Monthly wages for temporary agency workers in pay grades 3 through 9 will increase starting in April 2023 by 6 percent (PG 9) to 9.25 percent (PG 3 and 4). IG Metall and the other DGB unions reached this collective bargaining agreement on Friday morning during the third round of negotiations with the temporary staffing employer associations BAP and iGZ.
Starting in January 2024, wages will then increase by an additional 3 percent (pay grade 6 through 9) to 3.5 percent (pay grades 3 through 5).
The new collective bargaining agreement on wages has a term of 15 months and can be terminated for the first time on March 31, 2024. At that point, the DGB unions will be able to negotiate new wage increases.
At least 13 euros for temporary workers starting in April
Monthly wages for the lower pay groups 1 through 2b had already been increased by 5.98 percent (Pay Group 2b) to 14.25 percent (Pay Group 1) in October 2022, in line with the increase in the statutory minimum wage. The DGB collective bargaining association had already negotiated this in June of last year. In April 2023, there will now be a collective bargaining increase for all pay grades. The collectively agreed minimum wage for temporary agency work (Pay Grade 1) will then be 13 euros per hour.
Overall, during the 2022–23 collective bargaining round, IG Metall succeeded in securing wage increases ranging from 9.18 percent (Pay Grade 9) to 24.08 percent (Pay Grade 1), to be implemented in several stages through January of next year.
2022/23 Collective Bargaining Agreement: Hourly Wages in the Temporary Staffing Sector
| EG |
through September 2022 |
Starting in October 2022 |
Starting in April 2023 |
Starting in January 2024 |
| 1 |
€10.88 |
€12.43 |
€13.00 |
€13.50 |
| 2a |
€11.60 |
€12.63 |
13.20 € |
€13.80 |
| 2b |
12.20 € |
€12.93 |
€13.50 |
€14.15 |
| 3 |
€13.32 |
|
14.55 € |
15.06 |
| 4 |
€14.08 |
|
€15.38 |
€15.92 |
| 5 |
€15.90 |
|
€17.25 |
€17.85 |
| 6 |
€17.90 |
|
19.24 € |
19.82 |
| 7 |
€20.89 |
|
22.39 € |
23.06 € |
| 8 |
€22.49 |
|
€23.97 |
€24.69 |
| 9 |
€23.72 |
|
€25.14 |
25.89 € |
Employers Refuse Inflation Bonus
In addition to a percentage-based pay scale increase, the DGB unions had also demanded the payment of an inflation adjustment bonus. This failed due to massive resistance from employers.
The only possible solution was to postpone this issue to sector-level negotiations. Consequently, a special right of termination was agreed upon for the collective bargaining agreements covering sectoral surcharges. This allows these agreements to be terminated promptly and renegotiated.
IG Metall has secured such collective bargaining agreements on industry-specific surcharges for temporary agency workers in its industrial sectors: in the metal and electrical industries, the wood and plastics industries, and the textile and apparel industries.
Discussion on the Collective Bargaining Agreement Now Underway
The negotiation outcome has a declaration period until February 22, 2023, and will only become legally effective after that date. The outcome is now being discussed with members and within the relevant collective bargaining committee of IG Metall.
In the temporary staffing sector, in addition to IG Metall, the other seven member unions of the DGB are conducting collective bargaining negotiations as a collective bargaining group with the temporary staffing employers—the Federal Employers’ Association of Personnel Service Providers (BAP) and the Association of German Temporary Employment Agencies. The collective bargaining agreements cover approximately 98 percent of the more than 800,000 temporary workers in Germany nationwide.
Up to 1,000 euros in member benefits starting in 2023
In addition to the wage increases, the DGB collective bargaining group also secured significant improvements in member benefits for union members during the June 2022 negotiations: Starting in November 2023, the additional payment to the Christmas bonus will increase by 150 euros. Instead of the previous 100 to 350 euros (depending on company affiliation), there will then be an additional 250 to 500 euros on top of that.
Combined with the extra payment added to the vacation bonus—which will increase from up to 700 euros to up to 1,000 euros—this brings the total annual member benefit to up to 1,000 euros.
Starting in November 2023, 6 months of union membership will also be sufficient to qualify for the member benefit, instead of the previous 12 months. This means that anyone who joins the union at that time will no longer have to wait until the following year but can apply for the extra payment for union members toward their vacation or Christmas bonus after just half a year.
Please note: This collective bargaining agreement applies to temporary agency workers covered by the collective bargaining agreements of the DGB Bargaining Association with the temporary agency employer associations BAP and iGZ. The staffing agency Autovision is governed by its own in-house collective bargaining agreement.
