German deal cuts out ‘rotten agreement’

The German services union Verdi and employers representing secure cash delivery firms have reached an agreement covering the 11,000 employees in the sector.

The three-year deal, which runs from 1 January 2014, provides for an increase of 5.0% from 1 March next year, 4.0% on 1 January 2015 and 2.9% in January 2016.

The first increase is well above inflation (1.2% in October) and with other improvements such as increases in night-shift and overtime premia, the settlement will produce significant improvements in earnings.

An interesting clause in the agreement is that the employers’ association commits itself to withdraw form the agreements it has previously signed with a small “Christian union” in East Germany. In Verdi’s view this means that the downward pressure on conditions coming from these “rotten framework agreements” will cease.