Germany: the collective agreements signed in 2008 confirm the end of wage restraint

In its middle evaluation, the Institute for Economic and Social Research (WSI) of the Hans Böckler Foundation presents a summary of the industry-wide collective agreements signed in the first six months of 2008. The wages negotiated increase of 4.6% in average. This is the strongest increase since 2000. (Ref. 080547)
Enjoy this article for free while you’re in your trial period
You have access to our content for 1 month.

The WSI experts, who presented, on Wednesday,
June 25, the middle evaluation of the collective agreements signed in 2008, say
that the figures collected for the first months of the year show the end of
wage restraint, which has been in use in Germany since the 1990s. “This is the
biggest wage increase of the decade,” said Reinhard Bispinck, who manages the
WSI archives on collective agreements. The average negotiated raise is 4.6%,
the highest since the beginning of the century. For 2008, the W

Do you have information to share with us?
What you absolutely must read this week
The essential content of the week selected by the editorial team.
See all
United Kingdom: trade unions can now use electronic and workplace voting
The news. The provisions of the UK Employment Rights Act 2025 authorising electronic and workplace voting for trade union ballots came into force on Tuesday, 25 August. They apply to trade union...
Netherlands: Uber fined over 800 million euros for automated algorithmic decisions
The news. In a decision dated 17 August, the Dutch Data Protection Authority fined ride-hailing company Uber €825 million for automating decisions regarding driver account deactivations. The...
Portugal: open consultation on the transposition of the Pay Transparency Directive
The news. On 5 August 2026, the Portuguese government published a document proposing a draft text to transpose the EU Pay Transparency Directive as the basis for a public consultation open until...
EU: the Commission will set up an Expert Group on the impact of AI in the world of work
The news. On 22 July 2026, the European Commission published a progress report on the EU-27’s achievements regarding the objectives of the European Pillar of Social Rights, reinforced by the...