Collective bargaining agreements and works councils, which monitor compliance with these agreements, have a positive impact on engineers’ compensation. Along with age, company size, and location (East or West), they are among the most important factors determining income levels. The latest analysis of the WSI Wage Index database shows that, on average, companies bound by collective bargaining agreements pay 16 percent more.
Women Still Earn Less
Female engineers earn, on average, 9 percent less than their male colleagues—even though the gap in their earnings is smaller than in many other professions. Overall, women in Germany earn about 16 percent less gross pay than men.
According to the collective bargaining agreement, female and male engineers in the metal and electrical industries work a 35-hour week in the West and a 38-hour week in the East. The individual regular weekly working hours may vary for specific employees. In such cases, they are entitled to pay corresponding to those working hours.
Don’t give away your pay—pay attention to your working hours
Collective bargaining agreements protect against excessively long working hours. They also ensure payment for hours worked. To compare individual compensation, working hours must be used as a calculation parameter for a comparable hourly wage or annual salary. Collectively, the works council ensures compliance with applicable collective bargaining agreements and laws.
Flyers list pay grades
The Institute for Economic and Social Research at the Hans Böckler Foundation (WSI) has analyzed the incomes of more than 50,000 engineers in various industries covered by IG Metall, based on a 38-hour workweek.
The flyers detailing engineers’ salaries are based on IG Metall districts and are available in German and English. The flyers transparently list the pay grades for engineers in accordance with the collective bargaining agreements for the metal and electrical industries. They also show the salary premium in companies bound by collective bargaining agreements and the pay gap between women and men.
Salary Check for Engineering Professions
Using the WSI Wage Index database’s Wage and Salary Check, engineers can compare their salaries for free in just a few steps. In addition to the occupational field, factors such as professional experience, work location, and company size are taken into account for the individual comparison calculation.
Go to the Salary Check
