Regarding the data published yesterday by the Economic and Social Science Institute (WSI), the Saxon DGB boss Markus Schlimbach said:
“With a collective agreement, employees have more money in their pockets even when they are on holiday. 74% of employees in the private sector with a collective agreement receive holiday pay. Without a collective agreement it is only 36%. If you are looking for another argument for a collective agreement, you will find it here.”
Overall, nationwide not even every second employee in the private sector would receive holiday pay (46%). In the East it is not even every third employee (32%).
“This east-west difference can be explained by the lower collective bargaining coverage in the east. Saxony is at the bottom nationwide when it comes to collective bargaining agreements. Added to this is the fragmented economic structure in Saxony. What is taken for granted in large companies with a collective agreement and co-determination must be fought for by the employees in small companies,” says Schlimbach.
At the same time, Schlimbach referred to the increasing self-confidence of employees in Saxony to campaign for better pay and working conditions towards their employers. “Step by step, the employees, together with the unions, are fighting for improvements in wages, working hours and special payments. Collective bargaining pays off all year round, not just for holiday pay. Incidentally, this also applies to employers if they want to keep their skilled workers on a permanent basis,” said Schlimbach.
In order for collective agreements to become the norm in Saxony as well, appropriate framework conditions are also necessary. “The inclusion of a collective agreement clause in the Saxon Public Procurement Act is overdue. Public support for cheap wages must also be ended in Saxony,” said Schlimbach.
Background:
The data was taken from the current evaluation of the WSI collective bargaining archive “46 percent of all employees receive holiday pay – with a collective agreement 74 percent”. You can find them here: https://www.boeckler.de/pdf/pm_ta_2022_06_03.pdf
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