Background information

The German state and the public sector employer organisation VKA (Vereinigung der kommunalen Arbeitgeberverbände) reached a new collective agreement with trade unions in late October 2020. The following trade unions were part of the agreement: the German Civil Service Association dbb (Deutscher Beamtenbund) and the United Services Union (ver.di). The agreement includes a premium for public sector workers to reward public service workers' hard work during the corona crisis. It also includes moderate wage increases from April 2021.

Content of measure

The corona bonus is a one-time premium. The amount varies according to salary level and occupational groups:

• Employees in wage groups 13 to 15 receive €300, those in groups 9a to 12 receive €400.
• Those in groups 1 to 8 receive €600.
• Social workers and education staff receive between €400 (for wage groups S 10 until S 18) and €600 (for wage groups S 2 until S 8 b).
• Care workers also receive between €400 (for wage groups P 9 to P 16) and €600 (for wage groups P 5 until P 8).
• The corona premia for utility workers ranges from €300 (for wage groups 13 to 15) over €400 (for wage groups 9 to 12) to up to 600 (for wage groups).

Use of measure

No data.

Contents

• Bonuses
• Pay increases

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Employees in standard employment	Sector specific set of companies	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Trade unions Employers' organisations	Employer

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Social partners jointly
• Main level of involvement: Sectoral or branch level

Involvement

1. The German public sector is organized as a tripartite social dialogue body between the state, the employers and labour.
2. The Federal Minstry of the Interior, Building and Community represented the German state.

The public sector employer organisation VKA (Vereinigung der kommunalen Arbeitgeberverbände) represented employers. The following trade unions were part of the agreement: the German Civil Service Association dbb (Deutscher Beamtenbund) and the United Services Union (ver.di). The services trade union ver.di also represented the German Police Union (GdP) the German Union of Education (GEW), and the Trade Union for Building, Forestry and the Environment (IG BAU).

Views and reactions

The social partners involved voiced support for the agreement reached.

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 25 October 2020: Public Sector CBA including Corona bonus (www.verdi.de)