Home › blog › 2025 › May › 5th › wage rises and a new government
Wage rises, and a new government
5th of May 2025 Article by Katja Scholz
It’s been an eventful start to the year in Germany, writes Katja Scholz, as the country goes to the polls.
There is news to report from the sector at the start of the year - a period overshadowed by the early German federal elections in February. Very important elections, in the light of the political mood in Germany and throughout Europe. In the run-up, the members and companies of the Federal Association of Contract Cleaners (BIV) all sought to initiate dialogue with politicians to make their needs known and to alert politicians to topics of concern to them.
First, the good news: new wage rates came into effect in January. Following prolonged negotiations, the Union of Construction Workers (IG BAU) and the BIV on behalf of the employers, reached agreement. The sector minimum wage in the entry level wage group would rise from €13.50 to €14.25. The second minimum wage for skilled workers would rise from €16.70 to €17.65.
Trainee wages were similarly adjusted: apprentices in the contract cleaning sector will now receive an increased €1,000, €1,150 and €1,300 Euro in the first, second and third year of their apprenticeships.
12,000 postcards
“We are the skilled trade with the largest workforce in Germany! Let us into the discussions.” This approach was used by the BIV committee to launch a campaign to stimulate talks with politicians in the run-up to the federal elections. The door opener for talks was the postcard campaign - a first print-run of 12,000 postcards was issued at the beginning of the year.
“Whether it’s about free collective bargaining, tax policy or cutting red tape – we deliberately kept the range of topics on the cards as wide-ranging as possible,” commented federal guild master Thomas Dietrich. “The important thing is for companies to approach politicians on the ground with their experience, concerns and topics of importance to them, enter into conversations with them and get involved.”
In the run-up to the elections the BIV also announced the results of a special survey: what are the key political demands and topics for companies in the contract cleaning sector? Most important: cutting red tape. Companies need a reduction in unnecessary regulations. Second was reform of the social security system. There is serious concern regarding increasing social security contributions - additional payroll expenses have reached a record level of 42.3 per cent and health insurance contributions have risen more sharply this year than ever.
Key topics
Free collective bargaining also made it into the top three topics. Cleaning companies view any planned political interventions in the process of free collective bargaining with incredulity. Politicians must keep away from wage determination and leave it to the relevant collective bargaining parties or to the relevant minimum wage committee - this was the general opinion.
A surprisingly major problem has also arisen with the so-called ‘minijob’ workers who engage in multiple jobs with different employers. This leads in practice to social security contributions being wrongly calculated and deducted. The sector is therefore calling for an automatic and legally watertight declaration process similar to the minijob.
And now? Germany has voted – the federal elections took place on February 23. The result: the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) have emerged as the winners and must now enter into coalition talks. We should also remember this election in Germany has reflected Europe’s clear swing to the right, in that the second strongest force according to the voting results is the Alternative for Germany party (AfD) – an opposition which, in light of its number of seats in the German parliament, cannot be ignored.
RSS