The wage dispute for the approximately 930,000 employees in the German construction industry has been resolved at the second attempt. Following the IG BAU union, the employers also agreed to the compromise reached at the end of May “with a clear majority”. The Central Association of the German Construction Industry (ZDB) and the Main Association of the German Construction Industry (HDB) announced this jointly on Friday. “It’s good that we were able to close ranks again. Now everyone can finally concentrate on building again,” commented the negotiator for the employers’ side, ZDB Vice President Uwe Nostitz.
The Federal Tariff Commission of the IG Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt (IG BAU) had already approved the agreement by a large majority last week. The agreement, which applies retroactively from April 1, 2024, provides for a three-stage wage and salary increase. At the end of the three-year term, salaries in the eastern tariff area are to be fully aligned with those in the west. In a first stage, all monthly salaries will be increased by a flat rate of 230 euros, as well as by 1.2 percent in the west and 2.2 percent in the east. The second stage provides for 4.2 percent more in the west and 5.0 percent in the east on April 1 next year. One year later, western wages will rise by 3.9 percent and those in the east will rise completely to the western level.
In mid-April, there was already a proposal for arbitration. However, the employers did not agree to this, which is why IG BAU mobilized thousands of employees nationwide for warning strikes for two and a half weeks in May. The agreement now reached exceeds the recommendations of the arbitrator, the former President of the Federal Social Court, Rainer Schlegel, for the first two years. In the third year, the full alignment of eastern wages with western levels, initially only agreed for December 2026, will now come eight months earlier, on April 1, 2026.