Press Release No. 29/2021 ICT Pay Analysis: Stable Despite the Crisis – More Money and Less Work for Employees Covered by Collective Bargaining Agreements

Frankfurt am Main – IG Metall’s annual survey of wages in the information technology and telecommunications (ITC) sector revealed a slight average income increase of 0.2% across the industry. Employees covered by collective bargaining agreements earn 14% more across all job families and hierarchical levels.

The positive effect of collective bargaining is particularly evident among project managers. On average, the income of employees covered by collective bargaining agreements is up to 26% (€17,545) higher than that of employees not covered by such agreements.

Christiane Benner, Second Chair of IG Metall, commented on the survey results: “The survey results confirm once again that employees in companies bound by collective bargaining agreements are better paid. It is reasonable to assume that young professionals in the IT sector will base their job decisions even more strongly in the future on whether their employer is covered by a collective bargaining agreement. Collective bargaining agreements are not only the basis for higher earnings but also for better working conditions overall, such as family-friendly work schedules.”

The ICT Compensation Analysis also tracks the average weekly work hours. The result: Two-thirds of employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement work 37.5 hours or fewer. Among employees not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, only 6.7% do so; all others work longer hours. Despite the shorter workweek, employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement earn a higher annual salary.

These findings come from the 20/21 ITC Compensation Survey, in which over 41,700 compensation data points were collected from 120 companies. This survey is conducted annually. The increased participation this year ensures even more meaningful data.

The survey results are available to everyone at itk-entgeltanalyse.igmetall.de. The website also offers the option to perform an individual salary comparison. In addition, an overview of the classification system—which organizes the various jobs in the industry into 16 job families with a total of 74 hierarchical levels—is available, ensuring transparency and traceability.

Further information and press photos by Christiane Benner