Federal and local authorities: Public service: This is what the first round of collective bargaining brings

The unions have clear demands – the employers’ side has so far been cautious: Now Verdi, the civil service association dbb, the municipal employers and the Federal Ministry of the Interior are coming together for the first of three planned rounds of collective bargaining for the public service. In Potsdam, wages for federal and local government employees are being negotiated.

Around 2.5 million people are directly or indirectly affected by the negotiations. The majority are employed according to the collective agreement for the public service (TVöD), and the collective agreement is usually transferred to civil servants retrospectively. The employees work, for example, in social or medical professions, in administration, at schools and universities, in local transport or in waste disposal companies. Firefighters and federal police are also included. Negotiations are held separately for state employees.

What do the unions want?

Verdi and the Civil Service Association are demanding eight percent more wages, but at least 350 euros more per month. Trainees should receive 200 euros more per month. In particularly stressful jobs, such as in the health sector with alternating shifts, there should be higher bonuses.

Further demands revolve around the topics of working hours and flexibility. The unions want three additional days off for all employees and four days for union members. Employees should also receive personal working time accounts. This should allow them to decide for themselves whether they want overtime paid out or use it for additional days off, for example.

Staff shortages, aging and the desire for more flexibility

The unions report that there is already a shortage of around 500,000 employees in the public sector. In the next ten years, another 1.4 million employees will retire, warns Volker Geyer, negotiator for the Civil Service Association. The personnel shortage has been getting worse for years.

“Many municipalities are on the verge of being able to act, the employees are overloaded,” says Verdi boss Frank Werneke. “If no action is taken, there is a risk of collapse.” One problem is that the federal government is constantly burdening the municipalities with additional tasks.

Geyer warns that the public service urgently needs to become more attractive. “When it comes to money alone, the private sector will always depend on the state, which is why a factor such as workplace sovereignty is also crucial for the competitiveness of the public service.” The demands for more days off and more flexible times should start here.

This is what the employers say

The unions decided on their demands in their committees in October. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) said at the time that the unions’ demands were very high. “The budget situation is and remains tense, especially in the municipalities.”

The President of the Association of Municipal Employers’ Associations (VKA), Gelsenkirchen Mayor Karin Welge (SPD), pointed out the additional costs. The wage demands and the three additional days off alone would mean additional costs for municipal employers totaling 14.88 billion euros. “This is simply not manageable and does not fit into this time,” Welge said in October.

What role does the traffic light off play?

The early federal election falls in the middle of collective bargaining. A requirement for restraint applies to them, said Interior Minister Faeser at the beginning of the month at the annual meeting of the Civil Service Association in Cologne.

The second round of negotiations will take place on February 17th and 18th, almost a week before the new elections. The expected final round of negotiations is scheduled for March 14th to 16th.

In the last collective bargaining round, the federal government, local authorities and unions agreed on an increase of 5.5 percent in 2023 after tough negotiations. In addition, there were tax- and duty-free special payments totaling 3,000 euros and a base amount of 200 euros.

With the collective agreement now expiring, the unions had achieved the largest wage increase in the public sector in decades. This was intended to cushion the drastic rise in consumer and energy prices at the time. The negotiations were accompanied by numerous warning strikes. Among other things, employees of city administrations, hospitals, universities, public pools and garbage collection went on strike.

Warning strikes are not excluded in the new round of collective bargaining. “The colleagues in the companies and institutions are highly motivated to stand up for their concerns,” says Verdi boss Werneke. “It’s up to the employers how the collective bargaining round (…) goes.” Civil servants association spokesman Geyer warns of a “tough collective bargaining conflict”.