Tariff conflict in the painting trade: IG Bau demands drastic wage increase!

Tariff conflict in the painting trade: IG Bau demands drastic wage increase!

The collective bargaining in the painter and painter trade failed. After several rounds of negotiations and arbitration, the employer and union could not agree on an agreement. In the current debate, the focus is on demands for wage increases, which are of central importance for the workers concerned. Employers in the painter and painter trade offer a wage increase below the inflationary developments, which is sharply criticized by the industrial union building-agricultural environment (IG Bau).

The employer offer provides for a wage increase of 2.9 percent from April 1, 2025 and a further increase of 3 percent from July 1, 2026. This regulation would apply by September 30, 2027. However, the offer falls far after the expectations of IG Bau, which demands a wage increase of 8 percent - this corresponds to around 1.50 euros more per hour. Employer representative Markus Heineke has described the IG Bau claim as "completely unrealistic".

The background of the negotiations

The old collective agreement in the painter and painter trade expired at the end of September 2024. According to current statistics, the average wage in the painting trade is 18.87 euros, which is significantly below the wage level of the main building industry of 26 euros. The collective bargaining dispute arises against the background of increasing sales in the industry, while the shortage of skilled workers and a lack of young people are complained about at the same time.

The IG Bau not only rejects the last offer of employers, but also proposed an independent arbitration, which the employers rejected. Robert Feiger, the Federal Chairman of IG Bau, criticizes the employers for offering wages that do not even compensate for the inflation rate. Even with an inflation rate of 2 percent, the current offer would not compensate, so that the real wages of the employees could continue to decrease.

effects on trainees and minimum wages

Another central topic are the collective agreements for trainees and the minimum industry wage that also expire. From April 1, 2025, only the statutory minimum wage of currently 12.82 euros applies to new contracts. Painter trainees also receive one of the lowest training allowances in the craft.

IG Bau has asked the public clients to check the wage increases of the painting companies in order to protect tax funds. This could exert additional pressure on employers, to make wages fairly and to make appropriate adjustments.

Against the background of the positive construction economy, which has been going on since 2010, the real wages in the construction industry have risen considerably in recent years. But the past few years, especially 2022 and 2023, brought real income loss due to the high inflation. In the current tariff round and the previous ones, from 2020 to 2024, wages were only hesitated, which strengthens dissatisfaction within the industry.

The collective bargaining conflict in the painter and painter trade is thus a pressing problem that could not only affect the employees, but also the future development of the industry. The interests of both sides - the employer and the union - must now be reconciled in a constructive way in order to find a solution acceptable for all sides.