had entered the negotiations with a demand for a general pay increase of 4.5% and measures to safeguard employment, in particular the extension of the collective agreement on partial retirement which was to expire on 31 December 2005.

The agv had first not tabled any pay offer but some of its demands had been an extension of the weekly working time, the facilitation of Saturday work and the introduction of new pay grades below the current pay scale.

According to ver.di some 26,000 employees took part in warning strikes in the course of the 2005 bargaining round.

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