German regional government workers to work and earn less

Employees of the regional government of Sachsen-Anhalt, an area in the former East Germany, have agreed new pay and working time arrangements to protect jobs.

Under the agreement signed last month, employees see their current 40-hour working week cut by two hours for staff on lower grades and by three hours for staff on higher grades. However, their pay is reduced by the same proportion, producing a €35m saving for the regional government.

The union Verdi has agreed to the deal to safeguard jobs in the financially hard-hit region. The regional government has committed itself to no economically motivated redundancies over the next six years.