The first major strike in the construction industry in 20 years was very close. “Those were the most difficult and lengthy negotiations I’ve had so far,” says Robert Feiger, who has been head of the IG Bau trade union since 2013. After 70 hours of marathon sessions, there is now a compromise: By 2024, construction workers in the west will receive 6.2 percent more wages and one-off payments. For the first time, they are paid extensively for long journeys to the construction site – and wages in the east are adjusted.
“This is a good collective agreement,” said union leader Feiger of the SZ. He calls the financial compensation for travel times a “milestone”. When it comes to wages, you could have imagined more, “but we can live with the result”. Jutta Beeke, Vice President of the Main Association of the German Construction Industry (HDB), one of the two employers’ associations, praised the long term of the collective agreement until 2024. The committees on both sides now have to approve the result for the almost 900,000 employees in the construction industry – although this is still open with employers.
Another arbitrator had to come to the table in the collective bargaining round: Rainer Schlegel, President of the Federal Social Court. For a long time it was said that the construction workers could go on strike nationwide for the first time since 2002. That was quite realistic in the face of tough fronts. “It was more than just before close,” said union boss Feiger, describing the negotiations. “The term five to twelve is not enough to describe it.”
The most difficult point was to compensate for the drives to the construction sites, for which the union has been fighting for years. Construction workers drive an average of 64 kilometers from home to the construction site, according to a study commissioned by IG Bau. These routes have been increasing for a long time, according to the union. While many small companies built regionally until the 1990s and the journeys were short, the workers are now being sent across the country. IG Bau therefore demanded that in future, depending on the route, a certain time should be paid according to the standard hourly wage. The employers blocked themselves. The journeys are too difficult to record, and construction workers are already getting around 1,000 euros a year for travel times. “The employers wanted to generalize it in such a way that the employees would in fact not have felt the financial compensation,” criticized union boss Feiger.
But now there is also an agreement on this point. According to this, from 2023 there will be tax-free six euros per day for up to 50 kilometers, and nine euros for over 75 kilometers. In 2024 the amounts will increase. Even those who do not drive home every day from the construction site receive compensation – over 400 kilometers it is just under 40 euros.
“There are 400,000 apartments to be built, the order books are full.”
Irrespective of this, wages will also rise from November 1st, in several stages over three years. In the west this is around two percent each, in the east more, but there the one-off payments are lower. For union leader Feiger, two things are decisive: “With the increases, we are well above inflation and inflation expectations for the next few years.” In addition, after a long struggle, construction workers in the east soon earned as much as their colleagues in the west. “With the completion of the 2026 wage round, wages must be 100 percent of the West.” This is a non-cancellable and changeable regulation in the collective agreement.
Although the union had higher demands overall, Feiger believes it is right to avert a labor dispute. “That would not have been a good thing in view of the huge tasks in the industry. There are 400,000 apartments to be built, the order books are full.” Unlike many industries, construction was hardly affected by the Corona crisis. The Institute for Employment Research (IAB) expects that almost 100,000 jobs will be created in construction this year and next. At the same time, many older people are leaving.
In view of the large number of orders, a strike apparently also seemed too risky for employers. However, behind the scenes in the business camp, there was obviously a heavy bang. “We made a conscious decision in favor of a tariff proposal in free negotiations so that the decision on acceptance or rejection lies with the member associations,” said Uwe Nostitz, Vice President of the Central Association of the German Construction Industry (ZDB). If, instead of a collective bargaining agreement between the social partners, there had been a ruling by the arbitrator, which had been in the room for a longer period of time, a higher proportion of companies would have had to agree. Both the union and the employer must now declare within two weeks whether they will accept the agreement.