Employees in the printing industry are getting more money. The collective wages for industrial employees are increasing in three steps by a total of 7.8 percent, as announced by the Verdi union and the Federal Association of Printing and Media. These wage increases are spread over a collective agreement term of 29 months. There have been repeated warning strikes in recent weeks. The focus was on the south of Germany. In some places, newspaper readers have noticed the effects because some daily newspapers have had to appear with fewer pages or in a different format. The collective agreement means that publications such as the Southgerman newspaper will now appear again in the usual volume.
Verdi had originally demanded an increase of 12 percent for the 106,000 employees in the printing industry over a period of 12 months, also citing the wave of inflation. The agreement was reached in the sixth round of negotiations. The parties met in Nuremberg on Thursday. According to the information, the collective agreement can be terminated for the first time on July 31, 2026. Part of the agreement is that trainee pay will increase disproportionately by 12 percent in two steps. In addition, the lowest salary groups are to be adjusted so that no one earns less than 13 euros per hour in basic salary.