German print workers maintain conditions 


Negotiations on a new pay agreement for Germany’s 134,000 print workers concluded on 3 May with a three-year year agreement. 


It provides for modest pay increases but keeps current working conditions, including a 35-hour week (in West Germany). 


The agreement runs from 1 September 2018 until 31 August 2021, with pay first increasing by 2.4% from 1 May 2019, then by a further 2.0% on 1 June 2020 and finally by 1.0% on 1 May 2021.


With inflation currently at 2.0% and eight months without an increase (September 2018 to May 2019), the settlement implies a fall in real pay, at least in the first year, but for the union Ver.di, the key concern was to defend conditions, which remain unchanged for at least a further two years.