Pay issues to be top of the agenda in 2008 bargaining rounds
Published: 3 February 2008
The 2008 bargaining rounds will be dominated by pay issues. According to an overview published by the Collective Agreement Archive (WSI-Tarifarchiv [1]) of the Institute of Economic and Social Research (Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut, WSI [2]) – part of the Hans Böckler Foundation (Hans Böckler Stiftung [3]) – trade unions initiating collective bargaining in the first quarter of 2008 are demanding annual pay increases ranging between 4.5% and 10.2% (Table 1).[1] http://www.tarifvertrag.de/[2] http://www.wsi.de/[3] http://www.boeckler.de/cps/rde
It is expected that the main focus of the 2008 bargaining rounds will be pay issues. According to an overview issued by the Collective Bargaining Archive of the Hans Böckler Foundation, the trade unions’ demands for pay increases in the various sectors of the economy are set to range between 4.5% and 10.2% in the first quarter of 2008. The public sector is the first sector to begin negotiations.
The 2008 bargaining rounds will be dominated by pay issues. According to an overview published by the Collective Agreement Archive (WSI-Tarifarchiv) of the Institute of Economic and Social Research (Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut, WSI) – part of the Hans Böckler Foundation (Hans Böckler Stiftung) – trade unions initiating collective bargaining in the first quarter of 2008 are demanding annual pay increases ranging between 4.5% and 10.2% (Table 1).
Trade union pay demands
The main trade unions involved in the bargaining rounds due to take place in the first quarter of 2008 include: the United Services Union (Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, ver.di), Marburger Bund (MB), a trade union representing medical doctors and not affiliated to the Confederation of German Trade Unions (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, DGB), the German Metalworkers’ Union (Industriegewerkschaft Metall, IG Metall), the Mining, Chemicals and Energy Industrial Union (Industriegewerkschaft Bergbau, Chemie, Energie, IG BCE), the Trade Union of Food, Beverages, Tobacco, Hotel and Catering and Allied Workers (Gewerkschaft Nahrung-Genuss-Gaststätten, NGG) and the Trade Union for Building, Forestry, Agriculture and the Environment (Industriegewerkschaft Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt, IG BAU).
| Sector/industry | Trade union | Pay demand |
|---|---|---|
| Public sector, including education and public hospitals (local and federal level) | ver.di | 8% or at least €200 a month |
| Local transport | ver.di | 8% or at least €200 a month |
| Public utilities | ver.di | 9% |
| Doctors at municipal hospitals | MB | 10.2% |
| Steel industry | IG Metall | 8% |
| Chemicals | IG BCE | 6.5%–7% |
| Textiles and clothing industry | IG Metall | 5.5% |
| Hotels, restaurants and catering | NGG | 4.5%–6% |
| Agriculture | IG BAU | 5.5% |
| Repair of motor vehicles (Deutsches Kraftfahrzeuggewerbe, Kfz-Gewerbe) – North Rhine-Westphalia | IG Metall | 5% |
Source: WSI Collective Agreement Archive 2008
Bargaining by sector
The public sector will be the first to start collective bargaining in 2008 at federal and municipal level, as its sectoral agreement expired in December 2007 (Table 2). Negotiations between ver.di and representatives of the federal government and of the Municipal Employers’ Association (Vereinigung der kommunalen Arbeitgeberverbände, VKA) began on 10 January 2008. Ver.di is demanding a general pay increase of 8% for 12 months, as well as stipulating a minimum increase of at least €200 a month. The German Civil Service Association (Deutscher Beamtenbund, dbb) shares this demand, which applies to some 1.5 million employees covered by the collective agreement for the public sector (Tarifvertrag öffentlicher Dienst, TVöD). However a major dispute may arise as public employers at municipal level are demanding an extension of weekly working time in exchange for any substantial pay increases.
Parallel negotiations will commence for employees working in local transport and public utilities, which are covered by separate collective agreements and also include a number of private companies. On 14 January 2008, MB began parallel negotiations with VKA about a new pay agreement for medical doctors at municipal hospitals. The trade unions are demanding a pay increase of 10.2% and are competing with ver.di to represent doctors in collective bargaining.
| Date on which existing agreement expires | Sector and geographical area | Trade union | Number of employees covered (estimated) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 December 2007 | Public sector at local and federal level (including health services, social security, local transport) | ver.di, dbb | 1.5 million |
| 31 December 2007 | Agriculture | IG BAU | 170,000 |
| 31 January 2008 | Iron and steel industry (except Saarland) | IG Metall | 107,000 |
| 29 February 2008 | Hotels and restaurants (North Rhine-Westphalia) | NGG | 100,000 |
| 29 February 2008 | Textiles (western Germany) | IG Metall | 64,000 |
| 29 February 2008 | Clothing industry (western Germany) | IG Metall | 39,000 |
| 29 February 2008 | Repair of motor vehicles (Kfz-Gewerbe) – western Germany, except Lower Saxony and Bavaria | IG Metall, ver.di | 189,000 |
| 29 February 2008 | Chemicals industry (North Rhine, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate) | IG BCE | 255,000 |
| 31 March 2008 | Chemicals industry (Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Bremen, Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin) | IG BCE | 253,000 |
| 30 April 2008 | Chemicals industry (Saarland, eastern Germany) | IG BCE | 39,000 |
| 30 April 2008 | German Post (Deutsche Post) | ver.di | 130,000 |
| 30 June 2008 | Banking (except cooperative banks) | ver.di | 257,000 |
| 31 October 2008 | Metalworking industry | IG Metall | 3.2 million |
| 31 December 2008 | Public sector (state and regional level) | ver.di, dbb | 815,000 |
Source: WSI Collective Agreement Archive 2008
The next major sector to start negotiations will be the German steel industry, which is set to begin negotiations in February 2008. IG Metall is expected to demand pay increases of 8%. Negotiations in the chemicals sector are due to follow in March 2008. The regional pay demands of IG BCE are predicted to range between 6.5% and 7%. Negotiations in the extensive metalworking sector are being planned for November 2008.
Heiner Dribbusch, Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI)
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2008), Pay issues to be top of the agenda in 2008 bargaining rounds, article.
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