2024-05-02 12:46:11
After five rounds, there is an agreement in collective bargaining at Postbank. This is also good news for customers.
The collective bargaining dispute at Postbank ended after almost three months. In the fifth round, unions and employers agreed early on Wednesday morning on salary increases in two stages and protection against dismissal extended until the end of 2027.
Verdi and the German Bank Employees Association (DBV) as well as Deutsche Bank announced this on Thursday. Customers can therefore breathe a sigh of relief: Both unions were voting on indefinite strikes at Postbank. Warning strikes had repeatedly led to service restrictions in the collective bargaining round that had been ongoing since February 6th.
Seven percent more salary for Postbank employees
According to the unions, the approximately 12,000 employees in the Deutsche Bank Group will receive seven percent more money with a Postbank collective agreement from June 1, 2024, but at least 270 euros. From July 1, 2025, standard salaries will increase by a further 4.5 percent. Employees can decide each year whether they want to take four weeks of additional vacation per year in exchange for a corresponding pay waiver. The collective agreement runs until March 31, 2026.
Deutsche Bank accommodated the unions when it came to a core demand: the protection against dismissal, which was originally limited to the end of January 2024, will now be extended until December 31, 2027. Until then, the financial institution has ruled out operational-related layoffs for collective bargaining employees in the area of its private customer bank in Germany. Long-term job security was very important to the unions because of the planned branch closures. Deutsche Bank had announced that it wanted to close up to 250 of the 550 Postbank branches by mid-2026 and also reduce staff.
Verdi wanted to achieve a salary increase of 15.5 percent for its employees, but at least an increase in monthly salaries of 600 euros. The DBV had demanded 14.5 percent more money for employees at Postbank, Postbank branch sales, PCC Services and BCB.