Collective bargaining results achieved for employees in other federal states

On December 9, 2023, unions and employers in Potsdam agreed on a collective bargaining agreement for state employees in the other federal states. The result does not apply to employees in the state of Hesse. In 2004, Hesse left the employers’ association, the “Tariff Association of German States” (TdL). Since then, the collective bargaining parties in Hesse have been negotiating independently of the TdL. This time the Hessian collective bargaining round only starts after the TdL round. In 2021 it was the other way around. Unlike two years ago, the result in Potsdam has an orientational character for Hesse.

The core elements of the agreement for the other federal states are special payments (“inflation compensation”) totaling 3,000 euros and a salary increase in two steps. For December 2023 there is a tax- and duty-free one-off payment of 1,800 euros. In the months of January to October 2024, monthly special payments of EUR 120 each will follow, which are also tax and duty-free, i.e. paid out both net and gross. In November 2024, the table fees will be increased by a uniform amount of EUR 200, and then by a further 5.5 percent in February 2025. The term is 25 months until October 31, 2025.

For student employees, the agreement paper sets minimum wages of 13.25 euros for the summer semester of 2024, increased to 13.98 euros from the summer semester of 2025, and minimum contract terms of usually 12 months. Although this is not yet a collective agreement (“TV Stud”), it is an important step in this direction.

Due to the longer term of the collective agreement in Hesse agreed in 2021, collective bargaining will not begin until February 14, 2024. The last round of negotiations is currently scheduled for February 14. and March 15, 2024. Because of the high inflation in the current year, the unions had already asked the country to make a one-off payment (“inflation compensation”) in 2023, regardless of the collective agreement stipulations. The Ministry of the Interior in Wiesbaden rejected this and referred to the collective bargaining in 2024.

Even if the result in Potsdam has an orientation character for the Hessian collective bargaining round, there is still no automatism. The Hessian collective bargaining round will not be a sure-fire success. Similar to the TdL area, where 20,000 colleagues in Hamburg, Berlin, Leipzig and Karlsruhe went on strike during the “Education” strike day at the end of November alone, the commitment of colleagues in the Hessian cities will be important from February onwards . The employees support the demands of their unions. This must become clear on the street.