The formal negotiations for the collective agreement for around 850,000 German construction workers will start on 19 March 2020.
The trade union IG BAU decided that the workers´ income should rise by 6.8%, with a minimum increase of at least 230 euro per month. Furthermore, IG BAU demands a compensation for workers' travelling time.
“Our colleagues often go to construction sites for a while and from there they have to return home. They have no influence whether their workplace is ten, one hundred or two hundred kilometres away. For this travel time they receive no compensation or payment. This is unfair and unjust compared to workers who only work at one place", says IG BAU negotiator Carsten Burckhardt.
IG BAU demands furthermore that workers in vocational training should receive an increase of 100 euro per month.
Currently, there is a shortage of specialized and qualified construction workers in Germany. Despite the good vocational training system, the construction industry is unable to retain its qualified workers. They move to other better paid professions and branches.