Collective bargaining in the construction industry is stalling, and no acceptable offer has been made by employers. In numerous cities, workers in the industry have taken to the streets.
Construction workers demonstrated at nationwide rallies for higher wages and better working conditions.
According to the industrial union Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt (IG BAU), hundreds of construction workers from several federal states took part in the campaigns in various cities.
The occasion of the rallies is the current collective bargaining for the nationwide 890,000 employees in the construction industry. IG Bau criticizes the fact that construction workers are not sufficiently involved in the business of their companies in northern Germany, which is going well despite the corona pandemic.
So far, in three rounds of negotiations, employers have not submitted an acceptable offer for a wage increase and compensation for the long travel times to the construction sites, said an IG Bau spokesman.
In addition to a mileage allowance, IG Bau is demanding 5.3 percent more wages and salaries as well as an adjustment of the eastern income to the western level. The employers’ side submitted an offer in the first round, after which the discussions were temporarily interrupted. At the end of July, employers and employees agreed on a roadmap for further negotiations. “We are confident that we can reach an agreement in the coming rounds by the end of September,” said Jutta Beeke, Vice President of the Main Association of the German Construction Industry (HDB) at the time.
Actions took place in Feuchtwangen in Bavaria, in downtown Osnabrück, in the excavation town of Ferropolis in Saxony-Anhalt and at the former Ewald colliery in Herten in the Ruhr area.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
