In a significant victory for workers across Germany, bank employees and retail staff have secured substantial pay increases following prolonged negotiations and industrial action.

Private bank staff, numbering around 140,000, have reached a deal with employers for a 10.5 per cent pay rise over 28 months. The agreement, which affects major institutions such as Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, comes after a series of strikes and three rounds of talks.

Jan Duscheck, chief negotiator for the Verdi labour union, hailed the increase as providing "noticeable relief" for workers grappling with rising living costs. The employers' association AGV described the deal as "fair".

Meanwhile, the retail sector has concluded what Silke Zimmer, Verdi Federal Executive Board member, called "one of the longest and toughest collective bargaining rounds in retail". The nationwide agreement, finalised in Berlin and Brandenburg, will see full-time sales staff receive approximately €400 more per month.

"Every euro and every percent of these agreements were hard-fought," Zimmer said. "As a result, employees will receive significantly more money and a noticeable increase in their collectively agreed pension provision for the period after their working life."

The retail agreement includes a 40 per cent boost to pension provisions, rising from €300 to €420 annually. Over the entire term, the increase, including improved pension benefits, amounts to around 14 per cent.

These developments come against a backdrop of easing but still elevated inflation in Germany. While the rate has dropped from nearly 7 per cent in 2022 to 2.2 per cent in June 2024, it remains higher than many Germans are accustomed to.

As these agreements take effect, negotiations continue for approximately 60,000 staff at state-affiliated banks and for employees in wholesale and foreign trade, representing a third of the retail sector's five million workers.

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