Import Taxes - Employers anticipate lower demands during the upcoming negotiations for bank workers' wages.
Prior to the wage talks for over 135,000 personnel in Germany's private banks, the employers' faction is toning down anticipations. Carsten Rogge-Strang, the managing director of AGV Banken, spoke with dpa in Frankfurt about the unions' wage requests being "far too high" considering the market's uncertainty.
The employers listed various challenges for the banks, such as weak economic growth and anticipated plunging interest rates. "We need to be really careful," said Rogge-Strang. Nevertheless, he confirmed that the employers are willing to undergo reasonable wage adjustments.
The union Verdi is pushing for a 12.5% raise, starting at 500 euros. The German Bank Employees' Association (DBV) seeks a 16% salary hike or at least 600 euros net monthly. Jan Duscheck, the Verdi negotiator, justified this by stating that they're requesting a substantial increase to make up for private bank employees' real salary decline.
The talks are slated to begin on Thursday via a virtual meeting. June 17 in Berlin and July 3 in Frankfurt are currently the scheduled dates.
A shorter work week is another thing Verdi is requesting. The DBV proposes introducing a 38-hour work week at the current salary from January 1, 2025. However, Rogge-Strang commented, "We will not join in reducing working hours." The banks currently provide their employees with significant flexibility in terms of both working hours and location. "Our aim is to keep this tariff round, which is being conducted in a highly fluid environment, focused solely on salaries," Rogge-Strang concluded.
In the last round of negotiations, both sides came to an agreement after approximately 9 months. In April 2022, wages were increased by 5% in two stages. There were also two one-time payments worth 500 euros each. The tariff agreement spanned 35 months. This time, Verdi is targeting a 12-month agreement while the DBV prefers a 24-month one.
