Collective Agreement Guarantees Hiring
But it pays off: Collective bargaining agreements provide more pay and more vacation time. In addition, they ensure better conditions during the apprenticeship and usually guarantee permanent employment after completion: Unless there are compelling reasons not to, they require employers to hire apprentices after they have successfully passed their final exam.
Collective Agreement Ensures Higher Apprenticeship Wages
Just how much collective bargaining agreements deliver is evident, for example, for all apprentices in companies covered by collective bargaining agreements in the metal and electrical industries: Their apprenticeship stipends rose by 4.3 percent as of April 1, 2018. In addition, they received a one-time payment of 70 euros for the period from January to March 2018. We fought for all of this together during the last round of collective bargaining. And as of July 1, 2019, there’s even more: the newly introduced “collective bargaining bonus” amounting to 27.5 percent of the individual monthly training stipend plus a fixed amount of 200 euros. This applies to all trainees—regardless of their year of training.
Collective Agreement Ensures Free Time for Exam Preparation
During collective bargaining, we have repeatedly secured special provisions for apprentices: for example, that travel expenses to vocational school are covered or that apprenticeship stipends increase at a higher rate than wages. Under the latest collective bargaining agreement, all apprentices in metal and electrical companies bound by the collective agreement nationwide are entitled to at least one day off before their exam. Trainees must be granted time off without any reduction in their training stipend. This provision applies to Parts 1 and 2 of the final exam in the dual training program.
Take Advantage of Part-Time Study – Thanks to Our Collective Bargaining Agreements
Even those who want to pursue a degree or earn a master craftsman’s certificate after completing their apprenticeship benefit from our collective bargaining agreements. The education and training collective bargaining agreements in the metal and electrical industries, which were implemented in the spring of 2015, allow employees to take time off from work for personal continuing education. Part-time education leave is available in blocks as well as in the form of reduced weekly working hours.
Better Off with a Collective Bargaining Agreement
As a general rule, employees working at a company covered by a collective bargaining agreement usually earn significantly more than those not covered by such an agreement. However, even if a company is bound by a collective bargaining agreement, employees have a legally binding right to the benefits agreed upon in the agreement only if they are members of the union that negotiated the agreement. For apprentices, it’s worth paying attention to whether a company is bound by a collective bargaining agreement right from the job search stage. And if a company doesn’t have a collective bargaining agreement, that doesn’t have to be a permanent situation. An active workforce can fight to secure a collective bargaining agreement.
