New agreements signed in private banking and insurance

In May 2001, the ver.di trade union and the employers' association for private banking signed a new collective agreement for about 470,000 employees. The deal provides for a pay increase of 2.8%, long-term working time accounts and exceptional rules on working time during the changeover from the Deutschmark to the euro. Similar pay provisions were subsequently agreed for the insurance sector.

In a third round of talks on 22 May 2001, the Unified Service Sector Union (Vereinigte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, ver.di) (DE0104220F) and the Employers' Association for Private Banking (Arbeitgeberverband des privaten Bankgewerbes) concluded a new collective agreement for the 470,000 employees in the banking sector.

The agreement, which runs for 13 months, contains the following provisions on pay:

• a pay increase of 2.8% from 1 May 2001;

• a flat-rate payment of DEM 280 for April 2001

• an increase in vocational training payments by DEM 40 per month from 1 April 2001;

• during the currency changeover from the Deutschmark to the euro (euro notes and coins will start circulating from 1 January 2002), additional pay for shiftwork will be increased by an average of 5% from 1 January 2001. This is equivalent to an annual pay increase of EUR 250 for those involved in three-shift work, EUR 120 for two-shift work and EUR 80 for Saturday work; and

• employers' capital-forming payments under the employee savings scheme (DE9808176N) will be increased to EUR 40 per month.

The existing agreements on partial and early retirement, as well as the "opening clause" allowing downward variations from the sectoral agreement's provisions in order to secure employment in companies (DE9709229F), were extended without any changes until the end of 2003. In addition, the employers have pledged to keep the number of training posts at a high level.

For the first time. the agreement also includes framework provisions on "long-term working time accounts" (Langzeitarbeitskonten), which will be developed in detail at company level. Employees are entitled to save up to 175 hours per year or the equivalent in money in such working time accounts. The saved overtime can be used for longer periods of time off or for early retirement. Ver.di rejected the employers' proposal to allow employees also to transfer unused holidays into their account, arguing that regular periods of time off work for recreation are necessary and such leave should therefore not be saved up for later use. The provisions on working time accounts run initially until 30 June 2006.

The banking social partners also agreed on exceptional rules for overtime work for the period between 17 December 2001 and 28 February 2002, relating to the introduction of the euro, as follows:

• in general, offices will stay closed to the public on Sundays and public holidays, although exceptions are possible;

• daily working time can be extended to 10 hours and weekly working time to 50 hours or - where Saturday work applies - to 60 hours. In exceptional cases, working time can be extended beyond this limit. If working time is extended beyond 53 hours per week, pay premia of 75% apply; and

• trainees with examination dates in January 2002 are excluded from overtime work.

In the insurance sector, in a third round of talks on 29 May 2001 the Confederation of Insurance Companies (Bundesverband Versicherungen) and ver.di concluded a new collective agreement for the industry's 220,000 employees. This agreement, which also runs for 13 months, includes similar provisions on pay to the banking deal:

• a pay increase by 2.8% from 1 June 2001;

• a flat-rate payment of DEM 200 for May 2001; and

• an increase in vocational training payments of DEM 40 per month

Existing regulations on partial retirement and the sector's special pensions scheme will be extended for another two years. The insurance sector's pensions system allows employees to save a sum of 1% of their annual income (a maximum of DEM 1,000) in an additional pensions scheme, with employers matching employees' payments.