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Public sector pay deal averts further strikes

Further public sector strikes have been prevented by a pay deal reached on Saturday morning giving workers a 6.3 percent raise over two years. German airports were paralysed and many other services disrupted by the strikes.

Published: 31 March 2012 10:37 CEST

Public sector pay deal averts further strikes

Photo: DPA

A long night of negotiations between public sector union Verdi and employers reached the deal on Saturday morning, leaving union leader Frank Bsirske and German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich relieved.

“We want to give public sector employees fair pay,” said Friedrich on Saturday.

Public sector workers, who have staged a series of nationwide strikes over the past month, will receive a backdated pay rise of 3.5% from March 1st.

Further rises of 1.4% will follow in January and August 2013. Workers over 55 will now receive 30 days of holiday, while their younger colleagues get 29 days off a year.

Bsirske said the outcome would not have been possible without the determination of the strikers over the past weeks. The union had succeeded in “securing long-term real wages for 2012 and 2013.”

A small group of representatives of employers and unions has been locked in more than 40 hours of talks in Potsdam since Wednesday. Union negotiators needed another seven hours of talks over Friday night and Saturday morning before voting to pass the new agreement by a narrow margin.

The union had demanded a rise of 6.5% which Friedrich earlier described as unrealistic, and a social component minimum increase for workers in the lowest pay bracket, which they did not receive.

Thomas Böhle, the lead negotiator for local municipalities who employ the workers and will have to fund the pay increases, said on Saturday he was relieved that further strikes were off the cards but that the agreement would push local authorities further into debt.

Both Friedrich and Böhle said the agreement pushed public finances “to the pain threshold.”

DPA/The Local/jlb

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Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions.

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds.

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local.

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with.

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